By Jessica Hopper, Subrata De and Tim Uehlinger
Rock Center
President Barack Obama describes the killing of Osama bin Laden as the “most important single day” of his presidency and said that the decision to carry out the raid was one that he had to ultimately make alone.
“I did choose the risk,” the president said in an exclusive interview with Rock Center Anchor and Managing Editor Brian Williams. “The reason I was willing to make that decision of sending in our SEALs to try to capture or kill bin Laden rather than to take some other options was ultimately because I had 100 percent faith in the Navy SEALs themselves.”
A year after the May 1, 2011, raid on bin Laden’s compound, Obama and several of the advisers who helped plan the operation, known as “Operation Neptune’s Spear,” spoke exclusively to NBC News, reflecting on the tense months spent planning and debating the feasibility of this daring raid. The interviews occurred before the president made an unannounced visit to Kabul on Tuesday, where he and President Hamid Karzai signed an agreement on the future of U.S. involvement in Afghanistan.
“This had to be such a close-held operation,” the president said. “There were only a handful of staff in the White House who knew about this.”
The president did not share news of the mission’s launch with his staff, or with the first lady.
“Even a breath of this in the press could have chased bin Laden away,” Obama said. “We didn't know at that point whether there might be underground tunnels coming out of that compound that would allow him to escape.”
The killing of the 9/11 mastermind had been years in the making, a mission that Obama’s two predecessors had been unable accomplish. President Bill Clinton fired 75 cruise missiles trying to kill bin Laden while President George W. Bush was frustrated by the al-Qaeda leader’s ability to evade capture.
The lead
After years of hunting bin Laden, the Central Intelligence Agency got its biggest break in late 2010.
Helmed by then CIA Director Leon Panetta, the agency identified the home of bin Laden’s courier in the upscale town of Abbottabad, not far from Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad. Satellites revealed someone else living at the same compound: a tall man walking in the courtyard that analysts dubbed “The Pacer.”
“Ultimately it was a 50/50 proposition as to whether this was actually bin Laden,” Obama said.
He and his advisers, including Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, hammered out the possibilities.
Clinton said that she was brought into the process in January 2011 when a series of intensive meetings began in the White House Situation Room, or “Sit Room.”
In March of 2011, the president ordered Admiral William McRaven, then commander of Joint Special Operations, to outline a possible raid on the suspected bin Laden compound.
“I remember the moment in the Sit Room with General McRaven,” Clinton said, “and, you know, someone said, ‘Well, this sounds really dangerous and we’re going to expose our guys and what do we know is going to happen?’ And he said, ‘Well, with all due respect, we’ve done this hundreds of times.’”
In fact, the night bin Laden was killed, Special Forces carried out several other missions in the region.
“What may not be known is in addition to this operation that night, this specific one, there were multiple operations just like this going on in Afghanistan,” said retired Admiral Mike Mullen, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. “Some of them actually more difficult than the one that got bin Laden. And when I say more difficult, I don't think higher strategic risk, certainly not more important, but physically more difficult, more dangerous than the one that our great Special Forces executed.”
The dress rehearsal
The plan to raid the compound in Abbottabad developed rapidly and by April 21, 2011, Admiral Mullen attended a dress rehearsal in the Nevada desert.
“When I actually went to the rehearsal and watched it at night at a place where they built a compound just like Abbottabad and watched it in execution, that just gave me great confidence that they could execute this,” Mullen said.
He met every member of the SEAL Team Six that would ultimately carry out the mission.
“I got to look each of them in the eye. They showed me in their execution of rehearsal and also in that steely-eyed glare that they give you that they were ready to go,” Mullen said.
Some of the men weren’t yet aware who they were preparing to attack, but Mullen’s presence signaled that they were going after a high-value target.
“They knew certainly how critical this was. They knew who they were and who they were working with,” he said. “They may not even have known it was bin Laden at that point, but I'm sure they suspected it.”
