Juan Cole has a tremendous post on the life and death of Osama Bin Laden, and how we can use his death as way to continue to make progress against Middle East extremism:
The Arab Spring has demonstrated that the Arab masses yearn for liberty, not thuggish repression, for life, not death and destruction, for parliamentary democracy, not theocratic dictatorship. Bin Laden was already a dinosaur, a relic of the Cold War and the age of dictators in which a dissident such as he had no place in society and was shunted off to distant, frontier killing fields. The new generation of young Arabs in Egypt and Tunisia has a shot at a decent life. Obama has put the US on the right side of history in Tunisia, Egypt, Syria and Libya (where I see crowds for the first time in my life waving American flags). People might want a little help from a distance, but they don’t want to see Western troops deployed in fighting units on their soil.
If Obama can get us out of Iraq, and if he can use his good offices to keep the pressure on the Egyptian military to lighten up, and if he can support the likely UN declaration of a Palestinian state in September, the US will be in the most favorable position in the Arab world it has had since 1956. And he would go down in history as one of the great presidents. If he tries to stay in Iraq and he takes a stand against Palestine, he risks provoking further anti-American violence. He can be not just the president who killed Bin Laden, but the president who killed the pretexts for radical violence against the US. He can promote the waving of the American flag in major Arab cities. And that would be a defeat and humiliation for Bin Laden and Al-Qaeda more profound than any they could have dreamed.
UPDATE: And on a less serious note, this Washington man finally shaved his beard.
UPDATE 2 [Darryl]: The White House releases some photos of the day’s events from within the White House.
One thing we can expect for sure from the rightwing is they will refuse to give any credit to Obama for bin Laden’s demise. Even though:
1. Obama campaigned on a pledge to carry the war against Al Qaeda into Pakistan (and the hell with ISI, the Pakistani intelligence service that cooperates with our enemies);
2. Obama was personally involved in monitoring the developing situation after a lead to bin Laden’s whereabouts was acquired last August;
3. Obama authorized the “kill” operation and made the critical decision to not inform the government of Pakistan or anyone else of what was coming down.
This is one of those situations where presidential bungling (see, e.g., G. W. Bush and Tora Bora) would have allowed the quarry to slip the net — but Obama didn’t bungle and bin Laden didn’t get away.
Do you think Republicans will give him any credit for that? Hell no! For example, Eric Cantor praised our military for carrying off the operation successfully but didn’t say a word about the Commander In Chief or his role in making the critical decisions that made it successful — the most critical (and risky) of which was authorizing a military strike inside a sovereign nation (and erstwhile ally) without that government’s knowledge or permission. Screw you, Eric — I understand why you can’t give credit where credit is due: This success gives a huge boost to Obama’s re-election prospects and you guys just can’t afford an electoral setback of this magnitude, can you? Considering how weak your candidate field is, and the improving economy, and a number of other things that are kicking you guys in the nuts right now. Tough shit, that’s life in the big city, dude.
At the level of the Rightwing Ignorati, the bleating is even more desperate. For example:
“This is priceless!!!! For 8 years the left screamed the OBL was nothing more than a boogeyman, now they want to triumph their loser president because the military killed him on his watch.”
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/n.....nt-1479972
Uh … no. It was Bush — your guy — who said OBL wasn’t important and he didn’t care where he was.
Over at Stefan’s pathetic little blog you find more of the same albeit perhaps a bit more subdued, but the GOP/rightwing mantra is clear: Give Obama no credit, it was our military that did this, all by themselves, no civilian executive leadership involved. That’s bullshit. It’s a crock, a lie. And i won’t work; the American electorate will give the Democratic Obama administration credit for doing what the Republican Bush administration couldn’t do — they found and killed Osama bin Laden.
rabbit, you’re too funny
Utterly bizzare that OBL lived near Pakistan’s West Point.
There’s a story there that I hope is told in full some day.
The right wing is getting into campaign mode and you never mention the target by name.
@2 You just can’t stand someone else’s success, can you?
Look ahead to November, 2012. Nobody will give a shit about Bin Laden. It will be about:
1. THE ECONOMY
2. Afghanistan
3. THE ECONOMY
4. Iraq
5. THE ECONOMY
6. jobs, Jobs, JObs, JOBs, JOBS.
@5: Well, he said you were too funny. Whatssa’ problem? Being a holocaust denier and 9/11 truther pretty much insures he has more problems than you can probably conceive of.
@3 YLB, there already is a story. question is shall it be aggressively pursued?
Notes on the Death of Osama bin Laden
Read on, as Coll has a good idea on the steps to be taken next.
7 – I heard Coll a bit today on NPR. I’ll have to check out his Ghost Wars book soon.
Pakistan has a lot of ‘splainin to do..
If Obama can get us out of Iraq, and….
Alternatively we have a chance in 2012 to do something a little different
If current Republican primary poll leading yet to be announced 2012 presidential candidate Donald the Trump has his way we could continue the Cheney/Bush policy of never ending war for oil.
:He can be not just the president who killed Bin Laden,…”
Quelle bullshit.
Information gathered through waterboarding, in a secret prison, from a detainee being held indefinitely and special assassination teams violating Pakistan’s soverignty to kill a man without benefit of a trial?
Hey! I like that. Thank you President Bush!!!!!
@11 John425 on 05/02/2011 at 3:55 pm,
“Information gathered through waterboarding, […]
Hey! I like that. Thank you President Bush!!!!!”
Well, don’t let the fact that there is not a shred of evidence that any info was gathered thru waterboarding slow you down any.
There is this:
Rumsfeld Exclusive: There Was No Waterboarding of Courier Source
So chalk up 2 Missions Accomplished by former president GW Bush on your calendar. One which never happened, and the other after he was gone.
Great pictures Darryl..
