GG Posted May 3, 2011 Posted May 3, 2011 It's got eleven-foot walls and a gate designed along medieval "bent entrance" lines (you apparently have to pass through two gates, then around a corner and through a gatehouse to get access to the compound - great design if you're facing battering rams and trebuchets, mildly stupid if you're facing helicopters). Security costs - even mildly stupid security. My guess is that this is the boomerang complacency of 9/11. He thought that there's no way the compound would be attacked through the air in the middle of Pakistan. That's a long way for helicopters to travel without attracting notice from somebody.
truth on hold Posted May 3, 2011 Posted May 3, 2011 (edited) Doc he gave up the life of a Saudi billionaire to live in caves and fight side by side with rebels in afghan against the soviets. One of the things that made him appealing to his followers. We'll never know for sure because we weren't there. Id love to see video of how it all went down though. They said the shooting started in the house 40 minutes before they got to obl. Seems odd he wouldnt have been more prepared than to stick a woman in front of him when the seals kicked the door down. Guy was evil but not dumb, how could he think that would so him any good? Edited May 3, 2011 by Joe_the_6_pack
Nanker Posted May 3, 2011 Posted May 3, 2011 Nice tip o' the hat to Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton that the Seal Team 6 left a burning helicopter as their calling card.
ExiledInIllinois Posted May 3, 2011 Posted May 3, 2011 Obama a bit luckier than Carter (with regard to operation Eagle Claw)? Supposedly a helo went down off the bat. ?? Just imagine the outrage if it failed... Or worse... They were wrong with the intell. Gotta admit, a VERY ballsy move. Nice tip o' the hat to Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton that the Seal Team 6 left a burning helicopter as their calling card. Helicopters are one of those things that always amazes me... When they laid at my work in the parking lot... I always cringe! Everything is always too close for comfort!
KD in CA Posted May 3, 2011 Posted May 3, 2011 Regardless of who the President is or what party he is affiliated with, I would expect a press conference. This is the biggest accomplishment in the war on terror. Much credit to our troops, the Obama Administration and the Bush Administration for making this possible. Certainly a great deal of credit goes to the work put in by a huge number of people over the last ten years from the military and both administrations, and ultimately to Obama for making the call to green-light the operation. But an impromptu television address about it just struck me as odd; our government usually downplays such events rather than giving them additional attention. Maybe the event was just more significant to others than it was to me. I was there to see the WTC attacks, but after ten years I find the impact of killing OBL to be greatly reduced. Sure I'm glad he's dead, but it doesn't change the permanent impact 9-11 has on our culture and does it really change much on the AQ end of the equation? Seems like he was pretty much retired from the gang anyway. I might have expected to see people celebrating in the streets had this happened in 2002, but not 2011. Did people honestly feel different about the world today because he was dead? I didn't. Either way, not a big deal, just questioning the need. But naturally that brought out some of our more thin-skinned left wingers to scream about 'partisanship'. Thanks for the laugh guys. Just imagine the outrage if it failed... Or worse... They were wrong with the intell. Gotta admit, a VERY ballsy move. I'm guessing there wouldn't have been a speech. Always a lot of risk in those kinds of operations, but this is just one out of thousands in the GWOT, no? So I don't think there would have been outrage if it had failed (who says we would have even known what the mission was if it didn't succeed). The 'outrage' over the Iran mess in 1980 was mostly about the frustration that they still had our people.
ExiledInIllinois Posted May 3, 2011 Posted May 3, 2011 (edited) Gotta admit... Obama went "rogue"... Especially ballsy with not sharing intell... Violating Pakistani soverignty... It is a gutsy call. I really didn't think Obama had it in him. Yikes... Literally OBL hiding in plain sight, surrounded by a lot of Pakistani military. I wonder how things will play out with Pakistan... Edited May 3, 2011 by ExiledInIllinois
truth on hold Posted May 3, 2011 Posted May 3, 2011 (edited) Thatt policy really started with bush. There was an acknowledgment the Paki army and intelligence was sympathetic to al Qaeda so if we wanted anything we'd pay off the prime minister enough to make him happy and then simply over ride the military. Edited May 3, 2011 by Joe_the_6_pack
GG Posted May 3, 2011 Posted May 3, 2011 Gotta admit... Obama went "rogue"... Especially ballsy with not sharing intell... Violating Paki soverignty... It is a gutsy call. I really didn't think Obama had it in him. Yikes... Literally OBL hiding in plain sight, surrounded by a lot of Paki military. I wonder how things will play out with Pakistan... I hope you know that your description of Pakistanis is the equivalent of the n-word to them.
ExiledInIllinois Posted May 3, 2011 Posted May 3, 2011 I hope you know that your description of Pakistanis is the equivalent of the n-word to them. I am truly sorry... I really didn't know that! I will go back and change that!
Wacka Posted May 3, 2011 Posted May 3, 2011 I hope you know that your description of Pakistanis is the equivalent of the n-word to them. Who gives an F***.
