As predicted, there's liberal as an epithet.
We must agree to disagree on the issue of whether or not torture is ever justified. Although I think this gives the lie to your statements about the role of the state and its relation to the individual. If saying that torture is wrong makes me a liberal then I'll wear the label proudly.
I'll take it one step farther and associate myself with the most Christ-like political speech I've ever seen, which was uttered by a Socialist.
The politics of otherization and the creation of "states of exception" in which all humans have rights except the ones we call our enemies does damage to the souls of us all and should be avoided and condemned. And yes, this is as close to religious as I get.
Good riddance.
Also, the administration handled it about as perfect as they could...kudos to all.
the administration handled it about as perfect as they could...
We exposed our super secret stealth copter, and in fact left one behind, and then ran our mouths alerting the al Qeada network that we had copious amounts of data on them and where they might be and what they are up to.
Nothing like losing your top secret weapon and then showing everyone your cards. Brilliant!
I had read somewhere that they blew the copter up before they got outta Dodge.
I might disagree
LOL! You can't be serious.
Also, to anyone whining that President Bush isn't getting enough credit: Do you know why he's not getting much praise?
Because he failed to capture Osama bin Laden. You don't get credit if you fail. Barack Obama succeeded where George Bush FAILED.
LOL! You can't be serious.
Yes, but I did see pictures of the Pakistani military picking up the pieces and trucking them somewhere.
Do you seriously think that the effort to catch Bin Laden just barely got started because Obama told them to? You really think they were all walking around with their thumbs up their asses for almost a decade waiting for Almighty Obama to lead them to the promised land? You really think all the work the special forces were doing for the past 10 years had absolutely nothing to do with taking out OBL, but Obama did? Wow is that ever selling our military short, regardless of who is in the White House.
Tell me, what exactly did Obama do to make this happen?
Quite frankly a president deserves only as much credit as it took for him to sign off on starting or continuing the operation, and that is about it. Both of them (Obama and Bush) read the intel and signed off on the proposed plans of action. That's about it.
So yes, Bush deserves as much credit as Obama since he started it all off. If Bush had let the whole thing go fallow for 8 years and Obama started it all of his own accord then sure, give him the Golden Feather award all by himself for signing his signature on the paper that allowed the people who REALLY deserve the credit to go to work.
I don't get it, what's Bush's anti-terrorist policies?
I don't think the Democrats have a different anti-terrorist policy as the Republicans. Or anyone else for that matter. Find and bring terrorists to justice.
The difference is, Bush decided to invade a country that had nothing to do with terrorism under lies about WMDs.
There is a lot about the way this was handled that Obama and the left criticized prior to being elected president. Remember when the JSOC team that killed bin Laden was referred to as "Cheney's Death Squad"? There were those that wanted SEAL Team 6 disbanded as they were viewed as nothing more than an assassin team. There was criticism that the Bush administration was targeting individuals for assassination. There was also a lot of criticism about detainees not being read their Miranda rights and then being locked away in secret prisons. I'm pretty sure the SEAL that tapped bin Laden didn't read him his Miranda rights before relieving him of his brains. And let's be very clear here. Osama bin Laden was assassinated under the authority of the President of the United States of America.
It's also a pretty safe bet that bin Laden's son which the SEAL team took with them is on his way to Guantanamo, which the president promised to close immediately upon being elected. I'm also pretty sure he wasn't read his rights and won't be afforded a lawyer.
This was a unilateral operation. Obama didn't go to the United Nations Security Council. He didn't consult NATO allies. He took care not to inform the government of Pakistan. For years, we heard the left excoriate Bush for torture, lawlessness, unilateralism -- the list goes on and on. Now the president has used the very tactics and methods he bemoaned to get bin Laden.
And if you think that there aren't going to be a few warrant-less wiretaps as a result of the intel gathered at the compound in Pakistan...
Don't get me wrong, good for Obama. I have no problem with the way that Obama handled the situation and this whole ordeal has raised my esteem for him. I'd have done the same thing but for you to pretend that Obama and the left did not have a totally different mindset prior to being in the White House is disingenuous. To get bin Laden, Obama relied on policies and tactics that he and the left decried prior to his being elected. Now they are cheering him.
Feel free to celebrate the victory. It was a long time coming and a great moment. That said, drop the self-righteous indignation trying to justify your new paradigm vs. what it was when Bush was in office. Just enjoy the moment.
I don't get it, what's Bush's anti-terrorist policies?
I don't think the Democrats have a different anti-terrorist policy as the Republicans. Or anyone else for that matter. Find and bring terrorists to justice.
The difference is, Bush decided to invade a country that had nothing to do with terrorism under lies about WMDs.