About The Osama Pictures: Congressfolks Duped, but They Do Exist
Why wouldn't the story of Osama Bin Laden, a multi-millionaire terrorist Michael Moore says was profiled for being a Muslim, get strange in death as it was in life? After dumping the body at sea (apparently with proper Muslim death rituals and corpse prep), the U.S. government won't release death photos of Bin Laden.
Several members of Congress who say they have seen death mugshots of Bin Laden now say they were duped:
At day's end, [Sen. Kelly] Ayotte [R-N.H.] issued a statement saying: "While I was shown a photo by another senator of what appeared to be a deceased Osama bin Laden, I do not know if it was authentic."
[Sen. Scott] Brown [R-Mass.] had told several media outlets that serve his home state of Massachusetts that he had seen the picture.
"Let me assure you that he is dead, that bin Laden is dead," Brown told New England Cable News (NECN) television. "I have seen the photos and, in fact, we've received the briefing and we'll continue to get the briefings."
NECN later posted an update saying that Brown's office had told them "that the bin Laden photos the senator mentions seeing about two minutes into the clip here were not authentic."
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) hasn't seen the photos but is sure that Bin Laden was croaked based on her reading of the DNA evidence (?): "It was Osama bin Laden," AFP quotes her, noting she called the DNA testing "conclusive."
And then there's one guy who actually says he saw pictures:
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, a Republican who strongly opposes releasing the photographs, saw them at CIA headquarters on Monday, according to spokeswoman Susan Phalen.
"The chairman happened to be at the CIA on Monday and saw the photos there," she said.
I can kinda/sorta understand Obama's desire not "to spike the football" here, but his concern seems misplaced for a number of reasons. After infiltrating a hideout and shooting a guy to death is no time to get antsy about the public relations aspect of something. There are ways that the government could release an official photo that would get the job done with a minimal amount of unnecessary problems (I say "unnecessary" because there's always going to some who will be dissatisfied regardless of the actions taken or proof offered).
The disposition of the Zapruder film of the Kennedy assassination is instructive here. The short film sequence was basically kept secret by the government until 1975, when it was shown as a film for the first time on network TV (thanks be to Geraldo Rivera!). Keeping such a widely known-about artifact (stills had appeared in Life in 1963) only fueled conspiracy theories and wild speculation. And that was in a time when people were much more trusting on official narratives and access to images (and the ability to create your own) was far more restricted than it is now.
Coupled with the (inevitable and yet wholly avoidable and certainly ongoing) revision of the circumstances of Bin Laden's death, the failure to release publicly sanctioned official images and clear proof of death is a major mistake. What can you say about a situation in which Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), rarely a voice worth heeding on anything, has the clearest analysis?
"I know bin Laden is dead. But the best way to protect and defend our interests overseas is to prove that fact to the rest of the world," he said in a written statement. "I"m afraid the decision made today by President Obama will unnecessarily prolong this debate."
Reuters has posted photos from the Bin Laden compound here, including gruesome shots of several unidentified dead men.
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Anything to suggest we didn’t kill him and have him holed away somewhere and are applying electrodes and pink bras to his pierced nipples as we speak? Its certainly a more plausible conspiracy.
Of course, secrecy would be key here in that AQ wouldn’t know we were extracting the info, except the administration blabbing that they got a ton of info from his hard drives kind of alerts them to the fact that we might know something about their current positions.
OBL was a CIA agent all along. This “raid” was how they extracted him, so that he can enjoy his retirement in WV.
The entire WOT was a black op designed to justify government power grabs under Clintpig, Bushitler and now Obamao.
Didn’t realize there were left wing and right wing shades of trooferism. I figured you were all “just asking questions.”
I was surprised that they would throw the body in the ocean before making damn sure it’s him. Like, what if some lab tech drops a PCR tube on the ground, contaminating all of the DNA evidence. Better get enough tissue.
Also, the image of Diane Feinstein pretending to understand the interpretation of DNA testing to identify the remains is priceless.
