E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSS
AP, file
Al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden is seen in an image taken from a video found at his walled compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. The first anniversary of bin Laden's killing by U.S. Navy SEALs is on Tuesday.
ABBOTTABAD, Pakistan -- A year after Osama bin Laden was found and killed in Pakistan, one key question has yet to be answered: how did the world's most wanted man manage to move and live, undetected, in this country for so long?
Journalists, analysts, and others have been working to fill in the narrative holes over the last 12 months. Leaked and strategically released nuggets of information have helped to paint a vague picture of what life was like inside the Abbottabad compound where bin Laden spent his final years, living with three of his wives, and several children and grandchildren. We've learned of the austere conditions inside the home, the restricted lifestyle led by all inside, and the discipline with which the head of al-Qaida communicated with a trusted few. But the crucial questions -- how he got to that compound in the first place and who helped him to do so -- remain unanswered.
Kamran Bokhari, vice-president for Middle Eastern and South Asian Affairs at Stratfor, a global intelligence company, believes the idea that bin Laden moved around without a network of individuals organizing his transportation and logistics is simply not possible.
"If you're a six-foot-five Arab, and the most wanted man on the planet, you can't just walk into a place like Pakistan without support," Bokhari said. "So what's the nature of that support?"
U.S. officials publicly state they have no evidence that any Pakistani institutional leaders had any knowledge of bin Laden's presence here, nor played any role in helping to move him. Privately, however, some admit that the deep mistrust between the two nations has led to strong, lingering suspicions within many in the U.S. that Pakistan's premier intelligence agency -- Inter-Services Intelligence, or the ISI -- must have known, at some level.
Farooq Naeem / AFP - Getty Images
U.S. forces found and killed the al-Qaida leader in the affluent Pakistani town of Abbottabad, where he had been living in a large compound.
"There are deep suspicions on both sides," says retired General Mahmud Ali Durrani, a former national security advisor and ambassador to the United States. "I think the biggest concern in the U.S., if I put it in a phrase, is that Pakistan is hunting with the hounds and running with the hares. That is the perception."
Panetta recalls nail-biting moments of bin Laden raid
That perception has not been helped by what seem to be Pakistan's action priorities over the last year. The prevailing public dialogue among military and government officials in the immediate raid aftermath focused on how the U.S. had managed to breach Pakistan's borders, not how bin Laden had. The Pakistani doctor who ran a fake vaccination program in Abbottabad for the CIA in an effort to secure DNA samples from inside the bin Laden compound was swiftly tracked down, arrested, and remains in detention, possibly to stand trial for treason. Authorities quietly began work after dark to demolish the compound in February, keeping press behind a security cordon half a mile away, and after a year in custody, the widows and their families were shuttled out of their house in the dead of night and deported to Saudi Arabia.
The wives and children of Osama bin Laden are taken to a chartered flight out of Islamabad after being deported to Saudi Arabia.
Pakistan did immediately launch a formal commission with wide-reaching powers soon after the raid, pledging to investigate both the U.S. border breach and bin Laden's presence here. The Abbottabad Commission, as it's come to be known here, has enjoyed unparalleled access to anyone and everyone associated directly or peripherally with either issue, interviewing over 100 witnesses over the last year, including bin Laden's widows, the detained doctor who worked for the CIA, and high-level Pakistani officials. But there is no working deadline and expectations vary as to how blunt and definitive an account commission members will be able to put forth.
"Given how previous commissions in Pakistan have behaved, I'm not really hopeful that much will come out of this," Bokhari said. "This is not like the 9/11 Commission or anything similar elsewhere in other countries where there's a process and transparency and rule of law."
Nearly a year after Osama bin Laden was killed by U.S. forces, President Barack Obama spoke exclusively to NBC's Brian Williams inside the Situation Room and reflected on the raid. The full report airs Wed., May 2 at 9pm/8c on NBC's Rock Center.
'Embarrassment'
Durrani, who's been in touch with members of the commission, says the length of time it's taken for them to compile findings speaks to their determination to fulfill their mandate to the best of their ability.
"If the report comes out tomorrow and it's a whitewash, then people will ask -- what have you done?" Durrani said. "They [the commission members] are keen to get to the bottom of this, to find out what happened, why it happened, who's at fault, and what needs to be done so we don't have such embarrassment and such issues in the future."
Arshad Butt / AP
Osama bin Laden is dead following a military operation in Pakistan and the US has recovered his body, US President Barack Obama announced Sunday night.
Driving the investigators' query is a widely-held belief here in Pakistan that bin Laden was never here at all -- that the entire raid was an effort by the U.S. to defame and destabilize Pakistan's security establishment. Residents of Abbottabad with whom NBC News spoke reiterated that skepticism, saying they don't believe the U.S. claim that bin Laden was living in their midst, particularly in the absence of any evidence of his death.
Low expectations
Commission members have been reluctant to speak with the media until their findings are complete, but the head of the commission, retired Supreme Court Judge Javed Iqbal, confirmed to NBC News that one of the key issues his team is investigating is whether bin Laden was ever really here at all.
PhotoBlog: Abbottabad -- One year after Osama bin Laden raid
Despite low expectations for the pending report, Bokhari admits the commission is tasked with an enormously difficult job, one that will have repercussions for generations to come in the form of Pakistan's official narrative of this historic event.
"This is the biggest event in recent history since the fall of the Soviet Union -- 9/11 and its impact, the killing of Osama bin Laden -- so I'm not surprised it's taken them this long to come up with a report," Bokhari said. "It may take decades before anybody can actually come up with a comprehensive view of what was really happening."
Nearly one year after the death of Osama bin Laden, some Republicans are accusing the Obama administration of using the event for political gain. NBC's Mike Viqueira reports
The few specifics that have emerged from Pakistan in the last year in effect lead to more questions officials here must attempt to answer, through the commission or otherwise.
The U.S. moved quickly on the message-control front after the Abbottabad raid, releasing selective video clips and pieces of information from the "treasure trove" of evidence seized from bin Laden's compound. An NBC News team was given an exclusive briefing by a senior U.S. counterterrorism official on currently classified intelligence from the raid, including details of the role bin Laden played in al-Qaida from his hideout in Pakistan, who he was in touch with, and more on the life he lived within that compound. Those details will air on Discovery Channel on Tuesday as part of a one-hour special on the anniversary of the U.S. raid.
U.S. counterterror officials say that after years of drone strikes and other activities against the leaders of Al Qaida, the group is no longer able to pull off a major attack against U.S. interests, such as 9/11. NBC's Mike Viqueira reports.
But the details from within Pakistan have been few and far between. A rare piece of evidence -- a confidential interrogation report of bin Laden's youngest wife, Amal, obtained by NBC News -- did reveal some surprising details about the family's life on the run after the attacks of September 11.
According to the report, Amal told investigators that the family scattered after 9/11, bouncing from house to house and place to place in Pakistan. In her complicated timeline, she moved across multiple residences in the southern mega-city of Karachi, then moved on to Peshawar to link up with her husband. From there, the family moved to Swat, then to Haripur, and finally settled in the Abbottabad home for about six years until the U.S. raid that killed her husband.
On the anniversary of Osama bin Laden's death, there have been no signs of plotting by any terrorist groups, but officials say there is always a concern that homegrown terrorists could do something on their own. NBC's Pete Williams reports.
"These people are fanatics. They're ideological but keep in mind that they are also very professional at what they do," Bokhari explained. "They're in a business where if you make a small error in judgment it can easily translate to death for many people. There are people waiting for you to make a mistake. You have to be highly disciplined."
Co-conspirators?
But the pace of movement believed to have been followed by bin Laden and his family -- traversing entire provinces in Pakistan, and including rural, tribal, settled, and urban areas while remaining completely undetected -- would be difficult without some sort of network of support. Current and former Pakistani officials and analysts have offered up the possibility of "rogue or retired" elements from within Pakistan's military or intelligence establishment as possible facilitators or co-conspirators helping to hide bin Laden.
Osama bin Laden's brother-in-law, Zakaria al-Sadah, spoke to NBC News in Islamabad in his first interview with an American television network. He said he is concerned for his sister, who was shot in the raid that killed the al-Qaida leader, and frustrated she and her children have been in custody ever since. NBC's Amna Nawaz reports.
The nature of Pakistan's retired uniformed corps, many of whom stay involved with the work of the agencies long after they leave as the new leadership continues to make use of their experience and contacts, albeit in unofficial capacities and with limited authority. As the largest employer in Pakistan, it follows that the Pakistan army also has the largest pool of retirees, some of whom spent significant time working closely with and gaining the trust of jihadi groups in the 1980s and 1990s.
"If it's a retired network of people, what I call the 'Pakistani Blackwater,' that's not that bad. It's bad, but not that bad," Bokhari said. "But if it's someone who's serving, or more than one person, then [Pakistan's leaders] have a leak in [their] system and that's terrifying. Anyone who's a very nationalistic, Pakistani leader who doesn't want al-Qaida or the CIA to be able to get into their house will want to get to the bottom of that."
