Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace asked White House National Security Adviser Tom Donilon a rather interesting question related to the capture and shooting death of terrorist leader Osama din Laden: Why is it legal and “proper” to shoot an unarmed man in the face, while enhanced interrogation methods, such as waterboarding, are deemed improper? You might recall, in fact, that waterboarding was banned by President Barack Obama back in January of 2009.
Donilon initially responded by driving home the danger posed by bin Laden, and the power he yielded within Al Qaeda, prompting Wallace to interrupt him and clarify that he wasn’t looking for justification as to why bin Laden was shot down by U.S. troops but, rather, a reason why doing so is permissible when using often dangerous, but not necessarily lethal, methods of interrogation in order to bring such a dangerous man to justice are not.
Donilon said such methods are not only unnecessary, but are also consistent with America’s values. Wallace didn’t miss a beat, immediately asking whether shooting an armed man in the face is consistent with those same values. Well, Donilion pointed out, we are at war.
The government today released five videos found in Osama bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, showing the al Qaeda leader preparing a message to the United States and watching himself on television.
The first was a previously unreleased message from bin Laden directed to the United States that was believed to have been filmed between Oct. 9 and Nov. 5 2010.
In the video, which begins with animated pre-production work, he appears to have dyed his beard black, is wearing a gold shawl over a white vestment and is wearing a white skullcap.
The second video, which runs over a minute long, shows bin Laden watching himself on television and holding the remote control to change the channels between what appear to be Arabic news channels.
...The remaining three videos appear to be practice sessions, possibly for the first video. In each of them he appears to stumble in his speech, stop and begin over.
This footage is among the trove of evidence found after the U.S. raid on the compound Sunday, when bin Laden and four others were killed.
"This is the single largest collection of senior terrorist materials ever," a senior intelligence official said.
We were told bin Laden had no TV in his Abbottabad "mansion." I guess that was wrong.
So bin Laden dyed his beard. He's not doing Just For Men any favors.
There is no audio with the following video because officials didn't want to spread bin Laden's propaganda.
[Russell Stamper] considers the death of bin Laden a case of coldblooded murder.
"I was saddened," said Stamper, who fills in for county judges when needed. "You murdered a man."
In a Facebook rant Monday, the 66-year-old jurist went even further, promoting the fringe position that it's not clear that bin Laden was the mastermind behind the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. On top of that, he ripped a number of federal agencies.
"For me, if the choice is condemnation of the CIA, DEA, FBI and IRS or Osama bin Laden, it's an easy call," Stamper wrote.
"I remain unconvinced that bin Laden committed the 911 attack, whereas we know the lettered government organizations are thieves, assassins, dope peddlers, government destabilizers, did I say assassins?, arms purveyors and various and sundry other planetary criminals."
...Over the past decade, Stamper has served as a reserve county judge, earning as much as $63,000 a year filling in for elected judges when they are ill, on vacation or their dockets are overloaded. So far this year, Stamper has put in only 5 1/2 days as a reserve judge, getting paid $445.15 per day. That brings his total pay to about $2,448.
He also serves as chairman of the Community Brainstorming Conference, a monthly public affairs forum for the city's African-Americans.
Stamper came under some criticism in 2000 for likening now-Gov. Scott Walker to former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke and calling Walker and his friends white supremacists.
Stamper is a disgrace.
Of course, he can believe whatever he wants to believe, but he should not be serving as a judge. He's clearly unfit to serve in that capacity.
FOX News, via MEMRI, offers a summary of the translation of al Qaeda's statement confirming Osama bin Laden's death.
On May 6, 2011, Al-Qaeda central command published an official statement on jihadi forums confirming the death of Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.
The statement called the day of bin Laden’s death “an historic day in the days of the great Muslim Ummah,” and went on to describe bin Laden’s relentless work in confronting his enemies and in spreading the spirit of jihad and perseverance among the rest of the Ummah.
The statement confirmed that bin Laden was killed by the Americans, while adding that there is no disgrace in that, since the U.S., with all its might, will not be able to kill what bin Laden lived and died for. It added that bin Laden did not build merely a [physical] organization [i.e. Al-Qaeda] for it to be dismantled after his death, but that Islam and jihad for the sake of Allah shall remain until Allah fulfills his promise [of victory].
The statement said that the Muslim Ummah will give birth to more “Osamas” who will be filled with the spirit of sacrifice [for the sake of the Ummah] and the desire to “open the doors of hell” to their enemies. It said that the light of Islam and jihad did not stop after the death of the Prophet Muhammad and other great leaders in Islam, but that it made the Muslim Ummah stronger and more determined in fighting its enemies, and the death of bin Laden will have the same effect.
The statement reaffirmed Al-Qaeda’s desire, will and determination to remain on the path of jihad, adding that the blood of bin Laden will be avenged, and that Allah’s curse [for killing bin Laden] shall follow the Americans and their coconspirators both within and outside of their countries, and will turn their joy [over bin Laden's death] to sorrow.
The statement asked the Pakistani people to rebel in order to “wash off the disgrace” brought upon them by a group of traitors and thieves who sold everything for the enemies of Islam.
The statement said that one week prior to his death, bin Laden recorded a message that Al-Qaeda will be releasing soon.
