Mohammad Mamdouh and Ahmed Serhani

Terrorism against the U.S. didn't die with Osama bin Laden.

Mohammad Mamdouh, of Moroccan descent, and Ahmed Serhani, of Algerian descent, were arrested for plotting to attack a New York area synagogue.

Video.

Chris Wallace and Tom Donilon

Chris Wallace made a fool out of National Security Advisor Tom Donilon on FOX News Sunday.

From Mediaite:

Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace asked White House National Security Adviser Tom Donilon a rather interesting question related to the capture and shooting death of terrorist leader Osama din Laden: Why is it legal and “proper” to shoot an unarmed man in the face, while enhanced interrogation methods, such as waterboarding, are deemed improper? You might recall, in fact, that waterboarding was banned by President Barack Obama back in January of 2009.

Donilon initially responded by driving home the danger posed by bin Laden, and the power he yielded within Al Qaeda, prompting Wallace to interrupt him and clarify that he wasn’t looking for justification as to why bin Laden was shot down by U.S. troops but, rather, a reason why doing so is permissible when using often dangerous, but not necessarily lethal, methods of interrogation in order to bring such a dangerous man to justice are not.

Donilon said such methods are not only unnecessary, but are also consistent with America’s values. Wallace didn’t miss a beat, immediately asking whether shooting an armed man in the face is consistent with those same values. Well, Donilion pointed out, we are at war.

Video.



The Leftists can't provide an adequate answer to Wallace's question because there isn't one.

They can't make a distinction that doesn't exist.

Obama: 60 Minutes Interview (Video)

I didn't watch Obama's latest appearance with Steve Kroft on 60 Minutes on Sunday evening. I think Obama's been on 60 Minutes more than any other U.S. president.

I suppose I could watch the interview online, but I'm not interested.

Transcript

OBAMA: Blah, blah, blah.

Here's the full video of the interview I didn't watch:

SNL: Bin Laden's Will (Video)

Saturday Night Live began with Osama bin Laden giving his last will and testament.

OSAMA BIN LADEN (Fred Armisen): Allah be praised. I, Osama bin Laden, being at present in good health, and of sound mind and memory, thanks be to Allah, hereby declare the following to be my last will and testament.

First, as to my funeral arrangements, it is my wish that they be conducted in strict accordance with Islamic law.

As pallbearers, I designate my 5 oldest sons, and Dakota Fanning. If Dakota Fanning is positively unavailable, my executors may replace her with a Dakota Fanning look-alike, although I do ask that they try to get the real Dakota Fanning, if that is at all possible. If, by the time of my death, Dakota Fanning is over 12 years of age, or is no longer a virgin, my executors are to replace her with her younger sister, if she has one. Although again, a 12-year-old, virgin Dakota Fanning is my absolute first choice.

Second, as to my place of burial, I leave the decision to my executors, provided that, wherever it is, they do not bury me at sea. As my family well knows, I have a deathly fear of being eaten by fish, so I am very serious about this. Do not bury me at sea.

Third, as executors to this my last will and testament, I name my dear friends at the Pakistani Intelligence Services. They are solid, reliable people, and, may I add, among the few individuals a person can still trust in this corrupt, cynical world we live in.

Fourth, as a special bequest, to my devoted human shield, Fatima, I leave an autographed picture, along with the bulletproof vest she always asks about.

Finally, before I discuss the disposition of my worldly estate, consisting of cash, stocks, bonds, annuities, and certificates of deposit, my heirs need to understand the following points:

First, the size of my personal fortune has always been greatly exaggerated by the media. Frankly, I have no idea where they get some of their numbers.

Second, bear in mind that my investment portfolio was badly hurt by the market downturn in 2008, plus the subsequent Flash Crash, and has not fully recovered. In addition, I have incurred a number of major expenses in the last few years: building my compound, paying bodyguards and couriers, training and equipping Jihadists, medical expenses, laundry, office supplies, sandals, and so on. So that should be factored in as well.

Also, with 115 children, 750 grandchildren, and 11,000 nieces and nephews, each individual's share may not be as large as he or she might have anticipated. So, all that having been said, I hereby leave to my heirs, to be divided among them equally, my entire personal estate, currently valued at 3,600,000 Pakistani rupees, or 708 dollars 61 cents U.S.

Obviously, this is not as much as you or I would have hoped for, but there you have it. It is what it is.

Also, some of this, I imagine, will go to probate fees.

Now, I know that many of you must be disappointed at the size of the estate, and I suppose that now I'm suddenly some kind of bad person. Do I wish the estate were larger? Of course. I wish a lot of things. I wish we had outdoor air-conditioning. I wish Mecca had better restaurants. I wish camel poop tasted like spicy hummus. But guess what? It doesn't.

So I leave you with this:

Instead of complaining about what we don't have, let's just be thankful for what we do: Our health, each other, and best of all, the knowledge that, try as they might, the Americans will never catch me. Isn't that the most important thing?

I hereby declare the above to be my last will and testament.

And live from New York, it's Saturday Night!!!

Video.