Bin Laden's widow's condition worsens, brother says
As potentially worrying or damaging as some of the information in the commission's report may be for Pakistan's institutions, it is also widely believed that the organizations cannot survive without taking a hard look at their own potential faults, and admitting mistakes where they did occur. The military and intelligence establishments were already raked over the coals by the government and media after last year's raid in Abbottabad, and are now under the highest level of scrutiny in the country's history.
January 16, 1997, nearly four years before the 9/11 terror attacks,  NBC Nightly News aired the first network television report on Osama Bin Laden. NBC's Tom Brokaw referred to Bin Laden as "maybe the most dangerous man in the world." NBC's Andrea Mitchell profiles Bin Laden who commanded a business empire dedicated to terrorism.
A failure, at this point, to produce a credible, official version of events will only damage Pakistan, according to Durrani.
"Pakistan wants to move forwards not backwards. They have to get to the bottom of this, in their own interest," he says. "If they don't, it will be another major issue buried in the sands of history. And people will forever be looking for answers."
NBC's Fakhar Rehman contributed to this report from Abbottabad.
Leave a Comment:
Given that those who helped the US kill him were arrested for treason and Bin Laden remained in Pakistan without "being detected" for so long, do we really need to ask who shielded him?? Of course there was government involvement. How high we can't be certain, but it wasn't so low level commander. The Pakistan government also supports the Hakkahni (sp?) network that has killed US service men in Afghanistan. So we do need to ask how much longer are we going to fund someone that has repeatedly demonstrated that they are not our friend?
I laughed when I got to this paragraph in the article:
Remembering the Warren Commission and our own 9/11 Commission. Ah, ha, ha, ha.
Didn't Bush testify NOT under oath and with Dick Cheney there at his side?
"Transparency and the rule of law"...in the US? Bwahaha...
He used our unrespected 9/11 Commission as an example of transparency and the rule of law?!!! HA
Then I got a double laugh. I rechecked who was saying this in the article - Bokhari WHO WORKS FOR STRATFOR! Double bwahaha.
Stratfor is the "security" company that was penetrated by Anonymous recently. Remember?
Also, Google Stratfor, they are a "propaganda service for hire".
This is a disinfo article!
Here is some of the cautionary quotes you will find if you Google Stratfor:
True, Googling might land you in some other site's disinfo. And I might have just pasted such quotes. Use caution, folks. Particularly, though, when dealing with our propaganda services such as NBC.
wow, msn posting stories about conspiracy theories? Seems their boy Barry is running scared! Must be hard not to be able to run on all of his merits....
Wonder why he didnt celebrate the 1 yr anniversary of signing Obamacare???
MSNBC's headlines include "Blackwater!" Clever indoctrination, MSNBC.
Prove to me that they REALLY got him.
Why no proof? Oh but they told us they got him?
There is zero possibility that no one knew. There is 99.9% probability that everyone, including the neighborhood kids, knew.
They live like people in a town population of 190. Everyone knows everyone and everyone's business. If someone tries to maintain privacy, that just results in piquing curiosity, gossip, and prying. If nothing else, the neighborhood kids would have been entertaining themselves by pulling endless--even life-threatening--stunts to breach their security.
They knew. Everyone knew. The only question I have is did we know?
FedupwithFed -
Kind of like... Weapons of Mass Destruction that didn't exist with old "Read My Lips"...
Rockyroad-531554 - Should they have displayed the body on nightly news, or personally invited you to see it yourself? They got Bin Laden and I believe the evidence is very clear.
Prove to me that Elvis Presley is dead, that we actually landed on the Moon, or that the remains of alien beings are not laying in a storage locker somewhere in Nevada.
Show me some hard evidence that bin Laden was not caught and killed one year ago in that highly publicized special ops action.
I'll wait...
It is logic that the Pakistanis helped him, the Pakistani Government look like total fools once the raid happened and with their ïnvestigations¨. Its clear there is a big part of their military working against us, we all knowthat.
Statfor is a incompetent änd untrustable company. I sometimes read their reports on the Mexican Cartels and they are all wrong, made up stories. The problems is that some major networks put them as reliable sources.
Absolutely. We STILL continue to FUND the Pakistani Government.....knowing FULLY WELL that they are STILL working against us. When are we going to get it through our THICK skulls, that Pakistan is NOT a friend, and never was?
We seem to be dealing with a bunch of "nincampoops" who like to "play" us for the SUCKERS we want to be.
What's really happening in Pakistan is that the Pakistanis just LOVE to sleep with the DOGS, and keep "waking up with fleas", but they just won't admit it. Remember that TECHNICALLY, they are at war with INDIA over Cashmere.
If we are friends with INDIA....it goes like this: " A friend of my ENEMY....is also my enemy." Is THAT so hard to understand?
Or...do we want to be so STUPID as NOT to understand?
does anyone really know who is running the show in Pakistan?
J.P. pretty much nailed it on the head - it's amazing that the 9/11 Commission is brought up to show U.S. transparency. Bush and Cheney testify not under oath and together, we never see the 'video' of the plane hitting the Pentagon, nor really a plane there or any bodies, no bodies in Pennsylvania field, etc...
And they mention American rule of law - seriously? Don't we know the rule of law in America pretty much boils down to who has the most money?
And Statfor? hahahahahhahahahha...have any of you researched them any?
American news is a joke - well, basically all 'news' is a joke...but I continue to read it, so I guess the joke is on me.
No! It was George W. Bush who shielded Osama Bin Laden. Business and family ties proved too strong to go after him.
Ralph J. Monasterio - Good post and I agree. Pakistan is milking us for every dollar we give them. I think we should cut off all military funding and say.. Cya.
Mike P101
I'm not so sure that we really have any friends, at least not in that part of the world. Israel is purely self-serving- they DID attack the USS Liberty and murder over 2 dozen of our sailors. The UK really just uses our power to their benefit. When Eisenhower sent the CIA into Iran to overthrow their govt- a freely elected govt, I might add- he did so at the behest of the British govt who was worried about their oil.We are still paying for that act today. Only Canada and a few Western European countries can be trusted to tell the truth (mostly) and not use us to the bone and hang us out to dry. Even France, who I greatly admire, was less than a trustworthy ally by pulling out of Viet Nam- that was ok- and then starting to sell arms to the NVA- not ok.
Your point is still valid but it is a mistake to think in terms of friends, especially in Asia. I say that no country in Asia is worth the loss of any more American lives, especially our service men and women. Pull out everybody tomorrow with a dire warning that if they harbor someone who attacks us, they will be a terrible retribution without any nation-building later and that the destruction and death will be pretty non-selective, as is the way with bombs. They are responsible for what happens within their borders. And let them whistle for help the next time a flood washes away half their country. Maybe the Taliban, AQ, or Afghanistan will help them. We have our own problems here.Let's address them and leave Asia to the Asians.With any luck, China,India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan will all nuke each other and we don't have to worry about them any more. They are grown-ups. Let them worry about themselves. It's incredible that a nation with 19 million people apparently wants to live live a third-world toilet bowl.So be it.
Fedupwith Fed referring to the Presient by pet names is akin to putting on a dunce cap and a big red clown nose - - hope that';[s the effect you wre tyring for - it's what you achieved. Give thanks we have a man of intellignce and discretion runnning things .
Pakistan was never, is not now nor will ever be our friend- so pull out and leave them to their own
Tom Tom...
What exactly are you smoking???
Elvis has been living with Jimmy Hoffy for more than 30 years now.
RIP P.O.S osama!
Rockyroad-531554
This is what I have always thought myself. You have the most wanted man in the world of whose whereabouts were known for 9 months. The order is given to kill on sight...Why? He has priceless information in his head! A man that prompted two wars, still ongoing, that cost the US lives, and a trillion in additional debt. Then, after not capturing him alive, intentionally mind you, they toss his body out to @!$%#ing sea that night!!!WTF!!!! Oh, and lets not show the public any pictures, that would not be right!
You dont have to be a conspiracy theorist to wonder what the @!$%# is going on here? Who believes what the feds tell us about anything let alone something sooo illogical? This makes absolutly NO SENSE!! Yet people just accept it somehow. No wonder poloticians flat out lie to our faces, they know that we will just shrug it off, oh wells!
OK... it took US more than 10 years to find this guy, with all our technological and financial advantage, but we blame the Pakis for not finding him sooner? LOL! that is really rich!
And btw. did we discipline the f-wits who let Bin laden escape from Tora Bora? NO!
I agree with J.P. that Stratfor is just a propaganda service for hire.
To call the Warren Commision and the 9/11 commisions transparent is a joke! If you know how the American establishment controls the government, the judiciary, the Capital Hill and how it manipulates the media, then you know that the American commisions are not much more transparent than the Pakistani Commision on Abbottabad.
"retired Supreme Court Judge Javed Iqbal, confirmed to NBC News that one of the key issues his team is investigating is whether bin Laden was ever really here at all."
I wonder if they'll find that a U S helicopter also didn't crash in the compound and bin Laden's wife and kids weren't there either? Perhaps they will also find that the U S didn't conduct a raid after all, so no apologies are needed.
Something stinks about this story. I have to wonder what its intention is, generally. To rev up feelings against bin Laden again and Pakistan (except the "higher ups"), thereby justifying this country giving Pakistan, a country that clearly hates the U.S., money that could relieve the suffering of millions of people here whose downfall was caused by Banks & Corporations.
