VIDEO- Senator James Inhofe Describes Osama bin Laden Death Photos: 'Gruesome'

(Note- This post was one of the ones written and published right before blogger had their maintenance mess and until now wasn't restored by blogger. This morning I found it with today's date as a draft only, so let's try this yet again!!)

Congress members are some of the select few Americans allowed to view the photographic evidence of Osama bin Laden's death and the video below of Senator James Inhofe's description of those photos comes from The Daily Caller.

“They are gruesome, of course, because it was taken right after the incident,” he said. “And so, of the 12, three of them were older pictures so that we could actually compare what he looked like when he had the black beard and what he looked like after he was killed. And that was part — the good way of making that presentation. Then they had some of his ear. Now, what had happened in those, I couldn’t tell whether the bullet went through the ear and out the eye cavity or through the eye and out the ear because a lot of brains were draped out from the socket. But it clearly — what we saw there was it was him. There is no question he was dead. But, the more revealing pictures really were the ones on the USS Vinson and the North Arabian Sea.”

[...]

“See, the beard is a moving target because he dyes it all the time,” Inhofe said. “And the pictures we had older pictures had a black beard. His beard this time was a little bit shorter and it was more salt-and-pepper. You could tell it’s probably the actual color of the beard. Now, what he was dressed in, some of these were just headshots so you only had the head shot. Only two of them showed that he was partially, I would say you would call underwear on, that was about it.”

[...]

“It appeared that way at first,” Inhofe said “Then when you saw the other pictures later, you could tell it wasn’t that way. Now, what happened was if the bullet went into the eye socket, then it was an explosive, it detonated once it was in so that caused the brain to come back out of the eye socket. That’s what made it look so gruesome.”

The description by Inhofe indicates there are no national security issues, such as operational information, classified operatives etc... so what exactly makes Congress members "the chosen" more so than the average American voter that is not a politician, where they are allowed even the option to view what we, as citizens, can not?


Recently it was reported that the Associated Press as well as Politico, Fox News, Judicial Watch and Citizens United have all also filed Freedom of Information Act request to force the Obama administration to keep it's promise of transparency.

The Freedom of Information Act, commonly known as the FOIA, was enacted by Congress in 1966 to give the American public greater access to the federal government's records. The Electronic Freedom of Information Act Amendments of 1996 expanded the scope of the FOIA to encompass electronic records and require the creation of "electronic reading rooms" to make records more easily and widely available to the public.

How To File a FOIA Request

The general public can make the decision for themselves whether they want to click a link and view the actual photos but Barack Obama has no legal right to arbitrarily decide that information or photographic evidence of bin Laden's death that does include classified information, be hidden from the American public.

Dan Metcalfe who headed the Justice Department’s office of information and privacy for 25 years says the Obama administration could eventually be forced to hand-over photos of a dead bin Laden through Freedom of Information requests.

[Update] Metcalfe also indicated that the White House could have bypassed the FOIA law by bringing the photos under White House control but since members of congress had to go to CIA Headquarters to view the photos and the CIA is legally bound by the FOIA laws, that point is now moot.

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Pakistan: The Safe Haven For Terrorists

The Telegraph:

Osama bin Laden received visits from Taliban leaders and wealthy Arab supporters while he was hiding out in a fortified compound in a Pakistani garrison town, it has emerged.

Osama bin Laden found safe haven there for over 5 years. bin Laden received visits from "leaders of his al-Qaeda network, Taliban allies and fellow Arab fundraisers.," over that time.

Pakistan is a safe haven for terrorists.

I will repeat myself. Cut Pakistan off.

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New York Post Spikes The Football With 'Osama Bin Wankin' Cover

The New York Post has outdone themselves with a cover on May 14th, 2011 proclaiming "Osama bin Wankin’! and a sub heading of "It’s Whora Bora– Porn Found In Laden’s Foxhole."

The cover shot was published after news that pornographic material was found in the Pakistan compound that Osama bin Laden was killed in after a a U.S. raid was conducted on May 1st, 2011.

Definitely an A for creativity and originality.

The XXX-rated flicks were found on the 100 thumb drives, DVDs and computer discs, along with 10 computer hard drives and five computers that the SEALs removed from bin Laden's compound after killing him.

That is what I call spiking a football.

Ed Drisoll at PJM- "Whoever writes the headlines for the New York Post isn’t paid nearly enough."

Don Surber asks "Is this too much," and comes up with the answer of "Hell and No."

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Pakistan Condemns U.S Raid On bin Laden, Threatens Sanctions?

"The time has come for us to stop subsidizing those who actively oppose us. Pakistan has shown itself not to be America's ally".----- Congressman Dana Rohrabacher

Cut Pakistan off.

Not another dime should be given to Pakistan. We recently came to find out that Osama bin Laden had been hiding in Pakistan for well over 5 years, very close to Pakistan's military academy.

The U.S. Navy SEALS went in and killed him.

Good riddance.

That has brought up questions about who in Pakistan knew bin Laden had been living there and how he could be living there for so long undiscovered and many other questions, including, why are we giving Pakistan monetary aid?

Now I see a CNN headline "Pakistan's parliament condemns U.S. raid, threatens sanctions."

Here is a little fact, via Reuters FactBox (Lets add that site to the previous post showing Bill Clinton how many fact check sites are available):

But since 2001, Congress has approved about $20 billion for Pakistan in direct U.S. aid and military reimbursements, the Congressional Research Service (CRS) says.

This makes Pakistan one of the largest recipients of U.S. assistance, although much of it is labeled as reimbursements and not all has been delivered yet.

Fine.

Pakistan wants to condemn the US for going in and killing Osama bin Laden, the figurehead leader of al-Qaeda who bragged about giving the order for the 9/11 attacks that killed thousands of Americans, then the U.S. should cut off all aid, all money that we give Pakistan.

Period. No more.

I am not the first one to suggest this, others have and Congressional lawmakers were discussing the option even before the Pakistan parliament decided to condemn our actions against bin Laden.