Bin Laden Videos

Osama bin Laden's home videos show that he didn't want the world to see him with a gray beard.

Oh, bin Laden, you're so vain.

From ABC News:

The government today released five videos found in Osama bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, showing the al Qaeda leader preparing a message to the United States and watching himself on television.

The first was a previously unreleased message from bin Laden directed to the United States that was believed to have been filmed between Oct. 9 and Nov. 5 2010.

In the video, which begins with animated pre-production work, he appears to have dyed his beard black, is wearing a gold shawl over a white vestment and is wearing a white skullcap.

The second video, which runs over a minute long, shows bin Laden watching himself on television and holding the remote control to change the channels between what appear to be Arabic news channels.

...The remaining three videos appear to be practice sessions, possibly for the first video. In each of them he appears to stumble in his speech, stop and begin over.

This footage is among the trove of evidence found after the U.S. raid on the compound Sunday, when bin Laden and four others were killed.

"This is the single largest collection of senior terrorist materials ever," a senior intelligence official said.

We were told bin Laden had no TV in his Abbottabad "mansion." I guess that was wrong.

So bin Laden dyed his beard. He's not doing Just For Men any favors.



There is no audio with the following video because officials didn't want to spread bin Laden's propaganda.

Good idea.



Watch more of the bin Laden home videos here.

Russell Stamper and Osama Bin Laden

Milwaukee County Reserve Judge Russell Stamper was "saddened" when he heard the news that Osama bin Laden was dead.

He wasn't sad because it reminded him of the horror and sorrow of 9/11.

He was sad because he thinks bin Laden wasn't responsible for the attacks and he was murdered in cold blood.


Russell Stamper

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

[Russell Stamper] considers the death of bin Laden a case of coldblooded murder.

"I was saddened," said Stamper, who fills in for county judges when needed. "You murdered a man."

In a Facebook rant Monday, the 66-year-old jurist went even further, promoting the fringe position that it's not clear that bin Laden was the mastermind behind the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. On top of that, he ripped a number of federal agencies.

"For me, if the choice is condemnation of the CIA, DEA, FBI and IRS or Osama bin Laden, it's an easy call," Stamper wrote.

"I remain unconvinced that bin Laden committed the 911 attack, whereas we know the lettered government organizations are thieves, assassins, dope peddlers, government destabilizers, did I say assassins?, arms purveyors and various and sundry other planetary criminals."

...Over the past decade, Stamper has served as a reserve county judge, earning as much as $63,000 a year filling in for elected judges when they are ill, on vacation or their dockets are overloaded. So far this year, Stamper has put in only 5 1/2 days as a reserve judge, getting paid $445.15 per day. That brings his total pay to about $2,448.

He also serves as chairman of the Community Brainstorming Conference, a monthly public affairs forum for the city's African-Americans.

Stamper came under some criticism in 2000 for likening now-Gov. Scott Walker to former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke and calling Walker and his friends white supremacists.

Stamper is a disgrace.

Of course, he can believe whatever he wants to believe, but he should not be serving as a judge. He's clearly unfit to serve in that capacity.

Al Qaeda Statement: Bin Laden's Death

FOX News, via MEMRI, offers a summary of the translation of al Qaeda's statement confirming Osama bin Laden's death.

On May 6, 2011, Al-Qaeda central command published an official statement on jihadi forums confirming the death of Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

The statement called the day of bin Laden’s death “an historic day in the days of the great Muslim Ummah,” and went on to describe bin Laden’s relentless work in confronting his enemies and in spreading the spirit of jihad and perseverance among the rest of the Ummah.

The statement confirmed that bin Laden was killed by the Americans, while adding that there is no disgrace in that, since the U.S., with all its might, will not be able to kill what bin Laden lived and died for. It added that bin Laden did not build merely a [physical] organization [i.e. Al-Qaeda] for it to be dismantled after his death, but that Islam and jihad for the sake of Allah shall remain until Allah fulfills his promise [of victory].

The statement said that the Muslim Ummah will give birth to more “Osamas” who will be filled with the spirit of sacrifice [for the sake of the Ummah] and the desire to “open the doors of hell” to their enemies. It said that the light of Islam and jihad did not stop after the death of the Prophet Muhammad and other great leaders in Islam, but that it made the Muslim Ummah stronger and more determined in fighting its enemies, and the death of bin Laden will have the same effect.

The statement reaffirmed Al-Qaeda’s desire, will and determination to remain on the path of jihad, adding that the blood of bin Laden will be avenged, and that Allah’s curse [for killing bin Laden] shall follow the Americans and their coconspirators both within and outside of their countries, and will turn their joy [over bin Laden's death] to sorrow.

The statement asked the Pakistani people to rebel in order to “wash off the disgrace” brought upon them by a group of traitors and thieves who sold everything for the enemies of Islam.

The statement said that one week prior to his death, bin Laden recorded a message that Al-Qaeda will be releasing soon.

