Dramatic President Obama Announcement Open Thread

Any minute now, President Barack Obama is going to address the nation and the world, reportedly about a national security issue of vital importance that does not have anything to do witih Libya. Former Donald Rumsfeld staffer Keith Urbahn has Tweeted "I'm told by a reputable person they have killed Osama Bin Laden," and other than that I haven't heard any good intel. Let the speculation and insta-reaction begin!

Comments

[RyanXXX]

Time to open up the bomb shelter

[Barack Obama]

Mission Accomplished - for real this time.

[Pedant]

Eight years to the day.

[rather]

did someone go to my blog and not give me the hat tip?

I'm tempted to do a Tulpa 😉

[Pedant]

So we can add narcissism to your many cunty qualities.

[Suki]

How does it feel to be part of the Bush/Cheney cabal?

[Tim Cavanaugh]

Machievellian expectations management by Rumsfeld: Anything less than the death of bin Laden will now be deemed a failure.

[D.R.M.]

Now MSNBC saying yes, Osama is dead.

[Dave]

Watching speech.

Obama says Osama is dead.

I am wondering, is this like the footage of the outlaw Winston Smith being killed?

Wasn't Osama supposed to be nearly dead 10 years ago?

[Dave]

Also, Osama was killed in a town called Adaban (sp?) which sounds suspiciously like Abaddon.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abaddon

[Dave]

Town is Abbottabad - sounds even closer, in one way.

[Jason]

Hey, Abbott!

[Carl]

god i hate that guy!

[Carl]

god i hate that guy!

[Irresponsible Hater]

Show me the death certificate!

[Hugh Akston]

Long Form!

[Irresponsible Hater]

And none of this layered pdf shit.

[bill]

im stealing this as my go to bin laden is dead joke

[sasob]

Show me his head on a pike!

[Bruce Majors]

I doubt they will be able to show much of anything. They won't be able to show he wasn't dead for some time before this attack. They won't be able to show that the "DNA" is from Osama bin Laden, as opposed to some family member. They won't be able to explain why, if this compound was built in 2005, they didn't know about it and deal with it, before they had sagging polls and were beginning a presidential campaign.

[Barry Obozo]

The body has been buried at sea. Isn't that convenient?

[Voice of Reason]

I hope you keep up the conspiracy theories! Most Americans will finally realize you're wackos who are totally un-American.

[DB]

Hell, show me the body, they have released no pictures and claim to have buried him at sea shortly after... Sounds Fishy (no pun intended)

[D.R.M.]

MSNBC just said it has to do with Osama

[JimBob]

Nah. Probably killed some mid-level Libyan bureaucrat with a cruise missile, and they want to push it as a big win.

[Fin Fang Foom]

Boy, it would have been embarrassing if that had taken a full decade.

Bad news: We only got him because he'd been demoted to Al Qaeda's number three.

[The Immaculate Trouser]

Threadwinner.

[moodyrunner]

nice scoop Matt

[Andrew S.]

CNN now has "Osama Bin Laden is dead" as breaking news. Wolf Blitzer tried to spin it as a "Everyone will remember where they were when they heard it" thing.

[Corporate Drone]

and I'll say "I was alternating between porn and Reason.com".

I hope that's a respectful answer.

[Butts Wagner]

I'm pissed that CSI: Miami was preempted.

[Kristen]

There's gott abe a David Caruso one-liner for this situation.

[Butts Wagner]

The death of Osama is....*puts on sunglasses*....al we qaeda hoped for

[Roger Daltrey]

YYYEEEAAAAAAHHHH!!!!!!!!

[The Handshake]

lol

[marlok]

This man Bin Laden... has Been Laid-in a shallow grave.

[Warty]

I was watching Jenna Haze get double-teamed. I hope I remember all the details for when my grandkids ask.

[Some Guy]

I was scanning a pornographic novel, and deleting certain court transcripts that added nothing to the story.

[Pedant]

Glad to see I'm not the only one who browses reason during the refractory period.

[CE]

Everyone will remember where they were when they heard it

I was watching The Princess Diaries (released in 2001), and remembering when Anne Hathaway, and America, were much more innocent....

[?]

I was sleeping. What have I missed?

[No one]

Is he really dead?

[D.R.M.]

Apparently the US has his body.

[DAVID]

NOTA BAD NOTCH IN HIS BELT

[scape]

Mission accomplished. Again.

[galaxy101]

A simple message. Obama gets Osama.

[JB]

Obama/Osama...who can tell the difference when one or the other is trying to run the US into the ground?

[Keaton]

Mother of God...Damn.

[Kristen]

Well, if Bin Laden is dead, my commute via Metro into DC every day just got a whole lot more dangerous. It's awesome that 10 years later he gets his just deserts, but revenge is going to be a top priority for his worshippers.

[SIV]

Government civilian employees are expendable.Think of the pension savings!

[JB]

Well at least they are government targets as opposed to civilians.

[Bruce Majors]

Given that the National Transportation Safety Board has ordered stations on the DC Metro shut down for repairs in the past year, the tracks have been catching on fire, and that there is gang and other criminal activity on the train, it wasn't safe anyway.

[John]

Yes he was killed by US operatives and the US has recovered his body according to NBC news

[Tim Cavanaugh]

So we've already had 20 minutes of "bin Laden is dead" while waiting for the speech to start. Now he's going to have to top that.

[D.R.M.]

I wonder what's taking so damn long. A short-and-sweet "My fellow Americans, Osama bin Laden is dead, we have his corpse. My staff will release details to the media tonight. Thank you." would have been just fine . . . and could have been given half an hour ago.

[Hugh Akston]

They needed to cast a bronze statue to pull over with a tank.

[Brett L]

+1

[Torontonian]

Teleprompter malfunction.

[JB]

+10,000

[birther]

My fellow Americans

No.

[DAVID]

CHANGE CHANNEL ON WOLF , MORONIC STATEMENT

[Andrew S.]

Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra?

[Kristen]

Hot damn...+1 for obscure TNG reference!

[Tulpa]

No TNG reference is obscure here.

[Hugh Akston]

Lefler's Law # 237

[Tulpa]

References from Wesley-centric episodes may be the exception.

[Hugh Akston]

But dude, Ashley Judd.

[JW]

No, you're saying it wrong.

But dude, Ashley Judd.

[heller]

BOING!

[Tulpa]

I'll stick with Famke Janssen and Olivia D'abo. Maybe even Kirsten Dunst when she got older.

[JW]

When did it become either or?

[Kristen]

That episode is

[Irresponsible Hater]

Fuck the walls, I don't care if they fell. DO YOU SPEAK ENGLISH OR NOT, YOU LUMPY HEADED MOTHERFUCKER?

[Hugh Akston]

SAY SHAKA AGAIN! I DARE YOU! I DOUBLE DARE YOU MOTHERFUCKER, SAY SHAKA ONE MORE GODDAMN TIME!

[A_is_A]

+10 Would LOL again

[Ted S.]

I DOUBLE DARE YOU MOTHERFUCKER, SAY SHAKA ONE MORE GODDAMN TIME!

I feel for you

[Graphite]

Chaka, when the walls fell.

[The Immaculate Trouser]

My God, the media talking heads are somehow even stupider than usual when they aren't prepared.

[The Immaculate Trouser]

See: Wolf Blitzer, anyone on MSNBC.

[PantsFan]

the most intelligent commentary is on Al Jazeera

[D.R.M.]

Usually they have writers that couldn't make it as sitcom flunkies. Now they don't have scripts at all.

[D.R.M.]

So, when do we leave AfPak?

[Not Gilbert Godfried]

AFPAK!

[..]

So when does the USG repeal the Patriot Act, shut down Gitmo, and quit treating ordinary folks at the airport like prison inmates?

[...]

Never. There be more "terrorists" out there to get us still.

[Donald Trump]

Osama Bin Laden: You're fired!

