Piers Morgan: Killing Bin Laden 'Biggest Decision' of Obama's Presidency
Are you starting to feel the media are spiking more footballs as the anniversary of Osama bin Laden's execution nears than the President himself?
On CNN's Piers Morgan Tonight, the host actually called this "the biggest decision" of Barack Obama's presidency (video follows with transcript and commentary):
PIERS MORGAN: On Friday, April 29, 2011, at 8:20 AM, Barack Obama took the biggest decision of his presidency – gave the order to send a team of Navy SEALs into Pakistan to capture and if necessary kill Osama bin Laden. Had the mission gone wrong, President Obama would now be facing a landslide defeat in the election in November. But it went right. Bin Laden, the man who ordered the worst terrorist atrocity in American history on 9/11 was shot dead. And the nation celebrated. […]
President Obama staked everything on that order last April determined to bring bin Laden to justice as he promised to do. That fact he was successful was a great relief to the country, and a great credit to the heroic SEALs who carried out the job for him. […]
Today surely is a chance to put partisan politics to one side and to pay tribute again to the president on a bold decision and especially to the SEALs on a brilliant, successful operation. And, most importantly, to celebrate the fact that thanks to their collective actions, America is now a safer place than it was on April 28, 2011.
Let's start there: Is America actually a safer place than it was on April 28, 2011?
North Korea under new leadership just tested a ballistic missile and seems hell-bent on expanding its ability to deliver nuclear weapons.
Iran is far closer to nukes of its own, and Israel seems a heartbeat away from preemptively attacking it likely dragging America into another Middle East conflict.
As for Afghanistan, Hope Hodge at Human Events reported hours ago: "Attacks on coalition troops from insiders--Afghan police and soldiers--have grown steadily. This year, so far, there have already been 13 such attacks, 10 of them fatal, compared with 21 attacks in total for 2011 and 11 for 2010, according to AP reports."
Indeed. April was an extremely costly month for America in Afghanistan with 33 of our soldiers being killed there.
Hodge continued, "And outside of Afghanistan, al Qaeda presence has proliferated, even in the wake of bin Laden’s death, in regions including Iraq, Yemen, and Africa, and the terrorist organization’s new leader, Ayman Al-Zawahiri, remains on the loose in Pakistan. Al Qaeda attacks in Iraq have actually increased since bin Laden’s assassination, according to reports."
When you add it all up, America doesn't seem at all safer as a result of bin Laden's execution, does it?
As for this being the current White House resident's biggest decision in office, will it in the end have a larger impact on this nation than pushing through and signing ObamaCare?
No matter what the Supreme Court does in June regarding the individual mandate, this is going to be far more important for Obama in November than killing bin Laden. It's not even close.
Beyond which, this will impact far more people for far more years than the absence of bin Laden.
On top of this, the decisions to bail out General Motors as well as spend almost $800 billion on what appears to be a largely failed stimulus plan are far greater election year issues than the former al Qaeda leader, especially with the tenuous nature of the current recovery.
As for the hit Obama's presidency would have taken if the mission failed, that would certainly depend on what kind of a failure it was. Was there American loss of life, or did it just turn out the intelligence was wrong and bin Laden wasn't there?
In reality, unless this resulted in significant loss of life or turned into some huge foreign policy embarrassment, it seems hard to imagine it being a bigger political hot potato than ObamaCare, the stimulus, or the auto bailout.
As such, it seems Morgan's ode to Obama was just another instance of the liberal media doing a victory lap for a president doing his own.
With all these folks running around the same track at the same time, it's amazing they haven't bumped into each other.
- Noel Sheppard's blog
- Login to post comments
Comments
Biggest decision of HIS
Submitted by kg on Tue, 05/01/2012 - 11:50pm.
Biggest decision of HIS presidency is an understatement. And he even waffled on that decision. I'm surprised he managed it in a short eight months.
"DumbAssity of Dope"
Best decision of his Presidency, but not the biggest
Submitted by Galvanic on Wed, 05/02/2012 - 8:47am.
We do live in an age of hyperbole, where the MSM can cite Obama's election as a the beginning of a "post-racial America" (Hah! Whatever that means.) and Chuck Todd can equate the day bin Laden was killed with V-E and V-J Days.
The decision to kill bin Laden was his best, but it was a no-brainer. As we in the boardgaming hobby say, "This game played itself" -- meaning there were really no decisions to be made because it was obvious. This in no way means that the operation was easy or safe, or that the warriors who executed it weren't bold and heroic. It just means that the more difficult decision for Obama would've been to say "No" because getting bin Laden had been our objective since 9-11.
Obama's legacy is that the biggest decisions in his Presidency were his worst because of their negative impact. The hastily constructed Stimulus bill and overreaching Obamacare were far bigger decisions, piling debt on our grandchildren while trampling state and individual rights.
