Osama Bin Laden is Dead. President to make a speech soon.

[FuzzyBee]

I wish they could get their dates coordinated. Was it the 29th, the 30th, or a week ago?

 

[nick1985]

And you would be incorrect.

I never had you pegged as a die-hard Obama supporter.

/shrug

 

[jonks]

Wishful thinking Fox
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMP7Ys57ha4&feature=player_embedded

 

[IndyColtsFan]

woops... hit a nerve ?
Voters are not that engaged to weigh in the economy. It's all "presentation" !!!
But ok... don't believe me. Just watch Obama's numbers in the next few days.

Yeah, ask Bush 41 about how his 90%+ approval ratings helped him win the election of 92 (which, like the 2012 election, was only 18 months away from the President's high point).

This will definitely help Obama, but the economy will be what saves or sinks him in the end.

And, allow me to congratulate Obama, the CIA, and the SEALs -- well done!

 

[her209]

Awesome. Now we can get the fuck out of Afghanistan.

 

[Capt Caveman]

I never had you pegged as a die-hard Obama supporter.

/shrug

I'm not at all. There's very little I like about him. But that doesn't stop me from disagreeing with Infohawk's post.

 

[Capt Caveman]

U.S. forces were under orders to kill Bin Laden

WASHINGTON/ABBOTTABAD, Pakistan (Reuters) – Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was killed in a U.S. helicopter raid on a mansion near the Pakistani capital Islamabad early on Monday, ending a long worldwide hunt for the mastermind of the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.

Members of an elite Navy Seals team dropped by helicopter to the compound were under orders to kill not capture bin Laden, who had eluded U.S. forces for 13 years, a senior U.S. security official told Reuters.

"This was a kill operation," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Many analysts see bin Laden's death as largely symbolic since he was no longer believed to have been issuing operational orders to the many autonomous al Qaeda affiliates around the world.

Fearful of revenge attacks, the United States swiftly issued security warnings to Americans worldwide. A top Republican lawmaker briefed by the White House on bin Laden's death said U.S. security agencies were working to prevent any attacks on the United States or its installations overseas.

"This is a key moment because al Qaeda has to avenge. This is a terrible defeat for them and they have to move as quickly as they can, and it's up to us to stop them," said congressman Peter King.

Bin Laden's death is unlikely to have any impact on the nearly decade-long war in Afghanistan spawned by the September 11 attacks on Washington and New York. U.S. forces there are facing record violence by a resurgent Taliban, which has vowed to avenge his death.

President Barack Obama, whose popularity has been hit hard by rising gasoline prices, will likely see a short-term bounce in his approval ratings. But he may also come under more pressure from Americans to speed up a planned withdrawal of U.S. forces from the unpopular war in Afghanistan.

U.S. officials said bin Laden was found in a million-dollar compound in the military garrison town of Abbottabad, 35 miles north of Islamabad. After 40 minutes of fighting, bin Laden was among several people in the mansion killed.

A source familiar with the operation said bin Laden was shot in the head. A senior U.S. official in Washington said the al Qaeda leader was killed in a firefight after he resisted the assault force.

Two officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said bin Laden was buried at sea. A third official said this was done to prevent a gravesite on land becoming a shrine for followers.

"Justice has been done," Obama declared in a dramatic late-night White House speech announcing the death of the elusive head of the militant Islamic group behind a series of deadly bombings across the world.

PAKISTAN TOLD AFTER RAID

Leaders worldwide praised the killing as a dramatic success in the war against al Qaeda, a mood reflected in financial markets. The dollar and stocks rose, while oil and gold fell, on the view bin Laden's death reduced global security risks.

Thousands of jubilant, flag-waving Americans thronged outside the White House and in the streets of New York after Obama's announcement.

It was the biggest national security victory for the president since he took office in early 2009 and will make it difficult for Republicans to portray Democrats as weak on security as he seeks re-election in 2012.

In sharp contrast, on the streets of Saudi Arabia, bin Laden's native land which stripped him of his citizenship after September 11, there was a mood of disbelief and sorrow among many.

The Palestinian Islamist group Hamas mourned bin Laden as an "Arab holy warrior."

But many in the Arab world felt his death was long overdue. For many Arabs, inspired by the popular upheavals in Egypt, Libya and elsewhere over the past few months, the news of bin Laden's death had less significance than it once might have.

The operation could complicate relations with Pakistan, a key U.S. ally in the battle against militancy and the war in Afghanistan. Those ties have already been frayed over U.S. drone strikes in the west of the country and the six-week imprisonment of a CIA contractor earlier this year.

A U.S. official said Pakistani authorities were told the details of the raid after it had taken place.

