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Obama: Bin Laden dead


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2011 May 1, 3:05pm   11,998 views  72 comments

by Vicente   ➕follow (1)   💰tip   ignore  

Done!

East Room

11:35 P.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT: Good evening. Tonight, I can report to the American people and to the world that the United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama bin Laden, the leader of al Qaeda, and a terrorist who’s responsible for the murder of thousands of innocent men, women, and children.

It was nearly 10 years ago that a bright September day was darkened by the worst attack on the American people in our history. The images of 9/11 are seared into our national memory -- hijacked planes cutting through a cloudless September sky; the Twin Towers collapsing to the ground; black smoke billowing up from the Pentagon; the wreckage of Flight 93 in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where the actions of heroic citizens saved even more heartbreak and destruction.

And yet we know that the worst images are those that were unseen to the world. The empty seat at the dinner table. Children who were forced to grow up without their mother or their father. Parents who would never know the feeling of their child’s embrace. Nearly 3,000 citizens taken from us, leaving a gaping hole in our hearts.

On September 11, 2001, in our time of grief, the American people came together. We offered our neighbors a hand, and we offered the wounded our blood. We reaffirmed our ties to each other, and our love of community and country. On that day, no matter where we came from, what God we prayed to, or what race or ethnicity we were, we were united as one American family.

We were also united in our resolve to protect our nation and to bring those who committed this vicious attack to justice. We quickly learned that the 9/11 attacks were carried out by al Qaeda -- an organization headed by Osama bin Laden, which had openly declared war on the United States and was committed to killing innocents in our country and around the globe. And so we went to war against al Qaeda to protect our citizens, our friends, and our allies.

Over the last 10 years, thanks to the tireless and heroic work of our military and our counterterrorism professionals, we’ve made great strides in that effort. We’ve disrupted terrorist attacks and strengthened our homeland defense. In Afghanistan, we removed the Taliban government, which had given bin Laden and al Qaeda safe haven and support. And around the globe, we worked with our friends and allies to capture or kill scores of al Qaeda terrorists, including several who were a part of the 9/11 plot.

Yet Osama bin Laden avoided capture and escaped across the Afghan border into Pakistan. Meanwhile, al Qaeda continued to operate from along that border and operate through its affiliates across the world.

And so shortly after taking office, 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.

Then, last August, after years of painstaking work by our intelligence community, I was briefed on a possible lead to bin Laden. It was far from certain, and it took many months to run this thread to ground. I met repeatedly with my national security team as we developed more information about the possibility that we had located bin Laden hiding within a compound deep inside of Pakistan. And finally, last week, I determined that we had enough intelligence to take action, and authorized an operation to get Osama bin Laden and bring him to justice.

Today, at my direction, the United States launched a targeted operation against that compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. A small team of Americans carried out the operation with extraordinary courage and capability. No Americans were harmed. They took care to avoid civilian casualties. After a firefight, they killed Osama bin Laden and took custody of his body.

For over two decades, bin Laden has been al Qaeda’s leader and symbol, and has continued to plot attacks against our country and our friends and allies. The death of bin Laden marks the most significant achievement to date in our nation’s effort to defeat al Qaeda.

Yet his death does not mark the end of our effort. There’s no doubt that al Qaeda will continue to pursue attacks against us. We must –- and we will -- remain vigilant at home and abroad.

As we do, we must also reaffirm that the United States is not –- and never will be -– at war with Islam. I’ve made clear, just as President Bush did shortly after 9/11, that our war is not against Islam. 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.

Over the years, I’ve repeatedly made clear that we would take action within Pakistan if we knew where bin Laden was. That is what we’ve done. But it’s important to note that our counterterrorism cooperation with Pakistan helped lead us to bin Laden and the compound where he was hiding. Indeed, bin Laden had declared war against Pakistan as well, and ordered attacks against the Pakistani people.