The Obama Campaign will try to get all the mileage they can out of the death of bin Laden, but it won't get them out from under the ominous shadow of economic gloom.
"It's the economy, stupid."
Wrong Brit-poofter...
Submitted by Bill Brasky on Wed, 05/02/2012 - 12:09am.
It was the easiest decision. And one of the few that Obama got right.
When you take away the one laptop
Submitted by bkeyser on Wed, 05/02/2012 - 12:18am.
you can see what Obama was really doing. Yep, that's an XBox controller in his hands. They were watching him play WoW. Hilary's got a little Sims going there, and I think the guy in the foreground is tied into O's game. #gutsycall
I though deciding between a 7
Submitted by rockyracoon on Wed, 05/02/2012 - 12:20am.
I though deciding between a 7 and a 9 iron was his toughest decision. Silly me what do I know?
Facts are like kryptonite to the liberal.
"Today surely is a chance to put partisan politics to one side"
Submitted by Texndoc on Wed, 05/02/2012 - 12:33am.
No, surely not. Because a narcissist of epic proportions said his opponent would have been too chicken to do it.
See, all Rush and Levin and Ingraham and Krauthammer have been SAYING is that it COULD have been a moment to put politics aside for the country. But Urkel blew it.
Biggest decision of Obama's
Submitted by dasher on Wed, 05/02/2012 - 12:46am.
Biggest decision of Obama's Presidency, and it was a no brainer. I guess that says something.
I concur.
Submitted by richflanj on Wed, 05/02/2012 - 8:47am.
I look at how the liberal media reports how agonizing the decision was, and how BHO had to think and consult and decide, and how he considered all the options, blah, blah, blah, before making the monumentous decision to kill that POS.
And all I could think was that, if I had been in that situation, it would have taken me all of two seconds to say "kill him, burn down the compound, plan a celebration."
There's a few things going on
Submitted by killa37 on Wed, 05/02/2012 - 12:53am.
There's a few things going on here, as far as I can tell. Today was ALL Communists favorite day - May 1 - and I'm sure that Baraka is no exception - except that the OWS Bowel Movement (which HE and the Democrats support!!) was threatening to go a little haywire here, and Boy Baraka didn't want to have to make any alibis or excuses for that. Plus, he's been 'show-boatin' and 'cadillacin' so much with this Osama Obama thing that a LOT of people have finally begun to notice that it's 'all about ME, ME, ME................look at ME................see what I DID!!!' And even the SEALS were telling him to STFU!!!
So I think that maybe Soros and Axelgrease and whoever else is running the show (is it Biden?? Remember, DICK Cheney was actually running the show for GWB!!!) made the decision to get Barry out of the country, and make him look like he is sympathetic towards the troops, and not just using them for his own political gain.
But then, the skinny little tilley-assed faggort pseudo-black tough guy went to Afganistan to give a speech in support of the military and the troops.............but, as far as we know, didn't invite them!!! And remember when Leon Panetta was there, he WOULDN'T let them bring their weapons into the assembly hall - so that they would feel like the moooooooooooooslems!!!!
Well, actually, I can understand why the Obama people wouldn't want the troops bringing their weapons inside when he was there - they may be idiots, but they're smart enough to know that Boy Baraka is disdained and disrespected by the majority of the military!!!
I'll tell ya.............it's SICK!!! Oh, and Long Walk/Short Piers.................DO NOT come to Asia/Hawaii for any vacation - for your own good!!! You might actually run into ME!!! And it won't be pretty!!! You're worth less to me than the furball vomit that one of my cats occasionally spews....................
More spiking of more footballs
Submitted by jpwcpa on Wed, 05/02/2012 - 1:11am.
The decision to green-light Seal Team Six was a no-brainer, and the decision to show up in Afghanistan for a speech on the anniversary of OBL's death was another no-brainer, but there was a second reason for the trip - a face-to-face meeting with Karzai, at which time a tutorial on graft, crony socialism and corruption will be given. I just haven't figured out yet which one of them will be giving the tutorial.
All hail the no-brainer!
Submitted by motherbelt on Wed, 05/02/2012 - 7:24am.
And even at THAT he put off the decision until the next day.
CNN
Submitted by grammajane on Wed, 05/02/2012 - 2:03am.
has the lowest audience so, hopefully this jack a$$ will soon be gone in the very near future. He comes across as some educated elite know-it-all but, daily proves, the complete opposite. Wonder when the complete media circus is going to run out of positive remarks about this prezzy, as his buddie fallon calls him.
Morgan's piersing logic
Submitted by CO2Maker on Wed, 05/02/2012 - 2:50am.
Morgan called it the biggest decision of Obama's presidency. Why? "Had the mission gone wrong, President Obama would now be facing a landslide defeat in the election in November."