Where is the story of the U.S. Drone Attack today on Pakistani soil? CNN covered it. And nice placing this story next to the photo of the new World Trade Center.
MSNBC. You're like a superpac for the Democratic Party. I'm left-wing, but I like real journalism, not stories fed via White House staff and press releases.
Mike P101
I believed that if the U.S. had its reasons to do this without getting authorization from their government, however that does not make it legal for them to go to another country and kill somebody there, therefore if any citizen from Pakistan helped the U.S. is guilty of treason. We would have done the same. They indeed have to investigate how the U.S. AND Bin Laden managed to get in.
@ Mike, how much longer is America going to fund Israel? You know they, like China, Jordan, Russia and others we pay, aren't our friends either. America wastes money trying to buy friendships.
@ BlueBurner, didn't Bush put out 2 very slightly different versions of stories from time to time? One favorable to Faux news and then the lies to the mainstream media. They all use the press to feed information to the people.
Our continued involvement with Pakistan and India is like our placement at the DMZ between the Koreas, we are playing referee trying to keep nations apart for OUR own egos. We need to realize that we have only been a nation for just under 236 years and we are forgetting the worlds history of failed conquests by almost every nation before our time. Yet Americas leaders, mostly the GOP, who ignore history daily, are trying to conquer the world again. When will we realize that conquering the world won't happen and that its only making us very weak at home and around the world..
It would be no surprise if history eventually reveals that our own Blackwater (later Xe, now Academi) were engaged by the Cheney/Bush dynasty supported by Koch and ALEC (all vultures of the same feather) after they lost the presidency unexpectedly, with their ill-gotten gains from 'lost' billions in Iraq, and perhaps in conspiracy with their Saudi friends, to secure and hide bin Laden.
By no means a far fetched plan but Blackwater and ISI sharing the billions? Wow! what a preposterous juxtaposition. Just sayin'.
I have to say that those that say they don't even think that OBL was even killed. Here is the thing. There are cretin religious rights that we gave and showed OBL's body. And making him shark bate didn't leave a shrine for his followers to visit him. I think President Obama made the right choice by not showing the pic. of OBL. I had a son still over there and that would have inflamed things at the cost to our troops. You see Obama thinks about things like that. He was thinking about our people then, Not his ego. He is a good decent man.
I am so far from being a conspiracy theorist, but I have to wonder...Every picture shows Osama Bin Laden sitting on the floor of his house watching tv. This photos is taken from video coverage recovered from his house by the US. Why is it that in all that video, there is no other, better shot of him, perhaps a facial picture. ANd why would someone film a guy sitting on the floor of his home watching tv. Why can't we see the rest, or better parts of the video, actually showing us that it is him??? And we don't get to see the death pics? What if is him, but he was being taped because he was in his dying days and someone in his family wanted video to remember him? Maybe... What if it is not him, and he was not there, or he was already dead? Like someone posted, with all the technology and spies, etc, and we couldn't find him for years... Maybe he was dead. Show me more proof this was him on the floor. Does anyone know if there is a site that shows the entire video? Just saying... Too much hidden agendas here for me to swallow.
How do I get a Pakistani flag to burn?
I don't believe for a minute that the CIA didn't know where Obama, I mean Osama was hiding. A few miles north of the Pakistani capitol? For 6 years? If they didn't know where he was, then folks, we do not have an intelligence agency. The most interesting speculation remaining is how they determined when was the best time to tumble him. I figure the locked on to the target some time in Bush's second term. Taking Osama out wasn't going to do Bush any good. The question was what course was best for the Republican party. I think they finally decided that having the living, breathing threat of 9/11 still out there was the best course for the Republicans, as it was in the previous election. Then, when Obama won, the best remaining option was to do the kill early in Obama's presidency to minimize the value to his re-election. The fear was that Bin Laden wouldn't survive till another election, and they would lose the press opportunity of killing him. Now, Obama must try to get some credit closer to the election, which isn't going to work. The voters in this country basically have the attention spans of gerbils. I really don't care which corporate puppet wins the election, but I love trying to get inside the heads of the real decision makers.
This administration seems big on giving our hard earned tax dollars to enemies. Pakistan harbored Bin Laden for years. Obama tries to milk all he can out of the fact the clues gathered a Gitmo by "being so mean" to the terrorists there finally found and got him on Obama's watch. Big deal, all he had to do was say yes to the seals going in to get or kill him. He really didn't have a choice now did he? Yet here he is a year later still milking it. I guess when that is the only thing you have done right in your entire administration you have to use it all you can. NOW, he has written an Executive order (thinks those order mean the king is here) to release some $100+ million to Hamas who now runs Palistine! Why? So they can buy more missles to lob over into Israel? Just which side of the Muslim/Christian battle is he on?
@420Frees
Yes, you are right. All of them are going to do it, but we depend on journalists to put this info through the filter of objectivity and fact checking so that they aren't manipulated into printing blatant propaganda. You and I have to admit--we know really nothing about Pakistan and what happened there. That story is in a safe called National Security where the information won't be released until a generation has passed. How in the world are people supposed to evaluate their leaders if we aren't given true information? That makes us all stupid.
I blame the journalists for not doing their job. If today's journalists had been around when Nixon was president, he wouldn't have been found out and fired. This merger between corporatism and the govt has perverted real journalism and created superpacs out of the news media.
As for bin Laden being dead. I also think it's strange that this country finds the No 1 terrorist and instead of disabling him, they kill him and then immediately toss his body in the ocean. I could easily believe that the U.S. shot him and then put him in some solitary black site where he'll remain for the rest of his life or until they get all the information they want from him and they'll kill him since the world believes he's dead anyway. What does a prisoner do when the world doesn't believe he exists anymore and that his captors can do anything they want to him with impunity? The govt should have shown pix or video on the news. But you can make any shot up person look like whomever you want.
Chuck your wasting your time. These idiots on here don't care about the safety of our troops. They complain about Pakistan or Israel or whoever but they are the most antiAmerica people around. I think you all suck and I thank God for real Americans that actually care about the USA! I think your all nameless faceless cowards! Traders without the guts to come out publicly and critcize our country. Cowards and Hypocrites!
This never happened, please look away, nothing to see here...
Actually, maybe Osama Bin laden is not dead, but one thing I'd bet on, he is either dead or in our custody. The one thing when telling a lie, sooner or later the truth comes out. Remember the "WMD's" that we were told Saddam had? Al Qaeda is in Iraq, let's attack! Yup, big lies that were told so many times that they somehow are true to some. if you keep telling a lie, it becomes true, sad huh?
Now, I do believe we got OBL, dead or alive, the lie may be that we stuck him in a hole somewhere so someone wouldn't start kidnapping innocent people around the world in a prisoner exchange, or whatever.
But I do believe we took him out of circulation, and that the Pakistani was involved with hiding him to some extent. If we didn't get him one way or another, he'd have shown his face in defiance by now, you know that!
Let's just quit all the hate, move on with our lives. Give credit where credit is due, and keep walking... Life goes on, let's enjoy it instead of wasting time and energy looking for ways to be miserable.
Oh, to the ones complaining about this news, or that news, and how MSN is one sided or FOX is one sided. Well, news is no longer news, it's turned into opinion. ALL news organizations have turned away from telling the basic news without throwing in some partisan politics bullsh!t.
Sad but true, we are no longer fed news, it's now entertainment. Success! Education is no longer necessary in the US, we just want to sit back and be entertained, whew, no more thinking involved...
Blackwater and Blackwaters benefactor, Cheney
MuddlerFly
You mean "rest in piss" P.O.S. Osama. Don't you :-)
Obama haters are bawling like little babies still. Just like Bush haters bawled when he went into Afghanistan because it was the right thing to do. Can't help a baby stop sucking their thumb, they just have to learn on their own.
This is the line that says it best for me, regarding the topic:
See? Look what you get if you are a hero in Pakistan! Arrested....
dburcar - Bacon grease
Idiot W. Bush couldn't get bin Ladin ... and how many lives and money were wasted because of his ineptitude???? .... Romney would be just as ineffective since GOP politicize everything instead of getting solutions. Sounds like the a$$ is desperate...
Obama is the only sane choice!!!!!
Not only are they baby's but their
Both parties have dumped billions of US dollars into Pakistan, so neither one has any high ground to stand on, so grow up and stop the my party is better than yours BS.
This is a mess that we should get out of and let it be known that any nation harboring a terrorist that attacks the US is subject to have their capital carpet bombed into oblivion. We'll even be nice and give them a 24 hr notice to evacuate. It should also be known that we will use any means possible to kill any terrorist anywhere and sorry about the civilian casualties but that is a risk when you live in an area with terrorists. Want to be our friend then toss out those who attack us!
lots of fringe lunatics commenting on this article - not surprising they are left-wing radical lunatics
Resurrecting this a year later says a lot! It says that the the Democrats feel that agreeing to target bin Ladin was the absolute highest point in Obama's presidency. It says that they are desperate to deflect attention from the abysmal state the economy is in. And it says that they are seriously worried about Obama's chances in the coming election.