One week later, it looked like weather conditions in Pakistan would be perfect for the raid — a moonless night with clear skies. If the raid didn’t happen that night, it could be months before weather conditions would be appropriate again for this high-risk operation.
Making the decision
Armed with the confidence that the Special Forces could carry out the mission, it was decision time. So on Thursday, April 28, 2011, the president gathered his advisers in the Situation Room, located below ground level in the White House.
“There was no consensus,” Biden said. “The president on the last day got us all down in the Situation Room and he said, ‘Okay, it’s basically a roll call.’”
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates recommended an air strike with no forces on the ground. CIA Director Panetta supported a raid by Special Forces and so did Secretary of State Clinton. Vice President Biden wanted to wait on further proof that bin Laden was indeed in the compound.
“It was never contentious because I think everybody understood both the pros and cons of the action,” Obama said. “People who were advocating action understood that if this did not work, if we proved to be wrong, there would be severe geopolitical consequences and obviously most importantly, we might be putting our brave Navy SEALs in danger.”
During the meeting, the president never indicated which way he was leaning. After the discussion, he dismissed his team and said he’d have a decision in the morning. He had dinner with his family and then went to his study after his wife and daughters went to bed.
“Well, there is no doubt that you don't sleep as much that evening as you do on a normal night,” the president said. “I stayed up late and I woke up early.”
The next morning, in the Diplomatic Room of the White House, he told his national security advisers that the mission was a go.
“You have some serenity in knowing that you've made the best possible decision that you can and, you know, in that situation you just, you do some praying,” Obama said.
A trio of national security advisers – John Brennan, Tom Donilon and Denis McDonough – had prepared briefing points for the president, but it was clear his mind was made up.
“My recollection is that he said, ‘It’s a go, we’re going to do the assault. We’re going to do the raid. Complete the orders, let’s go,’” said Donilon.
Keeping the Secret
In order to not raise suspicions, the president and his advisers had to keep up their weekend plans.
Secretary Clinton said she faced an awkward question at a wedding for one of her daughter’s friends.
“It was so ironic,” she said. “All these smart young people who work in all kinds of enterprises, one of them came up and said, ‘Do you think we’ll ever get bin Laden?’ I said, ‘I don’t know. I have no way of knowing, but I can tell you this, we’ll keep trying.’”
She also hid the raid from her husband.
“This was such an important secret to keep,” she said. “No one in the State Department knew. “I just felt a personal responsibility to keep it close, but that meant that I was basically, you know, having to consult with myself, to be honest.”
Moments after giving the go-ahead for the raid, the president and the first lady boarded Marine One on a trip to inspect tornado damage in Tuscaloosa, Ala. And on Saturday night – the evening before the raid – he attended the White House Correspondents’ Dinner and chuckled when a joke about bin Laden was made by comedian Seth Meyers.
“That was a little bit of acting going on there because my mind was elsewhere,” he said.
National Security Advisor Donilon said that when he left the White House Correspondents’ Dinner early, a reporter asked why he was leaving before the event concluded.
“I got this thing tomorrow,” Donilon said as offhandedly as he could.
The raid
On Sunday, May 1, 2011, the president’s advisers gathered in the Situation Room at around 11 a.m. Half a world away, the SEAL team waited for nightfall.
So as not to arouse suspicion that a major gathering was under way in the West Wing, the team ordered pizza from several different places and also sent someone to Costco to get food.
The president played nine holes of golf at Andrews Air Force Base before heading to the Situation Room at around 2 p.m.
“It is one of those rare moments when you know that the man you’re watching is putting everything on the line,” Biden said. “Everything on the line. Not only risking the lives of these incredible, incredible warriors, but also knowing that if he’s wrong about this man, he’s going to pay a very, very high price for it.”
At around 2:30 p.m., word arrived that the first wave of helicopters had left Jalalabad, Afghanistan, for Abbottabad with Navy SEALs, a Pakistani-American translator and a service dog named Cairo. At the president’s request, two Chinook helicopters stayed close by with additional SEALs as backup.
