Suppose for a moment that bin Laden had directed the 9/11 attacks from this very compound in Pakistan, and that we had known or suspected where he was, having tracked him as a dangerous terrorist for several years. Suppose that we had sent a Seal team...or even a drone missle... to take him out within a few hours.... would there be any of this "we had no right" speculation?

It 'feels' to me as if some folks are thinking that because he got away and managed to hide for a few years, that the rules are different. It is ALWAYS awkward to discover that a major, wanted fugitive is in another country, but when there is evidence that he is being tolerated there...or even knowingly harbored there... the 'rules' are suspended. (If Muslim extremists had been able to find Salman Rushdie, would they have cared where they found him?)