The statement warned the U.S. against mistreating bin Laden’s body, as well as any other members of his family, living or dead, and demanded that all bodies be turned over to their families. It added that failure to hand over the bodies would increase many times over the vengeful response [of the Muslim Ummah] to his killing.

The statement was signed “Al-Qaeda Organization, General Command,” and dated May 3, 2011.

CNN has an English translation of the full statement from al Qaeda.

Bin Laden Raid: Changing Narrative

The White House has made a complete mess of informing the public about the death of Osama bin Laden and the raid on his compound.

The details have changed dramatically since Obama made the announcement late Sunday that bin Laden was killed.

The mission was a success.

However, the White House has failed miserably in relaying the facts about the mission effectively. It's been a total failure.



What really happened? What are we to believe?

I don't think we've arrived at the final version of events yet.

We'll have to wait for Oliver Stone to write the screenplay.

Leno: Bin Laden Death Announcement

From The Tonight Show with Jay Leno:

The Obama Administration released this video today proving Bin Laden is dead.

The video shows Obama, Hillary Clinton and the coroner.

Gutsycall.com

Daniel Halper, The Weekly Standard, writes about a new website, gutsycall.com.

Obama's not one to "spike the football" after a victory (or after killing Osama bin Laden), but it seems his campaign team (or some of his ardent supporters) doesn't feel the same way. Check out www.gutsycall.com -- it redirects users to Obama's campaign website, www.barackobama.com. Could it be that his reelection campaign made this call? Or is it just a couple of his most steadfast supporters?

Good grief.

There was nothing remotely gutsy about what Obama did.

It was a no-brainer.

The SEALs were gutsy, not Obama.

The gutsy Obama was on the golf course on Sunday.

The gutsycall.com website was purchased on Wednesday. The owner of the domain remains anonymous. Mystery and guts - what a combination!

I think all this attention on Obama's alleged "gutsy call" is embarrassing. It's so ridiculous.

Remember when Leftists would refer to President Bush as a chicken hawk?

I don't hear them saying that about Obama.

Hypocrites.

Obama at Ground Zero (Video)

UPDATE: Raw Video: Obama Lays Wreath at Ground Zero



Obama is ready for his close-up.

And he spikes the football!

This moment, Obama visiting Ground Zero as president, should have happened years ago. Now, it comes off as campaigning. That context makes me cringe.

Here's video of Obama speaking to New York City firefighters.



It's a campaign speech.
_______________

UPDATE: In New York today for his Ground Zero photo op, Obama told those personally touched by the horror of 9/11 that "we will never forget."

Solemnly honoring victims of the Sept. 11 terror attacks, President Barack Obama hugged survivors, thanked the heroes of one of the nation's darkest days and declared Thursday that the killing of Osama bin Laden after all these years was an American message to the world: "When we say we will never forget, we mean what we say."

On a brilliant blue-sky day, one of reflection more than celebration, Obama offered New Yorkers a moment of their own. Standing at the gritty construction site of ground zero, where the towers fell and a memorial now rises, the president laid a wreath of red, white and blue flowers for the nearly 3,000 who died as he marked a turning point for the nation and this city of steely resilience.

For Obama, the day was about the importance of being in New York in the aftermath of the successful raid to find and kill bin Laden, the al-Qaida leader. Obama addressed families who have watched and wondered for nearly a decade whether the government would track down its most infamous enemy.

On this special ground, Obama never mentioned bin Laden's name.

"We will never forget"?

Obama "forgot" to go to Ground Zero since he became president.

I guess he was too busy playing golf, holding fundraisers, that sort of stuff.
_______________

Obama has been president since January 20, 2009.

As president, he has been to New York many times.

Obama went to New York at the end of May 2009, for his date night with Michelle.

He's gone to New York to address the United Nations General Assembly in 2009 and 2010.

And of course, Obama has held numerous political fundraisers in New York.

But for all the times he's been in New York City, he's never been to Ground Zero as president, never going there on September 11th to commemorate the anniversary of the terrorist attacks.

Today, Obama will make his first trip to Ground Zero as president.

From the New York Times:

Mr. Obama, in his first visit as president to ground zero, plans to lay a wreath at a memorial to the nearly 3,000 victims of the 9/11 attacks. He will also meet privately with family members of the victims, firefighters and other rescue workers who died in the September 2001 attacks.

“He wants to meet with them and share with them this important and significant moment, a bittersweet moment,” the White House press secretary, Jay Carney, said on Wednesday.

It is a quiet coda to a week that began with a stunning announcement by Mr. Obama, just before midnight on Sunday, that a team of Navy Seals had stormed Bin Laden’s hiding place – a heavily-fortified compound in an affluent town not far from the Pakistani capital, Islamabad.

Mr. Obama invited former president George W. Bush to join him at ground zero, but Mr. Bush declined. A spokesman for the former president said he appreciated the invitation but wanted to stick to his policy of staying out of the public spotlight since he left office.

For Mr. Bush, ground zero was the site of one of the iconic moments of his presidency. Days after the World Trade Center towers collapsed, he traveled to the smoldering wreckage to thank the rescue workers, delivering his speech through a firefighter’s bullhorn.

