We know what the Rovian dirty tricks team did to Senator Kerry and his Vietnam service, we won't let them do it to President Obama.
"A Republican-tied group is attempting to turn [President Obama's] positive into a negative, much in the same way that they did with war hero, John Kerry in 2004, with the Swift Boat campaign. The group, called, Special Operations Opsec Education Fund, Inc, is releasing a video claiming that Obama was not responsible for the mission that killed Osama bin Laden, despite the words of the people who were actually involved in the mission." --Addicting Information
Here is what Seal Team Six Admiral William McRaven, in charge of the operation to get Osama bin Laden, has to say about Mr Obama during an interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer.
BLITZER: We always think of, in recent years, of course, at least in the past year, with Admiral McRaven, as the orchestrator, the architect of the raid that killed Osama bin Laden. And you know, we’ve all read a lot about it. I know Peter Bergen is here, he’s written a whole book about it, an excellent book about it. But this is the guy who’s sitting right here, who had the guts to tell the commander in chief, we should do it, let’s do it, and when you ordered that raid, and when you said, you think — you didn’t even know for sure that bin Laden was in a Abbottabad in that compound, about a mile or so away from the west point of Pakistan, did you?
ADMIRAL WILLIAM MCRAVEN, COMMANDER, U.S. SPECIAL OPERATIONS: Well, let me make one thing clear, I didn’t order the raid.
BLITZER: But he told the president of the United States that he thought he could do it.
MCRAVEN: And this is not a small point. The fact of the matter is, it was the president of the United States that ordered the raid.
BLITZER: And he deserves an enormous amount of credit for that decision.
MCRAVEN: Absolutely, he does.
BLITZER: What kind of commander in chief is he?
MCRAVEN: The president of the United States? Fantastic. Again, I’m not a political guy. I’ve worked in both administrations. I very much enjoyed working for President Bush. And I very much enjoy working for President Obama."
And it’s, again, this isn’t about politics but a commander in chief who I have the opportunity to engage with on a routine basis. And watching him and the decisions he makes along with his national security team. They’re a very impressive group of guys and gals."
Another quote from Admiral McRaven in Time Magazine:
“McRaven speaks respectfully of bush as Commander in Chief, saying he 'made some very, very tough decisions.' About Obama, without a question to prompt him, he waxes lyrical and at length. The planning and decision making for the bin Laden raid, he volunteers, 'was really everything the American public would expect from their national leadership.'
'The President was at all times presidential,' he says. 'I would contend he was the smartest guy in the room. He had leadership skills we’d expect from a guy who had 35 years in the military.' "
************
Let's see if the swiftboaters turn Admiral McRaven into a liar. The right worships the military, but do they hate the president enough to lie about what Admiral McRaven said? Because after the capture and killing of OBL, the rightwingers claimed Mr. Obama didn't give the order, it was not courageous of him, or some other such blather.
Here we have absolute proof that it was President Obama who ordered the raid, and because of his courage in doing so, OBL is dead.
Certain people on the right would rather choke on the truth than give President Obama credit, but Admiral McCraven makes everyone who denies that President Obama led on this mission look like damn fools and sniveling little mewlers.
ADMIRAL WILLIAM MCRAVEN, COMMANDER, U.S. SPECIAL OPERATIONS: Well, let me make one thing clear, I didn’t order the raid.
MCRAVEN: And this is not a small point. The fact of the matter is, it was the president of the United States that ordered the raid.
BLITZER: And he deserves an enormous amount of credit for that decision.
MCRAVEN: Absolutely, he does.
BLITZER: What kind of commander in chief is he?
MCRAVEN: The president of the United States? Fantastic.
h/t Addicting Information
And this link is for the usual commenter who comes to my blog and posts false information from Republican blast emails:
That email you got from the Teapublicans about a Navy Seal who criticized President Obama for taking any credit for the operation that captured and killed OBL? It's FALSE. So don't bother me or anyone else with it.
23 comments:
It was despicable when they did it to Kerry, and it is despicable now.