One lawmaker, Dana Rohrabacher (R- CA) has gone as far as introducing the "Defund United States Assistance to Pakistan Act of 2011," which would prohibit any assistance to Pakistan.

That bill was referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs on 5/5/11.

There is no reason to trust Pakistan at this point and after $20 billion given to them, the audacity of the Pakistan parliament to take such a vote and make threats, is simply confirmation.

I think Howie, over at The Jawa Report, puts this well, succinct and to the point.

Since President Obama cannot say this and Joe Biden has the day off, let me help out here.

Dear Pakistani Parliament,

Go suck a root.

Love America.

Well put Howie.

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Media Outlets File Freedom of Information Act Requests For bin Laden Raid Photos

The Associated Press has filed a Freedom of Information Act request to force the Obama administration to produce the photographic evidence taken during the raid that led to the death of al-Qeada leader, Osama bin Laden.

Politico, Fox News, Judicial Watch and Citizens United have all also filed FOIA requests.

There are not many that don't believe bin Laden is dead, al-Qaeda even confirmed it to their followers, but following the raid that led to the death of Osama bin Laden, White House officials and mouth pieces have managed to bungle the story of the sequence of events so badly (26+ different versions) that the public is left wondering what is true, what really went down, in what order and why won't the administration release visual proof.

Michael Oreskes, senior managing editor at The Associated Press, states the reasoning behind the AP's FOIA request as being "This information is important for the historical record."

Also:

For Oreskes, the photo is an important piece of evidence to establish what happened during the Navy SEALs raid on bin Laden's Abbottabad compound. "In the week since the raid there's been a whole series of story-lines about what happened in this raid," said Oreskes. "At this point, anything that might shed more light on what occurred is potentially quite newsworthy. So we would like this imagery to fully understand what happened during this event."

"I can't tell you what understanding we would get," he prefaced. "But we would like to see it and compare it with other things we're being told about this raid both by U.S. officials and officials in other countries."

Perhaps so, but one glaring reason to release the photo is accuracy. The American public's right to know, to see for themselves, the visual evidence of the death of the man who bragged about giving the order for the 9/11 attacks that killed so many and threw our country into complete shock.

Another reason is the photo of bin Laden dead would, no matter how gruesome the photo is, also give visual forensic evidence one way or another of bullet entry positioning, angle of entry point, etc...

Personally, I wouldn't care if bin Laden was executed on his knees, shot while sleeping or taken out while on his feet due to concerns of a bomb strapped to his body or his ability to reach for nearby weapons.

I would understand redacting portions of the video of the raid that showed SEAL member's faces, for example, but the AP is right, the death of bin Laden is history and as such should have as much factual data available to the public, not just the ever changing stories the White House has put out there.


Harvard Law Professor Alan Dershowitz makes a very good point:

The president's decision to suppress the remaining photographic evidence is disturbing on many levels. First, it is wrong on its merits. The public is used to seeing visual portrayals of dead bodies. They are routinely shown on television and in movies. Anyone who has served as a juror or a courtroom observer in a homicide cases has seen bodies riddled with bullets or afflicted with stab wounds. We are mature enough to endure viewing such visual evidence if we choose to. Nor is there any real risk that these photographs will inflame Muslim or Arab sensibilities, any more than the photographs of Saddam Hussein did.

On a more fundamental level, I have serious doubts whether the president has the legal or constitutional authority to suppress these photographs. As Commander in Chief, he had the authority to order the kill operation, but in a country governed by the First Amendment, the president may lack the authority to decide what is published and what is suppressed. It would establish a terrible precedent for the Commander in Chief to be given the sole authority to determine what the public has the right to see and know, especially when the sole justification for suppression is a matter of judgment regarding the possible offensiveness of the photographs.

In a democracy, doubts must always be resolved in favor of disclosure, particularly in a matter of such great public interest and controversy. Surely Congress has at least equal authority to decide what to do with the photographs. Moreover, the press may have the right to obtain and publish these highly relevant items of evidence as part of its duty to inform the public. Some media will surely challenge the president's decision, and if they do I hope they win. The great Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis taught us nearly a century ago that "sunlight is the best disinfectant." The remaining evidence of how Bin Laden was killed -- the photographs and the results of any forensic tests that may have been hastily performed -- should be exposed to the sunlight of publication. Only then will the virus of doubt be disinfected.

Demands for the photographic evidence are not only coming from one side of the political aisle or another, it is coming from both, with arguments against the release showing the same.

Side note: Polls are showing that the bounce in Obama's approval numbers directly following the news of bin Laden's death are already starting (One week, two days later) to head back down, despite the fact that historic bounces from major events averaged President's a 13 percent spike that should have lasted an average of 22 weeks.

Currently, 50% approve of the way Obama is handling his job as president while 39% disapprove. In a May 2 poll by the Pew Research Center and The Washington Post, 56% approved while 38% disapproved. Obama’s current job rating represents an improvement from early April, when 47% approved of his job performance and nearly as many (45%) disapproved.

That was Pew, if you look at the averages over at RCP that lists most of the polls conducted, then averages out approval disapproval, Obama is only at 51.6 percent approval just nine days after the initial announcement of bin Laden's death.

Is there any doubt in anyone other than obamabot's minds that the White House's ever changing stories, refusal to release visual closure to the public, Obama's arrogance in thinking he and he alone should decide what the public should and shouldn't be allowed to see and the bumbled handling of the whole aftermath by his administration, is one of the major reasons for his "bounce" to start dipping in less than 2 weeks as opposed to the averaged 22 weeks it was projected to last? (Another major reason being the economy)

If so, I have this bridge in Brooklyn I am looking to sell... email me, we will discuss a price.

