Next debate: Wednesday May 11 - Was the United States right to kill Osama Bin Laden?

DATE: Wednesday 11 May
TIME: 7.30pm - 9.30pm
VENUE: Harcourt Arms, 32 Harcourt Street, London W1H 4HX
MOTION: This House Believes the United States was right to kill Osama Bin Laden?

NOTE:
For those of you who were expecting this week's debate to be held on Thursday, we have had to move it forward to Wednesday due to limited availability of our room at the Harcourt Arms. I apologise for any inconvenience this causes and assure you that for future debates we will return to our usual Thursday slot.

Background:
On Monday, 2nd May, the world learned that Osama Bin Laden was dead, killed by US Navy Seals during a raid on his hideaway in Abbottabad, Pakistan, prompting scenes of jubilation in Washington D.C and New York.

However, following the revelations that Bin Laden was unarmed when he was killed, more and more people have begun to question the necessity and legality of the Navy Seals' actions, including Benjamin B Ferencz,... a former Chief Prosecutor at the Nuremberg trials of the NAZIs.

In the meantime, America's relationship with Pakistan, a critical ally in the 'war on terror' has also come under renewed strains following complaints by the country's government that they were not told in advance about the planned raid amidst concerns that Bin Laden would have been forewarned if they had.

Numerous officials in the US administration, including the President, Secretary of State, and Attorney General have since lined up to defend the killing of Osama Bin Laden as being in line with 'our laws and our values'.

Was the United States rights to kill Osama Bin Laden? You decide.

Debate format:
There will be four speakers in this debate, each of whom will have five minutes to make their case. After that there will be an extensive Q&A session to allow the audience plenty of time to have their own say from the floor. The motion will then be put to a vote.

There's always plenty of time to grab a drink and get settled before the event starts too and we always stick around for a few more once it's over as inevitably that is always when the real debating begins.

If you have any questions or need any more information, do not hesitate to email us at central.debating@gmail.com.

Getting there:
If you would like to watch this debate, then simply come along on the night. You will find us in the upstairs dining room of the Harcourt Arms pub at 32, Harcourt Street W1H 4HX (a max 1o min walk from Baker St tube). For directions, see this map.

Admission:
Admission is, as ever, totally free of charge. All are welcome, so if you know anyone who might be interested in this debate, do feel free to bring them along.

Further Reading:

Background:
1) President Barack Obama announces that Osama Bin Laden is dead (BBC)
2)Bin Laden was unarmed when killed (AP)
3) US-Pakistan row over Abbottabad row (Bloomberg)

Yes the United States was right:
1)Killing Bin Laden was an act of national self-defence (Eric Holder, US Attorney General)
2) The legal justifications (New Republic)
3)Death of Osama has made the world a safer place (Financial Times)

No the United States was wrong:
1)Bin Laden killing morally wrong (Benjamin Ferencz in the First Post)
2)Bin Laden killing illegal? (Spiegel Online)
3) Bin Laden a martyr to Afghans (Reuters)

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