Damn, the situation room is kind of cramped. Not like you seen in the movies or TV.
And now who wants to bet that the Arab Spring Tour takes a sharp turn east?
# 13: I keep looking for room with enough room for somebody to get into a fight, just so the President can intervene by saying “Gentlemen, we can’t have fighting in the war room”!
@6
Well, he said you were too funny. Whatssa’ problem? Being a holocaust denier and 9/11 truther pretty much insures he has more problems than you can probably conceive of.
you forgot birther. of course, i’m not the pony tailed dope smoker with a “question authority” bumper sticker on my volvo. i guess, if someone drives close enough up to your bumper he can see in small print (except holocaust, birther or 9/11)
re 16: You are the living definition of a ‘one-trick pony’– if going in circles can be considered a trick.
Weird thing about the guy with the beard, his looked just like Osama’s.
If you haven’t already taken a look checkout photo number 4.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/phot.....n=shorturl
I don’t care about all the infantile back and forth with regards to “credit” for OBL, or how the info was collected and pursued…The previous thread has devolved with the usual characters throwing insults and generally looking stupid…
No doubt that years of diligent work, by professionals of various agencies, working together, were able to “connect the dots” that led to OBL’s door…It didn’t happen overnight, it took years. President Bush didn’t put it together, neither did President Obama..It was the resolve of our country to get this dude. We did it…
Bottom line for me? It took courage to decide to put boots on the ground. It took courage and leadership to trust the men tasked with the job.
Consider the risk?
Sending a few men into a “hostile” country, with no real air or ground support, in the dead of night, to raid a very large compound that may or may not hold OBL….
The what if’s are staggering…
What if the raid was detected inbound to target
What if there were in place defenses, exposives etc etc to defend the compound?
What if the Paki police or military got involved?
What if we took mass casualties or a Desert One scenario were to happen?
Obviously as a complete and utter layman, this just scratches the surface of the “what if’s”.
The easy choice given the intel, IMO, would have been to send in a bomb or cruis missles..
The tough choice was this one..It was the most risky and dangerous…
With regards to matters of CIC, I no longer consider our President weak…Far from it.
President Obama deserves our praise and gratitude for executing his duties as CIC with courage and fidelity to our country and the men and women who serve under his command.
I am so proud to be an American….
@ my post
cruise missles not cruis missles
@11 Now why didn’t I think of that?? OF COURSE the righties will try to give Bush the credit for OBL’s death!!! It simply took them a couple days to find someone in their camp with enough imagination to dream this up.
@11 Just one question: If that’s how we found him, why did it take so long?
@16 I’ve never had a pony tail, a Volvo, or a bumper sticker that said “Question Authority.”
However, after I came home from Vietnam, I did have a Camaro convertible that would do 122 mph on a straightaway with a bumper sticker that said, “I’m A Vietnam Vet And I’m OK Now” with the phone number for the counseling center, and I never had any problem with tailgaters while I owned that car.
Right Stuff @ # 20: I have to agree, that putting “boots on the ground” in this context was an option frought with risk. Among the “worst case” scenarios were chopper accidents or downings due to accident or which could have had the result of warning Bin Laden that his hideout was blown, a number of Americans dead or seriously hurt, and (in the very worst case scenario) Seal team members captured and held hostage by Al Quida, or being held in a Pakistani jail while Pakistan denounces American interference and demands an apology before releasing them.
At least they learned enough from in Iran Hostage rescue attempt to have a spare helicopter on hand when one crashed into the compound. Can you imagine the Seal team leader trying to decide what to do when he only has one helicopter and needs at least two for his team to get away, all while the Pakistani military is closing in?
But I agree the President made the right choice. A bomb dropped from high altitude stealth-fighter would have raised questions about whether Bin Laden was really dead, and we would have lost a potential treasure trove of intelligence and evidence which could be used to dismantle Al Quida.
@20: Wrong stuff
Once again you are OFF the mark. Wow, for someone who claims to respect actual facts you forget the major facts:
1. Bush DISBANDED the special unit in the CIa looking for bin laden in 2005, Obama re-instituted the unit soon after his election – and that unit provided the intel and analysis that led to his capture.
2. Bush said in 2002 that OBL was not important
3. Bush said in 2006 that OBL was nota top priority.
4. Bush invaded Iraq as a pretext/diversion .
4. Bush failed to pull the trigger to get bin Laden when he was cornered in Torah Borah, Afghanistan.
All in all, Bush failed to go after the leader of al qaida who attacked us on 9/11 – he used 9/11 to instead attack Iraq (which was not a threat to us). Bush did not have the guts or the resolve to pursue OBL – Obama did. McCain said he would not go after bin Laden alone if Pakistan would not help – Obama said he would and he did.
Republicans talk big but lack the resolve – also, waterboarding and torture were of absolutely NO help according to Senator Feinstein and others.
The bottom line is the Bush failed and lacked the necessary resolve – and that Obama followed though and got OBL.
@26
You might as well save your time…
You’ll not convince me.
They’ve been chasing down leads that eventually led to OBL since 2003.
Professionals in the intelligence agencies, military and OGA’s did the tedious work to put it all together.
President Bush nor Obama “found” OBL.
President Obama made the courageous decision to attack him the way we did. He showed great leadership and I am very proud of his leadership as CIC.
@24
However, after I came home from Vietnam, I did have a Camaro convertible that would do 122 mph on a straightaway with a bumper sticker that said, “I’m A Vietnam Vet And I’m OK Now” with the phone number for the counseling center, and I never had any problem with tailgaters while I owned that car.
ok roger, so i didnt know you were a vietnam vet
and for that i salute you, and probably wont have much criticism of you because i’ll feel guilty. those who fought deserve our respect, except of course for a prick like john kerry who video taped his heroics, for christ sakes.