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A Tale Of Two Speeches: Bush/Saddam Hussein Speech- Obama/bin Laden Speech

George W. Bush Announces Capture of Saddam Hussein delivered on 14 December 2003 from the Cabinet Room:

Good afternoon. Yesterday, December the 13th, at around 8:30 p.m. Baghdad time, United States military forces captured Saddam Hussein alive. He was found near a farmhouse outside the city of Tikrit, in a swift raid conducted without casualties. And now the former dictator of Iraq will face the justice he denied to millions.

The capture of this man was crucial to the rise of a free Iraq. It marks the end of the road for him, and for all who bullied and killed in his name. For the Baathist holdouts largely responsible for the current violence, there will be no return to the corrupt power and privilege they once held. For the vast majority of Iraqi citizens who wish to live as free men and women, this event brings further assurance that the torture chambers and the secret police are gone forever.

And this afternoon, I have a message for the Iraqi people: You will not have to fear the rule of Saddam Hussein ever again. All Iraqis who take the side of freedom have taken the winning side. The goals of our coalition are the same as your goals -- sovereignty for your country, dignity for your great culture, and for every Iraqi citizen, the opportunity for a better life.

In the history of Iraq, a dark and painful era is over. A hopeful day has arrived. All Iraqis can now come together and reject violence and build a new Iraq.

The success of yesterday's mission is a tribute to our men and women now serving in Iraq. The operation was based on the superb work of intelligence analysts who found the dictator's footprints in a vast country. The operation was carried out with skill and precision by a brave fighting force. Our servicemen and women and our coalition allies have faced many dangers in the hunt for members of the fallen regime, and in their effort to bring hope and freedom to the Iraqi people. Their work continues, and so do the risks. Today, on behalf of the nation, I thank the members of our Armed Forces and I congratulate 'em.

I also have a message for all Americans: The capture of Saddam Hussein does not mean the end of violence in Iraq. We still face terrorists who would rather go on killing the innocent than accept the rise of liberty in the heart of the Middle East. Such men are a direct threat to the American people, and they will be defeated.

We've come to this moment through patience and resolve and focused action. And that is our strategy moving forward. The war on terror is a different kind of war, waged capture by capture, cell by cell, and victory by victory. Our security is assured by our perseverance and by our sure belief in the success of liberty. And the United States of America will not relent until this war is won.

May God bless the people of Iraq, and may God bless America.

Thank you.

Barack Obama announces death of Osama bin Laden delivered on May 1, 2011:

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.

Related:

Victor Davis Hanson "The First-Person Presidency"

Father Of 9/11 Victim: Obama "Putting Too Much Spotlight On Himself"

David Beamer, father of 9/11 victim Todd Beamer on FOX News: "I feel some chagrin now, though, about how the rest of it has been handle. And frankly it started May Day, 2011 when the president announced what had happened. The excessive use of the personal pronoun that he used in his remarks, I really felt that was the beginning of the Commander-in-Chief putting too much spotlight on himself, taking too much credit for what the remarkable Americans had done. And of course it's only now accelerated to a greater degree in the media. "

PS... In response to comments made, context is everything. If you plan on doing a word count then division, make sure you note the context of how the words me, my, I've and I are used in comparison. At least show some intellectual honesty.

May Osama bin Laden Rot In Hell- Snarky Linkfest Of Osama News

Six days in after the announcement that Osama bin Laden was killed and the news cycle is still full of news relating to the raid and death of the the Al-Qaeda leader, so below we will have linkage to quite a few eye catching stories.

Starting with the trouble making slob, Michael Moore who thinks al-Qaeda has been dismantled for a long time and that executing bin Laden was wrong and anyone who thinks bin Laden being killed without a trial, simply hates "being American".

MOORE: No, no. They killed him. But what I'm saying is they didn't kill because there was some kind of firefight or something going on. They went there with the intention to kill him. That's an execution and -- or an assassination, whatever you want to call it.

And I think -- I think, look, like I said, I'm glad he's gone. But I just feel something has -- we've lost something of our soul here in this country. And maybe I'm just an old school American who believes in our American judicial system. Something that separates us from other parts, other countries where we say everybody has their day in court no matter how bad of a person, no matter what piece of scum they are, they have a right to a trial.

One word for Moore- Jackass.

Anyone remember the name Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the confessed mastermind to the 9/11 attacks? He is still being given free room and board on the American taxpayer's dime. Americans still argue whether he should be tried in New York, a civilian trial, or by the military via tribunal.

So, excuse the hell out of me for being more than happy that bin Laden took a bullet to the chest and head and is no longer with us. He ordered an attack that killed approximately 3,000 people in one day. He confessed to ordering it, publicly. He bragged about it.


Guilty. Now, DEAD.

Osama will not be the catalyst so the left can cry about the conditions we are holding him in. Osama cannot cause more conflict in the country as we argue over what interrogation tactics are being used on him.

Osama bin Laden is gone. Dead. At the bottom of the ocean (supposedly unless that story also changes like the 27+ other changed stories coming from the White House.)

Picture to the left comes from Israel Matzav's site, photo-shopped no doubt, but since Obama, in his crowning glory of brilliance refuses to release a photo of a dead bin Laden for Americans to see, I will use it here anyway as a symbol to represent what we hope bin Laden looked like before being thrown into the sea to become fish food.

Consider the football spiked Mr. President.

Refusing to release the real thing means people are going to photoshop their own and a person with half a brain should have realized the to start with.

Obama's reasoning:

"It is important to make sure that very graphic photos of somebody who was shot in the head are not floating around as an incitement to additional violence or as a propaganda tool," said the president.

Hows that working out Barack?

FURIOUS BIN LADEN SUPPORTERS VOW TO TAKE REVENGE

US leaders were branded “murderers” by radicals, who warned vengeance attacks were “guaranteed” and shouted: "USA, you will pay."

This just in from London-istan: Violent clashes outside U.S. Embassy after hundreds of UK Muslims stage mock funeral for 'murdered' Bin Laden

Violent clashes broke out around the world today as thousands of supporters of Osama bin Laden took to the streets to protest at the Al-Qaeda leader's death.