The revelation bin Laden was living in style will hugely embarrass Pakistani officials, who will be under pressure to explain how he could have been right under their noses. Residents in Abbottabad said a Pakistani military training academy is near the compound.

"For some time there will be a lot of tension between Washington and Islamabad because bin Laden seems to have been living here close to Islamabad," said Imtiaz Gul, a Pakistani security analyst.

 

[werepossum]

Freakin' great news. Arguably this is a perfect statement, as it shows that even if it takes a decade, with Presidents of both parties and different political alignments, we WILL keep hunting you, and we WILL get you. Kudos to the CIA, the SEALS, and Obama.

Neil Boortz just joked that Trump is demanding to see the long form death certificate . . .

 

[Nebor]

Awesome. Now we can get the fuck out of Afghanistan.

Afghanistan hasn't been "about" catching\killin Bin Laden in more than 5 years.

 

[yllus]

Wow, there was actually a note as part of the WikiLeaks dump about this location:

https://www.documentcloud.org/docum...-of-abu-faraj-al-libi.html#document/p5/a17091

 

[spidey07]

Do you think spidey is happy or sad right now?

Very happy. Obama did the right thing for once. Now it's time to use this for propaganda against all those that practice jihad against the US. We will find you and we will kill you.

And right on for just dumping him in the ocean. Now the jihadis have no shrine to rally support for their cause.

 

[ProfJohn]

We have seen this quote so much that we all thought it was true, but turns out it is not.

The quote as taken from Techs
"I don't know where Osama bin Laden is. I have no idea and really don't care. It's not that important. It's not our priority." – President George W. Bush, 3/13/02

What Bush actually said as taken from the transcript.
"So I don't know where he is. You know, I just don't spend that much time on him, "

"And, again, I don't know where he is. I -- I'll repeat what I said. I truly am not that concerned about him."

Video of what he said
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PGmnz5Ow-o

Complete transcript

Q Mr. President, in your speeches now you rarely talk or mention Osama bin Laden. Why is that? Also, can you tell the American people if you have any more information, if you know if he is dead or alive? Final part -- deep in your heart, don't you truly believe that until you find out if he is dead or alive, you won't really eliminate the threat of --

THE PRESIDENT: Deep in my heart I know the man is on the run, if he's alive at all. Who knows if he's hiding in some cave or not; we haven't heard from him in a long time. And the idea of focusing on one person is -- really indicates to me people don't understand the scope of the mission.

Terror is bigger than one person. And he's just -- he's a person who's now been marginalized. His network, his host government has been destroyed. He's the ultimate parasite who found weakness, exploited it, and met his match. He is -- as I mentioned in my speech, I do mention the fact that this is a fellow who is willing to commit youngsters to their death and he, himself, tries to hide -- if, in fact, he's hiding at all.

So I don't know where he is. You know, I just don't spend that much time on him, Kelly, to be honest with you. I'm more worried about making sure that our soldiers are well-supplied; that the strategy is clear; that the coalition is strong; that when we find enemy bunched up like we did in Shahikot Mountains, that the military has all the support it needs to go in and do the job, which they did.

And there will be other battles in Afghanistan. There's going to be other struggles like Shahikot, and I'm just as confident about the outcome of those future battles as I was about Shahikot, where our soldiers are performing brilliantly. We're tough, we're strong, they're well-equipped. We have a good strategy. We are showing the world we know how to fight a guerrilla war with conventional means.

Q But don't you believe that the threat that bin Laden posed won't truly be eliminated until he is found either dead or alive?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, as I say, we haven't heard much from him. And I wouldn't necessarily say he's at the center of any command structure. And, again, I don't know where he is. I -- I'll repeat what I said. I truly am not that concerned about him. I know he is on the run. I was concerned about him, when he had taken over a country. I was concerned about the fact that he was basically running Afghanistan and calling the shots for the Taliban.

But once we set out the policy and started executing the plan, he became -- we shoved him out more and more on the margins. He has no place to train his al Qaeda killers anymore. And if we -- excuse me for a minute -- and if we find a training camp, we'll take care of it. Either we will or our friends will. That's one of the things -- part of the new phase that's becoming apparent to the American people is that we're working closely with other governments to deny sanctuary, or training, or a place to hide, or a place to raise money.

And we've got more work to do. See, that's the thing the American people have got to understand, that we've only been at this six months. This is going to be a long struggle. I keep saying that; I don't know whether you all believe me or not. But time will show you that it's going to take a long time to achieve this objective. And I can assure you, I am not going to blink. And I'm not going to get tired. Because I know what is at stake. And history has called us to action, and I am going to seize this moment for the good of the world, for peace in the world and for freedom.

Google the claimed quote and you can't find any original source for the statement either.