The statement warned the U.S. against mistreating bin Laden’s body, as well as any other members of his family, living or dead, and demanded that all bodies be turned over to their families. It added that failure to hand over the bodies would increase many times over the vengeful response [of the Muslim Ummah] to his killing.
The statement was signed “Al-Qaeda Organization, General Command,” and dated May 3, 2011.
CNN has an English translation of the full statement from al Qaeda.
Solemnly honoring victims of the Sept. 11 terror attacks, President Barack Obama hugged survivors, thanked the heroes of one of the nation's darkest days and declared Thursday that the killing of Osama bin Laden after all these years was an American message to the world: "When we say we will never forget, we mean what we say."
On a brilliant blue-sky day, one of reflection more than celebration, Obama offered New Yorkers a moment of their own. Standing at the gritty construction site of ground zero, where the towers fell and a memorial now rises, the president laid a wreath of red, white and blue flowers for the nearly 3,000 who died as he marked a turning point for the nation and this city of steely resilience.
For Obama, the day was about the importance of being in New York in the aftermath of the successful raid to find and kill bin Laden, the al-Qaida leader. Obama addressed families who have watched and wondered for nearly a decade whether the government would track down its most infamous enemy.
On this special ground, Obama never mentioned bin Laden's name.
"We will never forget"?
Obama "forgot" to go to Ground Zero since he became president.
I guess he was too busy playing golf, holding fundraisers, that sort of stuff. _______________
But for all the times he's been in New York City, he's never been to Ground Zero as president, never going there on September 11th to commemorate the anniversary of the terrorist attacks.
Today, Obama will make his first trip to Ground Zero as president.
Mr. Obama, in his first visit as president to ground zero, plans to lay a wreath at a memorial to the nearly 3,000 victims of the 9/11 attacks. He will also meet privately with family members of the victims, firefighters and other rescue workers who died in the September 2001 attacks.
“He wants to meet with them and share with them this important and significant moment, a bittersweet moment,” the White House press secretary, Jay Carney, said on Wednesday.
It is a quiet coda to a week that began with a stunning announcement by Mr. Obama, just before midnight on Sunday, that a team of Navy Seals had stormed Bin Laden’s hiding place – a heavily-fortified compound in an affluent town not far from the Pakistani capital, Islamabad.
Mr. Obama invited former president George W. Bush to join him at ground zero, but Mr. Bush declined. A spokesman for the former president said he appreciated the invitation but wanted to stick to his policy of staying out of the public spotlight since he left office.
For Mr. Bush, ground zero was the site of one of the iconic moments of his presidency. Days after the World Trade Center towers collapsed, he traveled to the smoldering wreckage to thank the rescue workers, delivering his speech through a firefighter’s bullhorn.
The White House was quick to say it took no offense at Mr. Bush’s decision not to attend, saying that Mr. Bush was invited in the spirit of unity that Mr. Obama said he hoped would prevail in the wake of Bin Laden’s killing, just as it prevailed after the killings perpetrated by Bin Laden nearly a decade ago.
“We’ve made clear that this is a moment of unity for Americans and a moment to recall the unity that existed in this country in the wake of the attacks on 9/11,” Mr. Carney said.
Mr. Obama visited ground zero while a presidential candidate, but he has not been there since entering the White House. He does not plan a deliver a speech, a decision that White House officials said was calculated to avoid any appearance of exploiting the families of the victims for political gain.
With all due respect, what a load of crap!
When Obama shows up at Ground Zero for the first time as president, he won't deliver a speech "to avoid any appearance of exploiting the families of the victims for political gain."
No speech doesn't eliminate the appearance of exploitation of the 9/11 victims for his 2012 political gain.
There's no reason for Obama to go there today, especially since he hasn't bothered to go at any other time during his presidency.
Of course, it's a political move. It's always political with Obama.
Of course, it's exploitation. Obama should have joined the observance of 9/11 at Ground Zero during his first year in office.
This push that the death of bin Laden should be a moment of unity similar to what the nation experienced after the country was attacked in 2001 is nuts.
Yes, there's unity. There should be. But let's not compare bin Laden's death with the experience of the 9/11 attacks and the nation's reaction.
Bin Laden, one man, is dead. That's a tremendous victory and I'm not diminishing that.
But in September 2001, we were mourning the deaths of thousands of innocents. We had witnessed massive destruction within our borders. Our country was attacked. Acts of war were committed on our soil. The human toll was devastating. The grief was unbearable.
No doubt about it, al Qaeda's attacks united us.
So many political battles were fought after 9/11. President Bush was deemed a war criminal. He was brutally criticized for policies meant to protect Americans. There has been so much bad blood that it's impossible to forget.
The overwhelming majority of Americans believe killing bin Laden was the right thing to do. Mission accomplished.
However, the shared experience of bin Laden's death cannot be equated with our shared experience of the horror of September 11, 2001.
A dead bin Laden doesn't bring back the thousands killed on 9/11. The loss experienced by the loved ones of the victims is permanent. In this life, it's forever. Nothing can change that. Their loss was heartbreaking in 2001 and it's just as heartbreaking today.
Although I think it's an unseemly move by Obama, with the appearance of a sleazy photo op, I'm glad he's finally going to Ground Zero.
Maybe he'll have an awakening and discover it's time for him to behave like the president of the United States.
As Obama and his administration heap praise upon themselves for killing Osama bin Laden, Attorney General Eric Holder is busy with his criminal investigation of CIA interrogators.
