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Home Front: WoT
B.O.: it is no longer important to kill Osama bin Laden
2009-01-15
Barack Obama last night suggested it was no longer important to kill Osama bin Laden.

In an interview with CBS news the president-elect indicted he believes that it was more important now to simply contain the al-Qaeda leader. He said: "I think that we have to so weaken his infrastructure that, whether he is technically alive or not, he is so pinned down that he cannot function. "My preference obviously would be to capture or kill him. But if we have so tightened the noose that he's in a cave somewhere and can't even communicate with his operatives then we will meet our goal of protecting America."
Remember how the Dhimmicrats laughed when George Bush said that it was less important to kill Osama and more important to neutralize him?
He confirmed that the "number one" national security priority would be Afghanistan and the border region with Pakistan - rather than Iraq - saying that if he can keep al-Qaeda on the run, they will not be able to attack America.

Joe Biden, the vice president-elect who has returned from a fact-finding trip to the region, said: "Things are going to get tougher in Afghanistan before they get better."

He added: "Pakistan's position on Afghanistan is going to affect our ability to succeed."
Posted by:Fred

#14  "When John McCain said we could just 'muddle through' in Afghanistan, I argued for more resources and more troops to finish the fight against the terrorists who actually attacked us on 9/11, and made clear that we must take out Osama bin Laden and his lieutenants if we have them in our sights. John McCain likes to say that he'll follow bin Laden to the gates of hell--but he won't even go to the cave where he lives." - Barack Obama's DNC speech
Posted by: Pappy   2009-01-15 21:31  

#13  We all expect politicians to walk back from their campaign promises. It is unusual, however, for a pol to take a crowbar to his platform before he even takes office.
Posted by: SteveS   2009-01-15 21:27  

#12  I think we ought to kill Bin Laden just because he is an evil bastard who killed 3000 or so Americans. Moreover, he is responsible for the deaths of many more of our military in Afghanistan and Iraq. Lets get his sidekick, the evil doctor from Egypt while we are at it.
Posted by: JohnQC   2009-01-15 19:24  

#11  It was only important to get him when it was a politically convenient stick to beat the republicans with.

Now that the democrats are in power, it's important to get out ahead of this and prevent it from being used against themselves.

I hate partisan politics.
Posted by: Mike N.   2009-01-15 19:13  

#10  Announce this, then remove the bounty on Bin Laden's head. Then have the CIA take him out if he ever reappears. Take him out but ensure the body is found in a humiliating circumstance (as far as Islam is concerned that is).
Posted by: rjschwarz   2009-01-15 16:55  

#9  this will be Americanistan before Obama is through
Posted by: rabid whitetail   2009-01-15 13:39  

#8  SEN. OBAMA: And what I will do is, if we have bin Laden in our sites --

MR. O'REILLY: Yeah.

SEN. OBAMA: -- we target him, and we knock him out.

MR. O'REILLY: But everybody will do that. That will be the biggest win Bush could have if he could do that.

SEN. OBAMA: Of course.

MR. O'REILLY: But you can't send ground troops in because if all hell breaks loose.

SEN. OBAMA: We can't have -- nobody talked about a full-blown invasion of Pakistan. The simple point that I made was we've got to put more pressure on Pakistan to do what they need to do.

A commenter weighs in:
By Allen Sistrunk on September 4, 2008 11:48 PM

This is the reason Obama needs to be the next president of the United States. He understands how to lead and take care of America needs then other people needs. The Only way we as a nation can stay strong is to take care of our on instead of taking care of every body else.
Posted by: KBK   2009-01-15 13:20  

#7  This is likely to PO the CIA which is determined to keep OBL alive and kicking -- and which stands to lose big bucks if he is downgraded.
Posted by: balthazar   2009-01-15 13:04  

#6  Reality bites.
Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305   2009-01-15 12:07  

#5  In other words: He's now heard from some people who have actually studied the implications of invading Pakistan.
Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305   2009-01-15 12:07  

#4  3,000 dead in a premeditated act and the senior law enforcement official of the country says 'no big deal' about the perp. /there's not enough sarcasm in the world to cover that.

[Where was this kind of concern to simply contain Tim McVeigh, when we witness the fastest arrest-trial-appeals-execution at the federal level in nearly the last fifty years.]
Posted by: Procopius2k   2009-01-15 09:24  

#3  it is no longer important to kill Osama bin Laden

So at what point would it have ever been more important to kill the guy? The fact that he lives in a cave is way more damning than becoming a martyr. And if it wasn't OBL, it would just be someone else, who would probably be more qualified anyway. It's just that OBL had the $$$, so that made him king.
Posted by: gorb   2009-01-15 03:04  

#2  From what I remember of Osama from the Afghan war, THIS IS LIKELY TO PEEVE HIM OFF TO NO END.

This taint gonna be pretty.
Posted by: JosephMendiola   2009-01-15 00:40  

#1  So... still not answered... does B.O. wanting to protect Islam from US wrath preclude protecting the US from Islam's hate?
Posted by: 3dc   2009-01-15 00:39  

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