(photo via Michael Appleton for The New York Times)
- Bloviation for the Dawgnation
-
Quote Of The Day
-
“We remember the Sugar Bowl, I think it my junior year of high school, we let Alabama beat us twice,” Brinson said of a team that also lost to the Crimson Tide in the SEC Championship game. “We’re not letting Alabama beat us twice. In the Sugar Bowl in 2018, they… thought they should have been in the playoffs and lost to Texas.” -- AB-H, 12/27/23
Search
Categories
Archives
Blogroll (ND)
- 82 Sluggo Win
- And The Valley Shook
- Banner Society
- Black Heart Gold Pants
- Black Shoe Diaries
- Blatant Homerism
- Braves & Birds
- Brophy Football
- College Football Talk
- EDSBS
- Eleven Warriors
- Lost Angeles
- MGoBlog
- RazorBloggers Network
- Rock M Nation
- Rocky Top Talk
- Saturday Down South
- Saturday Tradition
- Shakin The Southland
- Smart Football
- Team Speed Kills
- The National Championship Issue
- The Wizard of Odds
- Tide Bits
Dawg Blogs
Dawg Links
Media Links
Stats/Info Links
- All-Time Division 1-A CFB Standings
- American College Football
- American College Football – Rankings
- cfbstats.com
- College Football at Sports-Reference.com
- College Football by the Numbers
- College Football Data Warehouse
- College Football Recruiting Map
- College Nicknames
- Football Outsiders – College
- Football Study Hall
- GBE College Football Ratings
- MapGameDay.com
- NCAA Division I Football Statistics
- SEC Statistics
- Statistically Speaking
- Strangestbrew's College Football Schedulizer
- The Helmet Project
- Varsity Numbers
Useful Links
Time, time…
GATA
Blog Stats
- 73,803,013 hits
Get The Picture · Bloviation for the Dawgnation
Get The Picture 
About time.
LikeLike
I’m glad, but . . .
LikeLike
God bless America. God bless our President. God bless the men and women of our armed forces.
LikeLike
Well said.
LikeLike
For the victim’s families and the soldier’s families, I’m sure this doesn’t take away losing their loved ones, but it does give them some kind of justice.
LikeLike
Sweet dreams, you son of a bitch.
LikeLike
O Sama Been Gotten!
LikeLike
He swims with the fishes. And it was all made possible by a 4-year-old Gitmo interrogation. Crazy. I’m not one to celebrate any death, but justice sure as hell feels good.
LikeLike
The War on Terror is won! Bring home the troops, repeal the Patriot Act, and dissolve the Department of Homeland Security!
LikeLike
I assume this was meant sarcastically to poke fun at people who really are this simplistic. If only the problems we face could be wished away with Samantha’s nose wiggle. While inconsequential in the big picture, it is a symbolic event that will bring some solace to those families who suffered the most. Our problems are much deeper than one sick coward’s life.
It is also my strong hope those Seals made the bastard suffer a little before the final shot!
LikeLike
It is directed at anyone who thinks Bin Laden’s death will have an impact on the insanity that has been our foreign policy for the last decade.
LikeLike
When exactly was our foreign policy sane?
LikeLike
Fair point.
LikeLike
I suspect the government is going to have a much harder time going forward trying to convince the American public that nation building in Afghanistan is necessary, especially given the cost.
The Patriot Act, sad to say, ain’t going anywhere.
LikeLike
More like, “Loss of Privacy & Right to Due Process Act.”
LikeLike
“I suspect the government… that nation building in Afghanistan is necessary”
Agreed. I once was really hopeful that Afghanistan could become a stable functioning democratic-ish nation.
Sad to say I’ve been converted to my 87 yr old Grandfather’s perspective: These people have no interest in such a thing.
LikeLike
Convincing the Afgan tribal leaders of nation building will be more the chore. 30 or 40 tribes each with their own territories which to them are more like nation states. It will likely be as successful as nation building in Africa. 1.5 billion in aid to Pakistan. Roads and streets and bridges in America falling apart. We can’t feed ourselves and we want to nation build in that part of the world? Has anyone in history been able to nation build in Afghanistan? There are those natural resources there for building new and better long term battery storage though.
LikeLike
We just need to drop crates full of new iphones and droids on them, pre-register twitter and facebook accounts for each phone, and then give them free satellite wi-fi service for the year.
They’ll be friend-ing us and begging for free upgrades in 6 months…that’s when we send in Charlie Sheen on a speaking tour. Capitalists in less than 5 years, bank on it.
LikeLike
Winning. Coming to a backward country near you soon!
LikeLike
Sad to say indeed. I have often wondered what it means that Obama, after campaigning so assiduously promising the repeal of much of the Patriot Act, declined to do so, on several occasions.
I think it either means;
1.) Once in office and with access to the most secret of intelligence, he found the ongoing threats to be so real that he could not in good conscious repeal the most noxious details of the Patriot Act.
Or
2.) The man had no intention of repealing them, his cynical campaign slogans notwithstanding.