[mr simple]

For some reason I can't seem to care. It doesn't feel like a win anymore.

[Kristen]

Musharraf's guest room.

[Kristen]

Musharraf's guest room.

[Lint]

So now that we have accomplished our stated mission, do we get to leave?

[Mr Top Gun]

Not until Barack gets flying lessons.

[Bruce Majors]

Nancy still wants her own plane too, with anti-ballistic missiles.

[Aresen]

Ironically, this is the 8th anniversary of Bush's "Mission Accomplished".

[Marky]

No Ironic at all. They have known where he is since August! So this date was picked deliberately.

[Bruce Majors]

If the compound was built in 2005 and is odd enough to be identifiable as bin Laden's hang out you would think they would have known about it since then.

[marc digiaimo]

where can we watch this onlineee!?!?!?

[marc digiaimo]

where can we watch this onlineee!?!?!?

[marc digiaimo]

where can we watch this onlineee!?!?!?

[marc digiaimo]

where can we watch this onlineee!?!?!?

[marc digiaimo]

where can we watch this onlineee!?!?!?

[marc digiaimo]

where can we watch this onlineee!?!?!?

[marc digiaimo]

where can we watch this onlineee!?!?!?

[mr simple]

You killed Usama?

[Greer]

I can't really disagree with you. I find myself sort of shrugging on this.

[Tulpa]

And once again I don't get a hat tip.

[mr simple]

You killed Usama?

[marc digiaimo]

where can we watch this onlineee!?!?!?

[mr simple]

My god, squirrels, what have you done?

[marc digiaimo]

where can we watch this onlineee!?!?!?

[johnl]

What 4 star hotel did they find him in?

[Kristen]

Musharraf's guest room.

[Syd Henderson]

The Islamabad Hilton?

[johnl]

That's where I was going to look.

[Mike Laursen]

Close. A mansion in Islamabad. For reals.

[Bruce Majors]

A mansion that had uniquely high walls, burned its own trash, and did other things that called attention to it. And had been doing those things since 2005.

[marc digiaimo]

where can we watch this onlineee!?!?!?

[DAVID]

THE COBRA

[imhotep]

Excellent.

Now we can bring the troops home from Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya. Now we can disband the DHS and the TSA screening at the airports. A new burst of freedom I am sure this portends.

[guy in the back row]

agreed.

[Tulpa]

Sorry, now Al Qaeda is going to be out for revenge, so we have to take the WoT up a notch.

Full body cavity searches all around.

[imhotep]

Excellent.

Now we can bring the troops home from Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya. Now we can disband the DHS and the TSA screening at the airports. A new burst of freedom I am sure this portends.

[marc digiaimo]

where can we watch this onlineee!?!?!?

[Irresponsible Hater]

http://www.whitehouse.gov/live

[marc digiaimo]

where can we watch this onlineee!?!?!?

[marc digiaimo]

where can we watch this onlineee!?!?!?

[marc digiaimo]

where can we watch this onlineee!?!?!?

[marc digiaimo]

where can we watch this onlineee!?!?!?

[marc digiaimo]

where can we watch this onlineee!?!?!?

[marc digiaimo]

where can we watch this onlineee!?!?!?

[marc digiaimo]

where can we watch this onlineee!?!?!?

[mtc]

I think maybe Obama was just watching the Mets game and felt bad about another impending disaster for New York. The ESPN guy told us to switch over to ABC for breaking news right after Mets gave up a late lead in Philly...

[Kristen]

Wow...the squirrels are on a new form of crack tonight.

[KWebb]

Seeing as Bin Laden was an idiot who could arrange an attack every ten years, who wants to bet that whoever replaces him is not a moron?

[Kristen]

Every ten years? There wasn't much time between Kenya/Tanzania, Cole and 9/11. It was only after they froze his assets after 9/11 that he was hampered.

[Bruce Majors]

He was actually detained by the Sudanese, who offered him to the Clinton administration, who managed not to be able to talk to the Sudanese because of their own blacklisting of the Sudanese for terrorism.

So I am not sure their morons are more moronic than ours.

[Starcrash]

This virtually nothing in the "War on Terror."

[Some Guy]

My father-in-law texted me... "Just announced. Special Report. O*B*ama's been killed." Scared the S*** out of me! I'm not a fan, but I don't want Obama assassinated! Geez what a difference a letter makes!

[Hugh Akston]

iPhone autocorrect is a bilge.

[Paul]

Duck you.

[D.R.M.]

"President Biden" is enough to terrify anybody.

[JB]

Seriously.

[Dodo]

I guess that's why I'm increasingly seeing it spelled 'Usama.' Nobody pays attention to the intemrediate letters of words.

[matth]

isn't he a cornerback for the NO Saints?

[J[o]h[nn]y L[o][n]gt[o]rs[o]]

where can we watch this onlineee!?!?!?

I sense the beginning of a new H&R running gag.

[Colin]

+1

[Bruce Majors]

Didn't they dispose of the alleged body? So one actually can't watch it anywhere.

[J[o]h[nn]y L[o][n]gt[o]rs[o]]

Our top story tonight, Osama Bin Laden is still dead.

[JW]

It needs captioning for the hearing impaired.

[Alan S]

OSAMA BIN LADEN IS STILL DEAD!

[Barack Obama]

I did what Bush wouldn't and that is hunt down and kill Osama bin Laden. Bush was a pussy and didn't want to offend Pakistan but I ignored Pakistan's protesting and ordered our drones to go in and hunt him down.

[Mr. Sarcasm]

I'm sure Bush wouldn't have gotten ANY bad press from killing dozens of Pakistani civilians as well.

[Jason]

They're reporting on TV that he was killed in a gun fight with a SEAL team.

[Jason]

They're reporting on TV that he was killed in a gun fight with a SEAL team.

[Bruce Majors]

The TYPE of surgical strike operation that was used is exactly what should have been done in 2002 instead of occupying Iraq.

But why it was done now and why the corpse has been thrown into the sea (it's not Obama? he had already been dead for some time?) are questions that have to be asked, given that every word Obama says is a lie.

[YRM]

Bin Laden was on his death bed from kidney disease back on 9/11. That was widely reported in Europe (in cartoons, no less) and elsewhere. The U.S. must have frozen the body and saved it for a key moment, say the start of Obama's 2012 reelection campaign. This should make people forget all about the birth certificate, and Donald Trump's claim that the President is woos, the price of gas, etc. etc. It's interesting how the White House managed this story -- Obama supposed to talk at 10:30, no one in the media had a clue what it was about, then the delay, and suddenly every TV station knows all the particulars... You'd think Bin Laden's people would have made a statement about this to Al Jazeera several days ago when he was supposedly killed by U.S. forces in Afghanistan. Yet somehow only the White House knows about this and saves the announcement for a quiet Sunday evening.

[Tulpa]

How do you explain the video and audio addresses that bin Laden has been giving us over the intervening years?

[Hugh Akston]

Puppets. You didn't think Jim Henson was really dead, did you?

[Tulpa]

And it would have been much better timing to reveal it in October 2012.

[matth]

I'm sure he has something bigger for then.

[Andrew S.]

Osama Bin Laden was eaten by wolves. He was delicious.

[J[o]h[nn]y L[o][n]gt[o]rs[o]]

I heard Osama was killed while watching a Golden Girls marathon.

[Tulpa]

Maybe he saw LaToya join the men's team and died of fright.

[Brett L]

Bring our boys home. Declare victory and GTFO.

[Corporate Drone]

Osama watched 5 minutes of Fast Five and it killed him.

[Teacher in Cheeseland]

Thanks for the scoop. I posted it on my site, attributed to reason.com with a link. I appreciate your diligence in bringing us this incredible news development. Thanks.

[Brett L]

Mission Accomplished!!!

[RyanXXX]

Haha, Geraldo already slipped and said "Obama's dead"

[Brett L]

If only Geraldo was Al Qaeda number 3.