So, it was the biggest decision because, if it went wrong, Obama would be defeated. Not the shovel-ready bailout and the quantitative easing thingies. Not Obamacare. Nope, the decision to get OBL.
Well, that says it all for the kingpin of "CNN's Got Talent." Morgan gives Obama an enthusiastic "Yes"!
What a putz.
"The Man Who Shot Osama bin Laden"
Submitted by berlet98 on Wed, 05/02/2012 - 3:06am.
"The Man Who Shot Osama bin Laden"
On this, the day after the first anniversary of the untimely death of master terrorist and mass murderer Osama bin Laden, since we have seemingly escaped Islamic retaliation for that cleansing of the planet, Americans should all rejoice that we have our president.
By now, Osama’s sorry carcass has been consumed by ravenous fishes not very selective about what they eat and it seems altogether fitting and proper to honor the man most responsible for ridding the world of the vermin that once was bin Laden.
While the courageous men of SEAL Team Six may have technically pulled the triggers at the vermin’s slummy compound in beautiful, downtown Abbottabad, every reasonable person knows in their heart of hearts that President Barack Hussein Obama deserves the credit.
Accordingly, for the reader’s listening and viewing pleasure, I am reprising Paul Shanklin’s memorable rendition of “The Man Who Shot Osama bin Laden,” which was first heard on Rush Limbaugh’s radio show last May.
The song had been removed by YouTube due to alleged “copyright infringements” but, thanks to my tireless searching and in the interests of providing a public service, I have been able to retrieve it. WARNING: The presentation is replete with graphic graphics showing the deceased bin Laden in all his inglorious, dead splendor.
Hear and see it here: http://bit.ly/IloIRp.
False rumors have been circulating that our heroic leader was somewhat less of a hero and failed to provide any leadership at all during the tense hours leading up to his finest foreign policy achievement. They are all poppycock!
Americans should disregard as meaningless multiple reports that our president was so upset over the prospect of killing another human being a year ago that he retreated from the White House Situation Room, went to bed, and left the momentous decision to either then-CIA Director Leon Panetta or Special Ops Admiral William McRaven.
Shortly after the Abbotabad raid, The Washington D.C. Insider revealed that Obama had been “overruled” by American military and intelligence experts due to his “persistent hesitation to act” on the matter and it was left to Panetta to make the call.
That canard is absolutely ridiculous.
(Read more at http://www.genelalor.com/blog1/?p=22985.)
Close, other than the various
Submitted by John21 on Wed, 05/02/2012 - 8:15am.
Close, other than the various scam decision it was the one decision of this administration that they can admit to in public without envocing the 5th Amendment.
Wrong!
Submitted by c5then on Wed, 05/02/2012 - 8:17am.
It was the easiest decision and one that he got mostly right. Nobody is going to fault him for making that call. Therefore they are going to use it over and over and over and over in the campaign to try and make it seem that he is actually "Presidential".
But it brings up a famous saying...even a broken clock is right twice a day.
But in reality, the President makes strategic decisions (as in go after him and try and [kill] [capture] him whenever you feel there is a good chance the intel is good). He does not make tactical decisions on specific operations because there are too many for him to be in the loop on all of them. Therefore, he was most likely informed that the SEALS were enrout to a potential binLaden hiding place and he could watch, if he wanted to, in the situation room. He wasn't in the command loop of the operation for the simple reason that the 8 second plus satellite delay would have made that impossible.
The decision that he made was three years ago when he inherited a standing order from the previous administration and decided to leave it in force.
Madison and Jefferson and Franklin built a Republic - Roberts killed it!
In regards to the media
Submitted by ThatDude on Wed, 05/02/2012 - 8:59am.
In regards to the media piling on praise for Duh One's "gutsy call" there was an article on the front page of WaPo that caught my eye yesterday. It played to the idea that Bin Laden wasn't so bad after all and could have been a positive moral compass for al Qaeda because he was against a "human lawnmower." Low expectations and constant excuses for anti-Americans, leftist is thy name.
Do they even know?
Submitted by jon_torlin on Wed, 05/02/2012 - 9:15am.
Do they know the difference between "making a decision" versus just all the outright takeovers of one kind or another or all the orders contrary to the law, including the offshore drilling moratorium which was found to be illegal yet they still do it? Shorter version of that is "thumbing his nose at the law" which he's done many many times over.
When he decreed that he won't work with Congress on anything, was that a "decision?" Or his publicly lambasting of various individuals which would be considered wholly unprofessional and unpresidential a "decision?"
They got some real funny ideas here about "making a decision" is all about.
-Jon
"Had the mission gone wrong,"
Submitted by Newsbubba on Wed, 05/02/2012 - 10:01am.
Fluke Obama. "Had the mission gone wrong," he had already constructed himself an "out" in the way the order was given.