I suspect the latter but fear the former might have some truth to it
LikeLike
Well said.
LikeLike
Prov has just highlighted a big part Republican talking points for the 2012. They will try to demonize the incumbent as an “Orwellian” big brother.
LikeLike
LikeLike
I’m the local conspiracy theorist. The facts of the situation given by the government sound a little suspect. (No I’m not playing politics, I’m a Libertarian since 2002 and wouldn’t put it past either party)
LikeLike
Please elaborate.
As you can see by my handle, I have been known to indulge in a conspiracy theory or two in my day, although it’s always been considered “looking a bit deeper” to me.
There have to be some pictures, right?
LikeLike
The mansion was 8 times larger than anything in Islamabad with security. Did no one notice this this last 10 years? Bin Laden was known to have failing kidneys but managed to stay alive for 10 years living in caves and the like. The body was quickly buried at sea before the news was announced. We could have easily drone attacked and got the same results but instead we risk American lives on an assault. If that was to prove we killed Osama then why dump the body so quickly. Supposedly we have confirmed DNA tests that it was him already even though he was just killed yesterday. That’s about it. I certainly hope he is dead but on it’s surface seems a little fishy.
LikeLike
I gotta think they’ll come out with some sort of definitive proof, be it video footage or something. If they don’t, then yeah, I agree. We went to bed early last night, so I didn’t see it until this morning, and when they were already saying he was buried at sea, that struck me as really odd. Then, I went upstairs, and ran it by my wife (who is a pretty good BS detector) and told her what the news was saying, but I didn’t say that Obama had announced it, it was official, etc……I just said “Well, supposedly we’ve killed Bin Laden……” then relayed the rest of the details as if it were a rumor. As soon as I said he’d already been buried at sea, she said “That’s just stupid, that has to be wrong, there’s no way they’d do that”. So I was glad I wasn’t the only one that found it odd. I then told her it was the official story, Obama had annnounced it, etc, and she still agreed that it sounded fishy.
I guess the other side of the coin is, maybe they do still have the body, and are just using this as a cover story until they can get it into a more secure location.
But if really is already out at sea, I hope they have some sort of conclusive proof other than “Oh yeah, we tested the DNA, it was him…..take our word for it”.
LikeLike
I went to bed last night shortly after they announced that we got him. When I woke up to news that his body was buried at sea, I was perplexed, to say the least. I’m no conspiracy theorists but that is a bizarre decision, to say the least, one they had to have known would spark controversy.
LikeLike
I just someone’s idea behind why the burial at sea was a good move (although I agree it made me scratch my head at first). If we had buried him in the ground or held the body that may have given radical Muslims a focal point to rally around for years to come, but if you bury his body in the ocean there is no point to focus on and it diminishes the ability of radical leaders to mobilize people around Osama’s body/memory after his death.
Just something to think about.
LikeLike
Here’s a link to an article that says essentially what I just said, except smarter sounding:
http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/266159/officials-say-administration-ensuring-bin-laden-s-body-being-handled-accordance-islami
LikeLike
There was also the matter of who would take OBL’s remains. Even Saudi Arabia didn’t want him on their soil. As I understand it, the “burial at sea” was done for much the same reason that many Nazi war criminals’ ashes were spread in the ocean — so that they couldn’t claim a homeland in death, as it were. DawgWalker is also correct that to keep his body/remains anywhere on land would’ve allowed some kind of shrine to spring up around it, which we certainly don’t want.
All that said, I’m not 100% convinced that we actually did bury him at sea, but to announce we got rid of OBL’s body at least lessens the chance that al-Qaeda would mount some kind of mission to retrieve it. Which we all know they’re crazy enough to attempt.
LikeLike
I think it was built 5 years ago…. less than 1/2 mile from a large Paky military training facility. Yes, when it was built the CIA knew it was built to protect someone important. Yes they suspected who it might be built for. Five months ago they were certain who was housed there. That was when they started the process of planning. I’m still shocked that we have helicopters breaking down during a mission. They are not cheap. Our military budget is huge. We spend a lot on maintaining equipment. Robins Air Force pays techs major dollars to maintain aircraft. Crashing them and burning them to protect secret technology is wasteful. This happened to Pres. JC during his hostage crisis. I would have thought they would never let that happen again. When Clinton tried to “hit” Osama….the secret was found out and Osama slipped away. This time the USA didn’t share that info with anyone.
LikeLike
“We could have easily drone attacked and got the same results but instead we risk American lives on an assault. ”
Not entirely correct. I don’t think we wanted to hear about Osama being dead… we wanted to see Osama dead.
LikeLike
True, this was handled correctly. No conspirary here, and I have as little respect for the government as anyone, but it was critical that we handled the disposal of the body as quickly as Muslim law requires without giving a resting place that would become a shrine for the sickos. The confirmation through DNA will stand the test, and apparently other radical Islamic groups are conceding the truthfullness of the reports.
It will be a delicate situation with Pakistan as their government has always tried to play both sides of the fence. We have some very hard questions for them, and they will have some tough questions from their own people. Not my concern about the Pakistani weasels, but it will make it much easier to quickly scale back the operations in Afghanistan.
