No Other Choice
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I continue to see on the news and in the press what I consider undo praise heaped upon Mr. Obama for the death of bin Laden.
In my opinion, he had absolutely no choice but to take the man out the minute they knew his location.
Can you imagine the response of the American people if it became known that Mr. Obama knew the location of bin Laden and did nothing about it? He would not be in a second term.
Kevin J. Connelly
Pinehurst
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Comments
DaveyNC 6 months ago
Hey, he gave the order, so there's that. But, it is kinda funny that this is touted as a "gutsy call" when there are about 300 million Americans who would have done the same thing given the opportunity.
The gutsy calls were made on the ground in Pakistan the night bin Laden died.
teufelhunden 6 months ago
Terrorists are still as deadly and powerful as ever. Killing one man did not dampen their cause. On the contrary. To think that many Americans believed that killing Osama meant defeating al Qaeda. Pffftt.
JD 6 months ago
I thought killing Sadam Hussein would solve all our middle east problems? oh wait...
OldPilot 6 months ago
Obama, as Commander in Chief, gave the go order. The mission was succesful. The mission was a 50-50 long shot (although in hindsight based for once on good intelligence) but it involved a long night flight, in violation of a soverign nations airspace, in the face of possible hostile countermeasures in the air and on the ground. Plenty of risk for all involved, from the President on down. Would Connelly say Obama had no choice had the mission failed (remember the failed attempt to rescue the Iran hostages)? Would Connelly have joined the pack of wolves that would have been screaming for Obamas head if the mission had failed or if the risk had appeared so great that Obama could not authorize the mission to proceed? Criticizing the President by stating he had no other choice is as mindless as saying Chesley Sullenberger shouldn't be praised for executing a no loss of life, perfect, open water ditching in a turbine airliner because he had no other choice; it's true he had no other choice but his performance was flawless, as was the Presidents. Maybe Connelly would have preferred a "Mission Accomplished" banner and a carrier landing?
LBK 6 months ago
OldPilot...perfectly stated!
dustyrhoades 6 months ago
by dustyrhoades
Thatcher 6 months ago
Obama made the right call. Period. The intelligence community, after a decade of painstaking tracking, made the right recommendation: OBL is most likely there. And the SEALs made the right call in killing him rather than taking him alive. All deserve credit, including Obama, for a job well done. Cheers!
Labradorparent 6 months ago
Seriously? No other choice?.. seems as if the preceding president, Commander Flightsuit, had this to say 2 years after 9/11..
"I don't know where bin Laden is. I have no idea and really don't care. It's not that important. It's not our priority." - G.W. Bush, 3/13/02
"I am truly not that concerned about him." - G.W. Bush, responding to a question about bin Laden's whereabouts, 3/13/02 (The New American, 4/8/02)
Kudos to the President for the right call, and the intelligence community and the SEALS for execution.
madstork 6 months ago
teufelhunden - spot on. Terrorist leaders are like starfish. They regenerate their own limbs.It is naïve to think that, because one sociopath leader is gone, the succession plan is disrupted.
This administration needs to understand this…politics aside. The reluctance of Obama to call terrorism what is could cost us dearly. No more workplace violence fluff as in Ft Hood. No more excusing underwear bombers. Just tell it like it is.
dustyrhoades 6 months ago
If Osama had been killed on Dubbya's watch, people like Mr. Connelly would be writing letters demanding that his face be put on Mt. Rushmore. This is just Obama Derangement Syndrome at its worst.
skylinefirepest 6 months ago
Labrador...funny isn't it...you say that Bush was saying that he wasn't interested and you tout that as a gold saying. But the truth is that no matter what Bush said publicly we were chasing him in the Tora Bora. Do a little research before saying and apparently believing that the U.S. had abandoned the effort. A little credit where it's due, please.
smcleod 6 months ago
Thanks for the clarification Dusty. And here I thought Obama Derangement Syndrome is what you suffer from. I thought it was the condition that causes one to lose all basic math skills and renders Liberals unable to recognize unsustainable spending levels.
