To Obama, the Glory

Osama bin Laden was probably the closest thing we have ever had, in real life, to a James Bond villain. He was super rich, intelligent, and ambitious. He was the head of a nefarious organization with global reach. He was dedicated to doing mayhem on a Biblical scale. It is altogether appropriate that he was taken out by G.I. Joe after years of footwork by Maxwell Smart.

I am not being facetious. That's my way of celebrating. The finding and killing of bin Laden was brilliant work from beginning to end. Who gets the most credit? That's easy. Barack Obama.

The President made the decision to pull the trigger. That could not have been easy. If Geronimo hadn't been there, it would have wasted eight years of painstaking intelligence work. The President could not rely on airpower. We needed not only to kill bin Laden but to know that we killed him. President Obama took a serious risk in sending in helicopters and men. A Desert One type debacle could surely have doomed his presidency and his reputation. He made the right call. Accordingly, all the glory that goes to the magnificent warriors in and out of uniform is also his glory.

I have only the most minor of criticisms. It would have been better for someone below the President to make the announcement. The President himself should come out only to take responsibility when something goes wrong. Having the Secretary of Defense make the announcement would have better enhanced the President's stature. President Bush rightly declined Obama's offer to appear with him at Ground Zero. Bush has, I think, a better appreciation of decorum than his successor. Again, that is a minor criticism.

It is fair to point out that Bush's critics, including Barack Obama, criticized the President for precisely the things that made this operation possible. Obama blamed Bush for neglecting the hunt for bin Laden. We now know how unfair that criticism was. Last Sunday's operation was the result of a hunt that began in the third year of Bush's Presidency.

It is also fair to point out that journalist muckraker Seymour Hersh once informed Keith Olbermann that Seal Team 6 was "an executive assassination ring". Hirsh seemed to think this was something to be ashamed of and alarmed about. That is not how most Americans see it today.

Seal Team 6 (or the Naval Special Warfare Development Group as it is officially called) is a precision strike force that would make Leonidas' Three Hundred bow in admiration. They accomplished their very difficult mission without losing a single one of their own, in spite of losing a helicopter. This is the kind of thing that doesn't work nearly so well in a Hollywood action flick.

Candidate Obama also vehemently criticized President Bush's national security apparatus. That's ok, that was his job as a Democratic candidate for office. Once it became his job to be President, he continued almost all of Bush's security policies. No one has done more to restore the reputation of the Bush Presidency than Bush's successor in the White House.

If Osama bin Laden had lived another ten years, secure in his compound, and then had passed away peacefully in his Abbottabad bed next to his most recent wife, that would have been a personal victory for a twenty four karat enemy of the United States. Now the books will read that he cowered behind high walls for six years in a compound, afraid to use the internet or a phone, and had to burn his own garbage. Then we found him and blew his brains out. Point United States. Moral: don't mess with us. We will find you, and when Seal Team 6 goes airborne, your ass is oatmeal.

There are all kinds of caveats popping up on the network. We are cautioned about celebrating the death of anyone, however bad he may be. We are reminded that OBL was one man and that his death is hardly the end of al Qaeda or of terrorism in general. That's fair enough. But all glory is fleeting and all victories provisional. That is all the more reason to celebrate now. The real victor in war is the strategos, the Commander in Chief. Just now, the glory goes to Barack.

Comments

[George Mason]

The most important part of Obama's speech was reminding the American people that the war on terror continues (and with very Bush like candor) that it will continue for a long time. Obama is learning, or as the liberals like to say "he is growing." We should applaud him for that.

[Stan Gibilisco]

Although I doubt that this achievement will cause me to vote for Barack Obama in 2012, I'm at the top when it comes to giving him credit.

The way the military disposed of the body, too, was a class act. Perfectly done.

[Miranda]

Well said. Thanks!

[Ken Blanchard]

You're welcome!

Stan: I am not so sure that the handling of the body and of the photos is all that well done. If a Faux bin Laden surfaces out there, we may wish that a lot more people had seen that body. I suspect that the photos will eventually be released anyway.

[William]

What to Do, What to Do . . .

"Now that Obama has decided not to release the photos of Osama bin Laden’s body, al-Qaeda has another option besides simply heroizing the “martyred” OBL: insist that he never died, that it’s just another infidel conspiracy theory to demoralize the umma, etc. Perhaps they could circulate a previously taped video of him. If they choose that option, the administration would do well to realize that conspiracy theories are not the sole domain of the Middle East, and may very well spread — a lesson Obama should have learned from his birth-certificate fiasco."
http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/266469/what-do-what-do-raymond-ibrahim

"You have to show a picture. That was the whole point of the operation: proof of death... What makes photos of the man behind the deaths of thousands of Americans off limits?"

"When you get into the end zone, act like you've been there before." - Tom Landry

[Dave]

That's not the only thing Obama should be getting credit for.

The economy under Obama’s watch has created 2 million new jobs in just two years — already more than the GOP created in eight years under President Bush.

The last time the GOP controlled the White House, the American economy was marked by the weakest job and income growth in six decades, losing ground on “every major measurement” of economic strength. The Wall Street Journal reported that the Bush White House had “the worst track record for job creation since the government began keeping records.”

[Natalia]

lol not sure what the generic bueird at sea would be for bin Laden, but sufadfice it to say, the navy has “proadceaddures” er traaddiadtions for everything.United States Navy, (2oo+) years of traaddiadtion, unhamadpered by progress!On a related note, one of the ships I served on, U.S.S. Briscoe DD-​​977, was the ship JFK, Jr. and his wife and sister-​​in-​​law were bueird at seaa0on.Good ship, good crew ~ F*ck you, turna0to …