Andrew in CA Posted May 3, 2011 Posted May 3, 2011 "I will mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy." MLK When did MLK say that? I've never heard that quote before.
LeviF Posted May 3, 2011 Posted May 3, 2011 I am truly sorry... I really didn't know that! I will go back and change that! EiIL, did you star in this film?
ExiledInIllinois Posted May 3, 2011 Posted May 3, 2011 EiIL, did you star in this film? youtube.com/watch?v=H0jkv2bRFgQ What is your point? I didn't want to offend anybody... There is nothing wrong with apologizing. When did MLK say that? I've never heard that quote before. A quick Google search: "I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy. Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that." ~Martin Luther King Jr.
erynthered Posted May 3, 2011 Posted May 3, 2011 I heard on the radio yesterday that OBL took a double tap to the left side of his head/face. NICE!!
Joe Miner Posted May 3, 2011 Posted May 3, 2011 Certainly a great deal of credit goes to the work put in by a huge number of people over the last ten years from the military and both administrations, and ultimately to Obama for making the call to green-light the operation. But an impromptu television address about it just struck me as odd; our government usually downplays such events rather than giving them additional attention. Maybe the event was just more significant to others than it was to me. I was there to see the WTC attacks, but after ten years I find the impact of killing OBL to be greatly reduced. Sure I'm glad he's dead, but it doesn't change the permanent impact 9-11 has on our culture and does it really change much on the AQ end of the equation? Seems like he was pretty much retired from the gang anyway. I might have expected to see people celebrating in the streets had this happened in 2002, but not 2011. Did people honestly feel different about the world today because he was dead? I didn't. Kinda my feelings as well. had this happened 8-9 years ago, it would have meant a hell of a lot more. I don't really care about the speech one way or another, as any president would have done something similar. Had this happened before either of the two wars, or the Patriot Act, this could have possibly helped shape this country for the better. While I'm glad he's dead, and I'm proud that we were able make the right call and to effectively act on good intelligence, I do not feel any different today than I did last week. The world's not safer, AQ isn't gone, we're not done in the Middle East because of this. To me, taking out Saddam will have had a greater effect in this world than taking out Bin Laden will have. Good day for America? Bittersweet to me at best.
Peace Posted May 3, 2011 Posted May 3, 2011 (edited) Good read in the NY Times taking you through the details so far disclosed. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/03/world/asia/03intel.html?partner=rss&emc=rss The code name for Bin Laden was “Geronimo.” The president and his advisers watched Leon E. Panetta, the C.I.A. director, on a video screen, narrating from his agency’s headquarters across the Potomac River what was happening in faraway Pakistan. “They’ve reached the target,” he said. Minutes passed. “We have a visual on Geronimo,” he said. A few minutes later: “Geronimo EKIA.” Enemy Killed In Action. There was silence in the Situation Room. Finally, the president spoke up. “We got him.” Edited May 3, 2011 by Peace
Buftex Posted May 3, 2011 Posted May 3, 2011 Kinda my feelings as well. had this happened 8-9 years ago, it would have meant a hell of a lot more. I don't really care about the speech one way or another, as any president would have done something similar. Had this happened before either of the two wars, or the Patriot Act, this could have possibly helped shape this country for the better. While I'm glad he's dead, and I'm proud that we were able make the right call and to effectively act on good intelligence, I do not feel any different today than I did last week. The world's not safer, AQ isn't gone, we're not done in the Middle East because of this. To me, taking out Saddam will have had a greater effect in this world than taking out Bin Laden will have. Good day for America? Bittersweet to me at best. Good to see you aren't letting partisan politics cloud your opinions...
truth on hold Posted May 3, 2011 Posted May 3, 2011 Kinda my feelings as well. had this happened 8-9 years ago, it would have meant a hell of a lot more. I don't really care about the speech one way or another, as any president would have done something similar. Had this happened before either of the two wars, or the Patriot Act, this could have possibly helped shape this country for the better. While I'm glad he's dead, and I'm proud that we were able make the right call and to effectively act on good intelligence, I do not feel any different today than I did last week. The world's not safer, AQ isn't gone, we're not done in the Middle East because of this. To me, taking out Saddam will have had a greater effect in this world than taking out Bin Laden will have. Good day for America? Bittersweet to me at best. Joe Miner = Joe Lieberman?
Joe Miner Posted May 3, 2011 Posted May 3, 2011 (edited) Good to see you aren't letting partisan politics cloud your opinions... Edit for clarification: In my previous post, greater doesn't mean better. more significant, larger effect/impact is what I was trying to imply. Now, if you want to continue to argue the partisan point: Good to see you're an idiot. How will taking out Bin Laden change the world? Taking out Ghadaffi (or however it's spelled) will have a more significant impact on the world than taking out Bin Laden. Edited May 3, 2011 by Joe Miner
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