“They were accustomed to operating in the dark,” Obama said. “They were accustomed to landing in the compounds where they weren’t sure what was behind closed doors. These guys were all trained to do that.”
“A lot of them had as much gray hair as you and me and, you know, if you had passed them on the street, you might have – and if they were in civilian clothes – you might have thought they were accountants or doctors or, you know, worked at Home Depot.”
After the mission started, the CIA provided audio and video of the raid in real time in a smaller room next to the Situation Room. The atmosphere, said Admiral Mullen, was tense.
Soon, the president and his advisers began crowding into the room where the video was being played, which was never meant to hold as many people as it did that day. Brigadier General Marshall “Brad” Webb was receiving and interpreting information from the mission. Never expecting Obama to come in the room, he was sitting in the chair intended for the president.
“He started to get up and people were starting to go through the protocol and figuring out how to rearrange things,” the president said. “I said, ‘You don’t worry about it. You just focus on what you’re doing. I’m sure we can find a chair and I’ll sit right next to him.’ And that’s how I ended up (on a) folding chair.”
The group watched the hazy, but intelligible images and gasped when the first helicopter’s rotor stopped turning and it suddenly dropped, crashing over a stone wall.
“That helicopter didn’t make it to the right spot and everyone went, like, ‘Whoa,’” Biden said.
Obama remembers seeing the Secretary of State cover her mouth with her hand.
“It was just the shock of the moment,” Clinton said. “It was, I mean, all of us sitting there, and I would even predict probably our military and defense colleagues, you know, for a minute were kind of holding that breath again.”
The mishap was blamed on a bad downdraft and unusually warm temperatures, which can affect lift and maneuverability. The president called it a “touch and go moment.”
“The only thing that I was thinking about throughout this entire enterprise was, ‘I really want to get those guys back home safe,’” he added. “I want to make sure that the decision I’ve made has not resulted in them putting their lives at risk in vain, and if I got that part of it right, if I could look myself in the mirror and say as commander in chief I made a good call.”
Back inside the Situation Room, the loss of a helicopter didn’t make any difference in Admiral McRaven's monotone play-by-play voice, beamed in from Afghanistan.
“Did not miss a beat. He is a cool customer,” said Obama.
Clinton recalled watching the SEALs leave the helicopters.
“We could see our guys moving,” she said. “It was an intense experience for all of us because it was real time, visually, until we lost the visual connection inside the building.”
The SEALs had moved inside the compound with their body armor, weapons and night vision.
“At this point, I think all of us understand that we’re a long way to go before the night is done,” Obama said. “And, you know, I’ve said this was the longest 40 minutes of my life.”
As the SEALs moved inside, the national security team listened for “Geronimo,” the code name for bin Laden.
“We knew that was the call sign and when we heard that, they felt they had identified Geronimo, that was the first moment, and then Geronimo KIA,” the president said.
Several members of the president’s national security team told NBC News that there were provisions in place to take bin Laden alive.
“But we also understood that it was not likely that he was going to be giving himself up in that way,” Obama said, “and that there was a strong possibility that he would end up being killed if in fact he was in the compound.”
Along with precision and planning, prayer played a role for some of the president’s closest advisers. Vice President Biden and Admiral Mullen both nervously spun rosary rings on their fingers as they received word that the body of the man they believed was bin Laden had been put on a helicopter with U.S. forces.
“We knew the mission had been successful in that bin Laden was on board, but then it was an hour flight back,” Biden said.
Biden had begun to put his rosary away when he felt a tap on his shoulder from Mullen.
“I leaned down," Mullen explained. "I said, ‘Mr. Vice President, not yet. Keep it going because as important as killing, capturing or killing bin Laden was, it was more important to get him out.’ And so we were a long way, even as we got bin Laden, his body in that helicopter, we were a long way from completing that mission at that point.”
The death photo
When the SEAL team made it safely back to Afghanistan, photos were transmitted to the president and his team to offer photographic proof that bin Laden was dead.