While many protests took place across the Muslim world, the most extraordinary took place in London, where hundreds of supporters gathered at the U.S. embassy to stage a mock 'funeral service' for the slain terror leader.

Not so good huh?

Obama and his administration officials have got to be the most naive fools in the world if they believed for a second that some picture would incite more violence from the perpetually violent Islamic extremists than the death of Osama bin Laden itself would, could and has.

Btw, word is bin Laden's successor was already chosen and some even believe al-Qaeda was already being led by Egyptian Ayman Al Zawahiri and the courier who led U.S. forces to Bin Laden, did so deliberately.

After killing bin Laden, Obama okayed another attack trying to hit another "most-wanted" al-Qaeda member, Anwar al-Awlaki, the American-born radical cleric suspected of orchestrating terrorist attacks in the U.S, but he got away.

So the I, I, I, I, I, me, me me, my, my my, President hits one and misses one. [Update] See follow up piece comparing Bush's Capture of Saddam Hussein speech to Obama's death of bin Laden speech, here)

Shit happens.

The latest of the we-have-to-keep-this-story-running-until-polls-put-us-over-the-52%-approval-mark-White House's bright ideas, is to publicize home videos of bin Laden watching himself on television. (H/T Wapo for video embed)

Newly released videos show Osama bin Laden watching himself on television and rehearsing for terrorist videos, revealing that even from the walled confines of his Pakistani hideout, he remained a media maestro who was eager to craft his own image for the cameras.

The videos, released by U.S. intelligence officials Saturday, were offered as further proof that Navy SEALs killed the world's most wanted terrorist this week. But they also served to show bin Laden as vain, someone obsessed with his portrayal by the world's media.

One of the movies shows bin Laden, his unkempt beard streaked in gray, sitting on the floor, wrapped in a brown blanket and holding a remote control. He flipped back and forth between what appears to be live news coverage of himself. The old, small television was perched on top of a desk with a large tangle of electrical wires running to a nearby control box.

In another, he has apparently dyed and neatly trimmed his beard for the filming of a propaganda video. The video, which the U.S. released without sound, was titled ""Message to the American People" and was believed to be filed sometime last fall, a senior intelligence official said during a briefing for reporters, on condition that his name not be used.

No spiked footballs here, move along.

CNN is showing the videos here.

What would a snarky, snide, sarcastic piece be if it doesn't mention the useless UN human right's watchdogs questioning the U.S.'s actions in killing bin Laden?

How does it feel to get a taste of what Israel deals with constantly Barack?

Next up, a piece from Spiked Online which begins with the question "How did ‘I hate bin Laden and I’m glad he’s dead’ become the most shocking thing one can say in polite society?"

Good question and they provide a nice essay in answering it, read that for yourself, but I am noting the concluding paragraph because it conveys what I am seeing quite a bit of online, throughout the blogosphere.

Look, if you want to have a real debate about Western intervention in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq, bring it on. spiked bows to no one in the implacability of our principled opposition to foreign meddling in other states’ affairs. But if you want to tell me that bin Laden was treated badly, and that the allegedly morally unhinged reaction to his death might invite more terror upon us, then I have only one thing to say: ‘Fuck bin Laden.’

Indeed.

This has been your snark of the day.

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Preliminary Results From Obama's Bungling PR Of bin Laden's Death Are In

The preliminary results to the question I asked in yesterday's post, "What Will The White House's Bungling Narratives About bin Laden Death Do To Obama's Poll Numbers?", are in and it doesn't look good for Obama.

While we see headlines such using words like "big rise", spike", "bounce" and "bump" in regards to Barack Obama's poll numbers in light of his Sunday announcement that Osama bin Laden was killed, what those headlines as well as the media outlets blaring those headlines, are not reporting is how large those rises, bumps, spikes and bounces should have been in comparison to what they are.

Day One: Public Opinion Strategies wisely produced and published a chart showing polling spikes for presidents after major new events and victories, then they excluded the outlier which was Bush after 9/11, and determined the average rise in polling for a president following up on a major victorious event to be 13 percentage points lasting an average of 22 weeks.



That gives a basis for comparison using historical data.

How is Obama doing in comparison to what he should have rightly expected?

Not well according to polling done from the day after the announcement of bin Laden's death until this morning.

Quinnipiac before announcement: 46 approval

Quinnipiac after announcement: 52 approval

Newsweek/Daily Beast, before the announcement: 48 approval

Newsweek/Daily Beast, after the announcement: 48 approval

Rasmussen before announcement: 44 approval

Rasmussen after announcement: 49 approval

The examples go on and on and even the one poll that continues to more favorable toward Obama than all the rest of the polling organizations consistently, the CBS News/NY Times, doesn't even put Obama at the top of the average in comparison and gives Obama the "big rise" of 11 points.

[Update] Gallup just published their findings as well and only a six point difference there.

Obama averaged 46% approval in Gallup Daily tracking in the three days leading up to the military operation and has averaged 52% across the three days since.

[End Update]

Special Note- "The increase in Obama's approval rating in recent days has come exclusively among Republicans and independents, with a 12-point increase among Republicans and a 9-point rise among independents". (Via The Hill)

The American public credits the military and the CIA more than the Obama administration for the success and death of Osama bin Laden, but that is to expected because everyone knows Obama wasn't there and simply gave the go-ahead.

That is also true of every event for every president listed above in the chart showing how their polling numbers rose after each specific victorious event though.

The President in command at the time of major events such as this always gets a rise in polling ratings, so what explains Obama's lessened rise than what should have been expected?

Simple answer: Obama and his administration's handling of public relations after the event.

It has been a disaster.

Story after story from White House officials each contradicting the other. Changing stories completely. Refusal to show transparency.