If MSNBC's poll figures are to be believed, last March was the highest Obama's Voter Confidence Index has been in the past 2 1/2 years at negative 2%. The last time it was in positive territory was October 2009. They can't go back to that time frame though because the very policies that made him popular then, turned out to be failures later.
Kannin - You republicans... Still upset that President Obama did something that former President Bush could not do. Although, former President Bush did succeed in deflecting the American publics attention away from the domestic economy, spending a surplus that was left to him by Former President Clinton and Congress, two foreign wars over a lie, and 124 million dollars to take his vacation trips. Yep, that about sums it up.
Obama (and us) gets to pay the bills that the Republican cowards dared not pass on to America for the irresponsible Iraq war.
Obama gets to carry through on saving capitalism for the capitalists, 'cause the Republicans had no willingness to actually pay the bills for TARP.
Obama gets to fight for the social contracts promised to all Americans 75 years ago, because the "we only care about millionaires" Republicans have no sense of responsibility to anyone else..
Are there problems and risks in America regarding debt? Of course. FIX IT. The gutless Repubilicans and their Tea Bigot partners have no plan, no guts, not sense of responsibility. Time to show them the door . . . or the gutter if paying some more taxes is too much for them to manage.
The fact that the haters, the gutless, the mindless follow the leadership offered by their foreign masters (Murdoch) and the millionaire liars (Koch Bros., Texas Oilmen, etc) is to be expected. They apparently have no minds of their own and their trusted news sources (Fox, tabloids, talk radio) have told them the "truth".
Hey! When Bush campaigned for office he was running against peace and prosperity. He won! Now look at the mess we're in.
@Kannin Are you kidding me? Obama has to mark the anniversary of OBL's death for the nation and the free world. It's just one of many accomplishments he's proud of despite the fact that you Republicans have fought tooth and nail to obstruct every piece of legislation he's offered.
If you think your boy Mitt is a real candidate that's capable of turning the economy around you'd better stop drinking so early in the morning.
The only thing the republicans will do in office is try to pass tax breaks for ultra wealthy corporations and individuals that are already leaching on our economy.
The Pakistanis don't believe that Osama was in their esteemed country? Where else would the world most wanted murderer hide? With a country full of other murderers! I too questioned whether Bin Laden had actually been neutralized but I remembered that it can't be about publicity it's about the mission.
You can either believe or not believe but we haven't seen one video of him from the grave have we? Typically you non-believers want evidence like his body in your living room. Get real. No one cares what you want, thank God. Like 9-11, it's so obviously evident that the events took place that it's assumed you can figure it out for yourself. But some are just plain slow.
The Pakistani intelligence agency had to beware of Bin Ladens presence throughout his entire stay in Pakistan. Those I.S.I. agents know everyone within the various tribes and they know everyone in goverment. Nothing happens without the I.S.I. knowing.
@ Itsabouttime,
If you call putting the county into a 14 TRILLION dollar debt an accomplishment, then your guy certainly did a great job...
Accomplishments?
An
impressive list of accomplishments :
First
President to apply for college aid as a foreign student,
then
deny
he was a foreigner.
First President to have a social security number from a state he has
never
lived in.
First
President to preside over a cut to the credit-rating of the United
States
First
President to violate the War Powers Act. .
First
President to be held in contempt of court for illegally
obstructing
oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.
First
President to defy a Federal Judge's court order to cease
implementing
the Health Care Reform Law.
First
President to require all Americans to purchase a product from
a
third
party.
First
President to spend a trillion dollars on 'shovel-ready'
jobs
when
there was no such thing as 'shovel-ready' jobs.
First
President to abrogate bankruptcy law to turn over control
of
companies
to his union supporters.
First
President to by-pass Congress and implement the Dream Act
through
executive fiat
First
President to order a secret amnesty program that stopped
the
deportation
of illegal immigrants across the U.S., including those
with
criminal convictions.
First
President to demand a company hand-over $20 billion to one
of
his
political appointees.
First
President to terminate America's ability to put a man in
space.
First
President to have a law signed by an auto-pen without being
present.
First
President to arbitrarily declare an existing law
unconstitutional
and refuse to enforce it.
First
President to threaten insurance companies if they
publicly
spoke-out
on the reasons for their rate increases.
First
President to tell a major manufacturing company in which
state
it
is allowed to locate a factory.
First
President to file lawsuits against the states he swore an
oath
to
protect (AZ, WI, OH, IN).
First
President to withdraw an existing coal permit that had
been
properly
issued years ago.
First
President to fire an inspector general of Ameri-Corps for
catching
one of his friends in a corruption case.
First
President to appoint 45 czars to replace elected officials
in
his
office. .
First
President to golf 73 separate times in his first two and a
half
years
in office, 90 to date.
First
President to hide his medical, educational and travel
records.
First
President to win a Nobel Peace Prize for doing NOTHING to earn
it.
First
President to go on multiple global 'apology tours'.
First
President to go on 17 lavish vacations, including date
nights
and
Wednesday evening White House parties for his friends paid for
by
the
taxpayer.
First
President to have 22 personal servants (taxpayer funded) for his
wife.
First
President to keep a dog trainer on retainer for $102,000 a
year
at
taxpayer expense.
First
President to repeat the Holy Quran tells us the early
morning
call
of the Azan (Islamic call to worship) is the most beautiful
sound
on
earth.
@ Logic4u... that's pathetic. Do you have a shred of proof for any of these horse-droppings? I stopped reading it after the first few because it was so silly. BTW, the cut in credit rating was ALL about Congress. DID YOU NOT KNOW THAT OR WERE YOU JUST BEING A GOOD WHITE-ROBED TEABAGGER AND CONTINUING TO MARCH UNTIL THE DRUMS STOPPED?
How silly.
Logic4U
Wow. You mean Obama created a 14 trillion dollar debt all by himself? He managed to do this in 3.5 years and all other Presidents/Congress sessions up to this didn't contribute at all? He must have a huge secret bank account somewhere in the Caymen Islands. Oh wait, that's Romney
So logic --- when you have NO ideas, NO solutions, and NO answers, NOTHING positive to offer – you talk about such import things like, birth certificates, Teleprompters, college transcripts, czars, rounds of golf, worthless garbage like that. Then you throw in even more garbage with words and phrases like “socialist” and “Marxist” and “he’s not one of us” – all that kind of crap. But the bottom line is more and more Americans are realizing that the right has NOTHING to offer and that’s why President Obama will be reelected in November.
Kannin--I think you boys are the ones who are desperate.
Good call, ItsAboutTime...It's very noteworthy that a huge chunk of Mr. Obama's debt is due to the interest on servicing the debts incurred by El Shrubbo, Clinton (his first 7 yrs), Bush Act I, and, yes, Ronnie Raygun- the patron saint of fiscal conservatives who never met a tax-hike or spending bill he didn't like. And also a huge chunk was trying to stimulate an economy that was near-death thanks to 30+ yrs of being trickled on and de-regulated. But hey...let's not let the true numbers get in the way of good political spin. Let's all just keep hammering on that disgusting black man who's living in our White House. How dare he?
@logic4U....You missed one...First President to sign into law a law that violates the 1st Amendment..known as the "Federal Restricted Buildings and Grounds Improvement Act of 2011" which makes it a FELONY to demonstrate near anyone who has Secret Service protection....A felony is a minimum of 1 year and 1 day in prison and with a felony conviction your life is ruined....
The Search for Obama:
"Behold, I go forward, but he is not there;
and backward, but I cannot perceive him: On the
left hand, where he doth work, but I cannot
behold him; he hideth himself on the right hand,
That I cannot see him."
- Job 23:8-10
For all those people out there who think Obama is milking this....
"Mission Accomplished"
Looking at it objectively, the success of the kill was due to significant increases in intelligence. I am more than happy for giving President Obama the credit for authorizing and executing the mission and I would also credit the Bush administration for building up clandestine operations over the years prior as well.
@Thomas Blue.....Tell me what did OMAMA do to get the NOBEL PEACE PRIZE?
@Thomas Blue.....Tell me what did OMAMA do to get the NOBEL PEACE PRIZE?
I take it that you are the one percenter , you know RICH. The rich people want to smear Obama`s name just because he wants to tax the rich. By the way , we were doing pretty well till a Republican President started 2 no win wars and ruined a decent budget. Now you want to smear Obama with everything you can think of including the smear compaign. Lets take a quick look at Romney, he is against the rich and corporations paying theiir fair share of taxes. If I remember right he paid 15% while the middle class pay 30%, and his money goes to an off shore account. Interesting. He hasn`t said how much he paid in taxes this year because he knows it could cost him the election. Romney has one thing on his mind, make more money. HOW MUCH IS ENOUGH??? I couldn`t spend what he makes in a month, let alone a year. Yet he wants more and wants to cut Social Security, Medicare and other programs that help the poor. Yes the Middle class are tired of supporting the poor. Well if your laid off and have no money you lose your home. You are poor. Now where will you find food, a place to live till you find a job?? Guess what most funding from the government, you have an address to collect anything. Soyour out in the street begging for food or somekind of help. Meanwhile the fat cats get richer till China starts buying property in this country and change the names of the land they own to chinese names. Guess where Romney will go to retire?? The Bahamas?? THINK ABOUT IT
who is OMAMA? I don't know him...