[Ted S.]

They found Osama in Al Capone's vault.

[mike]

Obama should have saved this for another 18 months..

[Kristen]

I bet someone was gonna leak that shiz, now they've been forced to blow their wad prematurely.

[Hugh Akston]

I was just going to say, he's blowing his load a little early. We don't even know who the GOP contender is yet.

[WarrenT]

Where can we [watch] this onlineee?

[PantsFan]

SO WHO GOT FIRED?

[Tulpa]

Marlee, hopefully.

[PantsFan]

no, it was between Nene, Hope, and Star.

[JW]

He would have gotten away with it, if not for those meddling kids!

[TheZeitgeist]

As USMC goon all I can say is....sweet. I hope it wasn't Death from Above. I hope somebody got to unload an M4 in that fucker's face.

[Tulpa]

I hope they raped his dead body after making him eat peanut butter-covered feces and artichoke hearts.

[Hazel Meade]

I hope you don't mean the canned artichoke hearts, cause that really wouldn't make sense.

[Brett L]

Appears you got your wish. "A geound operation."

[Brett L]

*ground. Fuck the iPhone, yo.

[Ted S.]

Everybody should fuck the IpHone.

Damn sTeve jObs and the folks at aPple for their idiotic capitalization style.

[TheZeitgeist]

YEAAAH!

[Anonymous Coward]

*Practices Google-fu on "geound"*

*Finds random Facepage dude*

IPHONE IS THE TOOL OF THE DEVIL!!!!

[Don Wimbler]

LOL, its a joke. No way Obama would kill his cousin Osama!

http://www.real-privacy.eu.tc

[Hugh Akston]

Sorry anon-bot, Fin Fang Foom already won this thread. But thanks for playing.

[Andrew S.]

Cripes. Just get on with the damn speech. We all already know what happened.

[Tulpa]

Have you ever programmed a teleprompter? It takes time.

Plus he has to figure out where to put all his trademark uhhhhhs.

[guy in the back row]

So are they going to have his head on a platter for the news conference or what?

[WasabiPeas]

that'd be cool

[matth]

On the spikes on the gate in front of the White House?

[Jake Badlands]

You know, you can apparently watch this online. Seems to be streaming from the WH.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/live

In case anyone's interested.

[yadyn]

Except it's been saying "beginning shortly" now for about an hour.

Maybe when they said 10:30PM ET they meant central?

[heller]

Where can we watch this online?!?!?!?

[johnl]

CNN tag is "at a mansion outside of Islamabad". So whose mansion?

[guy in the back row]

Was he killed by Mr White in the library with the candlestick?

[johnl]

Abbott?bad is 30 miles from Islamibad.
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=.....ddr=Abbott?bad,+Pakistan&hl=en&geocode;=;FWsJCQIdhTFdBCkXxXpVETHeODEslS6xNaZZbg&gl=us&mra=ls&sll=33.897777,73.097534&sspn=1.185462,2.16156&ie=UTF8&t=h&z=9

[Ken Shultz]

Dead! Dead! Dead!

Can we put the whole friggin' thing to rest now?

[Barack Obama]

Trump this Donald.

[Swede]

Somebody on CNN said a few minutes ago it was not a drone or a missile but rather a human operation. So it probably was a CIA James Bond type killing the mofo.

[Butts Wagner]

The national security expert on CBS said a source in congress told him that Osama died for a gun shot to the head.

[JW]

"Remember when I promised to kill you last? Well, I always keep my promises."

[Tulpa]

They're supposed to have the body in US possession. I wonder if Obama will let us see it, maybe do a tasteful urination on his corpse in the oval office.

[RyanXXX]

I'm sure the movie script is already being typed

[Hugh Akston]

Felix Leiter FTW

[Esteban]

Good thing we had CIA in Pakistan.

[Nobel WarPig Obama]

!MISSION ACCOMPLISHED! I am planning my parachute landing on an aircraft carrier...

[Tulpa]

Where's Radley to complain about how they didn't knock first?

[Warty]

This is stupid, even for you.

[Tulpa]

I always raise the bar, Wart. You should know that by now.

[SIV]

I lol'd.
Tulpa FTW!

[RyanXXX]

If we shot his dog, I'ma be pissed

[Tom Walls]

Musharraf is the one with the dogs.

That's why they chant "Dog, Musharraf, dog!"

[RyanXXX]

The fact that he was right outside the friggin' capital of Pakistan, rather than the tribal areas, is probably gonna shake things up a bit

[A_is_A]

...Juuuuust a tad, methinks.

[D.R.M.]

Finally, dammit.

[Hugh Akston]

Can the poetry, just show us the goods.

[Alex Jones]

liar

[WingNutWarPig Peace Party]

We did it! BushPig couldn't catch him but WE did. Hail, Chief Barack!

[D.R.M.]

How the hell did he get a reputation for good oratory?

[rather]

Obama is having a good week

[Paul]

His first one.

[Tulpa]

Note that Bush never gave a speech to announce that Saddam had been captured... he let the military that actually did the deed take the credit.

Not so for President Camera Hog.

[D.R.M.]

Oh, god, he's taking credit for personally authorizing the operation and it taking place under his direction. Fucking idiot.

[Hugh Akston]

He bravely picked up the phone and said "yeah, go for it."

[matth]

What, he didn't pull the trigger himself?

[Tulpa]

He finally got that 3 AM phone call.

[Paul]

It's 2011. He didn't pick up a phone and say shit. He texted the order:

Go 4it

[Barack Obama]

Bin Laden bitches! Four more years for me.

[Hazel Meade]

They voted out Churchill after WWII.
And GHWB after Gulf War I.

[kbolino]

There was the whole Somalia thing, and the recession, and the taxes, and ...

[Hazel Meade]

And the Guantanamo thing, and the recession, and the taxes ...

[SIV]

I credit Obama for taking out bin Laden. Obviously he relied on intelligence personnel and special ops to do the actual work but they all work for him.
I just wish Barack would hold up the severed head on TV.

[rather]

It was a considerate speech. Fair dues to Obama

[rather]

Bush was gracious too

[A Serious Man]

So what circle of Hell will he land in?

[Syd Henderson]

Eighth Circle Ninth Bolgia, sowers of discord, zip code 00666.

[D.R.M.]

A fucking history lesson. Gah.

[Tulpa]

Thanks for recapping the War on Terror, BO. I had forgotten about the World Trade Center being hit by planes.

[heller]

"The smoke from the World Trade Centers, billowing out, smelling like burnt popcorn."

[Tulpa]

The return of Pockystahn!

[dfd]

President's on... jesus, apparently they couldn't bother to call in a decent speechwriter on a Sunday night. Why the hell is he going on and on about the past. We all know what happened -- just get to the new info. Damn, this guy likes to hear himself talk.

[Johnathan Reale]

Awesome.

[RyanXXX]

"A bright September day" (barf)

[Hugh Akston]

Good thing we had those flying killer robots dropping kilotons of ordinance on Pockystan.

[Tulpa]

Pock-mark-stan.

[Skip]

To some "committed" anti-war lefties, collateral damage under a Democrat is ok.

[Hugh Akston]

I don't know how justice = killing shit, but sure.

[Tulpa]

Killing people who kill people is justice....

[Hugh Akston]

yeah, but who kills those people?

[Adamson]

The IRS.

[Amnesty International]

Easy there Cowboy, that man had his basic human rights.

[SIV]

I prefer to think of it as revenge.

[Joshua Corning]

It would be better for all of us if our commander and chief thought of it as war and if that thinking was expressed in his speech.

Him dumping a pile of shit on the ideal of Justice would have been my least favorite choice. Predictably that is exactly what he did.

[Joshua Corning]

Predictably that is exactly what he did.

Obama even paused after he said it.