The best list I have seen so far of updated changes comes from Bookworm Room: (Listed in order from the day after bin Laden's death until today, there are 26 points)

1) There was a firefight.
2) There was no firefight.
3) Bin Laden was “resisting.”
4) Bin Laden wasn’t armed. (Makes the concept of “resisting” interesting.)
[4.a) And the newest one: the SEALS thought bin Laden was reaching for a weapon.]
5) He used his wife as a shield.
6) His wife was killed too.
7) He didn’t use his wife as a shield. She ran at a SEAL who shot her in the leg, but she’s fine.
8 ) Some other woman — the maid? — was used as a shield. By somebody. Downstairs.
9) That other woman — downstairs — was killed.
10) Maybe not. She was killed unless she wasn’t — and who was she, anyway?
11) Bin Laden’s son was killed.
12) Unless it was some other guy.
13) Bin Laden’s daughter saw him get killed. She’s undoubtedly traumatized, poor dear.
14) They were going to capture Bin Laden until the problem with the helicopter, which was:

A) It had mechanical trouble
B) It did a hard landing
C) It crashed
D) It clipped a wall with a tail rotor, effectively a crash

15.) They were never going to try to capture him; it was always a kill mission.
16.) No, it wasn’t.
17) The chopper blew up.
18) The SEALs blew it up.
19.) Panetta said yesterday the world needed proof and the photo would be released.
20.) Obama said today in an interview he taped with Steve Kroft for “60 Minutes” to be broadcast Sunday that it won’t be released. It’s too gruesome, would offend Muslim sensibilities (something he worries about a lot — I personally do not give a warm fart on a wet Wednesday about Muslim sensibilities), and how would Americans feel if Muslims released pictures of dead Americans?
21.) Kroft — who’s not a total idiot — pointed out that ever since “Black Hawk Down” days, Muslims have been doing precisely that, filming American bodies being dragged through the streets, filming Daniel Pearl’s head being cut off, filming any and everything.
22) Obama gets pissed at CBS, the tape gets cleaned up, that question disappears. (Inside info.)
23.) We got a “treasure trove” of stuff from hard drives, etc.
24.) There were no phone lines, and no internet access at the “mansion,” they didn’t even have TV — what “treasure trove?”
25.) There is obviously in the pictures of the place a large satellite dish. I guess they used it for making salads.
26.) And now, just today: apparently the idea was to capture him, but only if he was naked. There was a suspicion he might be wearing a suicide bomber type explosive vest, or belt. So if he’s not naked and you can’t see if he has a vest on or not – shoot him.

Gateway Pundit has one more to add to the list, bringing it to 27:

27.) Good Grief… Now the CIA Admits There Was “No Live Video Feed” During Osama Raid

Members of the left will scream and moan all day long about how the "right" is somehow at fault for daring to notice and highlight all the discrepancies in the Obama administration official's stories.

I will give to the left the point that yes, we on the right are highlighting them, we are noticing, but we are not the ones that have changed our story time and time again, that would be the Obama administration.

Unfortunately for America it isn't just U.S. citizens that are being critical of Obama's bungling in the aftermath of an event that should have been his crowning glory, across the globe they are highlighting the bumbling of the Obama administration's handling of the whole affair.

PJM points to one example of how those across the globe are seeing this:

In Britain, the left-wing Guardian newspaper ran a story titled “Osama bin Laden: U.S. Changes Account of al-Qaida Leader’s Death” which says:

The U.S. has backed away from its initial account of the killing of Osama bin Laden, which claimed that the al-Qaeda leader was carrying a weapon and fired at U.S. troops before he was shot dead.

* * *

[Q]uestions [are] being raised as to why Bin Laden was shot dead, and whether he was executed, rather than taken into custody.

Add to that, we have Obama's insistence on his reasoning for not showing photo proof of a dead Osama bin Laden.

“It’s important for us to make sure that very graphic photos of somebody who was shot in the head are not floating around as an incitement to additional violence or as a propaganda tool,” Obama said in an interview with CBS’s “60 Minutes.” “That’s not who we are. We don’t trot out this stuff as trophies.”

Ummmmmmmmmmmm... too late, Reuter's screwed the hooch for Obama there by publishing photos of the bodies our military didn't take as they took bin Laden's.



More at Reuters.

In regards to the release of the photo proof and Obama's trip to Ground Zero today, a couple families members of those lost on 9/11 are not impressed with Obama at all nor his victory lap.

The Vigiano family respectfully declined the invitation calling it a "photo op" for Obama.

"I'm honored the President of the United States is coming to New York," he said. "[But] to me its just going to be a photo op."

Another, Jeannie Evans, who lost a brother, wasn't even invited and she would have liked to ask Obama a question:

"Why not show us proof, that Bin Laden was killed? I would like to see that," wondered Evans.

Obama is so busy worrying about how people outside the country will view his actions, how they will respond, not inflaming those that are perpetually inflamed anyway, that he still doesn't understand he works for Americans.

Add it all together it is clear that the mission itself was a success, Osama bin Laden is dead, gone, the figurehead that symbolized al-Qaeada in the eyes of many, is no more.

The handling of the whole thing from Obama's announcement until now where stories by government officials are still being changed, is most probably why Obama's expected rise in the polls is nowhere near what it should have been and it is doubtful that the slight bump will last anywhere near what it was projected to last.

Obama has managed to somehow turn a complete victory into a show of incompetent bumbling and once again embarrassed America in the process.

(Golf clap for Obama)

[Update #2]- Father Of 9/11 Victim: Obama "Putting Too Much Spotlight On Himself"

David Beamer, father of 9/11 victim Todd Beamer on FOX News: "I feel some chagrin now, though, about how the rest of it has been handle. And frankly it started May Day, 2011 when the president announced what had happened. The excessive use of the personal pronoun that he used in his remarks, I really felt that was the beginning of the Commander-in-Chief putting too much spotlight on himself, taking too much credit for what the remarkable Americans had done. And of course it's only now accelerated to a greater degree in the media. "

See more of Mr. Beamer's remarks, via video at RCP.