"Had the mission gone wrong," some GI (or GI's) would have been swinging in the wind and probably lost their careers, because they would have "disobeyed his directives" to notify him if ANYTHING changed during the mission.
"Had the mission gone wrong," MSNBC would be singing the praises of the young, handsome, brave Barack whose magnificent plan had been screwed up by some inept GI's who just couldn't execute it correctly.
True leaders don't give orders in a way that leaves themselves an out. True leaders are as committed to the mission as any of the guys doing the real work, and they succeed or fail as a unit.
He's a cork socker.
Newsbubba , Here is a video that nails it.
Submitted by upcountrywater on Wed, 05/02/2012 - 12:33pm.
Why does President Obama take so much credit for killing Bin Laden?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsrSAqRrCc0&feature=player_embedded
EDIT: Read about it here.
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/epic-new-ad-excoriates-obama-for-exploit...
You Didn't Build That.
Thanks, UC.
Submitted by Newsbubba on Wed, 05/02/2012 - 4:00pm.
This has got to be the most despicable man to EVER serve as president, and to call himself CinC.
As I've stated many many
Submitted by killa37 on Wed, 05/02/2012 - 6:14pm.
As I've stated many many times, Boy Baraka and his big-mouth, big-a$$ wife have LESS CLASS than an elementary school snow-out day in North Dakota in the middle of winter!!!
Any way you can get that U-Tube to me - I don't subscribe, and i'd like to send it to my Navy SEAL son.............he's a young man who works as a stevedore down at Sand Island, and is surrounded by union workers who are TOLD who to vote for - and my son doesn't buy into that crap.
No need to subscribe to U-tube...
Submitted by upcountrywater on Wed, 05/02/2012 - 6:52pm.
Just cut n paste....it
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsrSAqRrCc0
Good to know there is at least one Man down there at Sand Island that ain't smashing my Palletized shipments.
You Didn't Build That.
Video wont play?
Submitted by Boudin on Wed, 05/02/2012 - 7:12pm.
Hhmm
Wow that is odd... I get it to play here too..
Submitted by upcountrywater on Wed, 05/02/2012 - 7:23pm.
Scroll to the end of article...
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/epic-new-ad-excoriates-obama-for-exploit...
If you click on the title it jumps to youtube....
You Didn't Build That.
Ops
Submitted by Boudin on Wed, 05/02/2012 - 7:42pm.
It's a Safari thing? Good grief, gotta use one browser for some things and another for other things.
And that, Piers,
Submitted by HockeyKid on Wed, 05/02/2012 - 1:34pm.
is why your ratings are tanking.
Couldn't happen to a better guy. Well, maybe Sharpton...
"Beauty is only skin deep, but liberal's to the bone." - me
Had it gone wrong...
Submitted by CobraMan on Wed, 05/02/2012 - 2:26pm.
"Had the mission gone wrong, President Obama would now be facing a landslide defeat in the election in November."
Oh, please, had the mission gone wrong, you wouldn't have heard much about it, other than to hear Obama say: "the SEAL TEAM failed due to BAD INTEL." Not his fault, you see. But since it went "right," it's: Obama the Man who Killed bin Laden! All Hail the Warrior King! All Hail the Black Alexander!
The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States. The US Constitution
Unless you're a fetus. The US Supreme Court
Or Anwar al-Awlaki.
Cobra,
Submitted by Agnostic on Wed, 05/02/2012 - 2:51pm.
That's Nobel Peace Prize winning Warrior King to you.
Boy, Cobra - that 'Black
Submitted by killa37 on Wed, 05/02/2012 - 6:16pm.
Boy, Cobra - that 'Black Alexander' remark was sure 'racist'!!! I'm callin' Al Natso Sharpton!!! I'd say that Boy Baraka is more like 'Black Benedict Arnold', or some other notorious traitor in the history of our country.
By the way...
Submitted by CobraMan on Wed, 05/02/2012 - 2:35pm.
By the way, what happened to the liberals and their hatred of "cowboy" politics, specifically their hatred of having the President use military actions to enforce foreign policy?
Bush destroys the Iraqi government? He's a Evil Warmonger!
Obama destroyed the Libyan government? All Hail Obama!
Reagan kills some of Kadifi's family with a missile strike? He's an Evil Warmonger!
Obama kills bin Laden and several others? All Hail Obama!
Reagan kills Nigerian kidnappers? He's an Evil Warmonger!
Obama kills Somalian Pirates? All Hail Obama!
Obama kills American citizen who are overseas? All Hail Obama!
(I can't find an example for any Republcian President ever doing this, but, no doubt, he would be classified as an Evil, Murderous SOB)
Interesting juxtaposition there, don't you think?
The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States. The US Constitution
Unless you're a fetus. The US Supreme Court
Or Anwar al-Awlaki.