I still see that Don T is banging on about "vigilantism".

Let me see the action of a vigilante is:

1: Totally unauthorised, completely unofficial.

2: The independent action of a private individual or a small group of like minded private individuals who have no official standing.

Looking at the killing of Osama bin Laden:

1: He declared himself the head of an international terrorist group, that had declared war on the United States of America and her allies and had ordered his followers to kill any American man, woman or child wherever and whenever the opportunity presented itself.

2: Under his own definitions he would never describe himself as anything other than an enemy combatant with respect to the forces of the United States of America.

3: The people who killed bin Laden were members of the US Navy SEALS, a duly constituted, recognised and fully authorised branch of the armed forces of the United States of America.

4: The people who killed bin Laden were acting under orders from their Commander-in-Chief, who personally authorised this mission.

5: In the performance of their duties in carrying out this raid Osama bin Laden was shot and killed as an enemy combatant.

No grounds whatsoever could be established to substantiate calling this the act of a "vigilante", or could describe it as an example of "vigilantism".

Had this been an operation aimed at the specific execution of Osama bin Laden then everyone in the compound would have been killed. Every single body would have been removed. And most important of all nobody would have said a thing about it. There would have been no grand announcements.

I totally agree with Guest999.