When asked about seeing the picture of bin Laden, who had been shot in the head, the president took a long pause.
“I think it’s wrong to say that I did a high five,” he said, “because you have a picture of a dead body and, you know, there’s I think regardless of who it is, you always have to be sober about death. But understanding the satisfaction for the American people, what it would mean for 9/11 families, what it would mean for the children of folks who died in the Twin Towers who never got to know their parents, I think there was a deep-seated satisfaction for the country at that moment.”
Secretary Clinton believes strongly that the president was right not to release the photos.
“I looked at them,” she said. “Obviously, (it's) never easy to see any dead body, but it was part of the job. I think we made the right decision not to sensationalize this, not to desecrate it, so to speak. His body was flown to a Navy ship. It was given a proper Islamic burial at sea and I think that we handled it exactly right.”
After the president and his team felt confident that bin Laden was indeed dead, they began calling Cabinet members, Congressional leaders and foreign heads of state.
The president called Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.
“I think it was an important symbol of who we are as a people,” he said of the calls. “We get into these partisan fights, administrations come and go, but there’s a certain continuity about who we are and what we care about and what our values are.”
For Mullen, one of the most important calls placed was to his Pakistani military counterpart about the crashed helicopter.
When the first pictures of the wreckage emerged hours later, aviation websites went wild. The crashed chopper appeared to be proof of a stealth version of the Blackhawk that the United States had been rumored to be developing for years. Its noise-reducing technology and unique fin had been designed for near silent, invisible operation. In coming days, neighborhood children picked through pieces of what had been among the military's best kept secrets.
“I called General [Ashfaq Parvez] Kayani in Pakistan,” Mullen said. “I felt obligated to let him know what had happened … and then part of that conversation was about the helicopter and I said, ‘We need that back.’”
As more calls were made, the news began to leak, spread at lightning speed by the Internet. The president and his advisers, however, were unaware that throngs of young people were pouring into Lafayette Park to cheer outside the White House.
“The thing that surprised me that night and I don’t think we had planned for was the public reaction,” Donilon said. “We walked out and we could hear the noise and I remember very clearly turning to whoever was walking next to me saying, ‘What is that?’”
Secretary Clinton described it as an “astonishing moment.”
“We could hear this roar. We had no idea what it was,” she said. “Then all of a sudden we were able to decipher, 'U.S.A., U.S.A.'”
Telling his family
Before the president heard the cheering crowds and addressed the nation, he checked in with the first lady.
“She’s at dinner," he said. "I let her know, you know, that I’m probably going to miss dinner because I’ve got a few other things going on tonight. It turns out we had a fairly important thing to announce.”
He recalled telling his daughters that bin Laden was dead.
“Malia and Sasha, I think, were too young to fully absorb 9/11. On the other hand, they’ve grown like all our children have grown up in the shadow of 9/11 and terrorism and understood who Osama bin Laden was.”
The president said that the full impact of the mission hit him a few days later when he met the SEALs who had carried out the operation. He said that he gave the pilot of the helicopter that crashed a “pretty good hug.”
“They presented me with the flag that had gone on that mission, signed by all of them on the back and I think it’s fair to say that will probably be the most important possession that I leave with from this presidency,” he said.
Leave a Comment:
I wish they could say the same about him.
Funny how some wont give any credit for something the Pres (and the people he appointed) was deeply involved in but you sling blame on things he is only marginally involved with, if at all. Republicans are still talking about gas prices being his fault when anyone with a cursory knowlege of how the oil market works knows that it really has nothing to do with him. You blame him for the personal conduct of the secret service, which is run by someone else, you blame him for your streetlight being out and for the last bad movie you saw and grandpas bum leg. You complain that he doesnt do anything and when he does do something its either not enough or too much.
What a buch of whiny brats...where is the outrage about your republican congress being the worst in the history of republicans OR congress?
Bottom line--Obama made the call=Osama is fish food..end of story, move on.
Ughhh, just like Obama is still blaming Bush?!