I have never really hated Obama before...i just thought of him as a bit of dick who was confused.

During that pause after he evoked the word justice I did hate him.

[Joshua Corning]

Killing people who kill people is justice....

YOU ARE AN INHUMAN MONSTER!!!

Note: and yes Tulpa this is in retaliation for the mean things you said about me over the Giffords shooting.

[Poor]

baby

[Tulpa]

Now you're comparing Giffords to Obama?

[Joshua Corning]

Did you mean to type Osama?

The answer is no in either case.

[Jake Badlands]

Justice is a messy concept. Killing a dude in retaliation for killing 3,000 of our dudes, call it what you will, is cool with me.

[Lurker]

What is important was that he was, probably, still advocating murder.

So you can be ok with this on a self defense angle.

...maybe. Idk, I'm not a priest.

[Terc]

I don't think we killed him because it was just; we did it because it was necessary.

[Paul]

I don't think we killed him because it was just; we did it because it was necessary.

Pimpin' ain't easy but it's necessary...

[hazeeran]

Same.

[The Immaculate Trouser]

What an ass. I can't believe that Obama just took personal credit for OBL's death. Also, nice to see that we're gonna be ratcheting this shit up a notch in Pock-ee-ston.

[D.R.M.]

Seriously. Obama makes me miss Bush.

[rather]

then you're deaf. Turn on the closed captioning

[Tulpa]

I have an uncle who does this saying grace on Thanksgiving.

[Hugh Akston]

Ugh, the pledge of allegiance, really?

[Tulpa]

Speechwriters charge double time on Sunday. Wouldn't be a good idea with the deficit and all.

[Brett L]

Yeah. Lets just focus on justice tonight. Liberty from him sticks in my craw.

[Tulpa]

So we didn't actually find anything out from the speech that we didn't know already.

[Adamson]

One more reference to "God" by Obama and I swear Charlton Heston would come out and part the Red Sea.

[dfd]

Did he write that speech himself? That was all kinds of awful.

[Tulpa]

No kidding. I can understand his speeches on the health care crap and stuff being awful because he's essentially selling a shit sandwich, but this should have been easy.

He would have been better off not giving a speech at all.

[SIV]

It would be nice if he did. I'd forgive the awfulness.

[D.R.M.]

"America can do whatever we set our minds to." Oh, yeah, ten years and billions of dollars can catch one man. We did it, baby! This is our generation's Apollo moment to match our Sputnik challenge!

[Team America]

America, fuck yeah!

[SIV]

I wish we would drag the body through the street of Manhattan. Or at least hang it in chains outside the Whitehouse.

[Jason]

Gibbet in front of Ground Zero?

[BoscoH]

We will. I just checked, and that would be in line with Islamic tradition.

[WarPig Obama]

Yes, I did it! My chest is puffed out and this should work wonders for my fundraising. OBAMA 2012.

[SIV]

"It's the economy stupid"

$5 a gallon gas,loaf or bread, lb of hamburger...

Give Obama his due, it will be forgotten in a week.

[Joshua Corning]

Give Obama his due, it will be forgotten in a week.

It would be nice to know who pulled the trigger.

[Radical Mullah issuing fatwa]

Indeed!

[Joshua Corning]

You can't even get Salman Rushdie

I have my doubt you will be more successful getting an American soldier currently deployed in black ops.

[Paul]

It would be nice to know who pulled the trigger.

Al qaeda: we concur.

[mad libertarian guy]

Pulled what trigger. There's a very good chance that the men who took part in this operation don't officially exist.

In fact, I doubt that anyone who doesn't currently know, will never know.

[Barry's DHS Boss]

Due to the increased threat of terrorist activity, we are hiring and training 500,000 additional TSA conditioners. We will station the agents at bus and metro stops, banks, movie theaters and shopping malls. Random full-body gropes will become normal for travelers four years and older. We will work with ICE to install checkpoints at state-line highway crossings with document checks and random back-scatter scans.

[Joshua Corning]

"Justice has been done"

Not the word I would use.

A military apparatus killing a person without trial can never be justice.

Note: I am not saying killing Osama is a bad thing. It is a good thing, but it is not justice.

[SIV]

Revenge is far sweeter than "justice".

[Tulpa]

Men get arrested. Dogs get put down.

[Joshua Corning]

Putting down a mad dog is not justice...it is providing a good health and safety service.

[matth]

I'm pretty sure he confessed in front of witnesses. I'd say that's good enough.

[rather]

Really? Do you think all soldiers in battle should have a trial before they shoot each other?

[Joshua Corning]

GOD DAMN IT RATHER!!!!

.....

I am saying that war cannot be justice.

Killing Osama was an act of war therefore it cannot be an act of justice.

[Rather]

did you just yell at me?

[Tulpa]

It's one of those senseless acts of kindness I keep hearing about.

[Tulpa]

Racist snake flag in front of the white house!!!

[mad libertarian guy]

It's only racist when used to protest Obama. In support of him, it's a cry for freedom.

[D-oh]

Yah, saw that snake flag and wondered if the SS or DC cops were alerted to it.

[Colin]

Great speech, in my opinion.

[Draco]

*barf*

[Kristen]

Yeah, loved that useless yammering about events we all lived through 10 years ago.

[Lucy]

Well I had forgotten the details. It was nice to get a refresher.

[PantsFan]

so, Hope got fired?

[Tulpa]

They better fucking resume CA where it got cut off.

[db]

Well, the writing was on the wall once it was clear that he abandoned Change.

[Tulpa]

+4

[matth]

Which was about February 1st, 2009?

[SIV]

1/20/2009 sucker!

[Tulpa]

Yeah, googling shows that that is correct.

[Hugh Akston]

I can't wait for tomorrow's dramatic announcement that he's disbanding the TSA.

[Stalinist DHS boss Janet]

NEVER, we're expanding, see how well it has worked?

[SIV]

...and Homeland security. I'm sure there will be a bipartisan bill to repeal the Patriot Act passed by unanimous consent.

BWAAAAAAAAAAAAAHaaahaahaa!!!!!!!!!

[Kristen]

Didntchya hear what Dear Leader, Jr. said? Never gonna give you up, never gonna let you go.

[Sterling Archer]

Osama.... did you see Regis this morning?

[MSM]

Commence with the Osama bin Laden documentaries.

[Hugh Akston]

Who do you think will get the Oscar, Oliver Stone or Steven Soderburgh?

[Michael Moore]

Me!

[Mikey and Osammy]

Waddles and Hobbles. Osammy portrayed as a heroic, freedom fighter, victimized by the evil Bush and Obama tag-team.

[PantsFan]

Russia Today saying OBL was killed outside Islamabad by a US drone.

[Hugh Akston]

Sirrah, I do hope you're not calling the President of these United States a liar.

[Libertarians for Russia]

We are with you comrades!

[Syd Henderson]

Apparently, they're mistaken.

[PantsFan]

they have corrected themselves.

[Bradley]

So now that whole WOT thing is over, right?

[Adamson]

Just don't give the job to that yutz who did Atlas Shrugged I.

[WarrenT]

No if we can only get Ostimulus Ben Bernanke.

[SIV]

One victory at a time

[Inflation]

+1,000,000,000,000

[Colonel_Angus]

Dear government:

Pics or it didn't happen.

[Rather]

only a libertarian would want a T&A shot of a dead terrorist

[Hugh Akston]

We're also the only people who don't want x-ray shots of the live ones.

[Rather retarded]

Everybody! I just made poopy!

Read about it on my blog!

[Skeptical Gringo]

Good point!

[Tom Walls]

I want to see the helmet cam footage. Hopefully that will get out sooner or later.

[Tulpa]

I actually prefer the reactions of the random people at a gas station they're showing on the local news now. Much more succinct than the crap they were doing for 75 minutes on the national version.