The death of UBL doesn’t change the terrorist threat much at all as UBL’s branch of Al Queda has been pretty impotent for some time now, but it is symbolic for both the US and terrorist groups so it will certainly impact the War on Terror going forward, exactly how is just not known yet.
LikeLike
RE: Pakistan
This might well cause another revolution in that country. To say they play both sides of the fence is putting it kindly. The reality is that we’ll never defeat the Taliban as long as Pakistan is supporting the same from across the border.
LikeLike
Why did it take Obama so long?
What was he hiding?
To recap, it hasn’t exactly been an Allah Akbar-type of glorious weekend for those in the greater-Mecca metropolitan area. It was more like a ‘we’ve got something really important to tell you’ weekend. SEALS? Who knew? I thought is was going to be an act that travels with SeeaWorld on the USO tour.
Head in a Box
‘When we break the Taliban, your job is to capture bin Laden, kill him and bring his head back in a box full of dry ice.'”
http://mhking.mu.nu/archives/079453.php
My two sources who still survive tell me the ISI safe-house was “make-up mansion” for living in the cave network since 911. Someone’s going to have to self-flaggellate big-time in Islamabad today after muster for that little breach of security.
LikeLike
This was interesting, this guy lived in the city and was tweeting as the action was taking place:
http://tweetlibrary.com/damon/osamaraidlivetweets
LikeLike
What am I missing? The tweets about the copters started around 9:30 pm. The mission started at 1:30 am. ?
LikeLike
Don’t believe it … the mission was carried out on April 29.
LikeLike
You can find several news sites that link to this guy’s account (apparently he and another were tweeting as it happened), I would hypothesize timezone offsets might be the reason the times are off (I don’t know how twitter adjusts time to the user/viewer locations) . Who knows, just thought it was interesting…
LikeLike
It is interesting.
http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/05/there_goes_the_neighborhood_twitter_user_chronicled_raid_that_killed_osama.php
LikeLike
I stand corrected. Official accounts now say the order was signed on 4/29 – but the mission took place in Pakistan on 5/1 which means that when Obama was @ the Correspondents dinner he knew there was a pretty good indication that Bin Laden was already dead.
So he is standing there shoveling a dumpster load of humble pie down the Donald’s throat with a smile and chuckle, Obama never once alluded to catching and killing USA Public Enemy #1.
You really think that Trump could have kept a lid on THAT info in that environment? No way.
LikeLike
I’m glad that we abandoned this attitude:
“I don’t know where [Bin Laden] is..You know, I just don’t spend that much time on him, Kelly, to be honest with you. …I’ll repeat what I said. I truly am not that concerned about him.”
– G.W. Bush, March 13, 2002 Press Conference at the The James S. Brady Briefing Room”
LikeLike
You mean you want your presidents to appear to be all consumed with one person?
C’mon man! Think of the time and place that statement was uttered. Even if you confine your thinking about time and place to Afghanistan…UBL was just one guy. The USA was fighting more than him. We were/are fighting a war against not just AQ but the Taliban also.
Why don’t you dredge up some of the Obama commetns about closing Gitmo…good information doesn’t come from there…etc, etc. Precede them with the line:
“I’m glad he was DISHONEST about this attitude.”
Seriously, Derek, put the politics aside for once.
LikeLike
All consumed? Perhaps no. Concerned? Yeah I think that might’ve been a good idea. Although perhaps that concern should have begun with the 8/6/01 presidential daily briefing.
LikeLike
“I’m not one to celebrate any death”
Speak for yourself. I’m glad that bastard is dead, and I’m thinking of making “Happy Bin Laden’s Dead Day” T-shirts.
Macallanlover’s spot on; anyone who thinks this means an end to terrorism is delusional. Bin Laden’s been a figurehead for years; al-Qaeda has metastasized into a cell driven organization without much central leadership. Don’t think they’re going to just call it quits, either.
LikeLike
“Speak for yourself. I’m glad that bastard is dead, …”
I’m glad he’s dead, too. But in circumstances like this, I think there’s a fine line between relishing the death part of it, and relishing the justice part of it. What can I say, I’m one of those crazy pro-lifers.
LikeLike
In later news today, Trump, Tubberville, Fox News, Chuck Norris, Romney, Galt, Bachmann, Pawlenty, Fox Nation, Newter, Doocey, Huckabee, Sarah Palin, Dick Cheney, Fox Business, Rumsfeld, Al Gonzales, Hannity, Rush, Rupert, Bristol Palin, Eddie Munster Ryan, Ayn Rand’s executor, Scott Walker, Rick Scott and NPR are each expected to claim separate responsibility for the Osama bin Laden kill and blame continuing terrorism, including any and all immediate acts of reprisal and TSA searches, on Obama saying he spent too much time trying to kill Somali pirates with SEALS and us with Obamacare.