If any of these guys are still in the service, they should be dishonorably discharged. Not for their political views, but for lying about who gave the order, thus who was responsible.
The Obama team will get out front on this should the knuckledragger attempt to discredit his record on the capture and killing of OBL.
Imagine that, an active-duty flag officer who serves at the pleasure of the president refusing to say anything negative about the president. How odd...
Of course McRaven would say what he said, I'd expect nothing less.
Nobody's denying Obama was president when brave men did their grim work, just like Bush was prez when we got Saddam. Difference is, Bush and the people who voted for him didn't keep talking about it.
We gave Obama his little "I killed Osama" sticker, now let's move on.
"We gave Obama his little "I killed Osama" sticker, now let's move on."
Heh. It still pisses off the right, dunnit.
And of course you'd downplay the admiral's praise for Mr. Obama.
It is all part of the derangement syndrome you suffer from.
The deranged would rather question a military man's sincerity than give the Kenyan Usurper Hawaiian Devil Baby, Barack Obama, one drop of credit for his courage.
Silverfiddle's answer actually does, in a backhanded way, compliment President Obama, since it revealingly shows his pinched envy and seething anger over the very real success of the operation.
I think most fair-minded people would give credit where credit is due, and most people who thrive on political resentment, would write exactly what Silverfiddle wrote here.
The president made the right decision and I congratulated him for it. It bothers me not at all. I served under both repub and dem presidents. So what?
And if you think any flag officer at that level is sincere, you're naive.
I can't say that I'm completed pleased with his first four years. But given the alternative, I believe that the American people did well to elect Mr. Obama president.
What I've never been able to understand is why poor whites in their millions go out to vote for Republican policies that don't help them at all.
They have far more in common with inner city folks than they have with Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan.
I have never been able to understand the logic in cutting taxes when our deficit continues to spiral out of control.
I don't understand the logic in our spending more money on out military than everyone else combined. Maybe, just maybe it's time to mothball a couple of those aircraft carrier battle groups and bring ALL of our troops home for good.
Someone needs to be the adult where our politics are concerned and stop pandering to the unwashed masses.
Nothing will destroy America faster, than the military taking sides in politics.
When asked about the hunt for Bin Laden, President Bush said, "He's not even on my radar."
Bush could not even capture, or kill Americas number one enemy (the man responsible for blowing up the Twin Towers in New York and killing well over 3,000 Americans) in 7 years!
Talk about a failed Commander and Chief.
There's nothing worse than soldiers showing disrespect for the president, no matter what their politics.
Kerry was never Commander and Chief (President) and it was RepubliSCUMS who "swift boated" Kerry.
How many of these scum soldiers are still on active duty SF?
You are a sad soldier, who has no respect for the President. So what if you hate his politics.
Obama would not have had to do the job, if Bush had done his job.
"Imagine that, an active-duty flag officer who serves at the pleasure of the president refusing to say anything negative about the president. How odd."
Are you saying that Obama did not give the order? The officer clearly states, that he did.
You are a fake patriot.You sully the good men and women of our armed services.
it's a good thing obama caught bin laden before he went into full time fundraising mode.
"And if you think any flag officer at that level is sincere, you're naive."
Ah. So every flag officer at that level's sincerity is in question for every president he/she serves under: Republican AND Democrat?
That means we cannot believe ANYTHING anyone at the level says about ANY president.
"And if you think any flag officer at that level is sincere, you're naive."
All the more reason to cut the shit out of the defense budget.
Shaw: At that level, all flag officers are political. All of them. The liberal ones and the conservative ones.
I'm not alleging McRaven is lying, I'm just pointing out that praise for one's boss in that environment is hardly worth anything.
Again, to answer the dog yapping here, yes, Obama made the decision, he was president, so he gets the "I Killed Bin Laden" sticker. How many times do I have to say it, Rover?
And, as usual, your incoherent comments leave us scratching our heads. Let's see...
Are people serving in uniform "scum soldiers" or are they "good men and women of our armed services?"
As for the rest of your comment, coming from you, I take that as a compliment.