Very True, And just for you, here is his list of accomplishments:
An impressive list of accomplishments:
First President to apply for college aid as a foreign student, then
deny he was a foreigner.
First President to have a social security number from a state he has
never lived in.
First President to preside over a cut to the credit-rating of the United States
First President to violate the War Powers Act. .
First President to be held in contempt of court for illegally
obstructing oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico .
First President to defy a Federal Judge's court order to cease
implementing the Health Care Reform Law.
First President to require all Americans to purchase a product from a
third party.
First President to spend a trillion dollars on 'shovel-ready' jobs
when there was no such thing as 'shovel-ready' jobs.
First President to abrogate bankruptcy law to turn over control of
companies to his union supporters.
First President to by-pass Congress and implement the Dream Act
through executive fiat.
First President to order a secret amnesty program that stopped the
deportation of illegal immigrants across the U.S. , including those
with criminal convictions.
First President to demand a company hand-over $20 billion to one of
his political appointees.
First President to terminate America 's ability to put a man in space.
First President to have a law signed by an auto-pen without being present.
First President to arbitrarily declare an existing law
unconstitutional and refuse to enforce it.
First President to threaten insurance companies if they publicly
spoke-out on the reasons for their rate increases.
First President to tell a major manufacturing company in which state
it is allowed to locate a factory.
First President to file lawsuits against the states he swore an oath
to protect (AZ, WI, OH, IN).
First President to withdraw an existing coal permit that had been
properly issued years ago.
First President to fire an inspector general of Ameri-Corps for
catching one of his friends in a corruption case.
First President to appoint 45 czars to replace elected officials in
his office. .
First President to golf 73 separate times in his first two and a half
years in office, 90 to date.
First President to hide his medical, educational and travel records.
First President to win a Nobel Peace Prize for doing NOTHING to earn it.
First President to go on multiple global 'apology tours'.
First President to go on 17 lavish vacations, including date nights
and Wednesday evening White House parties for his friends paid for by
the taxpayer.
First President to have 22 personal servants (taxpayer funded) for his wife.
First President to keep a dog trainer on retainer for $102,000 a year
at taxpayer expense.
First President to repeat: "The Holy Quran tells us the early morning
call of the Azan (Islamic call to worship) is the most beautiful sound
on earth."
First President to take a 17-day vacation.
How is this hope and change working out for you?
=======================================================================
Apparently, I'm supposed to be more angry about what Mitt Romney does with his money than what Barack Obama does with mine.
I guess you forgot about this one being Obama's fault but we are not allowed to complain about it?
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-57400369-503544/national-debt-has-increased-more-under-obama-than-under-bush/
Seriously? do you know that only 3 of those points are even loosely based in reality...I'm not one of the morons you can just type a bunch of BS to and I believe it. Without even having to look up half of these I can see that you are mostly if not completely incorrect on ALL these points...Seriously, just google ANY of those statements and the internet will make enough of a fool of you so that I dont have to...Maybe YOUR brain is easily influenced by lots of words and shiny objects but I, and most of the left-leaning posters here are far too intelligent for your particular brand of guff. Get real facts before you vote--you owe it to your country.
I dont care who you vote for just dont be a completely ill-informed bafoon when you pull the lever...
You forgot to mention he signed into law the 2012 National Defence Authorization Act that gives him/the TREASONOUS Gov the right to arrest ANY US Citizen for "supporting terrorism, OR DISSENT". Here today gone tom, and NO DUE PROCEES or even evidence to prove what you have done!
Hell this even violates "posse commitatis" by allowing the military to arrest people!
I will say this though, at least he hasn't attacked IRAN which will lead to WW3!
And Romney IS NO BETTER at all!
Do we really have a choice anymore? NO!
All our "choice have to pass another "states" test, not ours!
THANK YOU AIPAC!
SuperSport1966... You consider all of those accomplishments???? Wow... how brain washed you are. You might have well said he made the accomplishment of being born!