As the whole of America takes a bin Laden victory lap, let us pause to remember some of this celebrated event's most forgotten men: the Central Intelligence Agency officers who sit under the cloud of a criminal investigation begun in 2009 by Attorney General Eric Holder into their interrogations of captured terrorists.
That's right, the Americans whose interrogation of al Qaeda operatives may have put in motion the death of this mass murderer may themselves face prosecution by the country they were trying to protect.
It is time for the Holder CIA investigation to end. The death of bin Laden 10 years after 9/11 makes the Holder investigation of the CIA interrogators politically, emotionally and morally moot.
But it lives.
What a bizarre disconnect!
Unfortunately, this sort of weirdness is business as usual for the Obama administration.
In August 2009, Attorney General Holder announced that he was extending the mandate of Assistant U.S. Attorney John Durham into the CIA's so-called "enhanced interrogation techniques" of terrorist detainees. Former Bush Attorney General Michael Mukasey had appointed Mr. Durham in 2008 as a special prosecutor to look into the CIA's destruction of videotapes made during interrogations of two al Qaeda operatives. That investigation ended without charges last November.
Mr. Holder decided to push the Durham investigation into a second phase. "I have concluded," he said "that the information known to me warrants opening a preliminary review into whether federal laws were violated in connection with the interrogation of specific detainees at overseas locations." Mr. Holder wasn't free-lancing; both he and Barack Obama had called waterboarding "torture."
Obama and Holder continue forward with looking at our CIA interrogators as criminals.
Rather than considering them to have played an important role in protecting the American people, Obama and Holder and the Leftist gang persist in treating them like enemies.
This week the Associated Press reported that the name of bin Laden's courier may have come from CIA interrogations of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and Abu Faraj al-Libi, who received "harsh" interrogation at CIA prisons in Poland and Romania. On Tuesday, Mr. Holder said the information came from a "mosaic of sources."
Incidentally, there will be no attempt here to establish whether CIA interrogations did or did not lead to the bin Laden courier, who led our commandos to a bedroom in Abbottabad. Just as there will be no attempt here to resolve the fastidious debate unfolding over whether the Navy Seals' shooting of an unarmed Osama bin Laden was "legal." We'll leave that to the endless grinding wheels of the law journals.
Awkward!
The CIA interrogators could be national heroes.
Obviously, the Obama administration doesn't want to know. Most specifically, they don't want us to know.
If Mr. Holder has evidence of an egregious crime, he should step forward and announce it. If not, he should use this moment to put an end to the Durham investigation. Mr. Durham is not an independent counsel, whose hallowed status makes attorneys general loath to interfere. He is a special prosecutor, appointed by the attorney general and under his authority.
On June 18 last year, Mr. Holder said in a Washington speech that Mr. Durham was "close to the end of the time that he needs and will be making recommendations to me." But nothing has happened. Asked this week about the status of this investigation, a Justice Department spokesman for Mr. Durham, whose office is in Connecticut, said the project is "still ongoing."
I agree.
If Holder has evidence of an egregious crime, tell us now. If not, stop this investigation.
It's wrong for Obama to commend the CIA piece of the "mosaic" in the nearly 10-year mission to get bin Laden while Holder is trying to pin interrogators with crimes.
Henninger concludes:
After 9/11, when the fraying started, George W. Bush passed through a seven-year political minefield of media leaks and lawsuits over the Patriot Act, surveillance, renditions, Guantanamo and CIA interrogations. Now bin Laden is dead, and Barack Obama's got the credit. We're all fine with that, just as we're fine with people chanting "USA" over the dead terrorist who tried to kill us. Now how about letting those CIA interrogators come in from the cold and join the celebration?
The Democrats, Leftists including Obama, before and after he became president, put President Bush and Vice President Cheney and the administration through hell as they waged war against bin Laden.
Thank God they had the character and the toughness to not be swayed by polls. Thank God they stood up to the attacks by the Dems and did what was necessary to protect us.
With bin Laden dead, and Leon Panetta admitting valuable intelligence was gained via the CIA, it's time to end the criminal investigation of the CIA interrogators.
Is it possible for Obama to put politics and his visions of reelection aside, just for a moment?
In the wake of Osama bin Laden's killing, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani commended President Barack Obama and the military for their decision-making skills, accuracy and bravery.
However, Giuliani said at a Grand Rapids conference, the bin Laden photos should be released. The move would help quiet the people who don't believe bin Laden is truly dead, Giuliani told law enforcement officials Wednesday.
"The pictures are eventually going to get out, and then you are going to relive the intensity of all of this a month from now -- or two months from now or three months from now," Giuliani said. "Why not put them out now, and satisfy at least the rational people who have questions about the identity of bin Laden?"
Still, he emphasized, Obama should be commended for making the difficult decision, and the military for its execution of the plan.
"... I think in the long term, the people of America should feel safer that we have been able to eliminate such a significant leader -- a leader for evil, but of people who hate us so much," Giuliani said. "He was such a powerful presence, and whenever you remove someone like that, you deteriorate the movement."
Photographs acquired by Reuters and taken about an hour after the U.S. assault on Osama bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad in Pakistan show three dead men lying in pools of blood, but no weapons.