Thatcher 6 months ago
skyline-- You are correct. Bush should have said, "Hey y'all! We got the name of OBL's courier!" Sadly, and for national security reasons, he didn't tell us. Wonder why. Cheers!
packwilleat 6 months ago
Southern ~ you seriously need to chill out...... boy!! I'd call you a man, but by using your logic you don't deserve the title. ;-)
Toda 6 months ago
Kudo's Dusty ... SOS coming from the same old Obama haters. Wonder why Bush didn't take him out when he was in the Torra Borra mountains. CEASE FIRE ~ you might injure or kill OBL!
Thatcher 6 months ago
Truth is, had the SEALs taken OBL alive, liberals here would have wanted him tried before a civilian court in New York: http://takingnote.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/04/25/how-to-try-terrorists/. They know it, and you know it. But liberals on The Pilot blogs love to act like tough guys, and applaud the SEAL's double-tap. Too funny! Cheers!
mymindwanders 6 months ago
Southern, please breathe and switch to De-caf.
skylinefirepest 6 months ago
Tommy how about doing the slightest bit of reading or research! You apparently have no clue as to what American troops faced in the Tora Bora. It was an area filled with caves and very defensible positions that had been prepped for years by the supporters of osama. Most of these positions were not identifiable until you were right on top of them. You'll also remember that osama was a hero to most of the people in the area and therefore they wouldn't help our troops at all. Our allies in the region would fight somewhat by day and retreat to their villages at night. And yeah, I've never made any bones about how much I detest obama! Nothing new there! And in four years maybe you'll feel the same way if you love this country!
TSG 6 months ago
Yes I can imagine the response if the American people found out if.........? It would mirror the response half of those same people had when President Clinton failed to take advantage of having him "in our sights" as it were. Silence, followed by applause, followed by an invitation to be the key note speaker at a national party convention. I understand the sentiment, but can't we all just remove the phrase "American People" from our lexicon? It doesn't reflect any present tense reality. Rephrasing it as, " Can you imagine how that knowledge would have affected 3-4% of the voting publics' choice?
geoffcutler 6 months ago
Didn't you know, Mr. Connelly? There was an election to win. Hide Benghazi to protect bin Laden's death. "al-Qaida's on the run." Remember? The SEALs didn't kill Osama. Obama did.
teufelhunden 6 months ago
Osama died a martyr and therefore a hero in their eyes. His death strengthened their cause...and resolve.
teufelhunden 6 months ago
Doesn't matter who "got 'em". Moot point. We are not any safer because he's gone and terrorists are not any weaker.
OldPilot 6 months ago
All the BS aside bin Laden was the motivating force behind 9/11. All the BS aside he was terminated on the current Presidents watch. All the BS spouted by thatcher, teufelhunder, skylinefirepest, geoffcutler, tsg ad nauseum doesn't change that fact.
Thatcher 6 months ago
Sorry OldPilot-- I haven't spouted any BS, and you know it. If you think otherwise, tell us where, then post a link that claims what I said was BS. Take your time. Cheers!
njc17 6 months ago
AND THE REALITY IS Obama did NOT want to issue the kill order, he was talked into it.
JD 6 months ago
I haven't spouted any BS, and you know it. If you think otherwise, tell us where, then post a link that claims what I said was BS
Oh I can recollect a few times you confirmed yourself as full of BS. Actually, it's every time you post. Cheer, Excelsior!
moonchild7 6 months ago
Cheney and Rumsfeld had the info from our troops in Tora Bora as to where OBL was and how to get him. BUT, they decided against it. Wonder Why? So they could make the war go on and on and on. Good for "Business" you know. Very sick minded people. I read the entire report, do read it sometime. The horrible situation in Benghazi was terrible and seems to have been a CIA and State Dept. fiasco. Get over it guys. President Obama said he would go after and get OBL and he did...since George had STOPPED LOOKING.
skylinefirepest 6 months ago
You know, folks....the only HATE I see on these comments is most always from the liberal left. But racism and hate is the epitome of the keywords for the dems..