She’s seen CSI, just like the rest of us. The cool graphic comes up with side-by-side double helices, and the flashing green “Match” textbox.
Also, this kind of boosts the notion that the decision to kill him was taken out of Obamas hands and he was kind of dragged along with this whole operation as well as taking 16 hours to decide and being pulled off the golf course right before it happened.
If Obama gets nervous at the idea of a photo being shown (you know, like the Abu Ghraib pictures we saw for weeks), then how can he really have the fortitude to say whack the guy without at least being pressured into it.
I don’t think all those moderate muslims we keep hearing about who OBL doesn’t represent would mind.
the pics dont mean squat
Also, this kind of boosts the notion that the decision to kill him was taken out of Obamas hands and he was kind of dragged along with this whole operation as well as taking 16 hours to decide and being pulled off the golf course right before it happened.
As much as I would love to believe this, I don’t.
To take out even Bin Laden without presidential approval would be a blatant criminal act. If the military is willing to go that far, they might as well just go all the way and remove the guy from office completely.
To take out even Bin Laden without presidential approval would be a blatant criminal act.
Does the president have the legal authority to order a murder?
If the military is willing to go that far, they might as well just go all the way and remove the guy from office completely.
Because they need a figurehead.
kinetically disappeared please
As far as I understand it, it is only against the law if he is a head of state (no assassination). Actually, this is “executive order”, not law, so the President can change it at will. The actual term is “political assassination”, which is generally held to mean “head of state”.
So they certainly have the authority to act under Presidential approval – probably even without an exception to the executive orders against assassination (Bin-Laden has no State to be head of). There’s no way that the military would act in the center of a foreign nation without specific approval from the President. They may be gung-ho baddasses, but they are also chain-of-command cover-your-butt types as well, particularly as you get above Major.
“After infiltrating and shooting a guy to death is no time to get antsy about the public relations aspect of something.”
They infiltrated a guy?
I’m jealous.
Ziiiing! Fixed.
I will usher in a new era of transparency, or something like that.
Don’t be dragging me into this!
I find it weird that the Seals shot that woman who was storming them in the leg, while OBL got shot in the head. Now the story is (according to Feinstein) that there were weapons in the room and OBL was trying to grap one. But if this is the case, why would OBL have waited to grap a weapon until the Seals barged into the room? It’s not like OBL couldn’t have heard the other gunshots flying around in the compound.
SEAL: “What’s your name” (in perfect arabic)
UBL: “Usama Bi…
SEAL: Tap-Tap!
more likely – “freeze” (in english) but bin laden moved
At least, that’s what the police report’s gonna say
Radley? You usually post under your full name… Oh, well. I guess it really is you.
on a subatomic level, he was moving.
The SEALs started yelling “stop resisting!” the minute they entered the compound.
They shot him because there weren’t any dogs to take out. Oh, wait, this wasn’t a domestic drug raid, despite the similarities. . .
The press is reporting that the SEALS brought 2 dogs with them
The press is also reporting that the SEALS brought guns with them! DERP
That old timer threw me off…
I find it weird that the Seals shot that woman who was storming them in the leg, while OBL got shot in the head.
I find it quite impressive, showing that these guys are real pros. Obviously, they assessed her as being an unarmed woman, and switched gears from “shoot to kill” to “shoot to disable”, made a very accurate shot, then switched back, and made a couple more very accurate shots, probably in the course of a few seconds.
Make no mistake: Navy SEALS know exactly where every shot is going. They can place a bullet exactly where they want it. If they shot the woman in the leg, it’s because that’s exactly where they wanted to shoot her. If they shot OBL in the head, same reason.
Do they put their pants on both legs at a time as well? Can they lead a horse to water and make it drink?
Hehe! Hurr durr.
Ahhh, refreshing!
HK MP5-SD. Beloved of everyone who’s ever played Rainbow 6, or anyone who wishes they could be a ninja. So silent, you’re more likely to hear me farting in another state.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HK_MP5
I’ve shot an MP5SD and it is by no means the quietest submachinegun out there.