Tonight, I called President Zardari, and my team has also spoken with their Pakistani counterparts. They agree that this is a good and historic day for both of our nations. And going forward, it is essential that Pakistan continue to join us in the fight against al Qaeda and its affiliates.

The American people did not choose this fight. It came to our shores, and started with the senseless slaughter of our citizens. After nearly 10 years of service, struggle, and sacrifice, we know well the costs of war. These efforts weigh on me every time I, as Commander-in-Chief, have to sign a letter to a family that has lost a loved one, or look into the eyes of a service member who’s been gravely wounded.

So Americans understand the costs of war. Yet as a country, we will never tolerate our security being threatened, nor stand idly by when our people have been killed. We will be relentless in defense of our citizens and our friends and allies. We will be true to the values that make us who we are. And on nights like this one, we can say to those families who have lost loved ones to al Qaeda’s terror: Justice has been done.

Tonight, we give thanks to the countless intelligence and counterterrorism professionals who’ve worked tirelessly to achieve this outcome. The American people do not see their work, nor know their names. But tonight, they feel the satisfaction of their work and the result of their pursuit of justice.

We give thanks for the men who carried out this operation, for they exemplify the professionalism, patriotism, and unparalleled courage of those who serve our country. And they are part of a generation that has borne the heaviest share of the burden since that September day.

Finally, let me say to the families who lost loved ones on 9/11 that we have never forgotten your loss, nor wavered in our commitment to see that we do whatever it takes to prevent another attack on our shores.

And tonight, let us think back to the sense of unity that prevailed on 9/11. I know that it has, at times, frayed. Yet today’s achievement is a testament to the greatness of our country and the determination of the American people.

The cause of securing our country is not complete. But tonight, we are once again reminded that America can do whatever we set our mind to. That is the story of our history, whether it’s the pursuit of prosperity for our people, or the struggle for equality for all our citizens; our commitment to stand up for our values abroad, and our sacrifices to make the world a safer place.

Let us remember that we can do these things not just because of wealth or power, but because of who we are: one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Thank you. May God bless you. And may God bless the United States of America.

REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT ON OSAMA BIN LADEN

#politics

« First        Comments 16 - 55 of 72       Last »     Search these comments

16   Done!   2011 May 2, 12:38am  

I wonder who that poor sap was they busted in the Mansion and shot in the head to the point he was beyond recognition.

Osama died in a cave in a mountain from that highly publicized J-Dam blast that took out the whole side of the mountain, where his command center was, almost ten years ago. It coincided with Osama never being heard from again, at least no known photo or video was taken of him after that. For a camera loving drama queen with a "Good side" that would have been impossible for him to have gone a whole decade in camera obscurity. The fact that this administration is willing to perpetuate Bush's lies and conspiracies, just means while we're name calling and pointing fingers at each other. The Left and the Right are sucking each other off in a political orgy, where every thing goes.

17   RayAmerica   2011 May 2, 12:57am  

Congratulations to the NAVY SEALS that carried out this incredibly dangerous misssion. No one else deserves any credit for THEIR accomplishment, other than the military & CIA planners that were DIRECTLY involved in the mission.

21   HousingWatcher   2011 May 2, 4:10am  

There are photos Tenouncetrout. The govt. does not want to release them because they are extrmely graphic. Do you think Bin Laden is going to look normal after being shot twice in the head? Even if the phots were released, you probabaly would not recongize him and spew more BS that the photos are not real.

22   Vicente   2011 May 2, 4:11am  

Reviews of the compound are terrible:

Osama Bin Laden's Compound, Pakistan (Google Reviews)

23   Done!   2011 May 2, 4:15am  

OR! He could be the Mystery Boogie man that future presidents could resurrect to fund atrocities that the American people wouldn't be willing to go along with otherwise. I mean we justified being in Afghanistan for 7 years, because the truth on his demise was kept for all these years.