TSG 6 months ago
I guess it is true that the only thing worse than an old driver is an old pilot. It's probably a sound idea to read the comments before labeling any as BS, but ignorance seems to have served your " type first, have perspective later" approach well. Any President who was serving during this extremely dangerous mission in which our military's main worry was an "allied" Pakistani response, will undoubtedly receive credit. Just as ANY President serving during documented opportunities to take lethal action against OBL will receive blame. Evidence to support these truisms abound, and if any BS is present, it emanates from our own elderly flyer. Try doing a tiny bit of research before touting Bin Laden as the " driving force" behind any one mission or attack. Other than the conception, planning, logistical support, and execution of that attack, OBL was the driving force? Wow, looks even dumber when I expand on your point.
geoffcutler 6 months ago
Well, Moon and others who praise Obama for getting bin Laden. If he is responsible for getting bin Laden, then he is also responsible for not protecting our people in Benghazi. Yet he has, since 9/11/2012, done whatever it takes to avoid that responsibility. One presumes to protect his re-election, which in part he secured by campaigning on his success killing bin Laden and assuring the public that al-Qaida was therefore on the run. If Obama's responsible for bin-Laden, then he's responsible for Behghazi. We'll wait for him to take it, and our leftist posters to admit it.
skylinefirepest 6 months ago
Moonie, you're spouting out and out lies again...read my post about the Tora Bora. Bush never gave up looking for osama despite what you may fantasize about. The idea that he did is simply more liberal leftie bullhockey, rat doodles, bottom of the ocean whale dung, get the idea??
skylinefirepest 6 months ago
Tommy and Moonie, you are spouting absolute lies. I have talked with SF guys that were in the hunt for obl in the Tora Bora mountains. Have you???? Obviously not since you guys continue to spout the same old lies about Bush giving up the search. And if obama is so freaking great how come it took months for him to make the decision to take him out???
pulledpork 6 months ago
This debate is all good but it derails what was at the heart of this re-election, PPACA (Obamacare). The controversy over Bengazi, food stamps, jobs and taxes served as a smokescreen to deflect the main achievement of Barrack Obama - the full scale implementation of PPACA. 99% of this country has no idea what is in store for them in 2014, which is the biggest government bureacracy to come down the pike since Medicare in 1964. The scale, the reach, the reporting requirements, the penalties, the enforcement, the coordination between citizens, employers, Unlce Sam, the IRS, the state and federal governments, exchanges is on a scale that dwarfs Medicare and Social Security. We are not just talking senior citizens, but coordinated healthcare for 350,000,000 million people. Where was the press? Not even Fox talked about this. The Obama campaign out-flanked Romney and engaged in talking points that made no mention of PPACA and all of it's supposed benefits. It is a noble idea and a worthy cause, but for all the "liberals" who point and says, they should call it Romney-care, I ask you what state in the country has the highest per capita medical costs? Cehck it out. Our country has no idea, but it will never be the same. We are on our way to European socialism, it's is coming, and there is nothing we can do now. There are many more specifics I could bring as far as reimbursemnt schedules and condensed tier rating systems that will make it more expensive especially for young people, but that's when eyes glaze over, which lowers ratings for mewsbroadcasters. Have your doubts? Go to Congressional Research service and do some homework. Folks have no clue.
teufelhunden 6 months ago
You're right pulled pork. The middle class WILL feel this in their nether regions even though they were told otherwise.
OldPilot 6 months ago
BS: spoken or written material that is without factual base, endlessly argued by the speaker or writer as truth, in which nothing makes sense and/or contributes neither positive nor valid information pertinent to the subject of the conversation, i.e.: "ipse dixit".
teufelhunden 6 months ago
Sorry to disappoint :/
pulledpork 6 months ago
old pilot. If you wish to dispute it, look it up and argue otherwise. Watching tv does not count. Watching Bill Maher does not count. I welcome any thoughtful discussion besides the regurgitation of CNN et.al.
When large employers (over 50) start deciding to dump coverage and pay the fine versus continuing their benefits, remember where you heard it first. The average guy will be forced to the exchanges to fend for himself. That or his employer will reduce his hours to part time status. If you have more to offer than "BS", let me know. The light at the end of the Obamacare tunnel is a freight train. Luckily for Obama, the lemmings in the media don't have the guts or work ethic to do the homework and notify the citizens. It unfortunately is a by-product of a media that is 90% a defender of this president versus a watchdog. It is a shame too, because this country deserves to know.
Thatcher 6 months ago
pulledpork-- Great post! Love the name, by the way. Cheers!