The photos, taken by a Pakistani security official who entered the compound after the early morning raid on Monday, show two men dressed in traditional Pakistani garb and one in a t-shirt, with blood streaming from their ears, noses and mouths.
The official, who wished to remain anonymous, sold the pictures to Reuters.
None of the men looked like bin Laden. U.S. President Barack Obama decided not to release photos of his body because it could have incited violence and used as an al Qaeda propaganda tool.
BRIAN WILLIAMS: I'd like to ask you about the sourcing on the intel that ultimately led to this successful attack. Can you confirm that it was as a result of waterboarding that we learned what we needed to learn to go after bin Laden?
LEON PANETTA: You know, Brian, in the intelligence business you work from a lot of sources of information and that was true here. We had a, we had a multiple source, uh, a multiple series of sources that provided information with regards to this situation. Clearly, some of it came from detainees and the interrogation of detainees, but we also had information from other sources as well. So it's, it's a little difficult to say it was due just to one source of information that we got.
WILLIAMS: Turned around the other way, are you denying that waterboarding was in part among the tactics used to extract the intelligence that led to this successful mission?
PANETTA: No, I think some of the detainees clearly were, you know, they used these enhanced interrogation techniques against some of these detainees. But I'm also saying that, you know, the debate about whether, whether we would have gotten the same information through other approaches I think is always going to be an open question.
WILLIAMS: So, finer point, one final time, enhanced interrogation techniques, which has always been kind of a handy euphemism in these post-9/11 years, that includes waterboarding.
PANETTA: That's correct.
It took a while for Panetta to admit it, he obviously tried not to, but he did eventually acknowledge that intelligence gained from detainees who were waterboarded was a factor in the success of the mission to kill bin Laden.
That complicates things for Obama and the Leftists.
What is not an open question is the fact that information obtained via enhanced interrogation techniques played a part in accomplishing the mission.
In a story about the resurrection of the harsh interrogation techniques debate slated to run on The New York Times’ front page Wednesday morning, reporters Scott Shane and Charlie Savage completely ignore CIA director Leon Panetta’s Tuesday evening confirmation that waterboarding played a role in procuring the intelligence that led U.S. forces to terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden.
“As intelligence officials disclosed the trail of evidence that led to the compound in Pakistan where Bin Laden was hiding, a chorus of Bush administration officials claimed vindication for their policy of ‘enhanced interrogation techniques’ like waterboarding,” Shane and Savage write in their story, accusing Republicans of igniting a debate they thought was long over.
Shane and Savage looked the other way, though, when it came to Panetta’s confirmation that waterboarding was part of the “enhanced interrogation techniques” used on detainees. “We had multiple series of sources that provided information with regards to this situation… clearly some of it came from detainees [and] they used these enhanced interrogation techniques against some of those detainees,” Panetta told NBC News anchor Brian Williams.
The New York Times duo also suggested that House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Rep. Peter King, New York Republican, inflamed the debate by saying he thought the intelligence came from waterboarding. “The chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, Representative Peter T. King, Republican of New York, told Fox News that the success of the hunt for Bin Laden was due to waterboarding,” Shane and Savage wrote.
It turns out King was right.
We don't need spin.
We need facts.
We need the truth.
Intelligence from interrogation methods denounced by Obama and company were part of the mission's success.
Apparently, Obama and his administration should have delayed the Osama bin Laden death information that they gave to the public even longer than they did.
The White House backed away Monday evening from key details in its narrative about the raid that killed Osama bin Laden, including claims by senior U.S. officials that the Al Qaeda leader had a weapon and may have fired it during a gun battle with U.S. forces.
Officials also retreated from claims that one of bin Laden’s wives was killed in the raid and that bin Laden was using her as a human shield before she was shot by U.S. forces.
At a televised White House briefing Monday afternoon, Deputy National Security Adviser John Brennan said bin Laden joined in the fight that several residents of the Abbottabad, Pakistan, compound put up against the Navy SEALs during the 40-minute operation.
“He [bin Laden] was engaged in a firefight with those that entered the area of the house he was in. And whether or not he got off any rounds, I quite frankly don’t know,” Brennan said.
At a Pentagon briefing earlier in the day, a senior defense official said bin Laden used a woman as a human shield so he could fire shots. “He was firing behind her,” the official said.
In another background briefing early Monday morning, a senior administration official also said bin Laden put up a fight. “He did resist the assault force. And he was killed in a firefight,” the official said.
However, during a background, off-camera briefing for television reporters later Monday, a senior White House official said bin Laden was not armed when he was killed, apparently by the U.S. raid team.
Another White House official familiar with the TV briefing confirmed the change to POLITICO, adding, “I’m not aware of him having a weapon.”
“The bottom line is the team that entered that room was met with resistance and took appropriate action,” said a third American official.
The White House on Monday night declined to elaborate on the nature of the resistance bin Laden allegedly put up. However, an official confirmed that the Al Qaeda founder was shot twice, once in the head and once in the chest.
The misinformation, if it is misinformation, creates uncertainty.
I don't know what to believe.
There seems to be an effort to reconstruct the "facts."
I've had enough of the Democrats and the Leftists strutting around praising Obama for HIS success in achieving the death of Osama bin Laden.
For years, they attacked and attempted to undermine President George W. Bush and the Bush administration. They vehemently objected to the methods utilized to deal with the terrorist threat and protect us.