[WarPig Obama]

Now, seeing how well this all worked out, I have my excuse to continue with drones throughout the Middle East, Asia and Africa. IRAN! SYRIA! LIBYA! YEMEN! PAKISTAN! Fuck, I can do whatever I want, Congress can't stop me now. I am an American Hero, mas macho que Bush.

[GOD SAVE THE QUEEN]

Too late. After William got married he probably felt he had nothing left to live for anyway.

[Rather]

Speaking of the wedding, why the hell didn't we have a live thread for it?

[Auric Demonocles]

Cause it's fucking England?

[SIV]

BRITFAG!!!

[Skip]

Who are all these unemployed young dopes who are acting like this is V-E day outside the White House?

[SIV]

VP Day.

[Tulpa]

They probably work for ACORN or whatever they're called now.

[Dude]

Who are all these unemployed young dopes who are acting like this is V-E day outside the White House?

This is the weirdest part of the whole thing. It's kind of creepy, actually.

I'm thrilled that bin Laden is dead. I'm no pacifist. But that White House crowd is just... yeah, creepy.

[Creepy Young Dope]

Nanana nah, nanana nah, wa-a-ave, goodbye!
Lets get hammered! Oh, we're still at war in 3 different middle east countries and patting down 7 yr old boys and 80 yr old ladies? Oh well, DRINK!!

[Afghan mountain goat]

I'm safe now.

[Lyle]

haha

[mike]

Quite amusing watching the al Jazeera coverage.. crowd shots of estatic Amerikans singing 'goodbye' .. all that was missing was some ak's being fired

[SIV]

I like to think we're smart enough to know the bullets return to Earth.

[Joshua Corning]

Kurt Vonnegut wrote a book about it.

[mad libertarian guy]

If you've ever been to Miami on new years eve you know we're not.

[Not Sure]

Human behavior is a constant.

[Lyle]

Suffocate on Uncle Sam's Johnson radically violent Muslims!!!

(despite Obama saying you don't really exist)

[GWB]

America! Fuck Yeah!

[BO]

One nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for purple mountain majesty for all, God bless America, land of the free and home of the brave.

[Brett L]

You forgot "Gentlemen, start your engines."

[Brett L]

"Play ball!" is also acceptable.

[Michelle]

This is the second time I've ever been proud of my country.

[A_is_A]

Buuuuuurn +1

[Bahrain]

I told Obama no to RSVP the royal wedding invitation

[Skip]

Why would Alqaeda retaliate after this? Their "heroic" leader was living high off the hog in a mansion for god knows how long while they have been living in caves and wiping their butts with goats. Just getting killed shows that Allah abandoned him etc.

[rather]

They won't believe it, and the US knows it. They learned from the photos of Hussein's sons and will release pics of the body without Western style funeral prep.

[D-oh]

* Important note from Allah: 72 more virgins (not to include rather) required.

[Rather]

Why don't you volunteer your own ass?

[D-oh]

Not a virgin. That's one of the requirements. I know you'd volunteer if they'd take you, but hey, it's Osama, one of the main dudes. You might get a retarded transvestite Palistinian bomber but not one of the main dudes.

[rather]

Congrats on admitting you're not an anal sex virgin. Most men have an issue with admitting they have been bottomed.

[D-oh]

Thanks for the congrats. I appreciate your acknowledgment of my honesty. I'm hoping it can be an example to you to try it.

[rather]

lol

[Connor Norris]

"Justice has been done." But at what cost? The PATRIOT Act is still in effect, the TSA are groping kids and we still have troops overseas.

[Team Coco]

We are at Nic Cage alert level Face/Off

[Adamson]

The other casualty this evening? Ron Paul's Presidential campaign.

His non-interventionism was always a hard sell in the Republikan primaries, but will be absolutely impossible beginning now. They'll be absolutely delerious about this new "justification" for all of the USA's foreign misadventures.

[Skip]

Did Ron Paul ever say that killing Osama was impossible or would happen faster if we didn't attack other countries? Its more like he didn't think it mattered, which I kinda agree with.

[Brett L]

Or, he could get the "Mission Accomplished, bring 'em home" crowd. I don't really need to see any more family and friends deployed. Declare victory, GTFO.

[Bingo]

He can easily spin it that his way was the correct way since he advocated for a similar small-scale approach to catching Bin Laden. The invasion and occupation is proving to be the big, expensive boondoggle.

[Hobo Chang Ba]

Um, Ron Paul was arguing for using letters of marquis and reprisal to track down terrorists. This sort of operation would follow that logic.

His criticism is that killing lots of innocent civilians in a war is not the best way to fight terrorism. A precision tactical hit by a small band of Navy seals in conjunction with Pak security forces three full scale wars utilizing most of our military and hundreds of billions of dollars a year, with tens of thousands of dead civilians, many of whom are bound to have angry family members out for revenge.

[Hobo Chang Ba]

supposed to be "Navy seals in conjunction with Pak security forces does not equal three full scale wars."

[AU H20]

Now that he's the new guy in Hell, I hope Osama enjoys being Hitler, Stalin, and Mao's bitch.

At least only the Russian has a big cock, but Osama better like having his asshole ripped in two.

[Greer]

There is no hell!

[Osama bin Laden]

Finally I know how good pussy is.

I got the last laugh you infidel mother fuckers.

Two down, seventy more to go. TONIGHT.

Bitchez.

[Osama]

I'm not dead yet. I'm getting better. I don't want to go on the cart!

[PantsFan]

GhostOsama is a riot on Twitter tonight.

[Greer]

LAFAO

[Callforjustic911]

AMEN, AMEN, AMEN, GLORY BE TO OUR TROOPS AND TO THE RIGHTEOUS GOD THAT WE SERVE AND OUR TROOPS THAT DID THE DEED.

NOW TO SEE THE BODY OF THIS DESPISED CREATURE CALLED "BIN LADEN" WHO IS LESS THAN A HUMAN BEING !

BRING OUT HIS BODY FOR DISPLAY AT GROUND ZERO THAT WE MAY PISS ON IT, AND COVER IT IN FECES BEFORE ENTOMBING IN PIG CRAP FACE DOWN SO THAT IS THIS CREATURE IS RECEIVED FACE TO FACE WITH THE SATAN THAT HE SERVES.

USA ALL THE WAY !!!

[Greer]

Which blog did you wander into?

[Bradley]

Ugh

[The Immaculate Trouser]

Yes, yes, the analysis is superb, but how do you feel about it?

[Callforjustic911]

more:

Now that we know that this sub-human creature called "Bin Laden" was in a mansion near Pakistan's capital, that begs for an explanation from that country as to WHY?

A mansion is nothing to overlook... The government of knew all along, and we the GLORIOUS TROOPS OF THE UNTIED STATES WENT IN AND GOT HIM... and from what I just heard, it was not with their cooperation but only were they notified moments before that we were going in to get this creature..

That country is no friend of ours, and we could have ended this war in short order by declaring war against both Afghanistan and Pakistan right after 911.

Callforjustice911... Justice has been served on a hot plate and more is to come.

It is time TO RID THE WORLD OF THESE ISLAMOFACISISTS ONCE AND FOR EVER.

lASTLY,I bet that the troops had cameras on their helmets to show the action as it unfolded. I read that this creature called "Bin Laden" even had a woman shield him before one of our glorious troops shot both him and her down.

A coward to boot.

That this creature called "Bin Laden" roast on a spit for Satan and his devils to feast on.. for ever and ever.

[Ken Shultz]

You wouldn't think it was possible, but somehow the ALL CAPS make it all seem even less coherent.

[Ken Shultz]

Does Urkobold pay you by the word or by the hour?

[Mike M.]

If we honestly do have an intact body, I say we bury his dead monkey ass underneath the Freedom Tower.

[matt]

thats a strange thing to say, would not the jersey landfill, or some other meaningless place to dump a body be better?

[feed him to the pigs]

And I don't mean the cops.