And there is no silenced weapon, short of a single shot .22 (or maybe something that fires the old Soviet captive-piston ammo), that even approaches the sound levels depicted in movies and video games.
Bottom line is that the people that need to believe he’s dead probably have no doubt he’s fish food, and are probably scurrying like roaches after the light comes on. The people that sit back and muse that they “aren’t sure” really don’t actually matter in the whole thing, anyway, really. Still, holding back the vast majority of the documentation of what happened in Pakistan that morning is simply induced melodrama, using, as politicians tend to do, imagined fears or hypothetical situations as their piss poor rationalization, dosed with a big shot of moralizing about what we, the people who routinely watch three varieties of autopsy featuring shows (CSI) for entertainment won’t be able to handle.
Well, bullshit. If past events of this ‘magnitude’ are any indication, if it exists, it will come out, and be meticulously scrutinized for years and years, to the point that academic careers will be fashioned dissecting and be experts on things as inane as what type of candy the shooters took along for freakin snacks. Hell, by this time in 2015, we’ll probably be sick of seeing the OBL takedown story pop up, yet again, on the History or Discovery Channels.
Quit acting like little Sorority girls, and post the fucking pictures of the raid of the frat house to get their panties back, fer cryin out loud.
Oh, and a questio – too soon? Hmm. Wondering if one of the two SEAL jerks I rented the beach condo from for that year had anything to do with this? Heck it’s a freakin SEAL Dream. Taking out UBL? Nah, being able to shoot an irate, screaming woman charging after you and getting congratulated for it. If you’d met the one guy’s girlfriend, that would make a lot of sense.
Some complain that UBL was not armed when he was shot and killed. Well the 3,000 innocent people who died on 9/11 were not armed, either.
And the SEALS are terrorist hijackers? Derp.
Didn’t your mom ever tell you that two wrongs don’t make a right?
Yeah, jesus guys. This man should have gotten a fair trial that would have dragged on until he died in custody, and the United States probably would have gone under constant terrorist threats and actual attacks by AQ to free their leader. I mean, he only killed several thousand innocent people. He was probably just misunderstood.
I heard that if we didn’t kill Osama on the spot, we would have bad luck for seven years.
No, that is only if you break a mirror.
I’m with you. If they had dropped a bomb on him (the usual method) it would be just as much an “assassination” as sending in Marines to shoot him. This wasn’t a police situation. This was about taking out the guy behind the 9/11 attacks, plain and simple.
“he only killed several thousand innocent people.”
Allegedly.
yawn. Anyone who doesn’t want to believe OBL’s been croaked isn’t going to be convinced by photos. This is such a non-issue. Bin Laden’s body is dead, but if White House wants to satisfy me, they need to dismantle DHS and repeal the Patriot Act. Only then will I believe his ghost has also been exercised.
I’ll take that in lieu of evidence, too.
Not true.
I will be convinced if they release photos and/or video. I’m confident some geeks will ascertain they weren’t doctored with a reasonable level or certainty.
I would be content with affirmation from someone who doesn’t have incentive to lie about it and cover up.
So far we don’t have any of that.
Every “moderate” Muslim in the world has been saying the guy isn’t a real Muslim for almost 10 years. Why indulge the people who say he was a Muslim? Who cares how we buried him? Should have kept him on ice for a year then spread his ashes to the corners of the world.
Roswell? Like we’d land in Roswell, New Mexico. Have you ever been to Roswell? It’s fucking cow town in the middle of no where.
You would if you liked Tex-Mex food
You would if you liked Tex-Mex food
Tex-Mex is considered an abomination in NM, even in the most Texan of eastern NM towns.
How can anyone hate chili gravy?
I like some Tex-Mex, but I much prefer just plain Mex.
How old was OBL? Didn’t he have some kind of kidney disease? His “wife” was probably his nurse and he probably couldn’t get out of bed to resist.
No.
