After deciding to release the Osama Bin Laden death images Barack Obama has decided against releasing them.
“We don’t trot out this stuff as trophies” said Obama.
“…we don’t need to spike the football” said Obama.
And he added:
“It is important to make sure that very graphic photos of somebody who was shot in the head are not floating around as an incitement to additional violence or as a propaganda tool.”
We sure wouldn’t want anything floating around that could be used as propaganda or as an incitement tool.
Unless it was useful to smear George Bush, that is. Then the safety of Americans comes second.
Way, way back in 2009 Barack Obama decided to release 2,000 photos of alleged prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib.
George Bush had declined to release them for fear they could be used as propaganda or as a tool for incitement of violence. The release of the those photos was opposed by Leon Panetta and by John Brennan, but there were some who were enthusiastic about their release.
The most enthusiastic support for the release came from Eric Holder, Mr Obama’s attorney general and the man who will decide whether former Bush administration officials should face prosecution, and his legal counsel Gregory Craig.
I am not able to locate anything on Holder’s enthusiasm for releasing the Bin Laden photos but I’ll bet a bundle he’s against it.
Speaking of Holder…
Holder has also declined to prosecute Thomas Tamm, who leaked the existence of the eavesdropping program that Obama has defended, expanded and used to find Osama Bin Laden. Let’s remember that this was harmful to Bush. Holder’s policy toward anyone who leaks on Obama is far different.
It’s so pernicious that Glenn Greenwald penned an article called More Obama DOJ attacks on whistle-blowers. Daniel Ellsberg said Obama is waging a “campaign against whistle-blowing that is unprecedented.” The Obama administration has set its sights on Christian Adams for his criticism of Holder for dropping the Black Panther intimidation case.
The Obama administration is so blatant in its abuse as to scream for scrutiny, but it’s not going to happen.
Meanwhile, jobless claims are at an 8 month high and the economy is slowing.
We haven’t forgotten that it’s the economy, stupid.
DrJohn has been a health care professional for more than 30 years. In addition to clinical practice he has done extensive research and has published widely with over 70 original articles and abstracts in the peer-reviewed literature. DrJohn is well known in his field and has lectured on every continent except for Antarctica. He has been married to the same wonderful lady for over 30 years and has three kids- two sons, both of whom are attorneys and one daughter on her way into the field of education.
DrJohn was brought up with the concept that one can do well if one is prepared to work hard but nothing in life is guaranteed.
Except for liberals being foolish.
Remember when Obama cautioned us to not be ”Islamaphobic” by being opposed to the mosque at Ground Zero despite the fact that violence might occur as a result?
One worker there on 9-11-01 said it would be like spraying swastikas all over a Jewish memorial.
A widow of a victim of 9-11-01 said “building a 15-story mosque at Ground Zero is a deliberately provocative act that will precipitate more bloodshed in the name of Allah.”
But now Obama is opposed to ”provocative acts!”
Huh!
Greg Gutfeld (of all people!) on Red Eye* said this decision (not to release the death photo for fear of inciting violence) says 1. Osama was a good Muslim and a Muslim leader and 2. that your average Muslims are liable to become violent at little provocation!
Seems Obama is the real “Islamaphobe!”
*http://dailycaller.com/2011/05/05/gutfeld-white-house-declining-to-release-photos-demonstrates-islamophobia/
Actually, not true, Drj. Originally Obama had said he would not fight the ACLU’s FOIA lawsuit, demanding additional photos be released. That was not saying he’d release them, nor did he do so. A lot of his liberal base was distraught, saying he did a “u-turn” when, in fact, it was a rather nonchalant avoidance of an opinion, into having an opinion that they didn’t like.
In fact, in a change of heart from voting “present” on the issue, he tipped into the “do not release” mode by authorizing an appeal to SCOTUS… which was in harmony with the Pelosi/Reid Congress who was going to allow the Pentagon to keep them from the public.
Nor has Obama repealed the Special Order of President Bush, that states the CIA does not have to reveal to anyone who these prisoners are, or what happened to them.
