Here's how it went down. The C.I.A. had gathered intel and gotten a lead. There was a 50 to 80% chance that bin Laden was in a compound in Pakistan. This was presented to the President and he was given three options: wait and see, bomb the place, or send in a team. Fortunately about half the advisers present had their heads screwed on straight and Obama listened to them. The wait and see bit would accomplish nothing, and likely lose a chance at getting him. Bombing the place would have resulted in a lot of casualties and would have left a lot of doubt in everyone's minds. The correct option was clear: send in a team and make sure we get him.Once this option was chosen, it was out of Obama's hands and into the hands of mission planning. It took about a month to put this together, complete with two rehearsals. This was a joint operation with our locals boys of Team Six going in.
Once Obama got word that the mission was set to go, he cut his golf game short and headed to the Situation Room watch things unfold. (This isn't me joking. He was out playing golf when he got word. There was a message that he was cutting his game short to go to the practice range.) There was a problem with one of the four helicopters going in and it had to be ditched and destroyed. No one was injured. The rest of the mission was carried out. They tried to take bin Laden alive, but that wasn't going to happen so he got shot in the face. None of our troops were killed. The mission was a success.
For the doubters: this is real. There were photos taken, and DNA evidence gathered. They got him. 100% certainty. According to Muslim tradition the body needed to be buried within 24 hours. No country wanted the body buried in their country so they did a burial at sea. I understand why no country wanted bin Laden's body buried there as the burial site could have turned into a place of interest for future terrorists.
There are doubters who think this might be part of an elaborate hoax. Obama has begun his re-election campaign and needs something to stand on. Frankly, there's some things you just can't fake. For this to be a hoax everyone involved from the president to the Team Six members to bin Laden himself would have to be in on it. I understand why people doubt this since the administration has lied repeatedly about things, and I've been one of their many detractors. This time though, they did it right.
Will there be repercussions for Al Queda? Probably. The threat isn't over, but message is clear. We don't let this stuff go. If you attack this country we're not going to let you get away with it. It may take a while, but you will answer for it. Bin Laden has been a threat to this country for a long time. Bill Clinton didn't do anything about him, even though he had an opportunity. Because of this it fell to George W. Bush to set policy that would take on bin Laden and his ilk. Obama reaped the fruits of this policy, and fortunately he had a bigger set of stones than Clinton. There's a new head of Al Queda now, and if he's smart he'll bail on that gig and go do something else with his life. This is a long game we're involved in. Whenever you take on bad religion like this, it takes a lot of time defeat it. We had a big step in that direction this week.
So kudos to the Intelligence Agents particularly the C.I.A. for finding the bastard. Big kudos to our local boys in Team Six for going in and getting him. Bin Laden was behind the attack on the U.S.S. Cole, and I do remember that day as the Cole was based here. It does feel like the Hampton Roads area has delivered the receipt for that attack. But this isn't a Hampton Roads victory. Its not even an Obama victory. Its an American victory.
Yes I did have a break from my typical format today, but I felt it was called for. Before I bail for today I'd like to wish The Missus a happy birthday. She turned 29 again. Love ya, baby! Back to business on Friday with some comic reviews. See y'all then.
No comments:
Post a Comment