Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, the top commander of American and NATO troops in Afghanistan, contradicted the attorney general on Wednesday when he said that actually, the military still wants to capture Osama bin Laden alive.
“I think that is something that is understood by everyone,’’ he said.
But perhaps not by Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr., who on Tuesday told a House subcommittee that the chances of capturing Mr. bin Laden alive were “infinitesimal” and that he would either be killed by the United States or killed by his own people.
“The reality is that we will be reading Miranda rights to the corpse of Osama bin Laden,’’ Mr. Holder said, responding to hypothetical questions from Republicans about whether the Obama administration would try Mr. bin Laden in a civilian or military court.
Mr. Holder and the Obama administration have come under fire for deciding to treat some terrorist suspects as criminals by prosecuting them in courts rather than as enemy combatants in military tribunals. Republicans, including former Vice President Dick Cheney and his daughter Liz Cheney have pointed to those decisions and others as evidence that this Democratic administration is weak on combating terrorism and national security.
General McChrystal was subsequently asked during a Pentagon briefing by telephone from Afghanistan on Wednesday if the military had given up on catching an alive Mr. bin Laden, who is believed to be hiding in Pakistan. The general expressed surprise at the question.
“Wow, no,’’ General McChrystal responded. “If Osama bin Laden comes inside Afghanistan, we would certainly go after trying to capture him alive and bring him to justice.’’
To some degree, the general and the attorney general were talking past each other. Although commanders in Afghanistan say they want to capture Mr. bin Laden alive, it is also true that he might well be killed by his own associates to avoid capture by the United States, or be killed in an American missile strike from an unmanned Predator drone.
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