@TexasT-2966501...Fair enough..I agree.I suspect that bush said OBL was irrelevant to downplay his own failure up to that point. But a poor choice of words.
@Thomas Blue...or it could have been misdirection and "disarming" as we built up some intelligence in the network. Would seem counter-productive to try and provoke the man while we were attempting to get him. In any event, it was a good day for America when we ridded the world of Bin Laden. I think for me the poignent moment of realization that this was not a traditional enemy actually came in the Clinton days in Somalia. I do believe after the "Black Hawk Down" event, President Clinton probably realized we would need to tweak the way we do intelligence in our country.
Thomas Blue - Thanks and great comment/post #2.11. The sum of the deficit has been building for a few decades.. and its very obtuse to blame one person for it. I still believe both parties have failed to reach a balanced budget amendment. Each session of Congress/President continue to treat the symptoms and do not treat the disease that will haunt this nation until its resolved. This "lets pass it to the next generation" mantra needs to stop.
On Bin Laden. Yes, Former President Clinton and Former President Bush laid a foundation for us to get there as well. Yes, President Obama (as commander and chief) of the United States Armed Forces and those brave men and women in uniform captured this mass murder of thousands of innocent people around the world.
However at the end of the day, It was the people of the United States of America that stood up and said "Justice has now been served by the red/white and blue". Can't we focus on that for once instead of always pointing fingers?
To Pakistan. Be aware.. that if you continue to harbor terrorists, you may also see the justice of the red white and blue.
Hey Logic!
You are turning your brain into mush, by not changing the channel.
Faux News is making you people turn into narrow minded retards!
I see you have been reading your wingnut chain mail. The Restricted Building and Grounds Improvement Act only updated The Restricted Building or Grounds Act of 1971 and it makes it a felony to knowingly enter The White House and its grounds and the Vice President's residence and its grounds, without authorization.
TexasT...nice post. I finally see something good in Texas. It is so refreshing to see a post that is not blindly either pro-Obama or anti-Obama. We have so many big problems here, we really need to move on.
ItsAboutTime-3704531...I agree. Well said.
ITsAaboutTime
Stop spreading Obama's BS myth that he had anything important to do with Bin Ladin getting killed. The information that eventually led to Bin Laden came from the interrogations at Gitmo all of you wimps whined about. It took several years to track him down, this was done all by the military. If Obama had known about it he probably would have shut the operation down if his other actions are any indication of how he leans. All he did was what he had not choice but to do. He said Ok you can go in and get him. He may not of liked it but to say NO would have exposed more than he wants to. So instead he claims credit. WE are not stupid enough to believe it. So, save the con job for your man.
People are fed up with the blame Bush crap. And that's all the Dems seem to have now. Good luck with that! He said he could fix all our problems? He did'nt plain and simple!
tiler
Why don't you guys just tell the truth. You want to have Socialism. Even though it has been proven over and over it does not work. The people who root for this in my opinion are total losers. If you think anyone, I don't care how rich owes what they have to you then you are a suction on society. Earn your own. If you are unable then the Christian agencies have always been willing to help people in need. But the athiests who love liberals and Obama want Christianity wiped out so they won't have them to depend on so they want the government to take from those who earn to give to those who don't. Following the stupidity that ruined our school system, no grades because the kids who do poorly will feel bad so everyone get dumbed down. No real trophies in sports because the losers will feel bad. Now take all you can from those that have it and give it to those that don't becomes the theme? What you gonna do when they stop giving to you. What you gonna do when they won't feed you, being helpless and dependent and useless as you are.
Shaking my head-2479300 - Answer the following questions:
1. Who was commander and chief when Osama was captured: President Obama.
Article II - Section II:
The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States; he may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices, and he shall have Power to Grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offenses against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.
Obama did have a choice. He could have said no. In case you missed it, Pakistan was really PO'd at the US over what happened. In case you didn't know, the President of the United States if the 'full represenative of this country' to others in the world.
Shaking my head-2479300
Do you even know what socialism is? If so, please post your definition below.
As for your entire comment about Christanity:
Please read the following from the Bill of Rights in the United States Constitution:
Amendment 1
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
Where oh where did Obama say he wanted to wipe Christianity out of America? Seems to me, when he took the Oath of Office it said "Serve, protect, and defend" the Constitution of the United States. That includes the forementioned.
I respect everyone's religious values, but they do not overcede secular law.
That was all political BS...only young and naive teachers thought that was a good idea.... Politicians started this, and infringed it on the public education system... it wasn't our idea
Bush's NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND almost ruined public education by mandating ridiculousness and then refusing to pay for it!!!
Obviously after 8 years of trying the Republicans can only start wars their not smart enough to end them
No,Kannin, it means we are approaching the one-year anniversary, which is commonly a time when people reflect on important, past events, like Pearl Harbor, like the 9/11 attacks, like the end of WWII. I've no idea where the killing of Osama bin Laden ranks compared to other significant events in our nation's history. Not near the top; there will never be a day commemorating it. But it is significant, and it is worth remembering 1 year later.
All this caterwauling by conservatives says a lot. It says they cannot face the fact that Obama accomplished something which Bush [what was the high point of his 8 years in office?] never came close to doing. Of course he spent most of those years screwing around in Iraq.
If Obama's White House is still making a big deal of this event one month from now, I'd say they were milking it [and it would not work]. But remembering this key even on its one year anniversary? That is a normal reaction, by the President, and by the nation.
Get over it.
Thomas Blue....Let's put it this way,,what did Obama do to get the nobel peace prize..?????
Kannin - Not sure where the Resurrecting a year later thing comes from. We do this to allot of things like 911 a year later and other events on the 1 year anniversary. Why would you not think that 1 year later the Bin Laden death would not be looked at again? Oh yea, because Obama is in office. If it was a Republican, you wouldn't even make a comment. As far as voter confidence in Obama, he way outranks the wanna be Republican nominee. Face it, you lost. Obama is going to have 4 more years and he will not have to worry about reelection. He can devote his whole attention to fixing what you guys broke, broke, and broke.
The only contribution Obama made was that he did not interfer with the Navy Seals like Bill Clinton did. If Obama gets re-elected he will not get one single biil through Congress. i hope he does get re-elected then the entire Democratic Party will implode. The GOP most likely will take over the Senate in 2012, then we will have control of the House and can initiate impeachment hearings against him. He will msot likely go down in hitory as the inept, incompetent POTUS since Herbert Hoover. BTW did you know that HBO is planning on a new reality show with Bill Maher as the host--it will be called Jeffersons, evicted 2012.
John step away from the crack pipe you are having a bad trip son. Democrats will win the house and senate and the big chair son America sees what the republiCON Party is all about boy.
Now that is a scary thought.
Vote for Communism, Vote Obama Make Carl Marx Proud.. Did not Hitler take over Germany the same way Obama and Soros has been doing to America.. I thing Democrats need to read some German and Russian History. Hail Obama
What, exactly, is your mindless troll quota for this thread, excaliburgc? Or, do they pay you per troll?
Romney will be nominated and Marco Rubio will join as his VP. Conservatives will be more comfortable and hard working, family orientated, American Hispanics will help throw out the Marxist. Romney will be re-elected and Marco will be our first Hispanic president in 2020. (16 years of prosperity for the U.S.!)
US has never prospered under a Republican President. It has always taken a Democrat President to fix what the Republicans break. Just as Obama is fixing Bush jr.'s mistakes, so did Bill Clinton fix Bush Seniors mistakes. It has been this way all through history, because republicans only think about themselves and how they can screw the middle and poor class. The Democrats are all about helping the middle and poor. Face it, Bush had 8 years to show that the trickle down theory works and it didn't. The rich didn't hire a bunch of people, but pocketed the money we gave them for this trickle down theory. In fact Busch caused the recession that we are enjoying now.
The only contribution Obama made was that he did not interfer with the Navy Sea
But had the mission failed, ditto heads like you would still be bitching about it.
FACT: -- President Obama did what George Bush only talked about.
excaliburgc - says...
Some definitions for you:
Nazi - suppressing all opposition and establishing a dictatorship over all cultural, economic, and political activities of the people
Communism: a system of social organization in which all economic and social activity is controlled by a totalitarian state dominated by a single and self-perpetuating political party.
This is what you think Obama is doing? I think you are confused... This sounds a lot more like the GoodBye Old Party to me.
Karl with a "K". At least spell the name right you so much know about.
LMAO@Jim-1963167..
Awesome!!Well played
No Hitler did not take over Germany by being elected as President of the U.S. Hitler was never elected as Chancellor of Germany either. YOU need to read real history. BTW, Soros has spent billions fighting communist regimes.
What a totally idiotic headline question.
Bin Laden was living in a Pakistani Army safe house, protected by the Pakistani Army, 300 yards from their version of West Point. All senior Pakistani generals and leaders knew he was there. Pakistan is the number one state sponsor of terrorism on earth, the mortal enemy of the United States, and it should be bombed into a parking lot immediately.
But...but....but.....where would we get our cheap clothing and textiles from then?