LikeLike
Update: Fox News strikes exactly as expected
http://crooksandliars.com/nicole-belle/fox-news-just-cant-help-themselves
Obama bin Laden, hehindeedy, responds exactly as expected
http://instaputz.blogspot.com/
Canter, Rumsfeld and Huckabe, each after taking a very brief five second God Bless America moment for themself, have resumed their respective political laugh-riot attacks and have no need to appear on this afternoon’s Fox News agenda but will return tonight:
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) issued a statement praising Bush, writing, “I commend President Obama who has followed the vigilance of President Bush in bringing Bin Laden to justice
http://thinkprogress.org/2011/05/02/bush-bin-laden/
Rumsfeld, torture apologist and self-rehabilitativist who made the known unknown at Torah Bora,
“All of this was made possible by the relentless, sustained pressure on al Qaeda that the Bush administration initiated after 9/11 and that the Obama administration has wisely chosen to continue,” Rumsfeld wrote on Facebook.
Rumsfeld said that the controversial military detention center in Guantanamo Bay he helped establish “may have played an essential role in this success.”
http://tpmlivewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/05/rumsfeld-on-bin-laden-obama-wisely-followed-bushs-lead.php
Huckabee, noted badass preacher, welcomes OBL to hell and sternly shakes finger at the surviving Islamofascists who, of course, are all paying rapt attention to the Huck
“It has taken a long time for this monster to be brought to justice. Welcome to hell, bin Laden. Let us all hope that his demise will serve notice to Islamic radicals the world over that the United States will be relentless is tracking down and terminating those who would inflict terror, mayhem and death on any of our citizens.”
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/05/mike-huckabee-welcome-to-hell-bin-laden.php
Huck then tries to take up an offering for himself but no one was there except for Huck’s bodyguard and sidekick, Chuck Norris, who was too busy to give an offering because he was writing his next op-ed about Sharia Law
http://wonkette.com/444199/chuck-norris-plagiarizes-in-his-column-all-the-time
LikeLike
It’s good to know that GITMO, The Patriot Act, bombing civilians and killing Islamist is now endorsed by Code Pink, Move On, Daily Kos, et. al.
LikeLike
We all should be able to rest easy knowing that Obama sometimes tries to hold down collateral damage from drone strikes (which he could have ordered in March but Obama didn’t want too many civilian casualties and did want an identifiable dead OBL), even if results in a little stain or two on the rugs. That’s okay because I’m sure we’ve got an outfit like Sunshine Cleaning on standby whenever we have to take out a bad guy, especially one who should have been taken out 9+ years ago by the gang that wouldn’t or couldn’t
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2011/05/amazing-video-from-inside-osamas-compound/238151/
LikeLike
“Obama sometimes tries to hold down collateral damage from drone strikes”
What a mensch.
I guess Cheney was behind the drone strike in Libya that killed Col. Ghadafi’s grandkids (ages 6mo’s to 5 yrs).
Would it be Orwellian to say a Nobel Peace Prize Winner initiates military action with UN OK (though without approval of Congress or Declaration of War) against a sovereign nation (who also sits on the UN Human Rights Council) because they are putting down an armed insurrection.
LikeLike
Stop it! You’re going to make me lose sleep.
I have no problem with what has been done v. Gaddaffi and no problem with what was done with Osama over the weekend.
Both should have been taken out earlier by Reagan with Gaddaffi and by Bush with Osama.
I wondered what Cheney was up. He never left the Naval Observatory did he? The Colonel (and there’s your sign, why is he only a Colonel and not a General?) would be proud of you for sticking up for his extended family. Don’t worry though, he’s still got plenty left. Allah Akbar!
LikeLike
Did you say ‘the Colonel’?
Careful Dog…THEY are watching…
LikeLike
That’s exactly why I trust no one with a big heed from the New World Order. Why am I now hungry for extra crispy chicken livers?
LikeLike
The Senator sure is patient with you.
LikeLike
Go Navy!
Roast in hell, Osama.
LikeLike
Just to clarify: our purpose in Afghanistan is not nation-building. Our purpose is to ensure that the country will not once again become a training ground for terrorists and a launch point for terroristic activity. Whether OBL’s death has led or will lead to that not being an issue is to be determined.
Nation-building, it is hoped, will lead to a country that not only will refuse to harbor such activity, but will identify it and root it out, but it is not the goal. Leaving afghanistan now raises the distinct possibility of the Taliban taking the country back over. Their anti-terror record is spotty to say the least. I would think we would have a presence there for some time simply to ensure that the country is not a safe haven for terrorists, which is the primary goal.
LikeLike
Riiiight. And when we leave we’ll take our troops with us, but we may leave behind some “advisors”. Kinda like the Peace Corp, only they’ll wear fatigues, carry guns and live on a base.
It’s not like we’re still in South Korea, Japan or Germany…
LikeLike
Everyone that has been in there has a purpose. NONE have been successful in delivery of that purpose. It’s a tribal country…much like Africa. You just ain’t in Atlanta when dealing with these folks.
LikeLike
Unless we plan on being there ’til the end of days, we’re not ever going to stabilize the country. The Afghan insurgency knows no limits.