Had we admitted Osama was dead after we got him in '02, we would be home from both Iraq and Afghanistan three months later, and Halliburton would have missed out on Trillions in profits from blood oil.

It won't be a far stretch in say 5 years from now, to say we had the wrong guy.
All we need is an audio tape, that more than enough proof he's still alive for Our media and press.

24   MarkInSF   2011 May 2, 4:17am  

Vicente says

Reviews of the compound are terrible:
Osama Bin Laden’s Compound, Pakistan (Google Reviews)
“Eagles are dandified vultures” - Teddy Roosevelt

LOL :)

25   HousingWatcher   2011 May 2, 4:17am  

"Had we admitted Osama was dead after we got him in ‘02, we would be home from both Iraq and Afghanistan three months later,"

So we could have been home from Iraq BEFORE we invaded? FASCINATING! Do tell moe please...

26   HousingWatcher   2011 May 2, 4:19am  

I won't beleive Bin Laden is dead until I see the LONG FORM death certificate.

On a related note, anyone wwant to take bets as to who the first person in this thread to mix "Obama" and "Osama" will be? Come on, you know someone is goigng to do it.

27   MarkInSF   2011 May 2, 4:22am  

Tenouncetrout says

Had we admitted Osama was dead after we got him in ‘02, we would be home from both Iraq and Afghanistan three months later, and Halliburton would have missed out on Trillions in profits from blood oil.

Personally, I think they timed this so they could distract people from the fake long form birth certificate. People were beginning to figure it out, but now they've forgotten all about it. It's amazing how deep the conspiracy goes and how many people are involved.

29   Vicente   2011 May 2, 4:34am  

Let RayAmerica/Shrek start the "is he really dead?" thread.

This is not that thread, so scram tinfoilers.

30   MarkInSF   2011 May 2, 4:42am  

jvolstad says

http://www.infowars.com/police-state-kicks-into-overdrive-on-dubious-news-of-osama-takedown/

I heard a helecopter overhead. Do you think they could be snooping on the comments as I'm typing with some high tech gear that detects finger movements? I should probaWhat are you talking about jvolstad?! Everybody knows Osama is dead. Stop posting this silly nonsense. The extra police are just for our protection should Al Queda want revenge. Obama is our benevolent leader and I think we really should be working to repeal the amendment that limits presidents to two terms and

phew gone now

31   RayAmerica   2011 May 2, 5:08am  

shrekgrinch says

how would the late Ted Kennedy would have said it while smashed drunk in the well of the US Senate? Oh yes…’Ossama….Obama?…Ossama?’

.... probably something along these lines:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APx2YJ-_jos

32   Vicente   2011 May 2, 5:08am  

shrekgrinch says

Translation: His numbers are in the shit and he needed a boost.

Translation: Shrek has nothing to contribute except unfounded tinfoil attacks.

33   simchaland   2011 May 2, 7:25am  

And I love how President Obama announced this on the anniversary of Bush the Idiot's "Mission Accomplished" speech.

Now at least those words have meaning. This mission is accomplished.

Bush = Ignored intelligence reports warning about 9/11. Never found Bin Laden. Invaded Iraq instead.

Obama = Paid attention to intelligence reports. Made the appropriate orders. The Navy Seals did their jobs. Mission accomplished. Acknowledgement that we still have work to do to protect us from terrorists. Priceless...

34   MarkInSF   2011 May 2, 9:01am  

shrekgrinch says

What unfounded tin-foil attacks? This is what Obama does when he gets into trouble…just like Clinton decided to bomb Iraq on the day the House impeached him.

Yep. Tin foil. What trouble was Obama in anyway? Seems if you assertion were true he's hold that card for some big negative event for him.

35   Vicente   2011 May 2, 9:08am  

shrekgrinch says

What unfounded tin-foil attacks?
This is what Obama does when he gets into trouble…just like Clinton decided to bomb Iraq on the day the House impeached him.