Perhaps that same logic should be used against the city of Santa Monica, Ca. for harboring the #2 most wanted man, Whitey Bulger.
Bhokara, you are looking at the wrong country for most of the problems. Try Iran, the country who sends troops and arms to Afghanistan as well as Pakistan. Most Muslim countries hate us now because they are run by Muslim Clerics. Plus for what some of our troops are doing some horrible things like burning the Quran, plus disgusting acts against dead bodies. The Japanese did that during WWII and look at what happened there. We have a strong enemy against us, you can`t see them till they attack. I am not just talking about Muslims either. We have our own Government hate groups that want nothing else then to destroy are Government. If things don`t show our respect to Muslims even the ones who are our friends will go against us. Right now we have a hate group that can start things off, thats Israel. They want to start fighting right now, and we are their allies, which makes us the Muslims second hated country, so everyone should protect themselves as best as you can. President Bush senior started this, then President Bush JR. went all in.b They didn`t care about what this would cost, just how much profit that could be made. They really care about the young men who would die , or crippled, or even how many that would be going throuth PTSD, nothing counted except what they wanted. So now that we are all messed up we have another problem starting in the Caribean where China is spending their money to help the countries that we forgot about. Its not bad enough that a lot of our companies moved over to China to get cheap labor so that they can make big profits. Part of that is the Uniions fault because they couldn`t take small raises or benefits. They have a race going on. the NON TRAINED WORKERS against the TRAINED WORKERS who have to be licensed in order to work. the non skilled wanted as much as the skilled workers. Because of busineses moving to China and the Unions wanting more and more, then add the speculators who want to drive prices higher and higher. That is our economy. Good luck to the fool who wants to fix it, because no one will give up anything even if they had to learn Chinesse in orderm, to work or survive in this country. It won`t be long because the people who you elected want to argue rather then cooperate to get things fixed for all Americans, not the world.
Wow, can anyone make sense of this?
Ditto Brenda well put. These repukes need to step back. Obama did what both shrubs couldnt do and it erks them to no end. And you are right if the shrub would have gotton him they would still be blowing hot air about it. Face it pukes Bush said at a press confrence that he was not concerned about Bin Ladin. I belive he had no plan to get him and that he didnt want to get him. After all the Bush family has been in bed with his family for years. On 911 they were in texas at his daddys ranch and he shrub jr flew them out of the country when all air traffic was grounded.
Face the facts bush did nothing but ruin this country and Obama is trying to fix his mess. but the pukes in congress thawrt his every bill. They held the country hostage on the debt the payroll tax and many other bills. now this war on women and the poor and middle class will seal Obamas win in November. America love it or leave it we sure wont miss the likes of some of you. OBAMA 2012 BY A LANDSLIDE
Obama 2012 LOL He should be impeached in 2012....
Impeached? Really? On what charge, exactly? Being a better President than the last one by too many orders of magnitude?
Jim-1963167,
"Obama" did what both shrubs couldn't do? Obama gave the go ahead order, and I'll give him his due for that. To give him total credit for what was done makes you sound like you're a few McNuggets short of a Happy Meal! The men and women in our intelligence community, and military (who actually took him out) deserve 99.9% of the credit! They're the ones who made this possible. And I have not heard "one" person that was directly involved in the locating of Osama make a statement that the enhanced interrogations methods implemented by the Bush administration, was of no help! I hate to tell you this, but the search for Osama Bin Laden didn't start when Obama took office! Clinton may have blown his chance in the few hours he had to make a decision. That's not so really bad when you consider Obama did absolutely "nothing" his first "two years" in office with a majority in both houses! You like Obama, and I respect that. But realize Obama did nothing but give the people really responsible for the finding of Osama Bin Laden, the authorization to complete their task. If he didn't, it would have been political suicide when you consider his record in office up to that point! You really don't think he didn't consider that before giving the O.K?
Funny -- according to the right wing spin machine, President Obama is totally and completely responsible for the economy even though the recession started in late 2005 (more than 2.5 years BEFORE he became president) when Bush was in the white House and Republicans held the majority in both the House and Senate. Yet Bush is completely responsible for getting Ben Laden even though that happened more than 2 years AFTER he left the White House.
repukes...you guys crack me up
excaliburgc, Since Obama's Presidential win, the GOP has made it a priority to make Obama a 1 term President. After 8 years of Bush/Cheney, all of a sudden, you Republicans get angry over what Obama has done? You didn't get angry when...the SCOTUS stopped a LEGAL recount of votes and appointed Bush President, or when we ILLEGALLY invaded a country that posed no threat to us, or that TWO wars were never funded, or when $10 billion in cash sent to Iraq just disappeared, or when Bush embraced trade and outsourcing policies that shipped 6 million jobs out of the U.S., or that Bush rang up $10 trillion in combined budget and current account deficits, or that Bush gave those 1%ers more money to the tune of $1 trillion in tax breaks, or the worst 8 years of job growth in several decades, or that 200,000 Americans lost their lives due to no health insurance, or the lack of oversight and deregulations caused Americans to lose $12 trillion in investments, retirement and home values, or that Bush never got Bin Laden. But, you and all the GOP 'machine' get angry at THIS President for wanting ALL Americans to have the right to see a doctor if they are sick. Bush's Illegal wars, lies, corruption, torture, job losses by the millions, stealing tax $'s to make the rich richer and the worst economical disaster since 1929 are all okay with the lot of you, but helping fellow Americans who are sick, the answer is 'HELL NO!'? THAT is un-American AND un-Christian, and if you side with the GOP, you are the same.
Excellent post,Fantomdog...well said...
First of all the recession didn't start in 2005!
http://money.cnn.com/2008/12/01/news/economy/recession/index.htm
The National Bureau of Economic Research said Monday that the U.S. has been in a recession since December 2007, making official what most Americans have already believed about the state of the economy .
"No one" has stated that Obama is completely responsible for the economic situation he inherited when taking office. "I am" stating that Obama has not kept any of his campaign promises to improve the economy! More people have been put on food stamps during his administration than any other. Invoking "BUSH" every time anyone criticizes Obama is getting real old. Economic wise nothing has improved since he's been in office! Job numbers are BS, they leave out those who are no longer eligible for unemployment, or those underemployed, or those who have only part time jobs but need full time employment. Look at the number of people on food stamps on a monthly basis. Let's stick with what Obama "owns" all by himself.
Solyndra, etc. The private investors got their money before the taxpayers did, why? And what government "Green Investment" has paid off? What's the cost to the taxpayers so far?
Fast & Furious. Obama promised "transparency in government". Why hasn't his attorney general provided the information requested by the investigating committee, even though a subpoena was issued?
War on Women. An article was recently published that women make less than their counterparts for doing the same work in the White House!
The White House knew about the GSA problem a month before the story broke, and did nothing until then. He appointed the head of it!
He promised Immigration Reform and did nothing on it the first two years he had a majority in both houses! But now that an election is coming up, he's yakking about it again!
Tell me anything that has improved since Obama took office without invoking the BUSH years!
William, You are in denial if you think the economy has not improved since Obama was sworn in. When he was sworn in, the economy was losing 750,000 jobs a month. We have now had over two years of continuous growth. This administration has used the same methods for determining unemployment since Raygun became President. How is it that when he started using that method, it was miraculous how fast the economy turned around, but now, it "doesn't show the real numbers?" If it was all about who was no longer eligible for unemployment insurance bringing the numbers down, then why did Obama push to have it extended to 99 weeks. He could have left it at 52 weeks, had a lot more drop off and then the numbers would be even lower.
Solyndra was a government loan guarantee, not sure why it is even thought of as a scandal, except for it was "green" energy
Fast & Furious? Not a scandal either. The program was first done under the Bush administration and not a peep was made of it.
That recent article did not say that women in the White House make less than males for the same work. But, even if that were true, the Federal Wage system is very structured and is not like the private sector where one can negotiate salary. It is set in stone.
Any evidence that the White House knew of the "GSA problem" for a month?
Had a majority in both houses, but did not have a filibuster proof majority in the Senate.
raddave44,
Do you even keep up on these things?
Solydra was a scandal because it went bust so quickly after our tax dollars were put into it. Also the administration had the loan restructured so that the wealthy private investors got their money returned before the taxpayers saw a dime!
Fast & Furious was not first done under the Bush administration. One similar to it was. The differences being the Bush one "notified the Mexican government", and they worked "with us"! Thousands of guns were not lost under the Bush administration's operation. No guns from the Bush administrations operation were found to be involved in the killings of Mexican nationals, or any U.S. law enforcement officers!
That recent article did not say that women in the White House make less than males for the same work. But, even if that were true, the Federal Wage system is very structured and is not like the private sector where one can negotiate salary. It is set in stone.
So it's O.K. for the head of our federal government to pay women less than men, in his own house?
Any evidence that the White House knew of the "GSA problem" for a month?
Again do a little research, google it!
Had a majority in both houses, but did not have a filibuster proof majority in the Senate.
O.K. provide a link to any story where the Obama administration tried to bring one of these issues before the house in the two years his party had a majority. He presented a budget that "his own party" in the house rejected almost unanimously!
Yeah, nice rebuttal!
