Bin Laden Fallout

Victor Davis Hanson  "At least for now, Middle East dictatorships in extremis are claiming as their one saving grace their antiterrorism and anti-al-Qaeda credentials, and, likewise, those in the streets seeking to destroy these Middle East authoritarians are claiming just about the same. Both groups are probably lying, but their rhetoric at least is predicated on the fact that bin Laden & Co. are now losers in a way they were praised as winners between 2001 and 2003."

Bin Laden Is Dead, But Our Delusions Live On   "The death of Osama bin Laden has some symbolic value, particularly for the United States. A great power exercises influence not just through its military and economic assets, but through its prestige. A power that can be relied upon to punish its enemies, no matter how long it takes, and reward its friends will be respected, and that respect will figure into the calculations of other nations as they pursue their interests. Killing bin Laden may go a little way to repairing our prestige by undoing the recent foreign policy mistakes in the Middle East, where we have abandoned “friends” like Egypt’s Mubarak and appeased enemies like Syria’s Bashar al-Assad."  Bruce S. Thornton

http://wpcomics.washingtonpost.com/client/wpc/po/2011/05/05/

Obama’s Anti-Energy Policies Are Bankrupting America

The Foundry  "Randall Stilley has witnessed firsthand the Obama administration’s job-killing agenda. As the president and chief executive of Seahawk Drilling, he had to lay off 632 employees before filing for bankruptcy — a direct result of President Barack Obama’s anti-energy policies."

Deepwater Drilling Permitting Rate Still Way Below Average  "As gas prices continue to climb — reaching as high as $5.75 to $6.03 a gallon in some places — the Department of the Interior remains stingy with deepwater drilling permits.
"Since February 2011, the administration has issued an average of just 1.3 deepwater permits per month — a 78 percent monthly reduction from the historical monthly average of 5.8 permits a month...
"The slow pace of permitting will likely eventually result in production declines — and that decrease in supply is unlikely to mitigate high gas prices."

http://townhall.com/political-cartoons/chuckasay

Let's Reflect on the passing of Osama Bin Laden

http://terrellaftermath.com/

Ann Coulter: Next Time, Use FedEx

Human Events "American intelligence operations located Osama by following his trusted couriers, whose names were given up by al-Qaida members during harsh interrogations at CIA black sites under President Bush.
"Yes, the same interrogations endlessly denounced by the entire Democratic Party (save Joe Lieberman), the mainstream media, and an especially indignant Jane Mayer in The New Yorker."
And, I might add, Alan Colmes.
....
"It's great that we got bin Laden, but if the last Democratic administration had been doing its job, there would have been no Osama bin Laden and no 9/11 attack to begin with.
"Democratic presidents are always too busy feverishly redistributing wealth at home to devote serious attention to our national interests abroad."

http://townhall.com/political-cartoons/glennfoden

The Intellectual Dishonesty of Nancy Pelosi

Commentary Magazine  "This devastating then-and-now comparison comes to us courtesy of John Hinderaker of Power Line. It underscores the degree to which partisanship can ravage people’s fair-mindedness and, in the process, make them look like fools and hacks. Such things aren’t uncommon in politics—but what is rare is to see such intellectual dishonesty proven so conclusively."

http://terrellaftermath.com/

Massive Intelligence Haul: U.S. Spies Comb Trove of Computer Files Nabbed in bin Laden Raid for Terror Clues.

WSJ   "Putting into action a specially designed Sensitive-Site Exploitation plan, the Navy Seals who conducted the raid carried off five computers, 10 hard drives and more than 100 storage devices, such as DVDs and removable flash drives, U.S. officials said.
"The intelligence find is a jolt to bin Laden's network that could force its terror operatives to move into areas or initiate communications that make them more easily detectable."

OBL not armed  "The legal justifications for shooting bin laden dead come partly from the rules under which the Seals were operating. They were under the authority of the Central Intelligence Agency, which operates under fewer restrictions than the military, which has rules governing when troops can use deadly force. Even under the military's rules, the killing was legally justified as long as bin Laden wasn't attempting to surrender.
"Scott Silliman, an expert on national security law at Duke Law School, said there was no question the shooting was legally justified. "
Left-leaning sources will begin demagoguing this in three...two...one...

Neal boortz on THE PHOTO  "Muslims hung charred bodies of Americans from a bridge in Iraq and took pictures. Muslims videotaped the beheading of Americans. Muslims danced in the streets and celebrated around the world when the towers of the World Trade Center fell. So now concern over Muslim sensibilities are delaying a release of pictures of the dead Osama bin Laden?" 


http://www.covenantnews.com/politics/archives/004916.html
Dead Americans at Fallujah

 

Obama dithered again: 7 Minutes Vs. 16 Hours: How The Media Reports Delay

Ace of Spades  "George Bush was relentlessly mocked for waiting seven minutes (actually waiting for his security detail to ready the exit and for his vehicle to be readied) before leaving the school he was visiting. He calmly finished reading My Pet Goat for the kids before going to his now-ready helicopter.
"On the other hand, after Obama was told (most likely for the fifteenth time) that the CIA was really, really, really quite confident that Osama bin Ladin was at that compound in Abbottabad, he decided he needed to sleep on it.
"Sixteen hours later (hours during which Osama might have fled-- bear in mind, his courier's name had just been outed by WikiLeaks), he made up his mind."