The White House was quick to say it took no offense at Mr. Bush’s decision not to attend, saying that Mr. Bush was invited in the spirit of unity that Mr. Obama said he hoped would prevail in the wake of Bin Laden’s killing, just as it prevailed after the killings perpetrated by Bin Laden nearly a decade ago.

“We’ve made clear that this is a moment of unity for Americans and a moment to recall the unity that existed in this country in the wake of the attacks on 9/11,” Mr. Carney said.

Mr. Obama visited ground zero while a presidential candidate, but he has not been there since entering the White House. He does not plan a deliver a speech, a decision that White House officials said was calculated to avoid any appearance of exploiting the families of the victims for political gain.

With all due respect, what a load of crap!

When Obama shows up at Ground Zero for the first time as president, he won't deliver a speech "to avoid any appearance of exploiting the families of the victims for political gain."

No speech doesn't eliminate the appearance of exploitation of the 9/11 victims for his 2012 political gain.

There's no reason for Obama to go there today, especially since he hasn't bothered to go at any other time during his presidency.

Of course, it's a political move. It's always political with Obama.

Of course, it's exploitation. Obama should have joined the observance of 9/11 at Ground Zero during his first year in office.

This push that the death of bin Laden should be a moment of unity similar to what the nation experienced after the country was attacked in 2001 is nuts.

Yes, there's unity. There should be. But let's not compare bin Laden's death with the experience of the 9/11 attacks and the nation's reaction.

Bin Laden, one man, is dead. That's a tremendous victory and I'm not diminishing that.

But in September 2001, we were mourning the deaths of thousands of innocents. We had witnessed massive destruction within our borders. Our country was attacked. Acts of war were committed on our soil. The human toll was devastating. The grief was unbearable.

No doubt about it, al Qaeda's attacks united us.

So many political battles were fought after 9/11. President Bush was deemed a war criminal. He was brutally criticized for policies meant to protect Americans. There has been so much bad blood that it's impossible to forget.

The overwhelming majority of Americans believe killing bin Laden was the right thing to do. Mission accomplished.

However, the shared experience of bin Laden's death cannot be equated with our shared experience of the horror of September 11, 2001.

A dead bin Laden doesn't bring back the thousands killed on 9/11. The loss experienced by the loved ones of the victims is permanent. In this life, it's forever. Nothing can change that. Their loss was heartbreaking in 2001 and it's just as heartbreaking today.

Although I think it's an unseemly move by Obama, with the appearance of a sleazy photo op, I'm glad he's finally going to Ground Zero.

Maybe he'll have an awakening and discover it's time for him to behave like the president of the United States.

White House Photo, Not Watching Bin Laden

Ladies and gentlemen, what you thought was a photo of Obama and his national security team watching as the mission to kill Osama bin Laden played out was not.

The American public was led to believe that we saw a snapshot of a specific historic moment.

We didn't. We were misled.



From the Telegraph:

Leon Panetta, director of the CIA, revealed there was a 25 minute blackout during which the live feed from cameras mounted on the helmets of the US special forces was cut off.

A photograph released by the White House appeared to show the President and his aides in the situation room watching the action as it unfolded. In fact they had little knowledge of what was happening in the compound.

In an interview with PBS, Mr Panetta said: "Once those teams went into the compound I can tell you that there was a time period of almost 20 or 25 minutes where we really didn't know just exactly what was going on. And there were some very tense moments as we were waiting for information.

"We had some observation of the approach there, but we did not have direct flow of information as to the actual conduct of the operation itself as they were going through the compound."

Mr Panetta also told the network that the US Navy Seals made the final decision to kill bin Laden rather than the president.

Well, well.

I was under the impression I was looking at Obama and Hillary and Biden watching as the raid took place.

This photo told the story - the tension, the anxiety - of watching the mission to kill bin Laden.

When that photo was being plastered everywhere, the public was being misled.

Obama and company weren't doing what we were told they were doing.

So much of the information about bin Laden's death we've received since Sunday night has been wrong.

I'm amazed at the level of confusion and the extent of the misinformation coming from the Obama administration.

What is the truth?

Obama has given the public so much to doubt. It's been such a mess. So many different stories, so many retractions and clarifications.

Even the reality of this photo from the White House Situation Room was screwed up.

I just want the truth.

I wonder which "facts" about the bin Laden raid will change today.
________________

UPDATE: Clinton: allergy, not anguish in my bin Laden photo

Reuters continues to report (May 5, 2011) that the photo is of senior officials watching the raid LIVE.

I guess, as Bill Clinton, "It depends on what the meaning of the word 'is' is."

An allergy and not anguish may explain why Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had her hand to her mouth while watching the commando operation to kill Osama bin Laden, she said on Thursday.

A photo of Clinton, President Barack Obama and other senior officials watching the operation live from the White House situation room has become one of the most striking images of the raid that killed the al Qaeda leader.

The photo shows Clinton with her hand to her mouth in what looks like a gesture of anxiety over the outcome of the operation.