54
The worst part about the Kennedy cartoon is that it makes Caroline look like she has Down’s Syndrome. I am not a Kennedy groupie, but that is dirty pool.
That’s Kennedy? I thought it was a Roman Polanski joke.
This controversy doesn’t matter. The Osama death pics will come out eventually. Some government worker drone will get their hands on the pics release them to TMZ or some other outlet.
From my lengthy experience watching Hawaii Five-O episodes along with Ironsides, wouldn’t a good follow up question to someone who claims he went for a gun be “can you explain how he was shot in the eye and be reaching for a gun at the same time? was he reaching for the seal’s gun? was he reaching to the left or right for a gun? what angle was the bullet when it entered his eye?”
book em dano
Actually, the first bullet went into the chest, the second into his eyes. So OBL was lunging for a weapon somewhere else in the room while at the same time facing his attackers? Does not compute…
the first bullet, fired fm a 7th story window, entered his head then deflected into his chest…also the governor & a policeman were wounded
Okay people, listen up. We shot Bin Laden, snapped a few quick photos (which you won’t get to see), drew some DNA (which we tested not against his DNA, but against one of his several dozen relatives), and we disposed of the body (bye-bye evidence!)
Now shut the fuck up and trust your government. We got him. Please continue waving flags and dancing on street corners. Also, feel free to sacrifice one non-human mammal to the government, weight not to exceed 100 pounds.
Oh yeah, and continue to sing boot-licking praises of a military unit you’ve seen shooting blanks on TV, or have read about in a novel.
Where’s the cartoon of Bin Laden being welcomed to Hell by Muhammad?
Ooooooohhhhhh! Good idea! We could get some mileage from that!
Am I the first to point out that the alt-text for the second cartoon mentions “cartoons of Obama”?
Fixed!
Since the theme is political cartoons reacting to OBL – here’s the original (and best) take of the sort from The Onion after 9/11: Hijackers Surprised To Find Selves In Hell.
From the “article”:
Of course, the best take on the subject was also from The Onion after 9/11
God Angrily Clarifies ‘Don’t Kill’ Rule
There’s lots of great stuff in there – it is hard to pick a “best moment” – but this is pretty good:
I don’t care what your faith is (or isn’t), that’s a pretty good sentiment to hold on to.
Those were classics.
I wish I had a paper copy of that issue.
I don’t think people were more trusting in “official narratives” in 1975. That was in the immediate aftermath of Watergate, the Pentagon Papers, and the CIA hearings.
They were probably even less trusting.
The flipping, flopping, and dithering on display from the White House since Sunday is probably doing a lot to dispel the image of Obama as a strong, resolute leader, and remind people that this guy really just likes to be in the room when decisions are made, but not actually responsible for making decisions.
Pretty much. Like winning the lottery and setting fire to the check.
The best line is that Obama is taking his victory lap in a clown car.
Sorry, don’t remember who to credit.
I don’t think people were more trusting in “official narratives” in 1975.
The official narrative, established in 1991, is that official narratives lost their establishing power in 1973.
kinetically disappeared please
Why won’t they release Bin Laden’s long form birth certificate?
Because it, like Obama’s real birth certificate, shows that he was a twin.
In retrospect, it would have been much funnier to change my handle to Roseanne Roseannadanna and ask, “What’s all this I hear about Osama’s long form birth certificate? He’s dead, why does anyone care? It’s just outrageous that…”
Ah well, one more esprit d’escalier.
Huh, I thought it would show that he was born in Kenya.
Never really thought about it like that before. Makes sense dude.
http://www.anon-toolz.at.tc
Discussing if OBL was armed or not isn’t worth debating. This was not a capture mission. It was a kill on sight mission. In theory at least. Our government has lied and Obama has shown he’s can’t be trusted. I’m not convinced OBL is actually dead.
Our government has lied and Obama has shown he’s can’t be trusted.
This is news?
I’m not convinced OBL is actually dead.
Whatever.
