one of the most courageous decisions he's ever seen a president make.

[JimH52]

Gates on "courageous" bin Laden raid decision - 60 Minutes - CBS News

...one of the most courageous decisions he's ever seen a president make.

This is coming from a very respected man who was appointed by a Republican President.

 

[brokenarrow]

Gates on "courageous" bin Laden raid decision - 60 Minutes - CBS News

...one of the most courageous decisions he's ever seen a president make.

This is coming from a very respected man who was appointed by a Republican President.

Decision? What decision?

Kill the guy the US has been hunting for almost 10 years!

You mean.....Don't kill him was the other choice?

Obama bravely said OK! What a man!

 

[Zoom-boing]

OBL had Obama on his hit list. I'd have taken him (OBL) out too.

 

[GoneBezerk]

Well, let's see his options...

1) Send in the SEALS to "get" UBL, notice I said "get" not kill. I think the SEALs killed UBL despite an order to "catch him."
2) Don't do anything like Bill Clinton even when told by the CIA where he is hiding...bad PRmove after 9/11. Bill Clinton got away with it since most Americans never heard of UBL.
3) Bomb the hell out of the compound which would prevent getting any physical evidence on UBL and would've killed everyone on site (think women and children)

So in a nutshell....it was not a courageous decision, it was the only decision to make if he had any hope in 2012.

 

[del]

i respect gates opinion.

 

[brokenarrow]

Well, let's see his options...

1) Send in the SEALS to "get" UBL, notice I said "get" not kill. I think the SEALs killed UBL despite an order to "catch him."
2) Don't do anything like Bill Clinton even when told by the CIA where he is hiding...bad PRmove after 9/11. Bill Clinton got away with it since most Americans never heard of UBL.
3) Bomb the hell out of the compound which would prevent getting any physical evidence on UBL and would've killed everyone on site (think women and children)

So in a nutshell....it was not a courageous decision, it was the only decision to make if he had any hope in 2012.

Spare bin Laden............kill the illegals!!

 

[JimH52]

The other option Obama had was to bomb the compound into oblivion. He could have decided that, but we would never have known if OBL was in the compound. This was very risky. Why?

-the Seals could have been killed
-the mission could have gone terribly wrong, aka Carter's rescue of hostages.
-The Pakistanis could have called out their military, resulting in an international incident.
-OBL may not have been there.

You got to give him the props for making the right call, whether you like him or not.

 

[C_Clayton_Jones]

You got to give him the props for making the right call, whether you like him or not.

Agreed – but apparently that’s too much to ask of some.

 

[bucs90]

"Courageous" decisions include making a pre-emptive attack on Iraq and Afghanistan to prevent further attacks. Wars that were PROACTIVE not reactive, and knowing you'll suffer politically.

Ordering SEALS to kill Bin Laden? About as courageous as ordering a Big Mac.

I'm already tired of the left wing's worship of this president. Now, they are making it seem as if he's walked on water.

 

[RetiredGySgt]

The other option Obama had was to bomb the compound into oblivion. He could have decided that, but we would never have known if OBL was in the compound. This was very risky. Why?

-the Seals could have been killed
-the mission could have gone terribly wrong, aka Carter's rescue of hostages.
-The Pakistanis could have called out their military, resulting in an international incident.
-OBL may not have been there.

You got to give him the props for making the right call, whether you like him or not.

I agree. He had a hard choice to make, it involved possibly breaking relations with a shaky ally. He sent US troops into a foreign Country without prior approval of that Country, that required some real risk taking on his part.

 

[JimH52]

The other option Obama had was to bomb the compound into oblivion. He could have decided that, but we would never have known if OBL was in the compound. This was very risky. Why?

-the Seals could have been killed
-the mission could have gone terribly wrong, aka Carter's rescue of hostages.
-The Pakistanis could have called out their military, resulting in an international incident.
-OBL may not have been there.

You got to give him the props for making the right call, whether you like him or not.

I agree. He had a hard choice to make, it involved possibly breaking relations with a shaky ally. He sent US troops into a foreign Country without prior approval of that Country, that required some real risk taking on his part.

Thanks RGS, that is all I am asking anyone to acknowledge. Man, I don't even agree with everything he does and says. I doubt that I ever will. But this decision was a good one and one that had to weigh deeply on him.

Believe me, I could make a list of things that really bother me concerning his policies, but I gave him props for having the courage to make this decision. It took guts.

 

[GoneBezerk]

Dropping bombs on the compound was off the table because the damage would've been too great, the evidence would've been destroyed and innocents would've died in and around the compound.

The 1 option was special ops going in and identifying UBL, most likely to catch him but ended up killing him when he pushed the woman towards them.

So there should be no parade for Obama's decision, but you can do it around your basement.

The other option Obama had was to bomb the compound into oblivion. He could have decided that, but we would never have known if OBL was in the compound. This was very risky. Why?

-the Seals could have been killed
-the mission could have gone terribly wrong, aka Carter's rescue of hostages.
-The Pakistanis could have called out their military, resulting in an international incident.
-OBL may not have been there.

You got to give him the props for making the right call, whether you like him or not.

 

[geauxtohell]

Gates on "courageous" bin Laden raid decision - 60 Minutes - CBS News

...one of the most courageous decisions he's ever seen a president make.

This is coming from a very respected man who was appointed by a Republican President.

Watch the conservorubes go nutso.

Gate's is probably the best SECDEF we have ever had. He is going to be sorely missed.