LikeLike
“Our purpose is to ensure that the country will not once again become a training ground for terrorists and a launch point for terroristic activity.” Sounds like the LBJ meme that we must stop communism. Pakistan is a training ground for terrorists … Pakistan houses terrorists… and we pay them 1.5 million a year in aid to be our friend. Afghanistan will be Vietnam to us just like it was to the USSR.
LikeLike
Being next door helps us keep an eye on that too. As far as the Vietnam reference what u.s. city did the viet cong attack?
LikeLike
Using the same logic, what U.S. city did the Taliban attack?
LikeLike
The District of Columbia according to then (Feb. 5, 2009) and now *Chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee
“Imagine what Drudge would do if a Democrat said this:”
“*** At least he didn’t use a Nazi metaphor: When you’re in campaign mode, it’s probably best to choose your words — and metaphors — wisely. Texas Rep. Pete Sessions (R), the chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, didn’t exactly do that when speaking yesterday to editors at The Hotline. Sessions referred to the Taliban when talking about the GOP’s resistance to the stimulus, as well as its strategy as the minority party. “Insurgency, we understand perhaps a little bit more because of the Taliban,” he said. “And that is that they went about systematically understanding how to disrupt and change a person’s entire processes. And these Taliban — I’m not trying to say the Republican Party is the Taliban — no, that’s not what we’re saying. I’m saying an example of how you go about is to change a person from their messaging to their operations to their frontline message. And we need to understand that insurgency may be required when the other side, the House leadership, does not follow the same commands, which we entered the game with.” Wow, we can think of plenty of other examples of insurgencies (American Revolution, Indian resistance to Great Britain), but the Taliban? Imagine what Drudge would do if a Democrat said this.”
http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2009/02/05/4426247-first-thoughts-back-to-candidate-obama
*Click on Pete’e Chairman’s Message video for the latest Taliban dog whistle pointers:
http://www.nrcc.org/
LikeLike
Christ, Fla, can’t you give it a rest for one day?
LikeLike
I agree it is not a time for liberals, who oversaw two world war victories, including defeating the Japanese and Nazis is less time then it took bush to secure an 11th century city, just because it also took another liberal 2 years and 3 months to do what bush couldn’t in 7 and a half years. There will be time for that, just not today.
LikeLike
As someone who knows a little bit about what goes on in this kind of situation Derek is a dumbass. US, British and Israeli Intelligence has been on the look out for this guy for ten years but Obama becomes President and due to his personal genius and magnetism the job gets done now.? That’s an insult to those who serve and gives BS credit to Obama. REMF talk to be sure.
LikeLike
I say the same thing about Churchill. All thus talk about his leadership in a time of crisis. Who needed him? All you need are soldiers and spooks. In fact I cant figure out whe we even have a commander in chief. Is it just so winger presidents can declare victory on battleships? Semper I’m sure that display just made you sick didn’t it? If there ever was a president, himself, who politicized war it was the last one and I’m sure it made you sick. Fortunately it isn’t the president doing it in this case just some dumbass blogger.
LikeLike
Technically Derek, the USS Abraham Lincoln is an aircraft carrier, not a battleship. And, technically, I’m just a dumbass commenter — not a dumbass blogger. I don’t have a blog. Comparing Churchill to Obama is pretty thin. Your assertion that somehow Obama made the difference is just wrong. Yes — he ordered it and I commend him for that, but he had virtually nothing to do with this other than listening to intelligence and giving an order. Getting shot at doesn’t give one person a greater right to an opinion than another, but serving in a variety of capacities in the military may bring a little more understanding of how things really work. Other than giving the order, what did Obama do to make this happen? Absolutely nothing. This was a tactical exercise based on intelligence gathering that had nothing to do with him. Bugs Bunny could have been president and this still would have gone off.
LikeLike
Agreed bugs bunny could gave been prime minister of great Britain during WWII and it would have changed nothing. Leaders are irrelevant. Not sure why we even have a democracy when all we need is a well funded military industrial complex which are simply inconvenienced by asking for orders from irrelevant beings or sometimes even cartoons.
LikeLike
Maybe so, but what does that say about Clinton and Bush, who both whiffed on their Bugs Bunny opportunities with OBL?
LikeLike
Some who have been in-the-arena over there disagree:
“This is a tremendous moment for the United States, and everyone from the president on down deserves the highest praise.”
http://www.cnas.org/blogs/abumuqawama/2011/05/osama.html
Besides what Derek wrote is not an insult to those who serve and has nothing to do with our troops on the land, on/under the sea or in the air. It has everything to do with Bush-Cheney and Tommy Franks at MacDill.
“U.S. lost its best chance to decimate al-Qaida in Tora Bora”
“All the while, more than 1,200 U.S. Marines sat at an abandoned air base in the desert 80 miles to the southwest. None of us here understood why we had the Marines playing at the desert strip,” says a U.S. officer who asked that his name not be used. “They did a couple of small route interdiction things on the Lashkar Gah-Kandahar road, but other than that sat in the desert and then moved to Kandahar International (airport) and then to the American Embassy in Kabul. All during that time, Mullah Omar (and other Taliban leaders) were roaming all over the place in a state of shock. But they got over that, and now we have them burrowed into Pashtun tribal protection.”