Their assault was relentless, accusing President Bush and Vice President Cheney of being war criminals.
WATERBOARDING.
ENHANCED INTERROGATION.
SECRET PRISONS.
WARRANTLESS WIRETAPPING.
Obama was adamant about closing Guantanamo Bay.
He and the Democrats opposed the very methods that allowed for bin Laden to be killed.
FORMER Sen. Russ Feingold lies and rails against collecting intelligence.
David Gregory lectures President Bush on the interrogation bill.
Matt Lauer accuses President Bush of using illegal methods to obtain information.
Obama signs his first executive order - to close Gitmo.
OBAMA: Guantanamo will be closed no later than one year from now.
Of course, that didn't happen.
Dick Cheney defends President Bush and the interrogation methods used to protect the country. This is must-see.
Obama chastises Dick Cheney for objecting to Obama's plan to close Gitmo.
Obama says he "fundamentally disagrees with Dick Cheney."
So, Obama and his Democrat comrades mercilessly attacked the Bush administration, while now they're hoping to take sole credit for getting bin Laden, and wallowing in the news of his death.
Yesterday, she touted the mission, military action within the borders of a sovereign nation. She didn't call for Obama's impeachment because he gave the kill order to get bin Laden in Pakistan.
Moore's statement:
"I applaud our military, our President, and his national security team for ridding the world of the dark presence of Osama bin Laden. He has held the world captive, and his death ends a tragic chapter in a horror story where extremists target innocent civilians with murder, mayhem and fear.
"Bin Laden’s death brings a sense of relief to the families who lost loved ones on 9/11 and indeed every American. Our global partners and allies and peoples all over the world – regardless of race, creed, color, country, or religion – stand vigilant and unified with us today to rebuke this extremism and break free from the bondage of fear."
Personally, I don't feel a sense of relief. I'm glad bin Laden has been brought to justice, but I don't feel safer at all. This war, and it is a war, is not over.
In sum, Obama and the Democrats are shameless in their hypocrisy.
President Bush and Vice President Cheney have been vindicated.
Without their efforts and their tireless battle against Obama and the Democrats, bin Laden would be alive today; and Obama wouldn't be planning a 2012 election photo-op at Ground Zero on Thursday. _________________
UPDATE: During the afternoon White House press briefing, Jay Carney insists that Obama hasn't changed his mind about the Bush policy interrogation methods.
Of course, Obama kept the vast majority of those policies in place, reneging on his promises.
President Barack Obama has decided not to release death photos of terrorist Osama bin Laden, he said in an interview with CBS's "60 Minutes," amid concerns that the gruesome image could prove inflammatory.
Obama's decision was reported on the CBS News Web site Wednesday after the president sat for an interview with the news magazine program.
Releasing graphic images of bin Laden's corpse after his shooting in a U.S. raid on his compound could have dispelled doubts that bin Laden is indeed dead. The worry, though, was that it would feed anti-U.S. sentiment.
In an interview with Steve Kroft for this Sunday's "60 Minutes," President Obama says he won't release post-mortem images of Osama bin Laden taken to prove his death.
...Republican House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers said Wednesday that the Obama administration should not release the gruesome post-mortem images, saying it could complicate the job for American troops overseas. Rogers told CBS News he has seen a post-mortem photo.
"The risks of release outweigh the benefits," he said. "Conspiracy theorists around the world will just claim the photos are doctored anyway, and there is a real risk that releasing the photos will only serve to inflame public opinion in the Middle East."
"Imagine how the American people would react if Al Qaeda killed one of our troops or military leaders, and put photos of the body on the internet," he continued. "Osama bin Laden is not a trophy - he is dead and let's now focus on continuing the fight until Al Qaida has been eliminated."
What's Obama talking about?
We saw images of our troops being dragged through the streets of Mogadishu. We don't have to imagine what it would be like.
This from Obama, the man who undermined George W. Bush and his administration at every turn, showing no concern for how it would impact the American troops on the battlefield.
Give me a break!
Hopefully, Obama has the facts wrong about the photo, too. Hopefully, the White House will realize it's a mistake to fail to release a death photo of bin Laden.
Maybe this whole thing is just a dance to make it appear that Obama was forced to release a photo, even though he really didn't want to do it.
The allegedly gutsy Obama should show some guts. _______________
I believe Osama bin Laden is dead.
I don't think Obama cooked up an elaborate scheme to jump-start his stalled presidency.
I don't think there's any attempt to fake bin Laden's death. There's no conspiracy, but I'm unsure about some aspects of how everything was handled.
There are some questioning the speedy burial at sea of bin Laden's remains according to Islamic law, like Sen. Lindsey Graham.
I think it's strange that the Obama administration is stressing that bin Laden was buried in a respectful manner and in accordance with Islamic law. This evil man who slaughtered thousands deserves no respect. Why try to avoid offending Muslims on the burial issue?
Bin Laden was not a Muslim leader; he was a mass murderer of Muslims. Indeed, al Qaeda has slaughtered scores of Muslims in many countries, including our own. So his demise should be welcomed by all who believe in peace and human dignity.
Obama is saying bin Laden was the enemy of Muslims. Shouldn't Muslims around the world be cheering his demise and thanking the U.S. rather than being ready to criticize the U.S. for dissing him?