[Hazel Meade]

I was thinking maybe suspend it in some sort of steel cage like structure so everyone can watch it rot.

Head on a pike isn't enough. I want the whole body.

[sasob]

I heard a few minutes ago that CNN is reporting his body was buried at sea.

[Rather]

I don't believe they would dump it. It will be in the Smithsonian in another hundred years

[Bingo]

It's hard to describe this as a "win" given the state of our economy and all the shit we've had crammed down our throats since 9/11.

And BTW, this is what should have happened in the first place instead of 2 large-scale invasions and occupations.

[Creepy Young Dope]

Soon to be three!

[Stephen Harper]

Canada receives this news with sober satisfaction.

[Ken Shultz]

Yeah, it's all about Harper!

First "Taliban" Jack is exposed as "Shiatsu" Jack, and the very next night, Osama bin Laden is dead?

Just a coincidence?

I don't think so!

[Stephen Harper]

I somehow had a hand in this! Vote for me!

[CE]

Canada receives this news with sober satisfaction.

Sober Canadians? Sounds fake to me.

[Max]

I think we should wait respectfully to hear what Ron Paul has to say about this.

[Brett L]

And, its already marked on Google Maps. Just type in "osama bin ladens' compound". Fucking technology.

[Ken Shultz]

That is amazing.

He had bus service close by, and he was within walking distance of St. Luke's, St. Peter's and the golf course!

[Hobo Chang Ba]

I bet he often snuck into Taj Mahal cinema to get his Bollywood fix.

[The Immaculate Trouser]

So, who else is going to a good ol' fashioned tractor pull to celebrate?

[G Mc]

On a personal level, very glad he's dead. He was one of a very few number of people who both 1) want me dead and 2) have the capabilities to accomplish that end.

The lawyer in me would have preferred a capture and a trial, but I trust the discretion of the special forces, as I would have shit my pants in such a situation.

[Max]

Too much information. We don't need to know what you would have done in such a situation.

[G Mc]

I WILL BE THE JUDGE OF WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW!

[DesigNate]

He supposedly opened fire on the SEAL's so that makes him fair game for immediate termination. Not to mention the whole innocent woman human shield thing.

[Alex Jones]

Red Alert: Government Had Osama bin Laden Frozen for Years

[Hazel Meade]

Because Obama couldn't think of a better moment to announce the death than the last 15 minutes of 'Celebrity Apprentice'.

[Max]

Isn't it interesting that Osama is "killed" just as Donald Trump begins to press for the release of Obama's academic records? A convenient diversion? Maybe. Just maybe the government has had Osama's body--on ice, of course--from the beginning and has been just waiting for the opportune moment...

[Max]

Jesus Christ! Beaten to the punch by somebody named Alex Jones! Who does he work for?

[Jason]

The same people you work for.

[Wind Rider]

Skippy underbusses Goldstein? Que post-nuevo Orwellian.

[The Prophet Mohammed]

The continually regenerating hymens of the heavenly virgins demand of the martyrs a certain, uh, rhythmic facility, you understand? Things here are very literal. Osama can't seem to get the hang of it. He's quite frustrated.

I've loaned him my 12" of "Batdance," to act as a sort of heavenly guide to him in this matter. He seems genuinely confused about what he's supposed to do with it. I admit, my counsel was vague.

If he does anything interesting with it, I'll put a clip up on YouPorn.

[Max]

It bothers me that our taxes were used to fund this operation. Instead of military intervention, why not use engagement and the free exchange of goods and ideas? Osama probably could have used a good pair of shoes. Those flowing gowns he wore might have become a fashion trend had somebody suggested it to him. Instead shooting him, we might have engaged him. Ideas are better than bullets.

[DesigNate]

Fuck you Max.

[mad libertarian guy]

Perhaps had we used these methods all along, bullets would not have been necessary.

Oh, and fuck you Max.

[XM]

I heard from Al Qaeda that Osama actually came out to surrender to spare the children and the women of the compound, but the dastardly US soldiers exclaimed "but the liberals will spare your life in court" and eliminated him with a single bullet to the head.

His final words (as his spirit ascended to heaven) was "I only stayed alive this long because of the republicans"

[.]

He was shot while trying to use a woman as a human shield. Guess some of these dudes aren't so macho afterall, if they got to hind behind the skirts of a woman.

[Joshua Corning]

I think we have assumed that the game has been about Obama Vs Bush....

Obama 3

Bill Clinton 0

[Batman]

I would not have killed him.

[Dumbass]

this is ridiculously more clever than anyone is caring to notice

[rather]

I see your Christening took

[BoscoH]

And we have a picture:

http://www.facebook.com/photo......1&theater;

[Hazel Meade]

Oh no. I guess this means that Obama will win reelection.

Just kidding. 😉
(Just remembering what a bunch of progressives said when Bush killed Saddam Hussein.)

[John]

I thought Bush had Bin Ladin's body on ice and is going to bring it out the weekend before the election. Remember that one?

[Hazel Meade]

No. I missed that rumor.

I do wonder when we are bringing back the draft though.

[John]

That was a classic. I haven't yet seen any sour grapes from the Right. I am just glad the bastard is dead. I don't care if Obama tries to make political points with it. I hope the right keeps the same idea because you know if we had nailed him under Bush the sour grapes and conspiracy theories out of the Left would have been insufferable.

[Hazel Meade]

Oh, also, remember how Bush was going to rig the election in 2008 and there was going to be a revolution?

[cough]

http://i.imgur.com/M3Yl3.jpg

[heller]

Looks shopped

[Not Sure]

Source of image: http://webcache.googleusercont.....google.com

[alan]

CIA places a star in the lobby at Langley whenever they lose an agent. I wonder if Pakistan does the same.

[John]

+100

[TheZeitgeist]

I so wish I coulda been the guy. We all wished we coulda been the guy back in the sandbox. I seriously wonder how high the SF motherfucker who unloaded on that piece of shit must feel right now.

I guarantee, there is venture-capital potential in taking blood sample of that dude - right now as I write this - and bottle those hormones up in shootable form....

Best drug ever fucking invented I guarantee it. Colombians ain't got nothing on this high.

[John]

I wonder if he was SF or CIA. Greatest war story ever. "And then there was that time I shot Bin Ladin". I remember when the Afghanistan war opened I thought "some SF guy out there is going to be the guy who pops that camel fucking bastard, how will that be". Took nine years longer than I thought, but we now have a winner in the "shoot Bin Ladin sweepstakes".

[RyanXXX]

I wonder if anyone's going to be collecting on the reward money

[John]

We were talking about that. I bet someone has. They got the intel of where he was at from someone. I would imagine someone sold him out for the money.

[sasob]

I seriously wonder how high the SF motherfucker who unloaded on that piece of shit must feel right now

Obama fought back and used a woman as a human shield. She was killed, so I have a feeling whoever shot bin Ladin isn't feeling all that great. I know I wouldn't be.

[John]

Link for that account?

[sasob]

Here's a link to the story for others who want to see it.

[John]

Thanks. I saw a different report from MSNBC. Yours was better.

[John]

Found it. Apparently the compound was three times the size of the buildings around it and had 18 feet walls topped with barbed wire. How did it take years to figure out that maybe someone was hiding something there?

[prolefeed]

It is considered bad manners to conduct commando raids on a villa in an ostensibly allied nation because it looks like the occupants of the villa are obsessed with security.

Turns out the military prefers to find out for sure who is inside the villa BEFORE instigating what could turn out to be an act of war.

Go figure.

[John]

I realize that. But how did it take them five years to look there.

[Swat]

nah!!!!

[Navy Seal]

When I shot bin Laden I felt recoil.

[Jerryskids]

We have about 5 hours before we start hearing what this means for Obama's poll numbers, what Charlie Sheen thinks of it and whether or not Fox News is a bunch of right-wing extremist racists for saying whatever it is they are going to say in about 4 hours and 59 minutes.