Ah I see it's all about TIMING. Not what he did. Assumedly you think he's had Bin Laden in Gitmo for a year and this was for show? Or what?

I can't think about any "trouble" he's in right now. If it were for votes, he's WAY early for that, this would have gone over much better later during primary runup when he had clear opponents not now when it's the 7 Dwarves who may or may not be running. A small moment of triumph like this won't last a week. It'll vanish soon under the wash of Debt Ceiling Crisis or whatever Faux News is onto next.

As I said "unfounded" meaning without any basis in known fact, and "tin foil" as in involving an unlikely conspiracy. "Attack" seems pretty obvious, you don't have ANYTHING good to say when it comes to Obama, I'm pretty certain if he tied his shoes the same way as you, there'd still be something wrong with the way he did that.

37   HousingWatcher   2011 May 2, 10:22am  

If Obama wanted to increase his poll numbers by killing Bin Lade would he not have waited until closer to the election and then aunnucoed he was dead? If it was me, I would have secretly killed Osama, frozen his body, and then a month or two before the election, aunnoce that Bin Laden has been killed.

38   Done!   2011 May 2, 11:22am  

You guys are still in Love.
You did see how it's done, when Bush got Saddam, right? You catch him in his wife beater with his hair dishevel, you starve him for a few days, then give him a rectal probe. Until he sings like an angle for jail Baloney and Jell-0. Then you parade him before the Courts then behead him, with post haste. Then they can bury him at sea or shot him out of cannon for all I care.

The peanut gallery is going to eat up the Tea Party's conspiracy theories on this come 2012.

39   simchaland   2011 May 2, 11:42am  

ToT, you illustrate the difference between us very well. You conservatives have no respect for human life and use despicable means to "dispose" of those you hate. We liberals respect every human life, even our enemies. (The unborn are not yet humans, they are potential humans so don't even go there.) We Liberals are way more civilized. We wouldn't commit war crimes and commit heinous barbarism that appeals only to the basest of human instincts as was done by your hero Bush.

If you claim to be Christian, your Jesus had a lot to say about embracing your enemies and respecting them. He hung around with criminals and prostitutes. He tended to prefer their company to the conservative elitists of his day. I wonder with whom Jesus would choose to hang if he were around today... I have a reasonable guess that it wouldn't be the elitist corporatist fat cat conservatives.

40   MarkInSF   2011 May 2, 1:13pm  

Tenouncetrout says

then behead him, with post haste. Then they can bury him at sea or shot him out of cannon for all I care.

Looks like you could actually do both in that situation.

41   EastCoastBubbleBoy   2011 May 2, 1:20pm  

As much as the event is historic - I cannot take joy in the demise of another - even in extenuating circumstances such as this. I hope that this brings some sense of closure for the families, that it makes our country safer in the long-run. But try as I might, I don't have that sense of joyous elation that many seem to have today.

Just my humble two cents.

42   bubblesitter   2011 May 2, 1:35pm  

ISI = terrorist organization created to create terror in India. CIA was always taking a chance while working with them. No wonder he was under the guard of ISI and Pakistan military. Does anyone here has doubts that ISI didn't knew he was hiding in Pakistan?

43   Vicente   2011 May 2, 2:18pm  

Elation in his death? No.

However for most Americans this is ESSENTIAL bookend to 9/11. The "War on Terror" will not end tomorrow, but hopefully we can wind things back down to..... well let's call it normal for lack of a better word.

44   Zen   2011 May 2, 2:44pm  

simchaland says

(The unborn are not yet humans, they are potential humans so don’t even go there.) We Liberals are way more civilized.

Really, debate over, simchaland has spoken. Civilized? Killing millions of your species children year after year after year... is civilized? Simchaland feels some misplaced guilt over Bin Laden, but not innocent babies. Heres an idea simchaland, next time you don't want to "GO THERE", don't!