Who are they trying to kid, We know it was Dick Cheney that has Bin Laden taken from the mountains at Bora Bora to be hidden by Pakistan.
LOL The whole Bin Laden escapade was a big joke! The man was running from the US government for 10 years popping up in videos all over the world! When they finally got him they wrapped him in sheets and threw him in the ocean. Just another fall guy.
Love Angel...that's a patently absurd statement. OBL's whole life was dedicated to the hate and killing of America and Americans. He couldn't be bought off if you wanted to. He was already very rich. There would be no reason for him to go along with such a scheme. If it were faked, you can be sure that by now, he would have released another video "proving the lies of the great Satan". You right wingnuts really need to get over this Obama hate.
And BTW, the face I see of President Obama in the above pic doesn't look like the face of a muslim hoping to destroy America. It looks to me like the face of a CIC that is on pins and needles taking a chance with his political life to exact a richly deserved retribution upon a very dangerous mass murderer with more American lives in harm's way doing it. I have heard all the pooh about Obama's call being easy, but I will remind you, if you're old enough and not senile or crippled with hate, that when Jimmy Carter sent his ill-fated excursion into Iran to rescue our guys, he was defeated by sand storms and he was blamed mercilessly for that failure. So sand storms are the fault of the president? Apparently so. When you look at how ruthlessly and incessantly all of the repugnicans have been blaming Mr. Obama for everything from the ice storms that crippled Kentucky just days after his inauguration up to the heat wave in the US last month, YOU CAN BE ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN THAT IF ANYTHING WHATSOEVER HAD GONE WRONG- ESPECIALLY THE LOSS OF AMERICAN LIVES- MR. OBAMA WOULD HAVE BEEN BLAMED UNTIL THE END OF TIME. So to anyone who dismisses the difficulty in making that call, I say nonsense. The stakes were high and that is the face of a determined and worried CIC, one we should all be proud of. And even though he rightfully could have proclaimed "NOW THE MISSION IS ACCOMPLISHED", HE DIDN'T DO SO. Kudos, Mr. Obama. Well done SEAL team 6 AND Mr. Obama.Well done. Thanks to both.
Thomas Blue how do you know that OBL could not be bought off? Yes, he hated and killed Americans, but we do not know the whole story. The government never reveals the whole story to the public. Yes, he was very rich, but that does not mean he did not desire more. Most white collar criminals are already rich, but they proceed to steal money just the same. It is called greed. Have you ever seen Michael Moore's documentary, Fahrenheit 911? The Bushes were close friends and business associates with OBL's family. OBL's brother used to hang out at the Whitehouse! So please forgive me if I am just a little suspicious of the situation.
LoveAngel..
you are correct that most rich people love money and want more. But they also live lavish lifestyles and flaunt their wealth. OBL didn't do that. He was a religious fanatic and the real McCoy. If we had tried to give him a bunch of money, most likely, he would have taken it and used it to kill more people. Yeah, the bushes were, and are, political whores, but I don't think OBL was for sale. Have you read any of his writings? It is important to understand your enemy. He and his family lived a pretty austere lifestyle.
This probably explains why OBL was not captured on Bush's watch. It aint cool to execute your friend's child, particularly if that friend has handed you a lot of $$$. You turn your head the other way and pretend you are in pursuit to satisfy a post 9-11 public.
911 Inside job..
President Obama has a big set of balls, if that raid had failed, like Carter's, he would have been raked over the coals for months and never get a second term. He waited until he got good intil, then pulled the trigger in the face of what would have happened if things went south. That's what I like about him, in the face of a huge downside, he did the right thing, he went all in. That is what any heroic leader would do. I remember those place crashing into the WTC, f#%k bin Ladin. I'm proud of President Obama for that hard choice!! Four more years, four more years...
If he didn't, it would have been political suicide when you consider his record in office up to that point! You really don't think he didn't consider that before giving the O.K. good intel or not! He had to pull the trigger!
Obama's record is great. He's cleaning up this mess, and that's alright for me.
William Root
You are absolutely right. even a two bit community organizer, can realize that he didn't have any choice but to take out Bin Laden.
The real credit for the demise of Binnie-Boy should go to the military !
Obama's "big balls" are wrapped up in bedsheets he's sharing with China and the Muslims.
@William Root
If he had not elected to pull the trigger, most likely, you would simply never have heard of it. Do you think others never had the chance to pull the trigger? Let's also point out that Clinton pulled the trigger but missed and had the repugnicans not been more intent on impeaching Clinton for an unauthorized bj than national security, maybe there would still be 10,000 more of our American brethren still alive. Because of the repugnican with-hunt, most people, when Clinton launched the missile, thought, "oh brother...what a transparent diversion." Most of us had never heard of OBL then. But it wasn't a diversion. Clinton warned bushco and they didn't listen. Obama was the one who got it done.Period. Did he have help? Absolutely. Good intel, great SEAL team, the list goes on. But bush openly said OBL didn't matter. I disagree and I'm glad the Mr. Obama disagreed as well. It amazes me that so many trolls are incapable of even acknowledging Mr. Obama's obvious accomplishments and good qualities.
In eight years of bushco, the ONLY thing I ever saw him do that I liked was seeing him cry with grieving family members of fallen soldiers, though even that didn't feel right because it was his fault they were dead.
Thomas Blue,
Whatever the reasons were for any previous administration not taking out Osama Bin Laden, if they had the same opportunity that was presented to President Obama, are you saying none of them would've "pulled the trigger" as President Obama did? President Obama got the job done, with help? Do you know the difference between authorizing something, and actually doing it? The next thing you're going to tell us is that President Obama was working 8 hours a day with the intelligence community, and directing every facet of their progress to locate OBL. And when found, he went over the possible plans with the SEAL team leaders, and chose the right plan! Then he gave the order to initiate the action! He did it all, didn't he? That must be some Kool Aid you're drinking to give him so much credit, and those in the intelligence,and military community so little!
William Root..
You never know what would have happened: only what did. Mr. Obama got it done. Would bush have pulled the trigger given the exact circumstances? Maybe, but we'll never know. Was bush protecting the binLaden family? I hope not but only a few people know for sure. Your assertion is kind of like watching someone sink a shot from mid-court at the buzzer and saying," I could do that". Yeah? Maybe...but you didn't. He did.
Your analogy is off base! Who deserves the credit for sinking the game winning mid-court shot at the buzzer? The teammates (intelligence/military community) who made the score close enough to make that shot a winner? The player (SEAL Team 6) who made the shot? Or the owner (President Obama) of the team who has final say in anything involving the team? I'll give the President his due for making a risky decision on good intel (we've had good intel before (Iraq's WMD's, and ties to terrorists). But we all know who really deserves the bulk of the credit, the thousands of men, and women in our intelligence/military communities that made it possible!
I think our Government knew where he was for a long time.. The raid was a scam to turn attentions away from what was happening with the healthcare. Sellout. Smoke and Mirrors.. Why else would Obama and his Minions be on video for the whole operation. The only Thing Obama has done that was good for America and it was done by our Military that he disrespects daily.
Wow........do you actually believe what you write? So the US knew where Osama was all this time but we never tried to take him out. Obama waited until things got soooo bad that killing him then would change everything? And exactly how does Obama disrespect our military? Maybe you need to stop and remember that your boy W lied to get us into these conflicts..........not Obama. So don't you think W disrespected out military? Oh no, he couldn't have because he is a republican.
Conspiracy Theory. Watch your credibility. Oh? That's right, you don't have any. lol
Yeah, he disrespects the military so much that as a Senator, he co-sponsored the post 9/11 GI Bill, pushed for increased funding for the V.A. and set up the Wounded Warriors Program.
Please shut up-msnbc -everything is not - is this simply a tabloid,aliens pregnated a cat,pleaseeeeee
Please shut up-Fox -everything is not - is this simply a tabloid,aliens pregnated a cat,pleaseeeeee
Thank you for making MSNBC your number one news source and comment board. We appreciate your vote of confidence. If you didn't like us, then why would you be here?
To educate the mindless Obamabots!!!!No real pictures from the video proving that picture of OBL sitting on the floor was reallly him. Show us the rest of the video, I am sure there must be at least one facial shot of him... Don't ya think??? Transparency my a#@. This whole story of the killing of OBL stinks of corruption and lies.
How so danna? Because it happened under Obama?
Well, I reckon Fehrnstrom will be giving Romney credit for OBL's demise by the end of the week, so maybe the Romney campaign can shed some light on these matters.
He bailed out Detroit, Romney did, all by himself, so I'm guessing he'll get to the bottom of this!
In Pakistan no questions can have straight answers. The culture is simple: lie, bully, backstab, deceive plus many other traits of the devil. It is a culture ingrained deep in the minds and hearts of the people. An everyday routine in the country. A people simply not blessed with a conscience. It is no wonder why there is no peace in ANY PLACE IN THE COUNTRY.
Bush, March 2002: 'I really just don't spend that much time' on bin Laden
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/05/02/972256/-Bush-March-2002-I-really-just-don-t-spend-that-much-time-on-bin-Laden
2003 Mission Accomplished speech
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003_Mission_Accomplished_Speech
3/17/2004
Osama bin Laden: missed opportunities
The CIA had pictures. Why wasn’t the al-Qaida leader captured or killed?