Unless he makes a “nah nah nah missed me” video I’m convinced. No way that the US government would openly admit to doing a military operation just outside of Islamabad without Pakistani approval unless officials believed it had been a big success. We don’t even admit we’re operating on the ground in Waziristan.
Obama lied
Osama died
Obama will release the photos right before the election. Like the birther conspiracy, the “is Osama really dead?” conspiracy will keep people from focusing on issues such as the economy, gasoline prices, and the deficit. Then, just before the election, the photo release will show up the conspiracy theroists, remind the public the Obama admin. got Osama, and give him a boost.
Now, there’s an idea.
I don’t need to see the photos to prove he’s dead, but I would like to glance at them to satisfy my blood lust
Occam’s razor suggest that the administration is telling the truth on OBL’s death. Or at minimum honestly believe’s he was killed in the compound raid.
Only the wildest, faked-moonshot level conspiracy theories would have to turn out to be true if the administration is lying.
If OBL weren’t dead, he could pop up in a video at really any time, and the sooner the better for OBL, and the words “political suicide” would be a gross understatement for what the administration would have essentially committed. They would have no credibility, even in the most fawning of European political enclaves. Politically, Obama would be domestically and internationally dead.
The only way that the Obama administration could have not killed OBL and politically survive is if any of the following were true (in no particular order):
o OBL has been dead for years, was killed in a cafe and will never be found, but the administration has enough confidence of this fact and so manufactured this entire story. Makes one wonder why, and why now. Why not 15 minutes before an election?
o They captured OBL alive, and Obama, like every other Team Blue player finds torture abhorrent only when Bushitler is in office, but are perfectly fine with it in certain, hyphenated conditions. They captured OBL and have taken him to a black site and are going to extract as much AQ operational details as they can and will then kill and dispose of him when he’s of no further use to the administration.
o OBL was captured years ago, and the administration recently disposed of him and so concocted this raid as an official ‘declaration’ of OBL’s death. They raided some random compound that did have some high value target in it as plausible cover.
“killed in a cafe” should read: “killed in a cave”.
Don’t ask me what I was thinking when I typed that. Killed in a cafe. Actually, that kind of works.
Dead for years:
Maybe they knew he was dead for years, but didn’t have the body. So they faked it because Obama wanted to close Guantanamo and leave Afghanistan, but that was politically impossible as long as Bin Laden was thought to be alive.
Doing it now gives him time to start doing some of that in time for the next election.
So why did the government show fake photos to the congresscritters?
I appreciate the desire to get in a dig at Michael Moore, but does this statement really equal “OBL ‘was profiled for being a Muslim’?”
Because that’s what Moore is saying?
The reason it doesn’t say “Multi-millionaire Murders 3,000” is because OBL’s multi-millionair-ness doesn’t define him. His radical wahhabism is what defines him. It’s not hard for someone like bitchy-Michael Moore take the references to OBL’s Wahhabism and throw the “Oh, it’s ’cause he’s a Muslim” blanket over that concept.
It’s very important to note first that “Muslim” is not equivalent to “Wahhabist.” On top of that, how many Wahhabists have done what OBL did? I’d say his multi-millionaire status did much to define him.
It’s very important to note first that “Muslim” is not equivalent to “Wahhabist.”
That’s exactly my point. And that’s exactly what Moore is conflating. When people refer to OBL as a radical Islamist, Moore inserts a bracketed “[Muslim]” and then sits back, self satisfied that he’s uncovered the double-secret racism memo.
And his multi-millionaire status only defined him in that it gave him resources to affectuate his cause. But if you read anything about Bin Laden and people who have spent time with him, his money was the last thing that defined him as a person. His money was nothing more than a tool. It’s like saying that Jesus was defined by his hammer.
You’ve read all this into his statement:
And I don’t recall reading any accounts of Jesus using a hammer. It does appear that Osama used his money.
Well, there was that whole carpentry hobby.
I was surprised he missed it… and it was such a snappy comment too. You got it.
It’s Moore who’s doing the reading.