"Those were 38 of the most intense minutes. I have no idea what any of us were looking at that particular millisecond when the picture was taken," she said on Thursday when asked about the photo during a visit to Rome.

"I am somewhat sheepishly concerned that it was my preventing one of my early spring allergic coughs. So it may have no great meaning whatsoever," Clinton added.

I commend Hillary for her honesty.

So much has been said about the look on her face, expressing the tension of the moment. Turns out it might just be an attempt to stifle a cough.

Holder and Investigation of CIA Interrogators

As Obama and his administration heap praise upon themselves for killing Osama bin Laden, Attorney General Eric Holder is busy with his criminal investigation of CIA interrogators.

Yeah, that's still going on.

Daniel Henninger, the Wall Street Journal writes:

As the whole of America takes a bin Laden victory lap, let us pause to remember some of this celebrated event's most forgotten men: the Central Intelligence Agency officers who sit under the cloud of a criminal investigation begun in 2009 by Attorney General Eric Holder into their interrogations of captured terrorists.

That's right, the Americans whose interrogation of al Qaeda operatives may have put in motion the death of this mass murderer may themselves face prosecution by the country they were trying to protect.

It is time for the Holder CIA investigation to end. The death of bin Laden 10 years after 9/11 makes the Holder investigation of the CIA interrogators politically, emotionally and morally moot.

But it lives.

What a bizarre disconnect!

Unfortunately, this sort of weirdness is business as usual for the Obama administration.

In August 2009, Attorney General Holder announced that he was extending the mandate of Assistant U.S. Attorney John Durham into the CIA's so-called "enhanced interrogation techniques" of terrorist detainees. Former Bush Attorney General Michael Mukasey had appointed Mr. Durham in 2008 as a special prosecutor to look into the CIA's destruction of videotapes made during interrogations of two al Qaeda operatives. That investigation ended without charges last November.

Mr. Holder decided to push the Durham investigation into a second phase. "I have concluded," he said "that the information known to me warrants opening a preliminary review into whether federal laws were violated in connection with the interrogation of specific detainees at overseas locations." Mr. Holder wasn't free-lancing; both he and Barack Obama had called waterboarding "torture."

Obama and Holder continue forward with looking at our CIA interrogators as criminals.

Rather than considering them to have played an important role in protecting the American people, Obama and Holder and the Leftist gang persist in treating them like enemies.

This week the Associated Press reported that the name of bin Laden's courier may have come from CIA interrogations of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and Abu Faraj al-Libi, who received "harsh" interrogation at CIA prisons in Poland and Romania. On Tuesday, Mr. Holder said the information came from a "mosaic of sources."

Incidentally, there will be no attempt here to establish whether CIA interrogations did or did not lead to the bin Laden courier, who led our commandos to a bedroom in Abbottabad. Just as there will be no attempt here to resolve the fastidious debate unfolding over whether the Navy Seals' shooting of an unarmed Osama bin Laden was "legal." We'll leave that to the endless grinding wheels of the law journals.

Awkward!

The CIA interrogators could be national heroes.

Obviously, the Obama administration doesn't want to know. Most specifically, they don't want us to know.

If Mr. Holder has evidence of an egregious crime, he should step forward and announce it. If not, he should use this moment to put an end to the Durham investigation. Mr. Durham is not an independent counsel, whose hallowed status makes attorneys general loath to interfere. He is a special prosecutor, appointed by the attorney general and under his authority.

On June 18 last year, Mr. Holder said in a Washington speech that Mr. Durham was "close to the end of the time that he needs and will be making recommendations to me." But nothing has happened. Asked this week about the status of this investigation, a Justice Department spokesman for Mr. Durham, whose office is in Connecticut, said the project is "still ongoing."

I agree.

If Holder has evidence of an egregious crime, tell us now. If not, stop this investigation.

It's wrong for Obama to commend the CIA piece of the "mosaic" in the nearly 10-year mission to get bin Laden while Holder is trying to pin interrogators with crimes.

Henninger concludes:

After 9/11, when the fraying started, George W. Bush passed through a seven-year political minefield of media leaks and lawsuits over the Patriot Act, surveillance, renditions, Guantanamo and CIA interrogations. Now bin Laden is dead, and Barack Obama's got the credit. We're all fine with that, just as we're fine with people chanting "USA" over the dead terrorist who tried to kill us. Now how about letting those CIA interrogators come in from the cold and join the celebration?

The Democrats, Leftists including Obama, before and after he became president, put President Bush and Vice President Cheney and the administration through hell as they waged war against bin Laden.

Thank God they had the character and the toughness to not be swayed by polls. Thank God they stood up to the attacks by the Dems and did what was necessary to protect us.

With bin Laden dead, and Leon Panetta admitting valuable intelligence was gained via the CIA, it's time to end the criminal investigation of the CIA interrogators.

Is it possible for Obama to put politics and his visions of reelection aside, just for a moment?

We'll see.

Rudy Giuliani: Obama Should Release Photos

Rudy Giuliani believes that Obama should release the photos of the dead Osama bin Laden.