[John]

I don't think it means much politically one way or another. It is not like people are going to go "well we killed Bin Ladin so the double digit inflation, unemployment and trillion dollar deficits are cool now". But it is still a great day none the less.

[Tulpa]

It might take a little heat off of criticism of Big 0's foreign policy. Which makes no sense, since he probably had very little to do with making this happen other than saying OK.

[Osama bin Laden]

Why I only get two virgins? And one of them is Barbara Walters!

[John]

And the other is Janet Reno.

[Richard]

Didn't Barbara Walters fuck Henry Kissenger?

[John]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEClGMJ2r3g

In honor of this great day, "dying ain't much of a living boy"

[JB]

Great movie.

Josie Wales for President!

[John]

Maybe the best western ever. Chief Dan George for President!!

[D-oh]

Hate to break this to ya but the Chief was born in Canada... don't need no more birth certificate shit 'round here.

And ya, maybe the best western ever!

[John]

That is okay. I hear Hawaii gives long form birth certificates for a price. 😉

[Donald Trump]

Hey, good job Barack Osama!

[John]

http://www.nationalreview.com/.....iel-foster

Oh Noes!! GUITMO detainees provided intel for the operation. How many poor terrorists were tortured just to kill one man!!

[JB]

It's too bad he wasn't taken alive so we could have passed a Constitutional Amendment allowing for his torture.

It would have passed.

[Hazel Meade]

It's easier to beg forgiveness than to ask permission.

[Hugh Akston]

Now that the US has had a successful mission, it's worth tallying up the score, just to let everyone know who won:

Osama bin Laden: 3000+ casualties; destroying a landmark of the worlds most powerful country in its greatest city; proving the Western imperialist crusaders to be just that when they invaded two arab/muslim nations; the casualties and atrocities from those invasions winning the hearts and minds of countless young muslims to bin Laden's cause; goading the Great Satan into oppressing oppressing its own people with the burgeoning national security state; inspiring the tumorous growth of the national security state and total warfare state, the economic, social, and political costs of which may yet destroy the country; reducing the Home of the Brave to a nation ruled by fear.

USA: one dead body, male.

[John]

Oh piss off.

[John]

"crusaders to be just that when they invaded two arab/muslim nations;"

So I guess in 2001 when the Taliban refused to turn Bin Ladin over we should have just said nevermind. I love how you peacenik self loathing pieces of shit have rewrote history on Afghanistan. In the mid 00s, it was the "just war" as opposed to Iraq. Now it is just another Muslim country we needlessly invaded.

You people make me want to puke.

[sasob]

@Hugh Akston:

I suppose that's one way to look at it - that we've lost much more than we've gained. But I think that is partially mitigated by a bigger loss for Al Qaeda than just one body - namely this: bin Laden and his ilk wanted to bring about a new Caliphate in the Middle East - an oppressively religious one. I think his and Al Qaeda's willingness to slaughter innocents, even Muslim women and children, in the furtherence of that goal has given many a very good look at what his brand of religion would entail; I think those many have or will reject it. Witness the so-called Arab Spring - do the people of the various Middle Eastern countries seem as though they want to live under the fanatical rule of the mullahs? Or does it seem they would like to live the way westerners do?

I think bin Laden and Al Qaeda have already lost. Oh, they may keep on with their suicide bombers, etc. for several more years, and the Middle East may become more unified and free from the various dictators they've lived under, but if there is to be a new Caliphate it will not be the fanatical and oppressively fundamentalist one that bin Laden had in mind. I think perhaps Islam may well begin to move into the 21st century.

[Pedant]

>willingness to slaughter innocents, even Muslim women and children, in the furtherence of that goal

Sounds familiar.

[John]

Yeah, because the US has been known to send suicide bombers into night clubs and fly planes into buildings. The US is certainly on the same moral plane as Bin Ladin. Go die in a fire.

[Tulpa]

The civilians are just as dead whether it was a plane or a cruise missile that flew into their building.

BTW -- we've killed far more Afgani and Iraqi civilians than aQ has killed American civilians.

[sasob]

How many Afghani's and Iraqis do you suppose al-Qaeda has killed?

[John]

Yeah, because the US has been known to send suicide bombers into night clubs and fly planes into buildings. The US is certainly on the same moral plane as Bin Ladin. Go die in a fire.

[Hugh Akston]

So the US and al Qaeda both lose. This is worse than watching soccer.

[sasob]

Game isn't over yet.

[Hugh Akston]

No you're right, we still have some rights and liberties to lose.

[Bside]

"A U.S. official said that Osama bin Laden has been buried at sea."

And thus begins the conspiracy theories.

[John]

Obama needs to get on his unicorn and drag the cursed thing around the capitol mall. If he did that, I might even have to vote for him.

[John]

There is one advantage to it taking so long to get the bastard. It shows to all future enemies that if you attack the US you will never be safe. Even ten years on a helicopter bringing death can appear in the night. We may be slow, but we never give up.

[Richard]

There's also an argument that he would have died a heroic martyr if we'd gotten him on 9/12. He was a has-been loser when he got put down.

[John]

Yeah. He hadn't even done any good videos lately.

[John C. Randolph]

It shows to all future enemies that if you attack the US you will never be safe.

Kind of like the Israelis body-grabbing Eichmann. It's a good thing that some crimes result in relentless pursuit, anywhere in the world.

-jcr

[ManikMonkee]

teh Awesome!

[ManikMonkee]

teh Awesome!

[Rather]

forty navy seals-Wow, didn't Charlie Sheen do it with half a dozen?

[John]

http://www.reuters.com/article.....ZA20110502

Others ridiculed the celebrations playing out in the United States, where crowds cheered and waved flags outside the White House and at New York's "Ground Zero," site of the World Trade Center twin towers felled by hijacked airliners on September 11, 2001.

"Please let them celebrate, they are celebrating their own end," said Abu Aziza on the Islamic Awakening forum. "Oh Allah destroy this nation for their hatred and enmity toward your deen (religion)."

Apparently American celebrations have hurt the feelings of our jihadist friends. Tear.

[Rather]

To be honest, it reminded me of Arabs passing out candy after a terrorist attack. I wrote about my thoughts on their celebration

[John]

Bullshit. This is not a terrorist attack. And that bastard killed 3000 Americans and has run around and bragged about it.

You are right. At heart we are a blood thirsty Jacksonian nation. Perhaps he should have thought of that before he fucked with us. I sleep better at night knowing that fact.

[rather]

I have no problem with the military action, and our side acted admirably but celebrating a death is 'third world', and we are not

[Immigrant Voter]

Wanna bet?

[Dave T.]

This might not be, but we've committed quite a few acts of terror with our military:

http://news.google.com/news/se.....n+children

[rather]

I wonder if we will ever see video of the mission. The intel search would be enlightening

[John]

What is interesting is that he wasn't living in a cave in the tribal areas of Pakistan. He was living in a nice town in the mountains outside the capitol in an area favored by retired high ranking Pakistani military officers. Imagine for a moment someone blew up Tienanmen Square in a terrorist attack against the Chinese government and the mastermind behind it was found living in a compound in one of the nicer areas of suburban Northern Virginia ten years after the fact. Do you think anyone would believe the US when it said it had nothing to do with the attack?

[rather]

I have no doubt he was an unofficial guest in Pakistan. There is a mix of educated and ignorance that is near boiling point but he was essentially captive in that compound, and that suggests he knew his day were numbered

[John]

Suppose you are Pakistan and he falls into your lap. What do you do? If you turn him over to the Americans, half of your intelligence and military complex will revolt. If you keep him, you run the risk of war with the world. Putting him in a safe place with plausible denyability until he is "found" by the Americans solving your problem isn't a bad option.