Supersports1966: What version of Carl Rove's book on flipping the script and trying to destroy your opponent have you not memorized?
Excellent JW
lol OH--You usually beat me to the punch but I was quicker on the draw this time...keep up the good posts..
Talk about being blinded... You believe anything that comes out of this Liars mouth. Usually, it's vomit, but that's ok with you.
Only 3 are even half true? Which 3? How are the others wrong? Just dismiss without proof? Sounds like what you just accused me of.
I routinely debunk most of those ridiculous comments here on a daily basis...I provide links and supporting evidence. Its just getting tiring trying to inform people who seem to get their political knowlege from the local bait and tackle shop. THE PROOF IS OUT THERE FOR YOU TO FIND. Either most of you are too lazy, too ignorant or too mired in your hate to ever accept it.
If you can't see how idiotic that post is then you too are a bungling idiot. Several of those poinst have already been publicly debunked as pure BS even by FOX!!!
You write almost as if I go through the motions of humiliating one of you with factual evidence (again) you won't simply disregard it as you and your ilk always do. Facts have no bearing on some people. I personally cant make decisions until I'm very well informed and ahve carefully examined all sides of an issue. Thts the LEAST you could do for your country.
Again, I dont care who you vote for I just cant believe that folks who believe that guff without actually verifying it have the same power to vote as I do...
"Real heroes don't brag." - Senator John McCain
which is why Obama spent most of his time talking about the SEALS and giving them their well-earned credit...he repeatedly only took credit for the decision to make it happen...which he has the right to...if Bush did it, we'd have a new national holiday on the calendar..
On Bush's watch, the U.S. Army Special Forces - Delta Force took Saddam down. They did all the bragging, capturing him, "On behalf of the President of the United States". Why are the SEALS even saying that POTUS has gone too far!? Did Gen. Dwight Eisenhower gloat over D-Day? Did Roosevelt give his account of how he gave the 101st the order to take down the Eagle's Lair? Nope, REAL men don't have to brag, their deeds and their troops do all their bragging for them, of course, that is IF they've EARNED it.
McCain is a complete hypocrite and has used 9/11 constantly during his failed attempt in 2010. Bush - Mission Accomplished? Cheney absolutely said 9/11 would happen again, but even worse, if John Kerry was elected.
Please, stop being an idiot. You're only pissing and moaning about this because it doesn't benefit the teapublican party.
and lets not forget the Saddaam parade that republicans had for months--but it was OK to politicize it then, right?
Average Whiteboy,
I guess you never heard about McCain giving aid to the North Vietnamese during the war? One way was teaching them how to SHOOT DOWN American Aircraft!
I also personally know he DOES NOT care about veterans! I asked for his help with provable crimes by the Veterans Administration, and got NONE!
Ever wonder why vets live on the streets, or have so many so called "mental problems"?
Now you know, NOBODY REALLY CARES!
It was the only day of his prez day but, he didn't do a damn thing; the intelligence community and military did it. He was just a spectator watching TV.
and who appointed those folks in the military and intelligence community? OH YEAH--it was Obama--and he had to, because the folks Bush had were too busy being completely useless for 8 years. Does the name Leon Pannetta ring a bell? Guess who appointed him?
I have less respect for Pres. Obama now that he is now trumpeting the killing of bin Laden. It seems obvious that this has to do with re-election. I think that the capture of bin Laden was extremely important and I am thankful, but I believe if any other president in office had the location of bin Laden a year ago, that bin Laden would have been captured or killed. And as terrible as bin Laden has been and considering the pain and suffering he has caused and the continuing threat, I think a reponse of more equanimity would be respected and expected of any president. I think the language used by our president sounds more like a bad "B" movie...for example : "my giving the order to take bin Laden out". Maybe overcoming an enemy is the time also for self reflection...why are we so hated by certain terrorist groups? Maybe we should begin looking at ourselves from the eyes of the destitute of other places...our materialism, consumerism, self interest, egoism. And speaking of self interest, Hillary Clinton is taking part in the trumpeting of the killing of one man, as if it is the most noble courageous act. We remember, Hillary, how you stood silent during the Rawandan genicide and said nothing courageous or noble, but in my view were complicit in hiding the genocide while 80,000 men women and children were hacked to death. Please, less trumpeting about killing and more thoughtful self reflection. I'll try too.