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2002/10/14/82617/us-lost-its-best-chance-to-decimate.html
I, for one, wish W. had spent less time at his play ranch in Crawford riding his bike and dicking around with his electric chainsaw.
Maybe W. could have then accomplished something just like the SEALS did under orders from Obama on his watch as Commander-in-Chief
http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2011/05/01/the_timeline_of_the_mission_to_kill_osama_bin_laden?showcomments=yes
LikeLike
…..if you got any left, roll me one.
just sayin’
LikeLike
Hate to burst a wishful thinking type of bubble but I don’t do that nor do I do RedBull or any other energy drink.
LikeLike
Read my above post if you want enlightenment.
LikeLike
I did and am pleased that you commend Obama for ordering the kill. Am unenlightened by you downplaying the consequences of that order. You may not be the only poster here who has been in the military.
No one that I know of felt Obama had to be embedded with the SEALS on the mission. Obama did carry out a campaign promise to get OBL, so Mission Accomplished! for him. If locating and terminating OBL was so easy Bugs Bunny could do it, why didn’t Bush and his intelligence services do it?
Alternatively, if the mission had gone bad, my take is that everyone, including you and me, would hold Obama accountable for giving a dangerously bad order, when drones or airstrikes could have done the job, rather than giving him a mulligan. Everyone knows that orders have consequences. Ask Jimmy.
“It was probably one of the most anxiety-filled periods of time, I think, in the lives of the people who were assembled here yesterday,” Brennan said in a White House press briefing. “The minutes passed like days, and the president was very concerned about the security of our personnel.”
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20058914-503544.html
LikeLike
“…why didn’t Bush and his intelligence services do it”
They are the same FREAKING people. The political appointees at the top change with administrations but the men and women down the line, you know, the ones actually gathering the intelligence and analysing it, stay they same. Those people are career personnel in the agencies, not political appointees. They are as much “Obama’s guys” today as they were “Bush’s guys” then.
But, if you want to play that game…”Bush’s people” did get the intelligence that led to the strike the other night.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=13512344
“In a secret CIA prison in Eastern Europe years ago, al-Qaida’s No. 3 leader, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, gave authorities the nicknames of several of bin Laden’s couriers, four former U.S. intelligence officials said. Those names were among thousands of leads the CIA was pursuing.
…
It took years of work for intelligence agencies to identify the courier’s real name, which officials are not disclosing. “
LikeLike
Read the news. This was the culmination of five years of hard intelligence work. I know that’s a difficult concept but think on it and you will get it. SemperFi speaks the truth. do you really think George Bush would not have given the same order?
LikeLike
tora bora tora bora tora bora…i’m getting sleepy..,
LikeLike
Semper, you don’t really think introducing facts and logic into a discussion with the Leftists will be effective do you? These mush brains only care about theory and emotional feelings, not the world’s reality. As Nicholson said “you can’t handle the truth”. Kind of like professors trying to run a real business. But they sound great in the coffee shops, and they impress each other.
Leftists feel strongly about anything, anything at all depending on which way the wind is blowing that day, and as long as it supports the Comrade’s Party. Most are one issue, myopic fools who will support any policy so long as their one issue is in the CP platform. Big picture views are completely beyond them. Their naivete will change soon enough. For now, they are completely oblivious and happy with keeping their head in the sand.
LikeLike
And you obviously know nothing of Mamet and missed the context of him writing the line “You can’t handle the truth.”
LikeLike
Thanks for the intro this morning, Mac. I appreciate it.
You know how I love the smell of facts and logic in the morning.
Want some…Need some…Give me more…
A. “Obama Succeeded Where Bush Failed: Osama Bin Laden Rhetoric And Reality”
“and Bush’s initial bluster about capturing the al Qaeda leader “dead or alive” became a source of embarrassment — Bush began to insist that bin Laden himself wasn’t so very important.
“I truly am not that concerned about him,” Bush said at a White House press conference on March 13, 2002. And of course the following March, he shifted America’s focus to Iraq, which proved to be a gigantic diversion.
Obama took a different tack
“Shortly after taking office,” the president explained Sunday night, “I directed Leon Panetta, the director of the CIA, to make the killing or capture of bin Laden the top priority of our war against al Qaeda, even as we continued our broader efforts to disrupt, dismantle, and defeat his network.”
Obama’s comments on Sunday night were clearly directed not just to the American public but to the world, evoking images of the horror of 9/11 in an effort to dampen any possible al Qaeda propaganda value from bin Laden’s death.