He commented on the subject while speaking at a conference in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

From WOOD-TV:

In the wake of Osama bin Laden's killing, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani commended President Barack Obama and the military for their decision-making skills, accuracy and bravery.

However, Giuliani said at a Grand Rapids conference, the bin Laden photos should be released. The move would help quiet the people who don't believe bin Laden is truly dead, Giuliani told law enforcement officials Wednesday.

"The pictures are eventually going to get out, and then you are going to relive the intensity of all of this a month from now -- or two months from now or three months from now," Giuliani said. "Why not put them out now, and satisfy at least the rational people who have questions about the identity of bin Laden?"

Still, he emphasized, Obama should be commended for making the difficult decision, and the military for its execution of the plan.

"... I think in the long term, the people of America should feel safer that we have been able to eliminate such a significant leader -- a leader for evil, but of people who hate us so much," Giuliani said. "He was such a powerful presence, and whenever you remove someone like that, you deteriorate the movement."

Video.

Giuliani: Obama should release photos: woodtv.com

No Bin Laden Death Photo

Reuters "spikes the football" for Obama, sort of.

Still no verified image of Osama bin Laden dead.

Photographs acquired by Reuters and taken about an hour after the U.S. assault on Osama bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad in Pakistan show three dead men lying in pools of blood, but no weapons.

The photos, taken by a Pakistani security official who entered the compound after the early morning raid on Monday, show two men dressed in traditional Pakistani garb and one in a t-shirt, with blood streaming from their ears, noses and mouths.

The official, who wished to remain anonymous, sold the pictures to Reuters.

None of the men looked like bin Laden. U.S. President Barack Obama decided not to release photos of his body because it could have incited violence and used as an al Qaeda propaganda tool.

WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGES
______________

Obama has spoken.

The American people will NOT see a photo of the dead Osama bin Laden.

Video.



WH won't release bin Laden death photo

President Barack Obama has decided not to release death photos of terrorist Osama bin Laden, he said in an interview with CBS's "60 Minutes," amid concerns that the gruesome image could prove inflammatory.

Obama's decision was reported on the CBS News Web site Wednesday after the president sat for an interview with the news magazine program.

Releasing graphic images of bin Laden's corpse after his shooting in a U.S. raid on his compound could have dispelled doubts that bin Laden is indeed dead. The worry, though, was that it would feed anti-U.S. sentiment.

More, from CBS News:

In an interview with Steve Kroft for this Sunday's "60 Minutes," President Obama says he won't release post-mortem images of Osama bin Laden taken to prove his death.

...Republican House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers said Wednesday that the Obama administration should not release the gruesome post-mortem images, saying it could complicate the job for American troops overseas. Rogers told CBS News he has seen a post-mortem photo.

"The risks of release outweigh the benefits," he said. "Conspiracy theorists around the world will just claim the photos are doctored anyway, and there is a real risk that releasing the photos will only serve to inflame public opinion in the Middle East."

"Imagine how the American people would react if Al Qaeda killed one of our troops or military leaders, and put photos of the body on the internet," he continued. "Osama bin Laden is not a trophy - he is dead and let's now focus on continuing the fight until Al Qaida has been eliminated."

What's Obama talking about?

We saw images of our troops being dragged through the streets of Mogadishu. We don't have to imagine what it would be like.

What's with these Leftists?

They whined about not having images of the flag-draped coffins of our war dead.

They obsessed over body counts.

They insist on publishing all the gruesome details and images they can when it serves their purposes.

They couldn't get enough of the Abu Ghraib photos. They lusted for more.

The military be damned. The Leftists don't care.

Recently, TIME magazine put an extremely graphic photo of a young Afghan woman disfigured at the hand of her husband on its cover.



To view a larger image of the cover, click here.

Richard Stengel, TIME's Managing Editor, gives justification for publishing the cover photo:

Our cover image this week is powerful, shocking and disturbing. It is a portrait of Aisha, a shy 18-year-old Afghan woman who was sentenced by a Taliban commander to have her nose and ears cut off for fleeing her abusive in-laws. Aisha posed for the picture and says she wants the world to see the effect a Taliban resurgence would have on the women of Afghanistan, many of whom have flourished in the past few years. Her picture is accompanied by a powerful story by our own Aryn Baker on how Afghan women have embraced the freedoms that have come from the defeat of the Taliban — and how they fear a Taliban revival.

I thought long and hard about whether to put this image on the cover of TIME. First, I wanted to make sure of Aisha's safety and that she understood what it would mean to be on the cover. She knows that she will become a symbol of the price Afghan women have had to pay for the repressive ideology of the Taliban. We also confirmed that she is in a secret location protected by armed guards and sponsored by the NGO Women for Afghan Women. Aisha will head to the U.S. for reconstructive surgery sponsored by the Grossman Burn Foundation, a humanitarian organization in California. We are supporting that effort.

