Talk:Osama bin Laden

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Frequently asked questions

Q1: Why is the article reluctant to call him a terrorist?

A1: Wikipedia has a guideline discouraging the use of words such as "terrorist", especially if it is improperly sourced. This is not an indication of condoning "terrorist" activities, but of neutrality, and avoidance of passing judgment, affirming, or denying. A consensus was reached on this talk page that bin Laden could be described as being on the FBI's list of Most Wanted Terrorists, and a target in the War on Terror. Please debate the merit of the guideline at Wikipedia talk:Words to avoid, not here.

Q2: Why does the article say he died on May 2, 2011?

A2: Independent verification affirms that a raid took place on the compound where bin Laden was killed in the early hours of the morning of May 2, Pakistan Standard Time. Per the Manual of Style, we describe his death as taking place on May 2, even though U.S. President Barack Obama made his announcement in the evening of May 1, Eastern Daylight Time. Pakistan is 5 hours ahead of GMT/UTC. I.e. midnight of May 1 on the east coast of North America is 10 a.m. on May 2 in Pakistan.

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Discussions on this page often lead to previous arguments being restated. Please read recent comments, look in the archives, and review the FAQ before commenting.

Osama bin Laden was a good articles nominee, but did not meet the good article criteria at the time. There may be suggestions below for improving the article. Once these issues have been addressed, the article can be renominated. Editors may also seek a reassessment of the decision if they believe there was a mistake.

Article milestones
Date	Process	Result
January 12, 2007	Good article nominee	Not listed
March 26, 2007	Peer review	Reviewed

Current status: Former good article nominee

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A news item involving Osama bin Laden was featured on Wikipedia's Main Page in the In the news section on 1 May 2011.

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This is the talk page for discussing improvements to the Osama bin Laden article.
This is not a forum for general discussion of the article's subject.

Put new text under old text. Click here to start a new topic.
New to Wikipedia? Welcome! Learn to edit; get help.

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Find sources: Google (books · news · scholar · free images · WP refs) · FENS · JSTOR · TWL

Archives: Index, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20: 5 days

Article Based on Hearsay

Osama bin Laden was a good article nominee, but did not meet the good article criteria at the time. There are suggestions below for improving the article.

I fail to see how this will ever be a good article when it's whole premise is based on heresay evidence. I see NO physical evidence presented that would convince a court of law that a corpus dilecti exists/ed. The DNA has no time stamp on it or to it. When a judge tells the bounty hunter to bring 'em back dead or alive, he doesnt say bring back a story, which is all you have here. Where are the eye witness reports out of Abbottabad? Nice try! Keep trying, the sentient among us arent buying the WH story repeated here or any of the many ever changing version, that is.

Abbottabad Neighbor Claims Bin Laden Raid Was Botched ... May 18, 2011 ... Abbottabad Neighbor Claims Bin Laden Raid Was Botched ... In a BBC News report, Orla Guerin interviewed dozens of people who were adamant ... clipsnews.com/abbottabad-neighbor-claims-bin-laden-raid-was-...

Billyc69 (talk) 19:14, 2 June 2011 (UTC) billyc69[reply]

Wikipedia is not a court of law. AndyTheGrump (talk) 19:45, 2 June 2011 (UTC)[reply]

This is the official version of the event. Just because one little person disagrees with it wont get the article taken down, I can guarantee that. Case in point = Official 9/11 articles. J.Rly (talk) 03:16, 9 June 2011 (UTC)[reply]

listen bro,sometimes,one historic event can have many versions,they are called conspiracy theories by some,this is the case especially in the life of a famous person but they cannot become part of this article,include them in this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Osama_bin_Laden_conspiracy_theories Xxrvdfan1000xx (talk) 10:21, 20 June 2011 (UTC)[reply]

This isn't an encyclopedic entry, it's an Anglo-American government story. There is zero content about the highly disputed year of Bin Laden's death, for example. If Wikipedia is going to publish American government propaganda, please advertise the website as American government-centric and stop pretending to be objective. Guv2006 (talk) 21:04, 22 June 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Beliefs and ideology

When next unprotected, can you clarify the origin of the condensed quote:- //According to former CIA analyst Michael Scheuer, who led the CIA's hunt for Osama bin Laden, the al-Qaeda leader was motivated by a belief that U.S. foreign policy has oppressed, killed, or otherwise harmed Muslims in the Middle East,[42] condensed **by Scheuer** in the phrase "They **(Muslims)** hate us **(non-Muslim superpowers)** for what we do, not who we are."// — Preceding unsigned comment added by 109.76.194.250 (talk) 09:12, 15 June 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Get it straight

every other page says he died on may 1st 96.50.210.249 (talk) 03:45, 16 June 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Because this site is the website that everybody can edit. See FAQ why he died on May 2. ۞ Tbhotch^™ & (ↄ), Problems with my English? 03:52, 16 June 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Is there any way to make the FAQ more noticeable? Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie | Say Shalom! 14:38, 20 June 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Can the FAQ box be made permanently open (uncollapsed) and the "STOP" warning altered accordingly (perhaps bold the first sentence following stop as well)? Wayne (talk) 06:44, 21 June 2011 (UTC)[reply]