By contrast, the tactics and the rhetoric of Bush’s “war on terror” — most notably his decision to invade Iraq and the torture of Muslims in Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo and elsewhere had served as al Qaeda’s most potent recruiting tools.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/02/obama-bush-bin-laden-dead_n_856428.html
B. “From Desert One to Abbottabad”
“and the reason they work together so well is because you are witnessing the late stages of an evolutionary process that began in a cold desert base in Iran some three decades ago. You cannot understand why the U.S. military was able to execute this extraordinary operation deep in the heart of Pakistan without first understanding the failures of Iran in 1980.”
http://www.cnas.org/blogs/abumuqawama/2011/05/desert-one-abbottabad.html
C. FLASHBACK: Conservative Media Repeatedly Attacked Obama’s Commitment To Fighting Terrorism
http://mediamatters.org/research/201105020012?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+mediamatters%2Flatest+%28Media+Matters+-+Latest+Items%29
Hannity: “Obama Is Weak. He’s An Appeaser.”
Palin: Obama’s “Fundamental Approach To Terrorism Is Fatally Flawed.”
D. Only On Fox Business: Questions About Whether Bin Laden Is Dead
“Osama bin Laden assassinated. Killed on the illegal whim of the president.”
http://mediamatters.org/blog/201105030001
E. Flashback: The Right-Wing Attack On Obama’s “Crazy,” “Frightening” Pakistan Terrorism Policy
“So, with Bin Laden’s death, Obama’s Pakistan policy has essentially been vindicated. Should we expect these same right-wingers to revisit their off-base criticism and mockery? Probably not — they’re too busy crediting President Bush.”
http://mediamatters.org/blog/201105020001.
LikeLike
Since it is all about the right now…
Thank two other liberals for giving the world the two Greatest Depressions in our country’s history. Hooray FDR and BHO!!!
Do you seriously believe that while Obama was being being sworn in that all the “Bush people” were wiping the the hard drives and shredding the files of all the work they had done for the last 8 years….that “Obama’s people” started from Square One? Really?
Ever here of the phrase “Give credit where credit is due”?
LikeLike
The Great Depression began under the watch of the Hoover administration, and the current depression we’re going through began at the tail end of the Bush administration. Neither depression had much to do with who was our president, though. It’s like blaming the president for high gas prices. There are way too many forces at work to blame it on one person.
LikeLike
That sentence is downright Rovian in terms of condensed political hackery. Well played, sir. Well played.
LikeLike
Phocion, if you didn’t really believe that “two Greatest Depressions” statement but were just using it to try and get a rise out of people, you’re a troll, and not even a very clever one at that.
If, on the other hand, you did believe it, then take the previous description and add ” . . . and an utter fool.”
LikeLike
I did. Two days. Over the weekend.
LikeLike
Wonder if Derek had the same love for military action when Bush was in office? We know Obama sure didn’t.
LikeLike
Military action is never to be “loved.” It is to be undertaken only out of necessity. The costs borne by those we ask to fight on our behalf are too great to treat the question with zeal. So no I was not a fan of the 2003 invasion of Iraq. It was stupid, arrogant and based on patently false premises. However, I fully supported the invasion of Afghanistan and thought that our focus should have remained there.
LikeLike
Yep — war is terrible but necessary, but it is also pretty lame to try to weave some kind of Obama magic into the timing of this. He is the beneficiary of good timing and nothing more.
LikeLike
If wingers stop saying that Reagan won the cold war, a war started by Harry Truman that lasted 50 years and actually ended under George HW bush, then I’ll stop. Since those conditions shall never exist and no winger will ever claim that the timing of the USSR’s demise was fortuitous, I doubt I’ll need to shut up anytime soon. I could just call you a bunch of hypocrites, but rather I’ll play by your rules.
LikeLike
Thanks Big D!
I had those Commies right where I wanted ’em. Shouting uncle and about to quit the whole damn thing until that nobody Reagan stole the election.
LikeLike
Take it from semper fi, if Carter was bad at dealing with the Russians or if Reagan handled the situation well, it simply didn’t matter. They are just seat warmers, figure heads who have nothing to fo with the success of thus country foreign or domestic. We might as well elect bugs bunny or Sara palin. It’s not as if it matters a bit according to semper fi and those “in the know.”
LikeLike
I think you missed SemperFi’s point. This was the end of a five years of intelligence work that began back when that guy you hate was still in office. You act like this magically happened because of Obama. All Obama had to do was make a decision. In this case he made the right one, but that’s where credit ends. using your kind of simplistic logic I can assume that Obama is the reason my neighbor got her social security payment this month. All hail Obama!
LikeLike
Um… SF’s point would be your point, would it not? Or is somebody sharing your IP address with you?
LikeLike
Actually he’s my brother. Been visiting while on leave. So yes, we are sharing the same IP address.
LikeLike
Glad to hear it.
LikeLike
In the interests of full disclosure I also have two sons who read and post here. We run through a router so I’m assuming we also share the same IP address.
LikeLike
Seriously, man, no problem.
LikeLike
Well, after all, in addition to ordering that Osama be terminated with prejudice, he did stop the congressional Republicans from shutting down the federal government and the Ayn Rand geek from getting rid of Social Security.
So, yes, he is entitled to a little credit, if not from you, at least from your neighbor.
