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Originally Posted by Bilge_Rat
As to the question, OBL and Al Qaida declared war on the US. As leader of the opposing army, he was a valid military target. The attack was perfectly legal within the rules of war.
The correct parallel is the shootdown of Admiral Yamamoto's plane over the Solomons in april 43, after allied codebreakers found out his schedule.
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To me the closest parallel was the punitive expedition launched into Mexico in 1916 under General Pershing to capture or kill the Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa. With the critical difference being the expedition never caught up with Pancho Villa. Mexico wasn't terribly happy with having an American army marching deep into it's territory, but was in such a state of internal anarchy and turmoil that there wasn't much she could do about it.