The U.S. hunted him down and killed him. This message that bin Laden had a respectful burial is weird.
The corpse was taken to the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson, officials told ABC News. The ceremony, done according to Islamic law, began about 1:10 a.m. today EST and lasted about 45 minutes, according to officials.
Traditional washing of the body was followed by wrapping in white sheets. A military officer read religious remarks that were translated by a native Arabic speaker, then bin Laden was eased into the sea.
Officials said no other alternatives were available.
"We are ensuring that it is handled in accordance with Islamic practice and tradition," an administration official said. "This is something that we take very seriously. And so therefore this is being handled in an appropriate manner."
What? That's bizarre.
And why slip his corpse into the Arabian Sea so quickly, within 24 hours of killing him, given the circumstances?
That seems a bit hurried and odd to me, but I can accept it. As lame as it is to abide by Islamic rules for the enemy of Muslims, I do accept the government's story.
However, what I need is a photo. I need to see a photo of bin Laden dead.
It has nothing to do with doubts and conspiracies. I just need to see a photo of bin Laden dead.
As elated crowds celebrated the death of Osama bin Laden after Navy SEALs killed the al-Qaida chief in a weekend raid in Pakistan some are asking, "Where's the proof?"
I wish I felt "elated," but I don't.
I'm glad our great, skilled, brave military brought the evil and cowardly bin Laden to justice. They're heroes.
We can be proud as one nation, but the war isn't over. This is a tremendous victory, but bin Laden's legacy concerns me.
Starting with the morning of September 11, 2001, and continuing today, we've seen many heroes, brave men and women putting themselves at risk to protect us. Thousands of Americans have died in the War on Terror, here at home and on the battlefield.
Bin Laden's dead but there is no peace.
Ending this one life doesn't begin to erase the pain and suffering of the thousands and thousands of bin Laden's victims.
Celebration doesn't seem right to me. It doesn't fit.
Photos depicting a bloodied and bruised face appearing to be that of bin Laden began appearing on Twitter and Facebook last night soon after news of his death spread across the Internet. According to Reuters, an archive photo of bin Laden at a news conference proves that image was a fake. Now people are asking to see the evidence proving bin Laden is dead.
"We have released a tremendous amount of information to date," Obama's top counterterrorism adviser John Brennan said. "At the same time we don't want to do anything that is going to compromise our ability to be as successful the next time one of these guys needs to be taken off the battlefield."
As for the releasing of death photographs, Brennan said that is "something to be determined." But he added they're going to do everything they can to prevent denials of bin Laden's death.
From Pakistan to the U.S. people expressed their skepticism about the death of the man who is perhaps the most infamous terrorist ever known.
"I won't believe it until I see it with my own eyes. Like Sadam I wouldn't have believed it until I saw his body," tweeted MaryGlazerOut.
Eric Solochier, 22, a senior at Penn State University said his dad was one of the firefighters who helped clean up New York City the day following 9/11, so bin Laden's death would be especially meaningful to him -- he wants to believe it, but he's not convinced.
"There has to be some sort of visual or DNA test. You can obviously photoshop anything you want," said Solochier. "They should submit video. It would be somewhat gruesome but it's something we should be able to see. "
I, too, want to see a photo.
It's not that I don't trust the government, but I need an image. Even though I know a photo could be doctored, I still think the Obama administration should let the world see bin Laden dead.
Right now, the images in my mind are the planes flying into the towers, the Pentagon in flames, and the Pennsylvania field smoldering. I see the people jumping from the World Trade Center - such horrific images. And then there are the funerals, all those images from the funerals.
The bin Laden chapter of the War on Terror won't be closed for me until I see him dead.
A photo is necessary.
I'll never get the images of 9/11 out of my head. I want the dead bin Laden to be there, too. ______________
A Senior US Official tells CNN 10 hard drives, 5 computers and more than 100 storage devices which includes discs, DVDs and thumb drives were taken from the compound.
The senior us official also says the White House received 3 sets of photos yesterday. The photos included:
1. Photos of OBLs body at a hanger after he was brought back to Afghanistan. This is the most recognizable with a clear picture of his face. The picture is gruesome because he has a massive open head wound across both eyes. It’s very bloody and gory.
2. Photos from the burial at sea on the USS Carl Vinson. Photos of OBL before the shroud was put on and then wrapped in the shroud.
3. There are photos of the raid itself that include photos of the two dead brothers, one of OBLs dead son (adult adolescent, maybe approx 18 yrs old) and some of the inside scene of the compound.
The official says the challenge is that the picture that includes the most recognizable image of OBLs face – from the hangar in Afghanistan – is so gruesome and mangled its not appropriate for say the front page of the newspaper. On the other hand, this is the one that is most identifiable as him.
I really don't like to see gruesome photos of human beings that have been mangled, even monsters like bin Laden. But this is reality. It's history.
We have the right to see the images. One should have the choice to view them or not.
NBC News/MSNBC provides reaction to Osama bin Laden's death.
President George W. Bush
President Barack Obama called Bush in Dallas at 9:04 p.m. central time to inform him that bin Laden was dead and they spoke for four minutes, a Bush spokesman said.