I stand with those SEALs and soldiers, and I think Secretary Gates summed it up best:
“By Wednesday of that week, Gates went to see Donilon, offering up a barbed assessment of how the White House had handled the aftermath of the raid.
“‘I have a new strategic communications approach to recommend,’ Gates said in his trademark droll tones, according to an account later provided by his colleagues.
“What was that, Donilon asked?
“‘Shut the f@*k up,’ the defense secretary said.”
Jake Tapper
"Mission Accomplished!"
Nah, GOP preznits never bark about their military triumphs, do they.
It's only when a Democratic president proves his mettle that conservatives call it "dog yapping" and become all pissy-faced because we push back at those who continue to deny this administration its props.
SF:
And, as usual, your incoherent comments leave us scratching our heads. Let's see...
Are people serving in uniform "scum soldiers" or are they "good men and women of our armed services?"
You must have me confused with someone else, since I've never written anything close to calling the military "scum soldiers."
You don't need to make stuff up about what I've written in order to make your point.
Bush said it. Obama did it. That is the basic difference between republicans and Democrats -- Sayers and Doers.
Yes, these military scums should shut the fuck up
"proves his mettle"
Making a decision is hardly proving one's mettle.
This part of my comment was directed at the yapping dog Steve. I apologize for the confusion:
Again, to answer the dog yapping here, yes, Obama made the decision, he was president, so he gets the "I Killed Bin Laden" sticker. How many times do I have to say it, Rover?
And, as usual, your incoherent comments leave us scratching our heads. Let's see...
Are people serving in uniform "scum soldiers" or are they "good men and women of our armed services?"
As for the rest of your comment, coming from you, I take that as a compliment.
Finally, the point here is not denying Obama credit for making a decision, it's all the operational details that came out. That is the issue.
All presidents chest-thump, it's part of the political game, but when you divulge details you go over the line.
... and I see Steve answered my question in his usually classy fashion.
That's what I thought.
There really is no other way to define your kind, and given the epitaphs I have to put up with from you, your complaint about my language, is laughable.
Now get back to your blog where Thersites is the high intellectual.
It seems the Dems are finally giving in kind, after decades of
attempting to ignore the constant
bulls***t from the right. What is
a schoolyard bully like Karl Rove to do?
"MIssion Accomplished!"
Bush also said when asked if he made any mistakes during his presidency that he couldn't think of any.
You want to get into a pissing battle over what presidents have said? Go ahead.
It's meaningless, since you and your ilk are blinded by your deranged hatred for this president, so whatever you say negatively about him--and that's all you DO say--is discarded as sour grape garbage and unreasonable detestation of the man.
Carry around that hatred. It does more to harm you than it does Mr. Obama since he is totally unaware of your feelings toward him, so it matter not to him--nor me.
Here is an excellent smack down of this bullshit from the fright-wing by CNN's National Security Analyst - not that I expect folks like SF and Skudbutt (showing you the same respect you show the president)to open their minds.
http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/17/opinion/bergen-obama-swift-boat/index.html?hpt=hp_t3
How can anyone compare the capture of Saddam Hussein to the killing of Osama bin Laden? We were in Iraq, having killed Saddam's two oldest sons and he was in hiding in a dirt hole. Our military tracked him down and found him. However, when our military went after OBL, he had been on the run for a decade compared to Saddam being captured after several months.
President Bush clearly said in 2002, he was not worried about OBL. During the campaign, President Obama said he would order that everything possible be done in order to capture and/or kill OBL. The Seal Team did extraordinary work in achieving their directive and were certainly given the credit by the President, his administration and the country as a whole. They have our gratitude for ridding the world of a madman. However, if things had gone wrong and members of Seal Team Six had been injured or killed, it is President Obama who would have been held responsible. There is not a doubt about it.
From 2001 to 2008, the RWers told us repeatedly that President Bush had kept us safe since 9/11. They still talk about it! If 9/11 had happened under President Obama, they would have blamed President Obama and said nothing about us being safe from further attacks. If those on here don't see the double standard, it's because they don't want to.
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