45   MarkInSF   2011 May 2, 3:03pm  

gowi says

simchaland says

We liberals respect every human life, even our enemies. (The unborn are not yet humans, they are potential humans so don’t even go there.) We Liberals are way more civilized.

I hope I’m standing behind you in in the Judgement line one day.

Wow, somebody mentions abortion, and multi-headed demons start popping up on pat.net, speaking in tongues with backward heads. That's pretty cool.

46   MarkInSF   2011 May 2, 3:12pm  

I'm guessing zen / gowi is also against birth control pills, since the can and do cause human zygotes to die?

47   elliemae   2011 May 2, 3:23pm  

I heard he faked his own death in order to hang out with Elvis at truck stops.

48   MarkInSF   2011 May 2, 3:39pm  

Not a huge fan of mediamatters but this was interesting

Rush Slamming Obama for saying he'd sent in troops into Pakistan to capture or kill Osama:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DW_ZLK1R-os

And today:

Congratulations, Mr. President, for Continuing Bush Anti-Terror Policy

http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_050211/content/01125106.guest.html

Seriously, it you don't realize Rush Limbaugh is a hypocritical asshole now, there is something deeply flawed about your character.

49   MarkInSF   2011 May 2, 3:50pm  

Actually, I may have to eat my words after reading beyond the headline:

Rush:

He did not scrub the mission to get Bin Laden. In fact, it may be that President Obama single-handedly came up with the technique in order to pull this off. You see, the military wanted to go in there and bomb like they always do. They wanted to go in there and drop missiles and launch bombs, a number of totally destructive techniques here. But President Obama, perhaps the only qualified member in the room to deal with this, insisted on the Special Forces. No one else thought of that. Not a single intelligence advisor, not a single national security advisor, not a single military advisor came up with the idea of using SEAL Team 6 or any of the Special Forces.

Our military wanted to go in there and just scorch the earth, leaving no evidence of anything after the mission. But President Obama single-handedly understood what was at stake here. He alone understood the need to get DNA to prove the death. Obama alone understood the aftermath, alone understood that there would be doubting Thomases if the place was just obliterated and no evidence was to be found. According to news reports, not one member of the military, not General Petraeus, nobody in the intel community, nobody had the slightest idea of going in there and using Special Forces. It was President Obama, single-handedly and alone, who came up with the strategy that brought about the effective assassination of Osama Bin Laden.

Wow.

50   marcus   2011 May 2, 4:48pm  

Later he said that if Obama were a shoo in for 2012 that BinLaden would still be alive. In other words Obama only did it for political reasons. Typical republican projection, because they assume that all people are like they are, only in it for their own selfish gain. Hey, I guess it's human nature to assume that others are motivated by the same things that you are.

http://www.politicususa.com/en/rush-limbaugh-bin-laden

See down towards the end.

51   MarkInSF   2011 May 2, 4:59pm  

marcus says

See down towards the end.

Yeah, I know. He's a total prick, just like I said in my first post. Still, I was kind of surprised at his gushing words, that when far beyond the boilerplate congratulations.

52   RayAmerica   2011 May 3, 1:09am  

simchaland says

We liberals respect every human life, even our enemies. (The unborn are not yet humans, they are potential humans so don’t even go there.)

Very interesting observation. In the procedure known as "partial birth abortion," the baby is killed as it begins to emerge from the mother's womb. According to your definition, at that point it is not "human." And yet, had it been granted the extra several minutes (or seconds) to emerge alive, it would suddenly be "human." I can't think of a better illustration to prove the radical death culture of the radicalized left.

54   terriDeaner   2011 May 3, 2:21am  

gowi says

...

Ha, ha!

I was wondering when someone would pull this lil' number... let the good times roll!

55   HousingWatcher   2011 May 3, 3:13am  

If Bush deserves credit for killing Bin Laden, then Bill Clinton deserves credit for capturing Saddam Hussein.

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