"The most important thing is for us to find Osama bin Laden. It is our number one priority and we will not rest until we find him." G.W. Bush, 9/13/01

I want justice...There's an old poster out West, as I recall, that said, 'Wanted: Dead or Alive,'"- G.W. Bush, 9/17/01

President Bush pledged anew Friday that Osama bin Laden will be taken "dead or alive."AP, 12/14/01

I don't know where Bin Laden is. I have no idea and really don't care. It's not that important. It's not our priority." G.W. Bush, 3/13/02

"I am truly not that concerned about him." G.W. Bush, responding to a question about bin Laden's whereabouts, 3/13/02

Sarah Palin said Obama was 'palling around with terrorists'.

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I believe that part of the reason we have a difficult situation is because we made a bad judgment going into Iraq in the first place when we hadn't finished the job of hunting down bin Laden and crushing al-Qaida.

And we have a difficult situation in Pakistan. So what happened was we got distracted, we diverted resources, and ultimately bin Laden escaped, set up base camps in the mountains of Pakistan in the northwest provinces there.

They are now raiding our troops in Afghanistan, destabilizing the situation. They're stronger now than at any time since 2001. And that's why I think it's so important for us to reverse course because that's the central front on terrorism. They are plotting to kill Americans right now. As Secretary Gates, the Defense secretary, said, the war against terrorism began in that region, and that's where it will end.

So part of the reason I think it's so important for us to end the war in Iraq is to be able to get more troops into Afghanistan, put more pressure on the Afghan government to do what it needs to do, eliminate some of the drug trafficking that's funding terrorism.

But I do believe that we have to change our policies with Pakistan. We can't coddle, as we did, a dictator, give him billions of dollars, and then he's making peace treaties with the Taliban and militants. What I have said is we're going encourage democracy in Pakistan, expand our non-military aid to Pakistan so that they have more of a stake in working with us, but insisting that they go after these militants.

And if we have Osama bin Laden in our sights and the Pakistani government is unable or unwilling to take them out, then I think that we have to act, and we will take them out.

We will kill bin Laden. We will crush al-Qaida. That has to be our biggest national security priority.

Obama October 2008 in a debate with McCain

Promise Kept.

FuzzNJ wrote:

So what did he promise about our economy?

BDS12 wrote:

ok,,

he's 1 for 100...

he's a shoo in for 2012

Wise up...

He had no choice but to take out Osama this time and good for him. If he decided not to and it got out that he declined he'd be tarred and feathered..

nice try.. Sasha..

wheelrite wrote:

The botton line here: The NSA and other intelligence agencies finally got some decent intel. We've tried to kill Bin Laden before but the intel wasn't too good. This is a combination of having the right tip at the right moment with the right people in place to do the job. It finally happened on Obama's watch and was carried out correctly.

The real question: Bin Laden has been in the nice mansion and compound for years now and Pakistan surely knew about this. Why did Pakistan not tell us a little sooner - like years ago.......something isn't right here. It will be interesting to see how this plays out in the coming months and years. We may never quite know exactly what was known and when it was known. Obama gets the credit for this and it will help with his reelection despite all the other failures in his administration. Timing is everything....

chiefburg wrote:

Yup, all timing. Damn that timing thing! Nothing to do with priorities or anything like that, maybe diverting most of our resources to Iraq where no one who was involved with 9/11 was or anything. Nothing to do with Bush saying he didn't care where OBL was. Just that damn timing. What luck Obama has!

That whole financial meltdown during Bush's term, just timing. Bad luck.

All just luck and timing.

FuzzNJ wrote:

Sore loser........ You're suggesting NSA and other agencies weren't doing anything to find Bin Laden......trust me - they were.....

chiefburg wrote:

The botton line here: The NSA and other intelligence agencies finally got some decent intel. We've tried to kill Bin Laden before but the intel wasn't too good. This is a combination of having the right tip at the right moment with the right people in place to do the job. It finally happened on Obama's watch and was carried out correctly.

The real question: Bin Laden has been in the nice mansion and compound for years now and Pakistan surely knew about this. Why did Pakistan not tell us a little sooner - like years ago.......something isn't right here. It will be interesting to see how this plays out in the coming months and years. We may never quite know exactly what was known and when it was known. Obama gets the credit for this and it will help with his reelection despite all the other failures in his administration. Timing is everything....

chiefburg wrote:

All speaks of Wag The Dog to me. Timing IS everything:
• 66yr anniv of Hitler’s death.
• Waited to strike until after the Royal wedding.
• Just in time when Obama’s popularity ratings are low and he has already started campaigning for the next election.
• Thwarts the direction of some of Trump’s "threats" and "investigations"
• Media exposure begins heavily early Monday morning ensuring optimal coverage throughout the entire week, as opposed to striking later in the week like on a Friday when media exposure would be lost over the weekend.
• Same day disposal of the body at sea
• His compound was directly across from Pakistan’s equivalent of our “West Point” and NO ONE knew??
• What does it tell us about our foreign relations with Pakistan and why we continue to pour money into a country we can’t trust?
• And why did it take a decade to do??

Regardless, my thanks to the troops for a job well done.

cacman wrote:

I hear a cuckoo clock.

FuzzNJ wrote:

Obama simply carried on with the Bush plan. Nothing more, nothing less.

donutboy2000 wrote:

So, again, instead of praising our military and celebrating a great day for America, it turns to some sorryass bu!!**** by people who obviously don't give a damn about what's really important here......




pathetic

fishinguitarman wrote:

Ray,,

Nobody is diminishing the great efforts by our military and the right decision Obama made.Remeber this is a political posting board..

wheelrite wrote:

Yes, this forum is a political forum and this thread should never have even been posted here. By doing so, you have MADE this into a political debate and have indeed dimimshied this significance of this.


The right decision by Obama? The decision was made and carried out by our military. Obama merely approved it. It would have made no difference if it were GW, Clinton, or any other CIF.

The brave souls that allow you to enjoy your freedom made this happen, and those that want to cry about this being a right/left issue need to get the FU*# Out!

fishinguitarman wrote: