Was killing bin Laden legal?

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http://www.politico.com/politico44/perm/0511/was_killing_bin_laden_legal_dfcb4ff6-1458-4820-bcc9-3cf1205fb259.html

By MJ LEE | 05/02/11 9:18 PM Updated: 05/02/11 9:30 PM

As more details of the death of 9/11 mastermind Osama bin Laden surfaced Monday, some individuals suggested that the killing of the Al Qaeda leader by U.S. special forces may have violated international law.

However, human rights and civil liberties groups that have sharply criticized the Obama administration for its use of lethal force against terror suspects outside of war zones remained largely mum after the notorious bin Laden was shot by U.S. Navy SEALs in an operation that took place in Pakistan, where the U.S. is not involved in formally declared combat.

Tom Malinowski, the Washington director of Human Rights Watch, said his group wasn’t prepared to express an opinion “until we know more solid details about the facts of the operation.”

“There are certainly circumstances under which lethal force is justified even in a law enforcement situation far from the battlefield,” Malinowski said in an email. “But we'll have to know more about what actually happened before making a judgment.”