It is amazing how liberals are going gaga over Obama for killing Bin Laden. Picture of the National Security team in the White House at the time of operation is being liberally circulated around the world. Please spare me from pictures of the “heroes” sitting behind the desks in White House and show me the pictures of Navy Seals in action. If aliens were to land on earth today, they would think Obama actually was in Abbottabad and took Bin Laden out with his own gun. This whole media game looks contrived, and shows how desperate lefties are to prop-up Obama’s weak National Defense credentials. These media efforts make Obama look like a kid that is desperately trying to show-off his knowledge to his teacher.
Here are a few troubling aspects of this operation which bring Obama’s judgment into question. My assessment is based on the media stories that appeared in different places.
When Bin Laden’s compound in Abbottabad was discovered by the intelligence agencies, Obama had two key options- first one was to drop a precision bomb on the house via a B-2 bomber. The other option was to fly the Navy Seals, under the radar, into Pakistan without the knowledge or consent of that country’s military or the government.
First option- the downside of bombing the compound was that it would be hard to know if Bin Laden died, because his body will be buried under a pile of rubble and DNA evidence could be hard to obtain. The next concern was that there are about 22 other people living with Bin Laden in that compound including women and children who will die along with him. There was also a possibility that despite using high precision weapons, some of the neighbouring houses could get destroyed and innocents may die. Lastly, what if Bin Laden was not in the compound? Intelligence teams had information that Bin Laden was holed inside, but they didn’t have a visual. Bombing a building where he is not there could become an international embarrassment.
The second option on the other hand meant more risk taken on by the Navy Seals. If their helicopters were discovered by the Pakistan military, they could end up being caught in friendly fire. Another concern was the possibility of a Somalia style Black Hawk down scenario where the Navy Seals might get lynched in the streets of Abbottabad. Lastly, engaging the enemy directly could result in the death of US Navy Seals during crossfire.
Faced with the two choices, what did the President choose? Option-2!
By a 100:1 margin I would argue that Option-1 was the way to go. There was visual evidence of Al Qaeda couriers going into the compound, so bombing even if Bin Laden was not there could have been easily damage-controlled through media spin. If Bin Laden was in the compound and was buried under the rubble, in this day and age it is not difficult to get DNA out of the pile of bricks. All you need to ascertain his death is a strand of hair or a body part.
So, why did the President put the lives of Navy Seals at risk when there is a much safer option? The compassionate President of the United States decided to protect women and children that are living with Bin Laden and his neighbors. How is the prospect of Navy Seals’ wives becoming widows and their children orphans is a lesser concern, but protecting the women and children living with the worst terrorist known to the mankind is of higher importance? Knowing this President, it is absolutely not surprising that he chose option-2.
Now to the last and the most confusing aspect of this whole story- White House is feeding the media that they didn’t bomb Bin Laden’s compound out of the fear of losing DNA evidence. But then, they dump his body into the sea within hours of his death? This has led to all sorts of wild speculations. First and foremost, why was he dumped in the sea? The answer we get is to avoid a shrine emerging in the place where he was buried. So was the government going to announce to the world where he was buried? In any event, what was the rush to get rid of his body? White House says it was done keeping in mind the Islamic tradition of giving the dead a quick burial. Why do we need to give a hoot for terrorists’ need for a burial according to their traditions? How many of Osama’s 9/11 victims got a burial?
Many parts of this story don’t make sense. White House is apparently going to release the photo of Dead Laden today. But questions and conspiracy theories around Bin Laden’s death will continue to swirl around for a long time. I think Donald Trump would be better served by changing his slogan from “Show me the birth certificate” –to- ”Where is the death certificate?” 🙂