http://townhall.com/political-cartoons/



Break In Hunt for Bin Ladin May Have Been Provided By Not Only Enhanced Interrogation Techniques, But by Enhanced Interrogation Techniques Performed On An Al Qaeda Operative Captured in Iraq

Sorry Lefties… Rumsfeld Says Waterboarding Led US to Osama Bin Laden   "The Obama Administration is lying.  They don’t want to give Bush credit for leading them to Osama’s compound. And, they don’t want to admit they were wrong about waterboarding." From RightNetwork.com, which led us to these following posts:

Ace of Spades  "Once again… Ace of Spades put together the the timeline that started back in 2003 during the Bush years that led to Osama’s death on Sunday."

http://townhall.com/political-cartoons/michaelramirez

CONFIRMED: CIA Chief Panetta Admits Info From Waterboarding Led US to Osama Bin Laden
"Intelligence garnered from waterboarded detainees was used to track down al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden and kill him, CIA Chief Leon Panetta told NBC News on Tuesday.
"“Enhanced interrogation techniques” were used to extract information that led to the mission’s success, Panetta said during an interview with anchor Brian Williams. Those techniques included waterboarding, he acknowledged.
"Panetta, who in a 2009 CIA confirmation hearing declared “waterboarding is torture and it’s wrong,” said Tuesday that debate about its use will continue.
"“Whether we would have gotten the same information through other approaches I think is always gonna be an open question,” Panetta said. "

Sad. White House Won’t Admit that Waterboarding Led to Osama’s Courier  "White House Press Secretary Jay Carney refused to answer a reporters question on whether enhanced interrogation techniques gleaned information that led to the attack on Osama Bin Laden’s compound. Carney said it was a number of sources that led them to Osama’s courier. He also said Obama is still against enhanced interrogation techniques despite the fact that they led to Sunday’s successful mission.
"Unreal."

MSM Uses Palin’s Own Children as Political Weapons Against Her

Big Journalism  "This is a common tactic from the Left, but one we usually see played out in the streets with the idea being to so toxify the atmosphere that decent people give up the fight and go home just to get away from the awfulness of it all. The last few months of ugly and relentless pro-union protests in Wisconsin — though a failure for the left — were a textbook example of this. However, when it comes to Governor Palin, what we’re seeing is this tactic practiced by almost every so-called “objective” news outlet in America."

Mona Charen: How Bin Laden Resembled Michael Moore

National Review Online  "Oliver Stone couldn’t have said it better.
"Yes, the late Osama bin Laden was a religious fanatic. But if religious zeal were his only motivation, he might have turned his hatred toward China — a consistent persecutor of Muslims (and others), or India (which some Islamists have attacked — though without justification). But bin Laden’s garrulous videos reveal someone who had drunk deeply from the well of hatred for America that nourishes everyone from Hugo Chávez to Vladimir Putin. It’s a well with springs that originate right here."

On Bin Laden, Muslim Brotherhood Makes Different Statements in English and in Arabic

Sami al-Abasi   "By supporting violence against America’s troops in Muslim lands, the [Muslim Brotherhood] essentially defends the al-Qaeda campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq.

"The text also instructs the United States to stop its intelligence operations in Muslim lands, the key source of information that led to bin Laden’s killing. It furthers support the “legitimate resistance” of Palestinian groups against Israel, and tells the U.S. to do the same.
So while the MB claims to have renounced violence, it has honored bin Laden as a sheikh and called for terrorism against American forces in Muslim lands.

"See the translation of the Muslim Brotherhood’s statement on the next page."

Neal Boortz has Some Random Thoughts on Obama and bin Laden

Nealz Nuze   "So you’re now going to see hear me (or see me) use a phrase I generally try to avoid. That phrase? President Barack Obama. When considering the operation that turned bin Laden into fish food Obama showed himself to be presidential. Maybe it’s early in this particular game, but I can’t think of one single area in this entire scenario where Obama comes in for any legitimate criticism. That may change tomorrow or next week as we learn more ... but for now it’s “job well done, Mr. President.” "....
"Yes … Barack Obama should be praised for making the final call to carry out the mission. He filled the role of Commander in Chief admirably doing what a good CIC does … telling his team to “go get ‘em.”
"But there are still some looming questions and new debates that have stemmed from the news of Osama’s death. Let’s see if we can tackle a few of these … shall we?

Related:
President Obama’s Great Victory in the War Against Terror: Let us Praise Him, and Put it in Perspective    "By supporting violence against America’s troops in Muslim lands, the MB essentially defends the al-Qaeda campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq.
"The text also instructs the United States to stop its intelligence operations in Muslim lands, the key source of information that led to bin Laden’s killing. It furthers support the “legitimate resistance” of Palestinian groups against Israel, and tells the U.S. to do the same.
"So while the MB claims to have renounced violence, it has honored bin Laden as a sheikh and called for terrorism against American forces in Muslim lands."
"See the translation of the Muslim Brotherhood’s statement on the next page."