Well, yes, as a matter of fact he is.
A great victory in the war on terror. Kudos to the American military and intelligence community for pulling off what must have been a hell of a combined operation.
As readers of this blog know, I am not the biggest fan of the President. But he deserves kudos for having the stones to order the operation to go ahead. And I think his speech last night struck the right tone. Here is what the President said:
Here is what I would have said:
But we have to remember that while this is an important victory, it is not the final victory. There are many more vicious types like him to be tracked down and brought to justice. We must remain vigilant to protect against the kind of evil represented by bin Laden and his acolytes. Such as , for example, Hamas - which had this to say - Hamas Condemns the Killing of Bin Laden - NYTimes.com. But the crazy useful idiots in the West will still love them, don't worry.
Reaction is, of course, all over the Internet today. Here are just a few examples - no doubt that there will be a lot more as details emerge over the next while - especially about Pakistan's role in allowing bin Laden to take refuge there, as well as any role it played in assisting the military operation that killed him.
- Osama Bin Laden dead: Human intelligence and careful preparation finished him off. - By Anne Applebaum - Slate Magazine
- Alex Wilner: Bin Laden’s death sends another terrorist thug to his just reward Full Comment National Post
- Full Comment Forum: Can we breathe easier now that bin Laden is dead? Full Comment National Post
- The death of bin Laden: Who knew and what does it mean? Full Comment National Post
- The PJ Tatler » Osama bin Laden is dead. I blame Bush.
- The Rosett Report » Bin Laden’s Dead, But It Ain’t Over
- The PJ Tatler » Initial thoughts on OBL’s demise
- Osama bin Who? - An FP List | Foreign Policy
- Belmont Club » The End of the Trail?
- Christopher Hitchens: Osama, like Saddam, was tracked to a shrunken domain Full Comment National Post
- Netanyahu tells Obama: Bin Laden's death shows U.S. determined to fight terror - Haaretz Daily Newspaper | Israel News
- Ron Radosh » President Obama’s Great Victory in the War Against Terror: Let us Praise Him, and Put it in Perspective
- Michael Ross: Obama strikes a blow against duplicity in Pakistan | Full Comment | National Post
- Jonathan Kay: Bin laden isn’t dead, he’s living with Elvis | Full Comment | National Post
- Unholy Warrior - by Lee Smith > Tablet Magazine - A New Read on Jewish Life
- Photos show White House watched bin Laden raid in real time
And let us never forget the victims of al-Qaeda - from the embassy bombings in Africa, to the USS Cole, to 9/11 - as well as countless Muslims murdered throughout the Middle East. Hopefully, there has been some small measure of justice done in their names.
Puhleeze Mark. Obama had nothing to do with this military operation. Give the credit to the intelligent people, the navy seals, who have been watching this operation closely for over three months. They chose to charge the installation at this time because they had the proper equipment which was specifically designed for jobs like this perfected only recently and was not available during Clinton and Bush eras. Obama however is not one to miss an opportunity for a photo op. What perfect timing that this news was released just as his popularity was palpably declining. The opportunist will appear at Ground Zero on Thursday to unashmedly take the credit.
ReplyDeleteI think you should read my post again.
ReplyDeleteIn fairness to the President, ultimately it was his call to approve a mission that was fraught with tremendous peril - physical and political. If the raid had failed, Obama would have borne the blame like Carter did for the failed raid on Teheran. Since the mission was a success, I do not think you can deny him the right to share somewhat in the glory.
Maybe this cartoon is a good answer to this question - http://cagle.com/news/OsamabinLadenDead/images/bfair.jpg
By the way, are you suggesting that the President timed this to pump up his popularity? You said "What perfect timing that this news was released just as his popularity was palpably declining"
Sorry - I absolutely do not buy that