very talented man once in office instantly won noble peace prize while playing golf . killed bi laden while playing golf .saved the auto industry while playing golf. saved the banks while playing golf. let me guess does he also have 3 purple hearts ?. funny how he hasn't done crap for 3 years but now he puts down the golf club to make sure he can still keep playing another 4 years . and any one that didn't know he was in Pakistan is an idiot!. and if people would pay attention the gas prices are higher to force you into buying hybrid or electric so the auto industry can make more money . and then ask for a bailout . oh forgot he was golfing during that to .
Come on now, to his credit gas prices are falling, just in time for the election (sic) :-)
"Take credit for something that was in the works long before you took over the office"
I love that. Add the oil leases, the immigration policies removing illegals to name a couple.
this is such propaganda, i have lost all faith in this govt to be truthful about anything
"Bottom line--Obama made the call=Osama is fish food..end of story, move on."
I agree. So why bring up a five year old out of context remark by Romney which had nothing to do with his decision to breach the compund? Desperation? Ego? Listening to Biden?
No, Obama is petty man....extremely petty.
Behind the whitewash is torturing without which there would have been no raid. That only matters if Bush was responsible. Inside the Obama dream bubble, torture is not necessary.
Great job from team 6. Now what about the influx of islamic people intering the country at the rate of 100-K per month lets end this trend asap and secure our intrests here in America before the next attack. Concider this a national security request of serrious concern before our people begin returning terror to islamic places of worship here in the United States . This is a realistic probabillity. Thay will have good reason to pray if thay continue to make trouble on our soil. Be Advised.
try reading an article written by Jose Rodriguez. 31 year veteran of the CIA. Then you will know who to thank. Here it is.
all he did was say "do it",any president that would be there at that time would say "do it".the SEALS did it,and would have no matter what president would have given the order.....be humble mr. president,all you did was say "do it" ,nothing more...that does not make you a hero
Thing is, Bush had opportunities to do it, but didnt...so your thoughts that ANY president would do it is off the mark. In fact the two presidents who got closest to bin Laden were both democrats. And, knowing how republicans are, do you really think they wouldn't be bragging--they arent exactly a humble lot.
Also--in no way has Obama even IMPLIED that HE is the hero. Upon close examination you will see that he ALWAYS credits the SEAL team and downplays his role.
Well geez, it's gettin close to election time.... this is the only thing that this complete fool can lobby as a victory. Too bad it was a year ago and not relevant now, although his mindless supporters won't think so. His "decision to act" feel into his lap, nothing more. Too bad he hasn't been able to make any other decisions to act. He is nothing more than a slick talkin minority with power. Hopefully America will wake up in time for November, not that I have faith in the alternatives at this point, but America needs "change"!
What an absolute crock of Sh!t.
Obama had no choice, if he had chicken out and the US public found out, his second term would had been nothing more than a pipe dream.
Watching all of you teapublicans froth at the mouth over this is absolutely hysterical!! It also makes me realize just how ignorant, clueless, and void of facts your party actually is.
Hehehe, Scared?
Not in the least - Etch O Sketch Mittens will be destroyed in Nov and then I get 4 more years of watching the teapublicans froth at the mouth in feigned outrage at <insert reason here>
Why?
Actually, what you get to watch, is the destruction of our country. More Unemployment, less money to go around. More apologizing to other Countries so we look weak. They keep saying the are trying to tax the rich more, while all the time, the Democratic leaders have been the biggest abusers of our Tax system. Don't see them paying more taxes, don't see them giving to the poor (except OUR money).
Take credit for what? We still have no evidence that this guy is dead. Heresay at best.