 

[geauxtohell]

The other option Obama had was to bomb the compound into oblivion. He could have decided that, but we would never have known if OBL was in the compound. This was very risky. Why?

-the Seals could have been killed
-the mission could have gone terribly wrong, aka Carter's rescue of hostages.
-The Pakistanis could have called out their military, resulting in an international incident.
-OBL may not have been there.

You got to give him the props for making the right call, whether you like him or not.

I agree. He had a hard choice to make, it involved possibly breaking relations with a shaky ally. He sent US troops into a foreign Country without prior approval of that Country, that required some real risk taking on his part.

I can't see why it is so hard for so many people on the right to admit this simple fact.

Can you imagine what would have happened to Obama if this had turned out like Desert One?

Then, of course, the people claiming Obama deserves no credit would be giving him all the blame.

 

[geauxtohell]

Dropping bombs on the compound was off the table because the damage would've been too great, the evidence would've been destroyed and innocents would've died in and around the compound.

The 1 option was special ops going in and identifying UBL, most likely to catch him but ended up killing him when he pushed the woman towards them.

So there should be no parade for Obama's decision, but you can do it around your basement.

The other option Obama had was to bomb the compound into oblivion. He could have decided that, but we would never have known if OBL was in the compound. This was very risky. Why?

-the Seals could have been killed
-the mission could have gone terribly wrong, aka Carter's rescue of hostages.
-The Pakistanis could have called out their military, resulting in an international incident.
-OBL may not have been there.

You got to give him the props for making the right call, whether you like him or not.

If you think there was only one option here, you are dense. Maybe intentionally dense, but, all the same, dense.

 

[GoneBezerk]

No his decision to cut F-22s and put more money into the F-35 that has numerous problems is going to bite us in the butt vs the Chinese someday.

The F-35 and F-22 perform two different missions, so they are not interchangeable aircraft. The F-22 makes sure the F-35 can fly into an airspace without counterair threats.

Gates on "courageous" bin Laden raid decision - 60 Minutes - CBS News

...one of the most courageous decisions he's ever seen a president make.

This is coming from a very respected man who was appointed by a Republican President.

Watch the conservorubes go nutso.

Gate's is probably the best SECDEF we have ever had. He is going to be sorely missed.

 

[GoneBezerk]

...and you're just an idiot. Obama's lone choice was men on the ground doing the job, not airplanes dropping JDAMs on unknown people or just ignoring the situation all together like Bill Clinton did a handful of times in the 90s.

Dropping bombs on the compound was off the table because the damage would've been too great, the evidence would've been destroyed and innocents would've died in and around the compound.

The 1 option was special ops going in and identifying UBL, most likely to catch him but ended up killing him when he pushed the woman towards them.

So there should be no parade for Obama's decision, but you can do it around your basement.

The other option Obama had was to bomb the compound into oblivion. He could have decided that, but we would never have known if OBL was in the compound. This was very risky. Why?

-the Seals could have been killed
-the mission could have gone terribly wrong, aka Carter's rescue of hostages.
-The Pakistanis could have called out their military, resulting in an international incident.
-OBL may not have been there.

You got to give him the props for making the right call, whether you like him or not.

If you think there was only one option here, you are dense. Maybe intentionally dense, but, all the same, dense.

 

[geauxtohell]

No his decision to cut F-22s and put more money into the F-35 that has numerous problems is going to bite us in the butt vs the Chinese someday.

No it's not. Ironic that you would tell me that I have no idea of foreign policy and claim that two nuclear powers would ever engage in a conventional war.

The F-35 and F-22 perform two different missions, so they are not interchangeable aircraft. The F-22 makes sure the F-35 can fly into an airspace without counterair threats.

And the mission of the F-35 has been changed from interdiction to CAS, as has the mission of all "fighter jets". In this day and age, CAS is king. That's why the A-10, which was about to be mothballed, is the most popular fixed wing platform now and fighter pilots are struggling to find their relevance.

I loath Rumsfeld, but I'll give him credit for realizing we don't need to be configured to fight the Soviet Union. That is not the enemy we are going to face.

Scrapping the Crusader was a smart move too. The Artillery Branch is struggling to find it's relevance on the modern battlefield too, as mortars, which are man portable and run by the Infantry are usually as much indirect fire as are needed.

 

[geauxtohell]

...and you're just an idiot. Obama's lone choice was men on the ground doing the job, not airplanes dropping JDAMs on unknown people or just ignoring the situation all together like Bill Clinton did a handful of times in the 90s.

That's because "boot's on the ground" is what is needed in this conflict.

If you want to be intellectually honest, I would expect you to excoriate the relative stupidity of "Shock and Awe".

You were most likely one of those morons that thought we were going to be out of Iraq in six months after we "awed" them with our cool toys, huh?

 

[Charles_Main]

Gates on "courageous" bin Laden raid decision - 60 Minutes - CBS News

...one of the most courageous decisions he's ever seen a president make.

This is coming from a very respected man who was appointed by a Republican President.

You all know I am no fan of Obama, but I do believe this was a very courageous Decision on his part. He presidency was already on shaky ground. A carter Like Failure on this raid could have been the end of his presidency.

It would have been easy for him to listen to his advisers and just Level the place. He was wise, and brave enough to make the right call, even though it put him at the most political Risk. I have to Credit him for that. However it does not make up for what I see is a long line of slow reactions, and poor decisions before this one.