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    Back to To the Point

    To the Point

    Osama bin Laden: Targeted Killings and Torture

    The killing of Osama bin Laden was an act of finality, but international debate about its legality and morality has just begun. The presidential order to kill the al Qaeda leader has raised questions about executive powers under the laws of war and produced a UN investigation.

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    By Warren Olney • May 12, 2014 • 1 min read

    The killing of Osama bin Laden was an act of finality, but international debate about its legality and morality has just begun. The presidential order to kill the al Qaeda leader has raised questions about executive powers under the laws of war and produced a UN investigation. The intelligence work that led to bin Laden's hideout in Pakistan has raised other questions about "enhanced interrogation techniques." When can a president decide who lives and who dies? Should bin Laden have been captured and tried? Does discovery of his hideout justify torture? We hear different answers about law, morality, national security and the international reputation of the United States.

    The full episode

    2 of 3
    Osama bin Laden: Targeted Killings and Torture
    1. 0:00South Soaked by Swollen Mississippi River
    2. 7:31Osama bin Laden: Targeted Killings and TortureYou’re reading this
    3. 43:39Was the 'Gang of Six' Undone by the Threat of Compromise?
    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Warren Olney

      former KCRW broadcaster

    • KCRW placeholder

      Evan Pérez

      CNN

    • KCRW placeholder

      Ben Wizner

      American Civil Liberties Union

    • KCRW placeholder

      Jed Rubenfeld

      Yale Law School

      NewsNationalPolitics

    The full episode

    2 of 3
    Osama bin Laden: Targeted Killings and Torture
    1. 0:00South Soaked by Swollen Mississippi River
    2. 7:31Osama bin Laden: Targeted Killings and TortureYou’re reading this
    3. 43:39Was the 'Gang of Six' Undone by the Threat of Compromise?
    Back to To the Point