Yeah Obama, as matter of FACT, didn't want to "upset" the Muslim world by showing his body on TV.
Oh yeah, don't dare "upset" the Muslim world... They are his biggest supporters after all.
I give Obama credit for getting Bin Laden, but I also give credit to George Bush for halting the march of Islamic Extremism with the War on Terror. Both men have made mistakes and have achieved good results. To give one credit and not the other is hypocritical in the extreme. But most of all, I give credit to our armed forces who have shouldered the load and made the sacrifices.
Boo Hoo, Republicans always crying abot something. It's getting old and people are tired of hearing it. So goodbye Rep/Tp in November you will really have somethig to whine and cry about. At least the Obama administration found Bin Laden and got rid of the terrotist,while when Bush was in office his administration couldn't find it's a$$ with both hands. WMD's what a joke. Did they find them yet?
Isn't this president the same dude that says water boarding and sleep deprivation is cruel, and now he is glorifying his decision to send in commandos to not only murder Bin Laden, but his innocent family members as well? Isn't he the one who insisted that those at Guantanomo be given trials in our court system, and now he's also been blowing the hell out of who knows who with drones, accordingly ALL innocent until proven guilty in the aforementioned U.S. justice system? There is a distinct possibility that innocent civilians and children are being blasted to smithereens by those drones also. But this hypocrit can't stand the thought of someone being water boarded? I'm gong out on a limb here saying that blowing someone up with a drone, including at least one U.S. citizen for sure and undoubtedly some innocent civilians and children, is way more violent and contrary to human rights than water boarding a selected prisoner. Any thoughts you hawkish globetrotting liberal killers joined at the hip with the military industrial drone complex?
I didn't think so!
William--So the SEALS should've let Osama fire at them and risk their lives so we could MAYBE get some intelligence? Like all the intelligence we got from Saadaam? You think If Sadaam was armed when we found him he wouldnt have been double tapped in the head immediately? Torture of captured combatants in/from the theater is one thing, it's a different story when you have a secret operation with only a handful who know about it--you take your chances. If Osama wasn't armed we might have taken him into custody--but NAVY SEALS dont take kindly to folks pointing AK's at them...
Hillary says Bill didn't know. Why does that matter? Hmmm? Is this self-therapy to ease public doubt of her leadership abilities? If so. it's not working for me.
If Obama is so dam great why dont he stop people from comming across the border.Obama would not make a mole on a Mans Butt!!!!!
@vermontguy:
Let's see, what's good about:
Bailing out GM Dodge, AIG, and throwing millions of OUR tax dollars at Solyndra, a failed company...
Forcing US, the american taxpayer to purchase healthcare...
Plunging US TRILLIONS into debt, with NO results (aka "shovel ready jobs)...
STILL THINK NOBAMA IS NOT TO BLAME???
Think before you and the other Dems here post...
Just saying...
GO ROMNEY 2012!!!
Yawn
Just getting up are we?
A very brave decision on the part of Obama. It was risky on many levels. Everybody has been talking about politics. If Obama made the decision and the mission failed his legacy would have been haunted as the president who let Osama Bin Laden get away. He didn't care about that. Other presidents would have. He wanted to rid the American psyche of this menace. Through his orders the Navy Seals carried it out. It is a good day for America. We should be rejoicing.
brave? They spent 6 months surveying the compound and knew OBL was there. What was hard about that? This was the easiest decision any president could have ever made in history!
I'm guessing the teapublicans wouldn't be using a failed mission as a political point to say he was weak on foreign policy either! <engage sarcasm machine>
Yeah, so 'brave' of him. Please! It's the military personnel that carried out the task that were the REAL brave ones!
Brave my ass! The ONLY thing Obama risked was his political legacy if it failed. There have been HUNDREDS of other executed missions during the Afgan war that were far riskier to those military troops who carried them out.
God bless the SEALs who executed this one, but my brother is in the USAF and he has talked to multiple people in the Marines who could go on for days talking about FAR more dangerous missions.