[Update #3] Telegraph:

White House’s handling of the media in the aftermath of Sunday’s events has been breathtakingly amateurish, planting seeds of doubt about the legality of the operation and about Osama bin Laden’s death that would not otherwise be there. The constantly changing narrative – or “fact pattern”, as one White House official described it – suggests that the president and his advisers have been caught on the hop and have no clear strategy for dealing with the fallout from bin Laden’s death. This is epitomised by the halting, timid delivery of Jay – “How’m I doin’?” – Carney, who must bear some of the responsibility for this communications failure.

(Changes have been made to this post int he form of updates and incoming information)

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What Will The White House's Bungling Narratives About bin Laden Death Do To Obama's Poll Numbers?

Pollsters have been in a mad race to judge the "Obama Bounce" following the grand statement Barack Obama made about the death of Osama bin Laden, some showing an immediate limited bounce for his handling of Afghanistan and terrorism while reporting a drop in domestic issues such as economy and deficit, others showing a bump and still others headlining "big rise" in poll numbers.

As the initial celebratory feeling over the death of Osama wears off though, the fact that Obama was preempted in informing the world of the news by Twitter users, facebook and almost every news station, conflicting stories coming from White House officials following the death of Osama, in video, print and interviews, and other administration officials rushing to change the story time and time again, it leaves a feeling of a bungling Obama and an ill informed administration.

Public Opinion Strategies produced a chart showing how previous presidents enjoyed a bounce and how long those bounces lasted after huge moments in their presidency, but what they didn't address in that chart was how the handling of those same events affected the bounce itself or the duration.

Conflicting Stories

NYT describes how stories from the White House have been contrary to each other starting the morning after the announcement:

Still, the account diverged in some ways from one given Monday by the president’s chief counterterrorism adviser, John O. Brennan. He had said Bin Laden was “engaged in a firefight with those that entered the area of the house he was in,” adding, “whether or not he got off any rounds, I frankly don’t know.”

Mr. Brennan also said then that Bin Laden used his wife as a “human shield.” But officials now say that the death of another woman in the crossfire on another floor led them to draw that false conclusion.

Then the stories changed:

Members of a Navy Seals team burst in on Bin Laden in the compound where he was hiding and shot him in a room on an upper floor, after a fierce gun battle with other operatives of Al Qaeda on the first floor.

Bin Laden’s wife, who was with him in the room, “rushed the U.S. assaulter and was shot in the leg but not killed,” said the White House spokesman, Jay Carney, reading from the brief account, which was provided by the Defense Department. “Bin Laden was then shot and killed. He was not armed.”

Discrepancies in the stories by Obama officials aren't the only news coming out which shows a bumbling narrative.

Now stories are hitting the media about how Obama "kept military commanders hanging by declaring he would 'sleep on it' before taking 16 hours to give the go-ahead to raid Bin Laden's compound", with later reports showing Osama has phone numbers and cash on hand for a quick escape. Then Obama decided to go golfing (to keep up appearance you know!!)

Could they bumble the public relations any more?

Why yes, they can and have and continue to do so!

People inside and outside the USA, not willing to trust Obama's word on the matter solely, without any type of proof, are doubting the validity of the statements, especially since the stories keep conflicting and refuse to believe Osama is really dead.

For the record, I believe Osama bin Laden is dead, because only a complete moron would announce the death if it wasn't so when it could be so easily disproved if it wasn't true.

Still, there are those that don't believe it and the Obama administration has had the photo and video proof since the raid went down but showing the indecisiveness the Obama administration has become known for, original reports claimed the Obama White House was going to release the photo proof, now reports are coming out that they are still debating on whether or not to show proof of death, claiming that showing them could be "inflammatory". (Update- Now they are saying Obama has decided to not release the photo)

Newsflash- They already hate us, they already plan attacks against us and they are already vowing revenge.

PS to Obama- The families of 9/11 victims are asking for the photos to be released.

The longer Obama waits to produce them will only enlarge and encourage the groups who believe there is a conspiracy of some type going on. ( I asked the other day if Obama had learned nothing from his birth certificate issue and how the conspiracy theories grew over time because he refused for years to release proof)

Back to the Public Opinion Strategies chart which uses previous data on presidential bounces and drops, we see that their estimate is Obama will receive approximately a 13 percent bounce which will last for 22 weeks.

The public already credits the military and the CIA more than the Obama administration for the raid that killed bin Laden, which leads me to believe that with the fumbling, bumbling and outright incompetence by the Obama White House in regards to the public relations after the death of Osama bin Laden, I would hazard a guess that the Obama bounce will last no more than 10 weeks, if that.

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I'll Be Damned, Pigs Fly: Pelosi Thanks Bush For Role In Osama Takedown

I seriously believed pigs would fly before I saw what I just read, but lo and behold, I just read a piece at The Hill that reports Nancy Pelosi called President George Bush tp "congratulate him and thank him for the leadership role he had played in this quest over the years."

House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) said she called former President George W. Bush on Tuesday to congratulate him on the capture and killing of Osama Bin Laden.

Following a classified briefing on the operation to take down bin Laden, Pelosi told reporters that she called the former president earlier in the day to "congratulate him and thank him for the leadership role he had played in this quest over the years."

Pelosi was Speaker of the House for two years while Bush was in the White House.

Pelosi said she thought Bush appreciated the call.

“I wanted him to know the appreciation that many of us have in a bipartisan way ... that his role was important," she said.

Wow. Pelosi has just publicly done what Barack Obama didn't do publicly. She showed a bit of class by acknowledging what Bush did while he was in office.

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Polls Show: Osama's Death Gives Obama Bounce And Drop In Ratings

Public Opinion Strategies has done calculations on previous President's "bumps" incurred after perceived successes and they conclude that according to historical data Barack Obama will see an average bump of 13 percent which will last for approximately 22 weeks from the killing of Osama bin Laden, figurehead leader of al-Qaeda which attacked the United States on 9/11/01.

CNN/Opinion Research Corporation conducted a poll on Monday, May 2, 2011, one day after the news hit the world news that Osama bin Laden was killed in a raid.