 

[davmat787]

I know quite a few seals. They're professionals who probably were waiting outside for hours or days uncertain if the intel was any good. When they went in they would have shot him once and if he didn't fall to floor with his legs crossed they would have shot him a second time just to make sure he never got back up. The time for having feelings and double checking its the right guy comes later.

Nah, they would have double tapped him. Anyone worth shooting once is worth a second one, ask your SEAL buddies.

EDIT: This article just came out:

After bursts of fire over 40 minutes, 22 people were killed or captured. One of the dead was Osama bin Laden, done in by a double tap -- boom, boom -- to the left side of his face. His body was aboard the choppers that made the trip back. One had experienced mechanical failure and was destroyed by U.S. forces, military and White House officials tell National Journal.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_exclu...lYwN5bl90b3Bfc3RvcnkEc2xrA3RoZXNlY3JldHRlYQ--

 

[davmat787]

Right, and as soon as they knew he was there they went in immediately I'd bet. There would be no time wasted on mockups or trial runs, because you wouldn't have the luxury of time for that.

Actually, yes they did as I surmised earlier. There was plenty of time. An article just came out that sheds a little more light on the specifics:

This HVT was special, and the raids required practice, so they replicated the one-acre compound at Camp Alpha, a segregated section of Bagram Air Base. Trial runs were held in early April.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_exclu...lYwN5bl90b3Bfc3RvcnkEc2xrA3RoZXNlY3JldHRlYQ--

 

[spidey07]

Nah, they would have double tapped him. Anyone worth shooting once is worth a second one, ask your SEAL buddies.

2 to the heart, one to the head just to make sure.

 

[Jaskalas]

Thank you for correcting the partisan hack job others did to this record.

 

[HybridSquirrel]

Wow, there was actually a note as part of the WikiLeaks dump about this location:

https://www.documentcloud.org/docum...-of-abu-faraj-al-libi.html#document/p5/a17091

aint that some shit?

 

[davmat787]

2 to the heart, one to the head just to make sure.

2 to the head is more efficient. I don't mean to belabor this point at all, but see article I linked to above for more info.

 

[HybridSquirrel]

I laugh at all of the misinformation floating around since last night. Osama was wanted by the FBI long before 9/11, it just escalated his position on the most wanted list. Clinton and the CIA started monitoring his movements in the 90s. I flipped fox news on las night by mistake, and heard them say he fought WITH the Russians in the 80s. Wow some people just don't have a clue.

 

[bfdd]

I like how little news I've been reading about our stance with Pakistan now. We had to sneak into Pakistan and take him out. Pakistan most likely has known and been harboring that asshole for years now. This is shit we have been suspecting since we started the campaign in that region. Fuck Pakistan, we need to put some pressure on them.

 

[spidey07]

I like how little news I've been reading about our stance with Pakistan now. We had to sneak into Pakistan and take him out. Pakistan most likely has known and been harboring that asshole for years now. This is shit we have been suspecting since we started the campaign in that region. Fuck Pakistan, we need to put some pressure on them.

That's my understanding as well. We did it without their help or even permission it seems.

 

[her209]

Afghanistan hasn't been "about" catching\killin Bin Laden in more than 5 years.

That was just the excuse to still be there. Now we can GTFO! Count on it.

 

[bfdd]

I laugh at all of the misinformation floating around since last night. Osama was wanted by the FBI long before 9/11, it just escalated his position on the most wanted list. Clinton and the CIA started monitoring his movements in the 90s. I flipped fox news on las night by mistake, and heard them say he fought WITH the Russians in the 80s. Wow some people just don't have a clue.

he did fight with the Russians in the 80s. because when you say "he fought with the Russians" you mean he fought against the Russians. Just because your dumbass it to stupid to understand Fox News doesn't make Fox News stupid. It makes you an absolute retard because they are already trying to appeal to the lowest common denominator and you don't even understand that.

 

[HybridSquirrel]

he did fight with the Russians in the 80s. because when you say "he fought with the Russians" you mean he fought against the Russians. Just because your dumbass it to stupid to understand Fox News doesn't make Fox News stupid. It makes you an absolute retard because they are already trying to appeal to the lowest common denominator and you don't even understand that.

actually, fox news said he fought with the Russians and helped them invade Afghanistan. Rather than fighting against them, which he did. Dipshit.

 

[bfdd]

That's my understanding as well. We did it without their help or even permission it seems.

Everything I have been reading this morning is pretty much saying that, yeah... So where's all the news from Pakistan? They're government hasn't said shit because of egg on their face, as we have said he was in Pakistan hiding and they wouldn't let us do anything about it and had been the OPPOSITE of helpful. In fact they would even take action against our soldiers if we got to close to anything. It's absolutely bullshit and we need to call them out on it in the UN in front of everyone.