LikeLike
Why? do you firmly believe we can change that culture. 30 warlords or more . Russians running tanks over them didn’t matter. Are you there for them or the raw materials they hold? Check your self. Invest in that infrastructure or America’s?
LikeLike
The greatest insult we can heap upon the corpse of UBL is to bicker about the politics of his death.
LikeLike
I have problem with insulting his corpse.
LikeLike
I’m shocked. And, ironically, he would have hated you for it.
LikeLike
Here are my ideas, in case anyone intrested. 1- A job was done that was necessary. 2- The President acted in his capacity as CIC and the military acted in theirs. 3- Pakistan is a tricky situation. Militant Muslims are everywhere in Pakistan, including the army. The goverment there feels they have to be appeased, lest they overthrow said goverment. 3- Pakistan is also a nuclear power, you can imagine how bad it would be if it became another Iran. This puts the US in a tricky situation, so if we can but them off with a little aid it is to our advantage. 4- I believe that the US and Pakistan have known OBL’s whereabouts for sometime now, but the political situation had to be just right before any action could be taken. 5- All the political bickering only harms this country. I do not care what another American’s political beliefs are, he is still my brother and I will defend his rights with my life if necessary. It is easy for Reps to blame the Dems and vice-versa, but if you want to see the cause of all these problems, look in the mirrow.
LikeLike
“5- All the political bickering only harms this country. I do not care what another American’s political beliefs are, he is still my brother and I will defend his rights with my life if necessary. It is easy for Reps to blame the Dems and vice-versa, but if you want to see the cause of all these problems, look in the mirror.”
Amen.
LikeLike
Obama got Osama (there’s a T-shirt waiting to happen) on his watch, he gets the credit. That will be the end result in history’s retelling of events. It’s not even worth fighting over, bin Laden had become almost irrelevant to the current Al Qaeda structure. The damn lunatic didn’t even have a phone or internet in his compound.
We all are happy he’s dead and got his just deserves but, let’s put this into perspective. It’s very much like Saddam Hussein to me, by the time he met the end of that rope, he was no threat to anyone outside of his arms’ reach. Moving along…
LikeLike
There is one difference: Saddams reach never extended to our borders, but I’m sure he was about to lay waste to an American city with those icbms any day. At least that’s what Cheney told us. However, it’s possible he was FOS.
LikeLike
Which explains our Nobel Peace Prize winner orchestrating “kinetic military action” against Libya and waging a shadow war in Yemen and Pakistan? Hey, I’m just glad he shut Gitmo.
Christopher Hitchens, who dispenses more wisdom in his morning constitutional, begs to differ on Saddam’s “reach”.
http://www.slate.com/id/2146475/
LikeLike
Or, not moving along…
LikeLike
“Which explains our Nobel Peace Prize winner orchestrating “kinetic military action” against Libya and waging a shadow war in Yemen and Pakistan?”
Gee, Normaltown, I know you don’t hate the troops, our puppet governments, our insurrectionists, being kinetic and standing in the shadows. Would it be better if he returned the prize? After all, it only took him about a dozen days in office to win it. Maybe after they finish memorizing the talking point of Eddie Munster’s budget plan (making the uberwealthy pay tax and not get tax credits terminates with prejudice job creation and offshoring by small businesses such as GE and Exxon), the House Republicans can impeach him for winning the Nobel so quickly.
Re Guantanamo, he signed the executive order. It’s not his fault that congressional Democrats don’t follow orders like Republicans.
“Senate Demands Plan for Detainees
Democrats Scrap Funding to Close Guantanamo Bay”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/19/AR2009051903615.html
Even the right knows that
“Like Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell and the Defense of Marriage Act, Gitmo is a creature of Congress, and only Congress can kill it….….To be clear: Barack Obama vowed to close Gitmo, and took concrete steps to try and do so. But he could not have anticipated the obstruction that would come from his own side in Congress…”
http://theobamadiary.com/2011/04/05/why-barack-obama-can%E2%80%99t-close-gitmo-or-try-ksm-in-new-york/
LikeLike
Dog:
I support Gitmo. I support renditions. I like the smell of napalm in the morning. Ok, I made the last one up, but notwithstanding what I really like is highlighting irony.
The left has largely abandoned many of the sacrosant positions they once held so dear just a few years back.
Excepting, of course, the esteemed Cindy Sheehan.
http://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/tim-graham/2011/05/03/cindy-sheehan-thinks-empire-faked-osama-takedown-will-chris-matthews-rec
LikeLike
And in today’s benediction, when in times of overwhelming angst on the right, when the irresistible force meets the immovable objects, when all else fails, and when too hot to even avoid being scrubbed as a Sarah Palin Facebook comment, that’s what she says
“my post is gone, so I will say it again…..First off, OBAMA GETS NO CREDIT for bin Laden’s death…IT WAS THE MILITARY’S VICTORY NOT OBAMA…”
http://instaputz.blogspot.com/2011/05/ah-palin-facebook-comments-are-always.html
LikeLike