I'm acutely aware that this image will be seen by children, who will undoubtedly find it distressing. We have consulted with a number of child psychologists about its potential impact. Some think children are so used to seeing violence in the media that the image will have little effect, but others believe that children will find it very scary and distressing — that they will see it, as Dr. Michael Rich, director of the Center on Media and Child Health at Children's Hospital Boston, said, as "a symbol of bad things that can happen to people." I showed it to my two young sons, 9 and 12, who both immediately felt sorry for Aisha and asked why anyone would have done such harm to her. I apologize to readers who find the image too strong, and I invite you to comment on the image's impact.

Without question, the Leftists are willing to use gruesome images.

On the other hand, these same people freak out over the images of an aborted baby. They demand that such photos never be shown. They refuse to allow people to see the reality of abortion, the dismembered, tiny bodies. No, we can't see those either.

It's all political.

I think a photo should be released. Give people the choice whether to view it or not.

I want to see a photo of bin Laden dead.

Give the American people, and history, something to go with these images:





Too gruesome?

Too inflammatory?

This from Obama, the man who undermined George W. Bush and his administration at every turn, showing no concern for how it would impact the American troops on the battlefield. This from Obama and his Democrat comrades, wanting to slash funding for our military.

Give me a break!

Obama's assertion of this notion that conspiracy theorists will just say a photo is doctored anyway is a ridiculous excuse.

Conspiracy nuts will never EVER be satisfied.

Moreover, all the fake images of the dead bin Laden floating around right now can just as easily be used as recruiting tools for terrorists and to inflame the Muslim world.

It's not as if withholding an image will prevent a backlash against the U.S., if there's going to be one.

Obama went on national TV and declared that a U.S. military operation KILLED bin Laden. I think the news of bin Laden's death is enough to inflame.

The argument that nothing good can come from releasing the photo is offset by the fact that nothing will change if it is released.

The slaughter of innocents on 9/11 and all the previous acts of war against the U.S. preceded bin Laden's death. No photo of a dead al Qaeda leader prompted these attacks.

Hopefully, Obama has the facts wrong about the photo, too. Hopefully, the White House will realize it's a mistake to fail to release a death photo of bin Laden.

Maybe this whole thing is just a dance to make it appear that Obama was forced to release a photo, even though he really didn't want to do it.

Someone will leak it and then Obama won't have to bear responsibility for making the decision to show the world.

The allegedly gutsy Obama should show some guts.

Leon Panetta: Waterboarding, Bin Laden

Donald Rumsfeld weighed in on the role waterboarding played in getting to Osama bin Laden.

Video, from FOX News.



This presents a bit of a problem for Obama and the Democrats and their mouthpieces in the media.

They have to reconcile the fact that information gained through interrogation techniques they fought to disallow helped to get bin Laden.

It's very inconvenient for them to admit that reality.

When the truth doesn't fit their agenda, they're forced to ignore it. They don't seem to mind being dishonest.

On Tuesday, NBC's Brian Williams interviewed CIA director Leon Panetta.

Video.

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Transcript

BRIAN WILLIAMS: I'd like to ask you about the sourcing on the intel that ultimately led to this successful attack. Can you confirm that it was as a result of waterboarding that we learned what we needed to learn to go after bin Laden?

LEON PANETTA: You know, Brian, in the intelligence business you work from a lot of sources of information and that was true here. We had a, we had a multiple source, uh, a multiple series of sources that provided information with regards to this situation. Clearly, some of it came from detainees and the interrogation of detainees, but we also had information from other sources as well. So it's, it's a little difficult to say it was due just to one source of information that we got.

WILLIAMS: Turned around the other way, are you denying that waterboarding was in part among the tactics used to extract the intelligence that led to this successful mission?

PANETTA: No, I think some of the detainees clearly were, you know, they used these enhanced interrogation techniques against some of these detainees. But I'm also saying that, you know, the debate about whether, whether we would have gotten the same information through other approaches I think is always going to be an open question.

WILLIAMS: So, finer point, one final time, enhanced interrogation techniques, which has always been kind of a handy euphemism in these post-9/11 years, that includes waterboarding.

PANETTA: That's correct.

It took a while for Panetta to admit it, he obviously tried not to, but he did eventually acknowledge that intelligence gained from detainees who were waterboarded was a factor in the success of the mission to kill bin Laden.

That complicates things for Obama and the Leftists.

What is not an open question is the fact that information obtained via enhanced interrogation techniques played a part in accomplishing the mission.

It is what it is.

Waterboarding worked.

Matthew Boyle, The Daily Caller, writes that the New York Times completely ignores Panetta's admission in a story on the value of harsh interrogation methods.

In a story about the resurrection of the harsh interrogation techniques debate slated to run on The New York Times’ front page Wednesday morning, reporters Scott Shane and Charlie Savage completely ignore CIA director Leon Panetta’s Tuesday evening confirmation that waterboarding played a role in procuring the intelligence that led U.S. forces to terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden.

“As intelligence officials disclosed the trail of evidence that led to the compound in Pakistan where Bin Laden was hiding, a chorus of Bush administration officials claimed vindication for their policy of ‘enhanced interrogation techniques’ like waterboarding,” Shane and Savage write in their story, accusing Republicans of igniting a debate they thought was long over.