The Sept. 11 attacks were a defining moment of Bush's presidency. He launched the war in Afghanistan and the hunt for bin Laden spanned the rest of his presidency. His statement:
"Earlier this evening, President Obama called to inform me that American forces killed Osama bin Laden, the leader of the al Qaeda network that attacked America on September 11, 2001. I congratulated him and the men and women of our military and intelligence communities who devoted their lives to this mission. They have our everlasting gratitude. This momentous achievement marks a victory for America, for people who seek peace around the world, and for all those who lost loved ones on September 11, 2001. The fight against terror goes on, but tonight America has sent an unmistakable message: No matter how long it takes, justice will be done."
Bonnie McEneaney, 57, wife of Eamon McEneaney, who died in the 9/11 attacks
"It doesn't bring back all the wonderful people who were killed 10 years ago. It's long overdue."
"I'm completely numb. I'm stunned," she told msnbc.com.
Jack Lynch, 75, who lost his son, New York City firefighter Michael Francis Lynch
"The first thought I had in my mind was that it didn't bring my son back. You cut the head off a snake, you'd think it would kill the snake. But someone will take his place. People like him still exist. The fact that he's gone is not going to stop terrorism."
"I understand that bin Laden was an evil person. He may have believed in what he was doing. I'm not going to judge him. I'm sure some people will look at this and they'll be gratified that he's dead, but me personally, I'm going to leave his fate in God's hands."
Lee Hanson, 78, of Easton, Conn., who lost his son, Peter, daughter-in-law, Sue, and 2 1/2 year-old granddaughter, Christine — the youngest victim of the 9/11 attacks.
They were aboard the second plane that hit the World Trade Center "It's taken a while to do it, but we've done it. It's a really good thing to get out there — if you fool around with the U.S., you will be caught."
"Many segments wil try to avenge this ... There's still a great danger there."
Still, he said: "There's no such thing as closure."
New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg
"After September 11, 2001, we gave our word as Americans that we would stop at nothing to capture or kill Osama bin Laden. After the contribution of millions, including so many who made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation, we have kept that word.
"The killing of Osama bin Laden does not lessen the suffering that New Yorkers and Americans experienced at his hands, but it is a critically important victory for our nation - and a tribute to the millions of men and women in our armed forces and elsewhere who have fought so hard for our nation.
"New Yorkers have waited nearly ten years for this news. It is my hope that it will bring some closure and comfort to all those who lost loved ones on September 11, 2001."
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo
"The death of Osama Bin Laden is a historic moment that represents a major step in our country's efforts to defeat terrorism around the world and should bring a sense of justice to the victims of 9/11 and his other attacks.
"We will never forget those who were lost, their families and those who risked their lives to save others.
"New Yorkers endured Bin Laden's most devastating and destructive attack, and his death brings back the horrific images and emotions of that terrible day. However, his death also reminds us of our strength, courage, and unity as a people in our response to his actions.
"The Administration's vigilance and dedication to hunt down Osama Bin Laden has never wavered and I applaud their commitment to this cause. I also applaud our men and women in uniform who have fought tirelessly against terrorism and to defend freedom.
"The threat to our state and our nation unfortunately does not die with Osama Bin Laden. We must remain vigilant in preventing terror acts and continue to do everything to keep our state and nation safe and secure."
House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio
"This is great news for the security of the American people and a victory in our continued fight against al Qaeda and radical extremism around the world. We continue to face a complex and evolving terrorist threat, and it is important that we remain vigilant in our efforts to confront and defeat the terrorist enemy and protect the American people. I want to congratulate — and thank — the hard-working men and women of our Armed Forces and intelligence community for their tireless efforts and perseverance that led to this success. I also want to commend President Obama and his team, as well as President Bush, for all of their efforts to bring Osama bin Laden to justice."
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor
"Nearly a decade ago, in the days after 9/11, President Bush said, 'Whether we bring our enemies to justice or bring justice to our enemies, justice will be done.' Tonight, we've learned that justice has been done. The man with the blood of more than 3,000 Americans on his hands, the man who forced us to begin to think the unthinkable - is now dead.
"Families who lost loved ones at the hands of Bin Laden and his terrorist organization have grieved for far too long and this sends a signal that America will not tolerate terrorism in any form. The men and women of our armed forces and intelligence community have fought valiantly for the last decade and this is a major victory and testament to their dedication. I commend President Obama who has followed the vigilance of President Bush in bringing Bin Laden to justice. While this is no doubt a major event in our battle against terrorism, we will not relent in our fight against terror and our efforts to keep America safe and secure."
Rep. Peter T. King, R-N.Y., chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security
"I commend President Obama on the announcement of the killing of Osama bin Laden.
"Today, the American people have seen justice. The leader of the United States' top enemy has gotten what he deserves for orchestrating the deaths of nearly 3,000 innocent Americans on September 11, 2001.
"In 2001, President Bush said 'we will not tire, we will not falter, and we will not fail.' President Bush deserves great credit for putting action behind those words. President Obama deserves equal credit for his resolve in this long war against al-Qaeda.
"This great success would not have been possible without the tireless work of countless brave men and women who have served around the world in this War on Terror."
Sen.Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y.
"This is a thunderous strike for justice for the thousands of my fellow New Yorkers — and citizens from all over the world — who were murdered on 9/11. It took close to ten years, but the world's most wanted terrorist has finally met his deserved fate. New York's heart is still broken from the tragedy of 9/11, but this at least brings some measure of closure and consolation to the victims and their families.
