Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.
Note: This feature currently requires accessing the site using the built-in Safari browser.
Far from the no-brainer that Romney depicts, the secret, high-level discussions leading up to the raid were fraught with intense debate and uncertainty—and Obama’s final decisions, on both whether and how to attack, went against some of his top advisers’ recommendations.
Vice President Joe Biden revealed a few months ago that he had urged Obama not to mount the assault. Bergen and Allison report that Secretary of Defense Robert Gates joined him in the dissent—and they explain why.
In the weeks leading up to the decision, a group of counterterrorism officials, after conducting a “red-team” exercise of what could go wrong in such an attack, estimated that there was only a 40 percent chance Osama Bin Laden was actually in the compound. The CIA put the odds at 60 percent. Bergen quotes Michael Morell, the CIA’s deputy director, as telling the president that “the circumstantial case of Iraq having WMD was actually stronger than the circumstantial case that bin Laden is living in the Abbottabad compound.”
Faced with these uncertainties, a president could have been forgiven for holding back. Certainly, a decision to go ahead was no “slam dunk.” More to the point, if Obama had given the order, and it turned out that Bin Laden wasn’t there, it is an absolute sure thing that, one year later, Romney and his allies would still be lampooning Obama for his foolhardy recklessness and accusing him of letting the world’s No. 1 terrorist slip through our fingers, perhaps this time for good.
He gave the order.
SEAL TEAM 6 killed Bin Laden, not Obama. He did not pull the trigger, so the thread title is a lie. Color me surprised... not.
Barack Obama’s decision to go after Osama Bin Laden: how the president overruled his advisers in ordering the assassination - Slate Magazine
I don't want to drop this at the tail end of Mud dude's thread (sorry, name escapes me) because I feel it's more newsworthy than that.
Far from the no-brainer that Romney depicts, the secret, high-level discussions leading up to the raid were fraught with intense debate and uncertaintyand Obamas final decisions, on both whether and how to attack, went against some of his top advisers recommendations.
Vice President Joe Biden revealed a few months ago that he had urged Obama not to mount the assault. Bergen and Allison report that Secretary of Defense Robert Gates joined him in the dissentand they explain why.
In the weeks leading up to the decision, a group of counterterrorism officials, after conducting a red-team exercise of what could go wrong in such an attack, estimated that there was only a 40 percent chance Osama Bin Laden was actually in the compound. The CIA put the odds at 60 percent. Bergen quotes Michael Morell, the CIAs deputy director, as telling the president that the circumstantial case of Iraq having WMD was actually stronger than the circumstantial case that bin Laden is living in the Abbottabad compound.
Faced with these uncertainties, a president could have been forgiven for holding back. Certainly, a decision to go ahead was no slam dunk. More to the point, if Obama had given the order, and it turned out that Bin Laden wasnt there, it is an absolute sure thing that, one year later, Romney and his allies would still be lampooning Obama for his foolhardy recklessness and accusing him of letting the worlds No. 1 terrorist slip through our fingers, perhaps this time for good.
Credit Oblunder for not screwing up the good work of the special ops.
But when it came to taking the phone call, anybody would have made the same decision.
Even Natasha Obama could have agreed to killing the bad guy.
He gave the order.
All who actually read the article before knee-jerk reacting, raise your hand.
All who actually read the article before knee-jerk reacting, raise your hand.
immaterial. The thread title is a lie. Obama did not personally pull the trigger, fire the fatal shot, so he did not kill bin Laden.
His go ahead allowed SEAL TEAM 6 to pull the trigger, fire the fatal shot, and kill bin Laden.
The thread title is a lie.PERIOD.
He gave the order.
An order, you say? 
He gave the order.
As he should have, and I credit him for doing so. Fact remains, he did not personally kill Bin Laden, SEAL TEAM 6 did.
If the thread title said 'Obama order resulted in the death of bin Laden', it would be 100% correct. It didn't say that. It gives Obama personal credit for killing bin Laden, which is inaccurate.
He gave the order.
Wow!
How brave!
I am in awe.
No.... seriously. I am not being sarcastic.
Credit Oblunder for not screwing up the good work of the special ops.
But when it came to taking the phone call, anybody would have made the same decision.
Even Natasha Obama could have agreed to killing the bad guy.
Nope. The odds were against him. He took someone's advice and added two copters, which is good, since one did crash.
You can go to the mat on this one, not a problem. You are WRONG, but everybody has that right in this country.
You're wrong.
Barack Obama’s decision to go after Osama Bin Laden: how the president overruled his advisers in ordering the assassination - Slate Magazine
I don't want to drop this at the tail end of Mud dude's thread (sorry, name escapes me) because I feel it's more newsworthy than that.
Far from the no-brainer that Romney depicts, the secret, high-level discussions leading up to the raid were fraught with intense debate and uncertaintyand Obamas final decisions, on both whether and how to attack, went against some of his top advisers recommendations.
Vice President Joe Biden revealed a few months ago that he had urged Obama not to mount the assault. Bergen and Allison report that Secretary of Defense Robert Gates joined him in the dissentand they explain why.
In the weeks leading up to the decision, a group of counterterrorism officials, after conducting a red-team exercise of what could go wrong in such an attack, estimated that there was only a 40 percent chance Osama Bin Laden was actually in the compound. The CIA put the odds at 60 percent. Bergen quotes Michael Morell, the CIAs deputy director, as telling the president that the circumstantial case of Iraq having WMD was actually stronger than the circumstantial case that bin Laden is living in the Abbottabad compound.
Faced with these uncertainties, a president could have been forgiven for holding back. Certainly, a decision to go ahead was no slam dunk. More to the point, if Obama had given the order, and it turned out that Bin Laden wasnt there, it is an absolute sure thing that, one year later, Romney and his allies would still be lampooning Obama for his foolhardy recklessness and accusing him of letting the worlds No. 1 terrorist slip through our fingers, perhaps this time for good.