Shane and Savage looked the other way, though, when it came to Panetta’s confirmation that waterboarding was part of the “enhanced interrogation techniques” used on detainees. “We had multiple series of sources that provided information with regards to this situation… clearly some of it came from detainees [and] they used these enhanced interrogation techniques against some of those detainees,” Panetta told NBC News anchor Brian Williams.

The New York Times duo also suggested that House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Rep. Peter King, New York Republican, inflamed the debate by saying he thought the intelligence came from waterboarding. “The chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, Representative Peter T. King, Republican of New York, told Fox News that the success of the hunt for Bin Laden was due to waterboarding,” Shane and Savage wrote.

It turns out King was right.

We don't need spin.

We need facts.

We need the truth.

Intelligence from interrogation methods denounced by Obama and company were part of the mission's success.

Osama Bin Laden Buried at Sea

Colin Quinn tweets:

Osama Bin Laden buried at sea. Right now he's saying "I didn't say 72 sturgeons"! Come on people!

Osama Code Name: Geronimo

UPDATE, May 5, 2011: Senate Indian panel to discuss racial concerns
________________

Are Native Americans offended that Osama bin Laden's code name was "Geronimo"?

I'm sure union members would be upset if bin Laden's code name was "Trumka."
________________

I'm hearing Leftists insist that the mission was called "Geronimo," NOT Osama bin Laden.

That contradicts previous and current reports.

From CBS News Pentagon Correspondent, David Martin:

Target bin Laden: CBS delves into mission to get 'Geronimo'

As the information from the operation flowed into the Situation Room on Sunday afternoon, the president exclaimed, "We got him," based on what he was hearing and seeing. Bin Laden died on the scene, shot fatally in the chest and head.

One official heard a commander on scene say, "Geronimo E-KIA." Geronimo was the code name for Bin Laden; E-KIA is "enemy killed in action."

Clearly, "Geronimo E-KIA" refers to bin Laden.

I think it's odd that the Obama administration has made sure to let the world know that bin Laden's body was treated with care and given a respectful burial.

The corpse was taken to the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson, officials told ABC News. The ceremony, done according to Islamic law, began about 1:10 a.m. today EST and lasted about 45 minutes, according to officials.

Traditional washing of the body was followed by wrapping in white sheets. A military officer read religious remarks that were translated by a native Arabic speaker, then bin Laden was eased into the sea.

Nice that in death they treat this evil, evil man, killer of thousands of innocents, with such respect but don't give a thought to giving him a code name that could offend Native Americans.

Good grief, it's considered offensive to use Native American names for school teams in Wisconsin. Even positive images are deemed inappropriate.

But call the epitome of evil, Osama bin Laden, "Geronimo."

No problem.

Osama bin Laden = Geronimo

Why isn't that politically incorrect?

Obama has some explaining to do.

Maybe he can hold a Beer Summit with some Native American leaders.

White House Changes Bin Laden Death Details

Apparently, Obama and his administration should have delayed the Osama bin Laden death information that they gave to the public even longer than they did.

The White House had a number of "facts" wrong.

From Politico:

The White House backed away Monday evening from key details in its narrative about the raid that killed Osama bin Laden, including claims by senior U.S. officials that the Al Qaeda leader had a weapon and may have fired it during a gun battle with U.S. forces.

Officials also retreated from claims that one of bin Laden’s wives was killed in the raid and that bin Laden was using her as a human shield before she was shot by U.S. forces.

At a televised White House briefing Monday afternoon, Deputy National Security Adviser John Brennan said bin Laden joined in the fight that several residents of the Abbottabad, Pakistan, compound put up against the Navy SEALs during the 40-minute operation.

“He [bin Laden] was engaged in a firefight with those that entered the area of the house he was in. And whether or not he got off any rounds, I quite frankly don’t know,” Brennan said.

At a Pentagon briefing earlier in the day, a senior defense official said bin Laden used a woman as a human shield so he could fire shots. “He was firing behind her,” the official said.

In another background briefing early Monday morning, a senior administration official also said bin Laden put up a fight. “He did resist the assault force. And he was killed in a firefight,” the official said.

However, during a background, off-camera briefing for television reporters later Monday, a senior White House official said bin Laden was not armed when he was killed, apparently by the U.S. raid team.

Another White House official familiar with the TV briefing confirmed the change to POLITICO, adding, “I’m not aware of him having a weapon.”

“The bottom line is the team that entered that room was met with resistance and took appropriate action,” said a third American official.

The White House on Monday night declined to elaborate on the nature of the resistance bin Laden allegedly put up. However, an official confirmed that the Al Qaeda founder was shot twice, once in the head and once in the chest.

The misinformation, if it is misinformation, creates uncertainty.

I don't know what to believe.

There seems to be an effort to reconstruct the "facts."

Osama - Obama Media Blunders

Video, from Breitbart.



People make mistakes. There's nothing sinister about it.

Was Ted Kennedy equating Obama with Osama? I don't think so.