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4540958/ns/nbcnightlynews/t/osama-bin-laden-missed-opportunities
BUT!
2011
Bush Credits ‘The Work That Was Done’ During ‘My Presidency’ For Osama Bin Laden’s Death
http://thinkprogress.org/security/2011/09/09/315518/bush-takes-credit-for-bin-laden/
Another key question:
Where was OBL's dialysis machine that he could not survive without?
Maybe he "borrowed" a kidney from one of his suicide bombers? Probably told him, "Have I got a deal for you! Just stop off at Doc Mohammagammabamma's office on your way to paradise for a little minor surgery. After that, you can go to paradise, and this time, you get 82 virgins, 25 pretty young boys, and some really pretty goats. Deal? Deal!".
No, The whole government of Pakistan hid him while lying to the world. Plain and simple.
We do well to remember bin Laden. He is yet another example of Republican idiocy when it comes to dealing with other nations and the worst terrorist in American history.
George W. Bush and a Republican dominated Congress supplied Pakistan with $18B in aid to Pakistan since 2001. Supposedly, they were our allies in the war on terror. How they must have laughed at us, cashing our checks and harboring our most wanted fugitive from justice.
And, from the Whitehouse website, a transcript of one of Bush's press conferences:
Q: But don't you believe that the threat that bin Laden posed won't truly be eliminated until he is found either dead or alive?
W: Well, as I say, we haven't heard much from him. And I wouldn't necessarily say he's at the center of any command structure. And, again, I don't know where he is. I -- I'll repeat what I said. I truly am not that concerned about him.
When bin Laden was killed, computer files from the compound where he was living shows that he was still planning further attacks on the US.
Now, remind me again why we would want to put Republicans back in power...
because Obama is a gigantic failure. i'd prefer an inanimate carbon rod to Obama. at least then the middle class won't be bankrupted by the burden of the massive deficit.
And W was a success? And I bet you believe Romney will take care of the middle class?
Romney, Bush lite. Bush II, Bush I lite. How low can republicans go? Please don't answer that...
That massive deficit you speak of was mostly generated by George W. Bush! And how much of the middle class was already bankrupted by being thrown out of work when Bush trashed the economy with his stupid American Dream low or no downpayment mortgage policies?
Frankly, I think you already had your "inaminate carbon rod" (or at least the intelligence of one) with George W. Bush.
I was hoping that as a country we could unify and reflect on the importance of killing this s.o.b.
I agree. It seems odd that some people have so much hatred that they cannot support the president even when it comes to taking out the enemies of America. I say let these people go live in the sandpits with the rest of the America haters.
Thank you, this topic makes me thirsty and want to get drunk! Unbelievable we are so divided.
Simply put Bush left bin Laden escape Torro Borra after a few years Bush no longer was interested in bin Laden, summary Bush knew where bin Laden was and didn't want him touched both politically and physically, it was good fodder for reelection in 04 and gave Bush excuses to invade Iraq. If any American thinks bin Laden had a mansion in Pakistani social influence built for him to live out a life under the Pakistani military's nose because they didn't know he was there is more ignorant then GW Bush. If the President could target and proceed to take out bin Laden Bush could and had the same intelligence as the President had through the Pakistani government, this whole bin Laden story some how will come out in time and the real truth will be told!
happy liberal fools day. you're #1 when it comes to liberal stewpids.
Den1953, makes sense so that's why republicans will attack you. lol
yeah - you forgot about when they had Bin Laden during the Clinton years - and he didnt want him - oops!
I feel sorry for anyone who thinks Pakistan is our friend and ally. I suppose you also think Russia is our ally because the cold war has supposedly ended. Wow it's amazing how dense people are.
I realize Obama is not doing well in the polls but to continue to manufacture nonsense makes you look ridiculous. You must be inline to reap the next huge round of tax payer money from Obama. No other reason makes sense.
I told people from the start that when Bin Laden is found he will be living comfortably in Pakistan.
The only part I sort of got wrong was the degree of comfort, but then that is in the eye of the beholder.
Since the informant that led to his death was arrested for treason, and since a 6'5 Arab, was living in the same place for six years, near a military compound, it is reasonable to assume that most people knew he was there.
Getting at more truth than this is pretty impossible in a place like Pakistan.
Trying to spin it so it looks like their government wasnt involved, also impossible.
Trying to figure out who in our government knew what and when, also impossible.
Our country is more transparent, and upholds the rule of law better than Pakistan, however the bar is pretty low, and rememember they are all politicians, cut from the same cloth everywhere. Ours have the same instincts as theirs, just a bit more restraint.
I cant imagine that Osama bin Laden was hiding in Pakistan and the government didnt know about it.
Most conspiracy theories start through incompetence, not secrecy. ROFLMAO
There is no way that some higher up officials had no knowledge of Bi Laden's existance! Probably most, if not all of them knew he was there. They were paid off. No one of that importance could move about any country, without being detected! Do i smell cover-up???
Pakistan is mad because we took away a huge money machine. And as for their borders? What a joke! Al-quida, the taliban, anyone wanting in that country, can just walk in! There is very little guarding of their border, its simply to big.
Yes, we got Bin Laden! We all seen the nasty autopsy photos! Bonehead and his ilk, will have you believe that the President is using this as a promotional gimmick. Well, why not? Bushie could not do what he said he would do, so, this President took a huge risk, and did the job! Why shouldn't he be proud of that accomplishment? I certainly would be! Jealousy does not look good on Boner, the crybaby in the house! When will he learn that a fake tantrum will get him no where? What a joke we have as Speaker of the House! He is absolutely the worst one in history! Out with the Bonehead!
So, this President got that sucker, and Bushie failed! Dont listen to Boner throwing his fake little temper tantrums, its all B.S.!!!
Makes sense DfromSpencer, and that's why the disinformation republicans will attack you. lol
Okay, let's break down the assessment that the border is simply too large to patrol a minute here:
-Pakistan has the seventh largest military in the world.
-The Chinese border is patrolled by the Chinese military, with which Pakistan is also allied.
-The US gives support to the Pakistani military, presumably, largely these days, along the Afghan border (i.e., Baluchistan, etc.)
-The Indian border is also heavily patrolled by Indian military personnel (especially in Kashmir).
Now, here are the questions:
-Karachi is a port city. Presumably, if Bin Ladin had wanted, he could have hopped a vessel across the Persian Gulf and been back in Saudi Arabia at any point (especially if his family would have vouched for him the way they vouch for his wives and children). Is Amal correct, that Bin Laden was living in a port city, and what does that tell us?
-Swat is on the Afghan border, in Khyber. Swat is actually a tourist destination to some extent. How could a man like Osama Bin Laden maintain invisibility there? (I believe Pakistani films have been filmed on location in Swat, for instance.)
-Abbottabad is not very far from the Pakistani Military Academy. Locals assumed the man in the compound was Waziri, apparently. But why? (Tendency to speak Pashto? Baluchi would be more common here and wouldn't stick out so much.)
I can see where the Pakistani government would decide to arrest the doctor--conspiring with even friendly nations on your own soil would lead to such charges even here (imagine if a local law enforcement officer helped the Mexican government assassinate a drug lord in Laredo, Texas, for instance; a friendly nation leads a clandestine attack on your soil, you're not going to be too happy about it).
However, it can't be ignored that the Pakistani government is either flying blind without the US' selective military aid, the terrorist network in Pakistan is far worse than either of our governments imagined, or Pakistan knew, to some extent, that Bin Laden was on location somewhere and could not tie the compound built in Abbottabad near one of its largest military bases to the 9/11 mastermind. Either way, Pakistan looks deceptive or embarrassingly incompetent in this light.
TheWarrior banned for making death threats towards another use.
No, thanks.
The Warrior-5539782, also banned, multiple account.
Pakistan has been takeing our money and help for years and laughing behind our back. They are two faced as can be. When is America going to stop sending other countrys money and trying to be the policeman of the world? We need help now. Start the pharse>The buck stops here. If are politicians want to sit on their arses and collect big salaries while are country collapeses,lets get them out. Theres to many of them on the payroll anyway.
This is all we need to know
http://www.nesn.com/2011/05/fans-chant-usa-during-philles-mets-game-in-a-moment-that-transcends-sports.html
I think Our Government thinks we are really stupid but we are not all of this was just a big ploy to make Obama or Barry Soetoro or who ever he is to look good but for me it didn't work.
I think he had been dead for many years and they pulled him out of grave to make it look like we just killed him.
I have come to the point in my life I believe NOTHING that this president says he does because he just a actor nothing more nothing less.
I feel sorry for you.
as opposed to the obozohood who believe anything the guy says
Wow! where to begin on this one? Another conspiracy theory with little to no credibility. Anyone making sense is attacked by the republicans. Anyone way out there in la la land is supported by the disinformation republican committee.
PS. Thank you for making MSNBC your number one news source and comment bulletin board. We appreciate your vote of confidence. I'm sure if we didn't do a good job you wouldn't be here.
@ Carol: seriously girl....get some help. Not trying to be funny here, I mean it. You're a danger to us all.