And I don’t recall reading any accounts of Jesus using a hammer. It does appear that Osama used his money.
Jesus was a carpenter, it was a figure of speech. Osama has also used an AK-47, do we call him Osama the Rifleman? These things are utterly tangental.
Donald Trump is defined by his money. Warren Buffet, defined by his money.
Osama is not.
Now that we’ve discussed Jesus’ penchant for using hammers, I’m not sure about Osama and his money. He’s certainly known for being wealthy.
I personally thought of him as a spoiled, amoral brat who decided to make a name for himself and was nuts enough to think he’d get political power somewhere by doing all of this evil crap. Wrong.
I got that you were referring to Jesus’s supposed occupation (always thought that was meant to be symbolic as in he was a builder of men or something since there weren’t any instances of him framing out a house for Lazarus or anything). Regardless, what ProGLib said. If he hadn’t been from a wealthy family we probably would not be speaking of him.
I refer to Osama in the last sentence. Jesus, on the other hand, we wouldn’t be speaking of if he hadn’t had magic powers.
Spot on in the analysis. I also don’t see how they can be fine showing those other men dead and still say that his are too gruesome.
http://sunshinereview.org/core…..-bin-laden
http://www.intellectualtakeout…..-terrorism
The photos, unfortunately, are of a Navy SEAL teabagging Osama’s brain-hole.
I agree. Did the Abu Ghraib photos really spell certain death and failure for America?
We conducted a raid on Pakistani territory without notifying them. Isn’t that a lot more damaging than a photo?
Why does anyone think a photograph at this point is going to do more damamge than our repeated accidental bombing of Lybian rebels? Or bombing Lybia in general?
The whole point of going in on the ground was to ascertain proof that Bin Laden was dead. Now the American people, who have a certain interest in knowing, are going to be denied this proof?
It makes no sense. It isn’t about gloating or “spiking the football”, it’s about letting the world know, unequivocally, that he is dead.
Who the hell can read DNA evidence well enough to know that it’s a match? That’s totally an appeal to authority. All Diane Feinstein probably saw was a piece of paper with a “99%” match probability stamped on it. WTF?
Yeah, photos CAN be doctored, but (A) it leaves traces unless you are very good, and (B), photographic evidence is a LOT more convincing than an authority figure saying “trust me, we know”.
This reading that people want photos so they can gloat over them shows that the administration is completely out of touch. It’s not about that at all. We want the photos because we want certainty that the guy who commited this horrible crime against our country is dead. I want the finality of it, so we can all close the book on 9/11, and start winding down the “War on Terror”. I don’t want to spend the next 20 years wondering in Bin Laden is really dead or if he died years ago and they pretended he was alive for 10 years.
God damn it. Fuck these people. The administration Obama is satisfied that HE klnows, but he wants to DENY THE SAME KNOWLEDGE to the public. Fucking ASSHOLE.
The whole point of going in on the ground was to ascertain proof that Bin Laden was dead. Now the American people, who have a certain interest in knowing, are going to be denied this proof?
This was my point in an OBL thread yesterday. We (America) went to lengths, even specifically avoiding an arial strike, so as to be doubly sure we identified and confirmed both the existence and death(or capture– if possible) of OBL. And then we sink into this “trust us” meme?
If Obama is withholding this proof for the reasons he says he is? His administration is dumber than I ever thought.
I don’t get a lot of this. When I first heard about it, I figured, “Okay, intelligence found him, we decided to kill him one-on-one to avoid anyone else getting killed.” Okay. But all of the contradictions are beginning to add up to something other than what we’re being told.
I still think desecration of the body or something that “looks bad” is at the bottom of all of this. Probably nothing Americans would generally care about. Then again, how can we know?
The example of the Zapruder film is especially instructive, since Walter Cronkite’s on-air description of the events in the film didn’t match the film itself. Of course they had to keep the film hidden until releasing it didn’t matter, everybody would have known Cronkite was lying if they had released it immediately.