The numbers confirm much of what Public Opinion Strategies estimated but according to the CNN poll, Americans are quite capable of separating issues and while Obama gets a seven point bounce on terrorism and Afghanistan since January, he actually has dropped three points regarding the economy and the deficit in the same time frame. --- Source: CNN/Opinion Research- Date conducted: 5/2/2011

But the poll indicates that the president's overall approval rating, now at 52 percent, is up just one point from a poll conducted Friday through Sunday; it is up four points from Obama's 48 percent approval rating in early April. All interviews in the poll taken this weekend were conducted before the announcement of bin Laden's death.

"While President Obama's rating on terrorism and on how he's handling of Afghanistan each went up seven points, his approval rating on the economy and the deficit are down three points in that same time span," says CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. "Remember that the economy is still the most important issue. When CNN last asked Americans to name their top issue last year, 52 percent said the economy was most important and only four percent chose terrorism, putting it seventh on the list."

Hotline On Call makes this point:

Meanwhile, the CNN poll ultimately shows mixed signals on Obama's 2012 re-election prospects. A slight majority of registered voters -- 51 percent -- say they will "probably" or "definitely" vote against Obama in 2012, while 46 percent of voters say they will "definitely" or "probably" vote for him -- virtually even with a Jan. CNN survey.

Pew Research Center for the People & the Press and The Washington Post has also conducted an overnight poll which shows the same type of fluctuation in Obama's job approval and the separation in American's opinions about terrorism/Afghanistan and the economy.

Barack Obama’s job approval rating has jumped in the wake of bin Laden’s killing. In the one-day survey, 56% say they approve of the way Obama is handling his job as president while 38% disapprove. Last month, Obama’s job rating was about evenly divided – 47% approved, 45% disapproved. Obama has gotten about the same boost in job approval as did former President Bush in the days after the U.S. military’s capture of Saddam Hussein in December 2003. Following Saddam’s capture, Bush’s rating rose from 50% to 57%. (A more comprehensive survey will be conducted May 5-8 to follow up on these preliminary reactions to the death of bin Laden and Obama’s job performance.)

However, while Obama’s ratings for dealing with the situation in Afghanistan and the threat of terrorism have improved dramatically – by 16 points and 14 points, respectively, since January – opinions about his handling of the economy have not. Just 40% approve and 55% disapprove of his job performance on the economy, which is little changed from April.

The death of bin Laden is still the top of the news cycle with article after article covering almost every angle and discussions surrounding the articles on virtually every political blog.

LINKAGE for Readers:

Jim Treacher makes the excellent point of how liberals criticized (Under Bush) the same teams that they are now applauding (Under Obama)with his piece titled "Team Six: From Cheney's Secret Assassination Squad to Obama's Super-Awesome Cleanup Crew" at The Daily Caller.

John at Power Line shows the incredible hypocrisy of Nancy Pelosi, using her very own quotes in a piece with the headline "Compare and Contrast — Nancy Pelosi, press conference, September 7, 2006:- Nancy Pelosi, earlier today.

Amusing.

All I can express to this next The Politico piece is... WTF????

Headline "Was killing bin Laden legal?

Seriously? I mean, we all knew it was coming, but SERIOUSLY????

This next one I am adding for for my own amusement because hearing the pop, pop, pop, of liberal heads exploding across the blogisphere is highly amusing.

Fox Nation headlines with "Waterboarding, Which Obama Campaigned Against, Led to Bin Laden Kill."

Next point- As the birther issue should have taught Barack Obama, the longer one refuses to provide whatever is needed to nip conspiracy theories in the bud, the larger the group of people become that start either believing those theories or at least start doubting the denials and questioning the time it takes to provide proof to the contrary.

Media is reporting now that the White House is "discussing" providing photo and possibly video proof of Osama bin Laden's death.

They shouldn't wait too long because the "deathers" in and outside of America, are already starting to make noise since bin Ladens body was immediately disposed of in a sea burial and no proof of his death has been provided yet.

Make sure to head over to Andrew Malcolm's piece at LA Times' Top of the Ticket for a wonderful piece of snark titled "Osama bin Laden dead: Yes, SEALs were in on the raid, but aides hail Obama's office bravery."

Teaser:

According to another one of those White House briefings of reporters designed to suck up all available credit for good news, President Obama's homeland security advisor reveals that it was a really tense time in the air-conditioned White House as unidentified U.S. Navy SEALs closed in on the world's most wanted man after midnight a half a world away.

Read the whole thing.. gotta love Andrew.

Years ago, on this very blog, I made the point that while Osama bin Laden might have given the order for the attack on 9/11 against the United States of America, he was not part of the group of hijackers that actually killed thousands of people on U.S. soil, he was just a figurehead, a symbol of al-Qaeda.

I say the same thing for Barack Obama. He might have given the go-ahead order to take bin Laden out, but he had no part of the actual takedown and is just a symbol, a figurehead for the wonderful work our military and intelligence communities did and were doing since well before Obama took office.

ABC News headlines with "Osama Bin Laden's Death Picture Readied for Release."

That should keep readers busy reading for a while.

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Osama bin Laden Killed- Side Shows Begin

The News

October of 2004 Osama bin Laden, ascribed leader of al-Qaeda, claimed responsibility for ordering the attack of September 11, 2001, which massacred thousands using hijacked planes as weapons of mass destruction in the United states of America.

Last night, almost a decade later, the American people as well as those across the world were informed that Osama bin Laden was killed in a raid on a compound in Pakistan.

Osama bin Laden became the figurehead, the objective for intelligence agencies, his capture or death the goal for perceived justice on behalf of the thousands that died on 9/11 and the families and friends they left behind.

News is full of the heroic actions of our American military for reaching that goal. For the intelligence agencies who worked tirelessly to sift through information and find bin Laden and bring him to justice.

"From the time that we first recognized bin Laden as a threat, the U.S. gathered information on people in bin Laden's circle, including his personal couriers," a senior official in the Obama administration said in a background briefing from the White House.

