Reply #18: assassinate

[quinnox]

to murder (a person, esp a public or political figure), usually by a surprise attack

While this definition seems to fit the OBL case, I don't think its the right term.

When I hear the word it means to me a political leader or prominent person killed, either with an individual or a small group involved, and also not having government backing behind it. And these targets assassinated are not criminals or terrorists that come to mind when I hear the word. When I hear someone was assassinated, I think of them as an innocent person, not a wanted criminal. Since OBL was a worldwide terrorist and criminal, I don't think assassinate works very well. In this case "brought to justice" or something like that works much better.