"This is a massive accomplishment for the countless military and intelligence personnel who have been urgently dedicated to this task for the past decade. Because Bin Laden's evil dogma has poisoned the minds of so many others, we cannot let up in the war on terror. This successful mission sends a definitive message to those who would test the resolve of the people of the United States of America: do not doubt our resolve; if you do us harm, we will find you, we will mete out justice, and we will prevail."
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.
"I am overjoyed that we finally got the world's top terrorist. The world is a better and more just place now that Osama bin Laden is no longer in it. I hope the families of the victims of the September 11th attacks will sleep easier tonight and every night hence knowing that justice has been done. I commend the President and his team, as well as our men and women in uniform and our intelligence professionals, for this superb achievement.
"But while we take heart in the news that Osama bin Laden is dead, we must be mindful that al-Qaeda and its terrorist allies are still lethal and determined enemies, and we must remain vigilant to defeat them."
Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice (she was national security adviser on 9/11)
"Absolutely thrilling. I am overwhelmed with gratitude and continue to be amazed at what our military has achieved."
British Prime Minister David Cameron
"Osama bin Laden was responsible for the worst terrorist atrocities the world has seen — for 9/11 and for so many attacks, which have cost thousands of lives, many of them British. It is a great success that he has been found and will no longer be able to pursue his campaign of global terror.
"The news that Osama bin Laden is dead will bring great relief to people across the world.
"But above all today, we should think of the victims of the poisonous extremism that this man has been responsible for. Of course, nothing will bring back those loved ones that families have lost to terror. But at least they know the man who was responsible for these appalling acts is no more."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
"This is a resounding triumph for justice, freedom and the values shared by all democratic nations fighting shoulder to shoulder in determination against terrorism."
Geraldo Rivera was thrilled to report that Osama bin Laden is dead.
It was as if he couldn't believe it when he learned the news and read it live on the air.
Transcript
GERALDO RIVERA: Stand by. Let's see. Hold on, hold on. I'm getting... what's this? Quick, quick.
(Reading)
'Senior Capitol Hill producer Chad Pergram confirms Osama bin Laden is dead. Senior Captiol Hill producer Chad Pergram confirms Osama bin Laden is dead.'
Can it be, ladies and gentlemen? Could it be?
Chad is one of the best in the business. He really is an extraordinary person. I just, I'm...
Hold it, hold it, hold it, hold it, hold it.
(Reading)
'Bin Laden is dead. Bin Laden is dead. Confirmed. Urgent. Confirmed. Bin Laden is dead. Multiple sources.'
Osama bin Laden is dead. Happy days! Happy days, everybody!
This is the greatest night of my career. The bum is dead, the savage who hurt us so grievously. And I am so blessed, I'm so privileged to be at this desk at this moment.
...I think that his continued existence on this earth, Osama bin Laden's continued existence on this earth has represented a continuing humiliation to the United States of America. He defied President George W. Bush, 43, and President Barack Obama, president 44, for all this time.
I don't care if he died falling into, you know, a mud hole or hitting his head on a car. The fact that he is dead, and we have multiple sources...
...Isn't that wonderful news? Isn't this a brilliant way to start your week?
FOX News is confirming, our senior Capitol Hill producer Chad Pergram, citing multiple sources, that the terror mastermind, the nightmare, America's long nightmare... how wonderful is it that as we approach the tenth anniversary of September 11th...?
And I remember my kids' elementary school, we lost at least a half a dozen dads who worked for Cantor Fitzgerald and some of these other companies on Wall Street on 9/11, that's why I came to FOX News, to pursue and watch that monster being removed, being punished.
It is beyond joy that I bring you... I wish I could confirm it with my own eyes and my own reporter's notebook.
I trust Chad Pergram totally, and I want very much to get him on the phone. I want to hear it from his, his voice.
...All right. Chad's on the phone now. Chad Pergram...
CHAD PERGRAM: Hello.
RIVERA: Chad, let's have it. Let's have it. What do you know?
PERGRAM: I am told by multiple sources on Capitol Hill that Osama bin Laden is dead. That's the bottom line here.
The man behind the suicide hijack attacks of September 11, 2001, and who U.S. officials said late on Sunday was dead, was the nemesis of former President George W. Bush, who pledged to take him "dead or alive" and whose two terms were dominated by a "war on terror" against his al Qaeda network.
Bush failed. Obama succeeded.
Lame.
We know Obama didn't want bin Laden alive.
He wanted him dead. Obama wouldn't know what to do with him if he were taken alive.
Obama's speech announcing the successful mission to kill bin Laden was rather self-serving. HE gave the order and don't forget it.
He definitely wants the nation to give him credit. Obama does deserve credit for basically keeping up the pressure on bin Laden by continuing President Bush's policies.
I'm so grateful to the brave men and women fighting the War on Terror, protecting us.
What bothers me is that some Leftist pundits are suggesting bin Laden's death will change American policy, as if the threat from RADICAL Islam is no more.
That's incredibly naive. I would think the threat of retaliation is greater now. I don't feel safer. We can't let our guard down.
Bin Laden's death is a great accomplishment. It's a milestone.
I hope it brings some peace to the loved ones of the victims of 9/11. I hope they feel a sense that justice has been done.
Bin Laden is dead but the war he declared against the U.S. isn't over.