OldPilot 6 months ago
Res ipsa loquitur. The posts mentioned, now including "pulledpork", have nothing to do with the subject of the letter written by Connelly, which posits the President is the beneficiary of too much credit for the demise of bin Laden, but instead wander off into the usual complaining about everything Obama.
TSG 6 months ago
Must have too much time on my hands to be engaging with Pontius Sr, but here goes. Defining BS doesn't serve you well when some, if not most of your critiques fit glove like into that same definition. Speaking just for me, which point would you find lacking in fact? Original letter asked how the country would have reacted if..... I responded to that question using a recent example of his scenario. I could have used W, but he wasn't as visible as the black hole that is Clinton, was this year. I just wonder if on the day of the daring mission into Pakistan, the SecState was forced to engage in an emergency landing after being strafed by Migs, and after landing, had to perform the Alan Arkin, In-Laws serpentine move, before diving behind a burned out washtub for cover. Just a query. How does a person who fabricates a story like that become SecState in the first place? Politics aside, that still lowers the credibility of any defenders she has. Back on point, the assertion of credit or blame to those who find themselves in office during triumphs and failures goes with the territory, and always has. You're bestowing omniscient powers to OBL denotes a very real, not perceived, misunderstanding of the Islamists' stated goals, and expert research done on his specific role within that movement generally, and the Afghani branch in particular. Apologies for not trashing the President, thus making your assertions appear credible. Stick to cable news, Triple A is more your speed.
Toda 5 months, 4 weeks ago
" I have talked with SF guys that were in the hunt for obl in the Tora Bora mountains."
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1072109/We-bin-Laden-Tora-Bora---I-aborted-mission-says-elite-Delta-Force-Commander.html#ixzz2ClnvLVEl Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
Well SLFP I showed you mine, so where's yours?
Toda 5 months, 4 weeks ago
"Fury's Delta team joined the CIA and Afghan fighters and piled into pickup trucks. He claimed their orders were to kill bin Laden and leave the body with the Afghans, keeping an Afghan face on the war.
Here's your link
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1072109/We-bin-Laden-Tora-Bora---I-aborted-mission-says-elite-Delta-Force-Commander.html#ixzz2CloaXwBD Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
skylinefirepest 5 months, 4 weeks ago
All I know Tommy is what the guys told me...after telling me not to believe everything I read in the media!!! So you figure it out...there's also plenty of written evidence by SEALS and others who have written extensively on the hunt in the Tora Bora.
teufelhunden 5 months, 4 weeks ago
I don't trust the media at all. All they do is their master's bidding.
Toda 5 months, 4 weeks ago
skylinefirepest => is that the best you can offer? What a lame excuse for not providing links from the Pentagon...
Toda 5 months, 4 weeks ago
skylinefirepest 1 day, 20 hours ago Tommy how about doing the slightest bit of reading or research! You apparently have no clue as to what American troops faced in the Tora Bora.
skylinefirepest 5 months, 4 weeks ago
Tommy, my research is not based on hearsay or "news issues" from media sources. While I cannot provide you with names I can tell you that I personally, not hearsay, spoke with the guys that had boots on the ground. ( I worked with the SF "Robin Sage" program for over twenty years and really got to know several of the instructors quite well. ) You can argue with them if you can find them. For myself, I take their word for it rather than politically correct, airbrushed, versions of what happened and who said what. Take that as you will. Bush was not a stupid person ( newsflash for all the crap he took from liberals ) and he liked and respected our military members ( as opposed to some of the people that comment on the Pilot website ) and the hunt for obl was an ongoing thing NO MATTER what was put out for public consumption. Happy Thanksgiving to you...I'm headed out of town so I may not see your reply for a week.
OldPilot 5 months, 4 weeks ago
TSG is now added to the BS ranks. Based on his/her/it's last post TSG needs to get back on the thorazine but, that aside, if TSG is to be believed the motivating force behind the 9/11 attacks was, if other than bin Laden (select one or all that you think apply folks): 1) the Easter bunny; 2) the Tooth fairy; 3) Santa Claus; 4) Bigfoot; 5) the Loch Ness monster 6) a rouge asteroid; or 7) aliens.