[rather]

Your scenario is plausible but I heard someone is eligible to claim the reward money. It could be his last name is Ali Zardari 😉

[Bingo]

Haha, some poor coffee shop owner accidentally liveblogged the takedown on twitter and now there's a media frenzy surrounding him:

https://twitter.com/#!/ReallyVirtual/

Looks like main-street America Abottabad is taking Osama's death in stride: http://twitpic.com/4s8nfq

[John]

The streets are remarkably well kept for an Islamic nation. It doesn't look like a half bad place.

[John]

The streets are remarkably well kept for an Islamic nation. It doesn't look like a half bad place.

[Bingo]

He mentioned on his blog that he's an IT professional trying to get away from the hustle and bustle for a while. Probably moved to the Pakistani equivalent of small-town America.

[John C. Randolph]

So, for all the money spent on predator drones and shit, it finally took some guys with guns, and old-fashioned infiltration and spy work to find him and kill him?

-jcr

[?]

Yes, it was that simple.

[rather]

A mission that took a year is hardly simple dumbass

[?]

Sarcasm, dipshit.

[rather]

prove it asshole

[Bingo]

Uh, it's a couple order of magnitudes simpler in just about every way than a trillion-dollar occupation over 10 years while attempting to nationbuild.

[John]

No exactly. They conducted the operation from a base in Afghanistan. And had we not invaded Afghanistan, he wouldn't have been holed up there in the first place.

[Bingo]

So instead of having a decade-long manhunt using spooks, covert ops, and intelligence assets in Afghanistan we have: an invasion, occupation, and nation building in Afghanistan AND a decade-long manhunt using spooks, covert ops, and intelligence assets in both Afghanistan and Pakistan.

This is preferable? You really think this was a good use of money and lives?

[John]

So when the Taliban told us to go fuck ourselves in 2001, we should have said okay? The Taliban essentially declared war on us. It wasn't just Bin Ladin. The Taliban ran Afghanistan, allowed the worst terrorist attack in US history to be planned on their soil, and then refused to turn over the guilty parties. The Taliban had to go. It amazes me how people have rewritten the history of the Afghan war. Actually it doesn't. I knew this would happen as soon as the Afghan war being the "good war" was no longer necessary to bitch about Iraq. Now that Iraq is winding down people can say what they really thought all along, which is that the US has no right to defend itself.

[Bingo]

A smash-and-run on the Taliban was justified. 10+ years of occupation though?

I really don't think its in our nations best interest to be dumping loads of taxpayers dollars and lives into rebuilding a backwards nation while fighting shepherds armed with AK47s. Obviously, you think the cost is justified.

And btw, arguing that "Well we did X and then Y happened, therefore if we don't do X then Y would have never happened" is the same logical fallacy that the trolls here use constantly. "The government built the roads therefore if we don't have government we won't have roads!"

Just because we invaded and occupied Afghanistan and set up a base there from which we launched an attack to catch OBL doesn't mean there weren't alternatives that would have resulted in the same thing.

[John]

The problem is that the Taliban didn't go away. They just retreated to Pakistan. So we had to stay in Afghanistan to keep them from coming back and taking over. We were kind of screwed in Afghanistan. There was no way to make it just a punitive expedition. If we had left in say 2002, the Taliban would have come back, set up shop and claimed victory.

[Bingo]

If they're currently hiding out in Pakistan, and Afghanistan is as susceptible to their influence as you say it is, then what makes you think that they won't just come back when we leave, regardless of when we leave?

And, in your opinion, is keeping the Taliban out of power worth the lives and money we've spent (and will continue to spend) in an ongoing occupation?

[John]

We may be stuck in AFghanistan for a long time. It sucks but that is reality. And yes, it is worth lives and money if the alternative is the Taliban setting up shop and allowing the next Bin Ladin to plan the next 9-11. Yeah it sucks, but other than leaving and hoping for the best, what other alternative is there?

We have an enemy who isn't going to quit or leave us alone. That means we are at war until he says otherwise.

[?]

I don't have a life. Let's argue about the definition of "simple."

[rather]

No name you are irony

[Bingo]

Not to mention that he wasn't even in any of the countries we officially invaded.

[John]

He kind of had to leave Afghanistan. And we knew he was in Pakistan since late 2001 when we ran him out of Afghanistan. That whole nuclear weapon thing made invading Pakistan a bit complicated.

[Bingo]

And thank God for that. I can imagine how much worse things would have gotten if we did decide to follow him into Pakistan with an invading army.

[?]

Donald Trump just took credit for it. FOX News is interviewing him now. Also firemen and Rudy Giuliani. And a puppy who saved a quadriplegic girl scout from a well.

[rather]

saved a quadriplegic girl scout from a well

I don't know who would throw a puppy down a well but the quadriplegic girl is the victim of the libertarian fuck you health care plan.

Unintended consequences bitches-no more thin mints

[rather]

I wonder if Guantanamo had a few check-ins yesterday

[Hazel Meade]

A final note before the morning...

Way back in 2001, I decided that the best way for Bin Laden to go, would not be for him to get killed right away. That would make him a martyr. Nor for him to be captured. I decided that the best possible thing to happen would be for him to finally be killed, but only after Al Qaeda had been rendered irrelevant.

It seems I got my wish, and I wonder if anyone else in the US government had the same idea.

[Magic 8-Ball?]

Without a doubt.

[Easily Amused]

Let the speculation and insta-reaction begin!

It's funny 'cause it's true.

[NotSure]

Reading the majority of posts here, makes me wonder if I wondered into the wrong site like freerepublic or something.

[John]

Yeah because the proper reaction to the death of a homicidal lunatic who murdered 3000 innocent people is to thumb suck about how awful it was we killed him. Fuck off you peacenik troll.

[Dave T.]

It's not awful we killed him. It's awful how many innocent people we've killed in the pursuit of him. A collateral damage body count that far exceeds 3,000. I'm sure it's hard for a warmongering lunatic like yourself to comprehend that.

[sasob]

If you think the two wars we've been fighting these past ten years were simply "in pursuit" of Bin Laden, you are outrageously ill-informed.

[rather]

I'm wondering about your wandering 😉

[Dr. Smith]

bin Laden was a pussy hiding behind a woman when he was killed.

[soupwell]

Obama has a real opportunity here. His poll numbers will obviously get a major short term boost simply from the euphoria the nation is currently experiencing. Unfortunately for our Commander in Chief, that euphoria will soon wear off; just look at W's poll numbers a year after Saddam's capture.

The opportunity that Obama has here is to pull out of both Iraq and Afghanistan. Claim victory: "We did what we came here to do, and we're going home."

Obama ran as the anti-war candidate, but has done absolutely nothing to make good on his rhetoric. His voter base is deeply dissatisfied with his inaction, but the idea of pulling out and admitting defeat has been too politically radioactive to contemplate. Right now, for a short time at least, Obama is bulletproof to accusations of being weak on security or weak on terror (I'm not saying this makes sense, I'm just saying it's a political reality).

The president has a unique opportunity right now to get out of our two wars. The left would embrace Obama for finally coming through on his promises, and even people typically animated by "boot up your ass" patriotism would love him for kicking ass and bringing our troops home victorious. Stage a good old fashioned Roman Triumphal March through the streets of the Capitol.

The world would love him for showing that America is not in fact driven by an imperialist mandate to destroy Muslim nations.

Going home after getting our man would quickly marginalize Al Qaeda's recruiting drives. They would no longer be able to claim that we are out to destroy all Muslims.

There won't be another singular moment of accomplishment like this. If we don't make a solid commitment to bring our troops home right now, it won't happen in the foreseeable future. This is our one opportunity to declare victory in the war on terror and bring it to an end.

I might even vote for the guy if he can seize this chance and do the right thing. It would go a long way toward atoning for every other thing he's done since taking office. It would restore the Hope of a lot of people in the Change they were promised. Hell, one could even argue that he would retroactively deserve his Nobel Peace Prize.

I'm not holding my breath.