After the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, "detainees gave us information on couriers. One courier in particular had our constant attention. Detainees gave us his nom de guerre, his pseudonym, and also identified this man as one of the few couriers trusted by bin Laden."

In 2007, the U.S. learned the man's name.

In 2009, "we identified areas in Pakistan where the courier and his brother operated. They were very careful, reinforcing belief we were on the right track."

In August 2010, "we found their home in Abbottabad," not in a cave, not right along the Afghanistan border, but in an affluent suburb less than 40 miles from the capital.

Video of Obama's speech was posted here at WuA last night when news first broke.

George Bush was notified by Obama and issued a statement as well:

Earlier this evening, President Obama called to inform me that American forces killed Osama bin Laden, the leader of the al Qaeda network that attacked America on September 11, 2001.

I congratulated him and the men and women of our military and intelligence communities who devoted their lives to this mission. They have our everlasting gratitude.

This momentous achievement marks a victory for America, for people who seek peace around the world, and for all those who lost loved ones on September 11, 2001. The fight against terror goes on, but tonight America has sent an unmistakable message: No matter how long it takes, justice will be done.

Obama Preempted

News spread fast last night with word of bin Laden's death coming from sources to media outlets before Barack Obama could finish writing his speech and inform the public himself.

NYT's Media Decoder explains how Obama was preempted:

The nation’s television anchors and newspaper editors did not know, at first, that President Obama would be announcing the death of Osama bin Laden, an extraordinary development in the nearly 10-year-long war against terrorism waged by the United States and its allies. But reporters in Washington suspected almost immediately that the announcement could be about bin Laden.

That speculation was not aired out on television immediately, but it did erupt on Twitter and other social networking sites. Wishful thinking about bin Laden’s death ricocheted across the Web — and then, at 10:25 p.m., while Mr. Obama was writing his speech, one particular tweet seemed to confirm it. Keith Urbahn, the chief of staff for the former defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld, wrote at that time, “So I’m told by a reputable person they have killed Osama Bin Laden. Hot damn.”

Mr. Urbahn quickly added, “Don’t know if it’s true, but let’s pray it is.” He was credited by many on the Web with breaking the news, though he did not have first-hand confirmation.

Within minutes, anonymous sources at the Pentagon and the White House started to tell reporters the same information. ABC, CBS and NBC interrupted programming across the country at almost the same minute, 10:45 p.m., with the news. “We’re hearing absolute jubilation throughout government,” the ABC News correspondent Martha Raddatz reported.

Brian Williams on NBC told viewers, “This story started to leak out in the public domain largely when some Congressional staffers started to make phone calls.”

Additional Information

Information is coming out fast, from the initial intelligence to the raid itself and bin Laden's body disposal.

The Star Tribune reports that "CIA interrogators at secret prisons developed first strands that led to bin Laden"

The Politico reports that Osama bin Laden's body was buried at sea in accordance with "Islamic practice and tradition."


Reactions

Impromptu celebrations at ground zero, crowds gathering at the White House are just a couple examples of reactions within the US.

Other reactions around the world are more ambiguous.

Former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf is accusing the U.S. of violating his country’s sovereignty:

“American troops coming across the border and taking action in one of our towns, that is Abbottabad, is not acceptable to the people of Pakistan. It is a violation of our sovereignty,” Mr. Musharraf told CNN-IBN, an Indian news channel.

He added that it would have been “far better if Pakistani Special Services Group had operated and conducted the mission. To that extent, the modality of handling it and executing the operation is not correct.”

Palestinian Islamist group Hamas is condemning the killing and calling bin Laden a "holy warrior":

"We regard this as a continuation of the American policy based on oppression and the shedding of Muslim and Arab blood," Ismail Haniyeh, head of the Hamas administration in the Gaza Strip, told reporters.

Though he noted doctrinal differences between bin Laden's al Qaeda and Hamas, Haniyeh said: "We condemn the assassination and the killing of an Arab holy warrior. We ask God to offer him mercy with the true believers and the martyrs."

It is being reported that inside of Pakistan the sense of mood is "stunned silence."


Political Reactions

Political posturing has already started but with politics what it is, that was to be expected.

What is surprising is that while many are praising Obama, others in the media and blogosphere giving Bush his due for his decisions which ultimately led to the information on the courier that ultimately led to bin Laden's fall, realism about how Obama will "exploit" this for political gain, comes from progressive leftist Glenn Greenwald:

In sum, a murderous religious extremist was killed. The U.S. has erupted in a collective orgy of national pride and renewed faith in the efficacy and righteousness of military force. Other than that, the repercussions are likely to be far greater in terms of domestic politics -- it's going to be a huge boost to Obama's re-election prospects and will be exploited for that end -- than anything else.

Nate Silver from FiveThirtyEight delves into how this will help Obama, short term and perhaps give him a ratings bounce but ultimately will not be predictive of "how much the residue of this news might produce for him 19 months from now."

The media, bloggers and political pundits across the Internet are weighing in, staking positions and writing about the reactions across the world as well as the political ramifications.

This blogger has but one reaction at the moment.

May Osama bin Laden burn in hell. No virgins for you bin Laden!!!

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BREAKING: Bin Laden Is Dead

Televisions shows across the board on prime time have been preempted in preparation for Barack Obama to make an announcement, but the reporters are saying Bin Laden is dead, killed by US military action and that we are in possession of his body.

Bin Laden, leader of Al-Qaeda, claimed the responsibility of the horrendous attack against the United states of America on 9/11/01 which killed nearly 3,000 people after planes were hijacked and two were flown directly into the world trade center, one flown into the Pentagon. and one, due to the heroics of the passengers, was brought down before being able to used as a weapon, killing all on board.

More on this tomorrow.

Initial news stories here, here, and here.

[Update] Initial reports said Bin Laden was killed a week ago, but Obama's speech clearly said he was killed today.

Follow up news stories from ABC News, BBC, MSNBC, AP, CNN, and CBS News.

Obama's speech, unedited, below:



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