As far as the original controversy back in 2003-04, and again in 2006, Obama wasn’t even a gnat on a political elephant’s butt as an IL Jr Senator, and then as a campaigner for the US Senate. We have no records of his stance on the release of photos on record that I can find. However Obama never said he’d release them. He just said he wouldn’t interfere with the lawsuit.
So his decision not to release the UBL photos are entirely consistent with his previous actions on Abu Ghraib that are on record.
As to Panetta and Brennan, and their opinions on Abu Ghraib vs UBL’s photos. Well, that depends upon the reason they did, or did not, want either of them released. If their reasoning pro/con was about possible incitement and endangering our troops for Abu Ghraib…. something I can fully understand, then they are consistent as well. Gates and Hillary also opposed releasing the UBL photos for that reason.
But Panetta’s suggestion the photos would likely be released was not related to incitement, but to provide proof of death. That has been handily taken care of, confirmed by UBL’s daughter, herself. There are still some skeptics left in the int’l community… i.e. the UN for one.
Now the major flip flopper is Holder… but not on the photos of either event. In 2009, he had promised not to prosecute the CIA. However he is currently sniffing around at investigating the CIA about EITs for a third time, which is why Burlingame brought that up to Obie at the 911 family gathering yesterday. Obama is, again, voting “present” by saying he will not interfere with Holder’s genuine U-turn.
Effectively the same thing.
LOL, Drj… actually no. What you say actually requires this POTUS to have an opinion. Or to definitively state an opinion. Not this one….
What he did was the famous Obama dodge… until confronted with the ACLU’s latest favorable opinion, and a Congress who wanted to allow the Pentagon to block the photos.
Therein he finally was forced into registering his opinion, officially on the record, as no.
Come on y’all, it was Valerie Jarrett that drove the “O’s” decision. I not being a betting man, this is one I’d surely take. Can’t vouch for what I read at this link as investigative time has been severly limited. Should this be true then we are so far behind the 8 ball even all of Skook’s horses might not be able to drag us back to whence we came. Please tell me it’s not true.
http://socyberty.com/issues/white-house-insider-obama-hesitated-panetta-issued-order-to-kill-osama-bin-laden/
@CbR:
In part the link reads: -obama-hesitated-panetta-issued-order-to-kill-osama-bin-laden
But PBS interviewed Panetta who said he didn’t order the death of Osama, that the Navy SEALs did!
In this horse race everybody is jockeying for position.
Real Clear Politics show’s Obama’s approval average now at +9.1%. This probably explains why the negative spinners are spinning at twice the usual RPM.
@Nan G:
Thanks Nan. I’m not so much focused on who gave the order as I suspect it was an operational decision at the moment of occurrence. My focus was the “End Around” to launch the mission and how it might apply to the long delays this administration has become known for. Incompetence perfected – vote “present” and check which way the wind blows. Plumb scary if it holds water.
The Bamster has an awesome talent. He has the theatrics to turn a photo op into a dart board. Thank god that George W. refused to join the Bamster in his clown car ride.
I had read that he had change his mind and became undecided and said I’ll go to bed and sleep on it,
@CbR, to buy nto that account, you also have to buy the same story’s line that Petraeus was going to initiate a bombing raid of his own, no matter what the CiC said. Sorry… Petraeus isn’t the kind of general who has no respect for the chain of command… even if he does disagree with him.
Then you have to believe that this very arrogant POTUS, who relishes his power and position, sheepishly accepted CiC decisions made behind his back with little more than a wimper. Sorry… that description don’t fit either.
Note that the entire storyline is written to cast Hillary as the heroine. Then remember where the original birther debate originated, and I think what you have is an attempt to have a cockamamie story go viral by a two bit website, hosted by Amazon, to discredit Obama and benefit Hillary.
That little bedtime story is pure fiction at worst or, at best, liberal embellishment of partial facts that are further spiced up with wishful thinking, IMHO.
@MataHarley:
No argument from this neck of the woods. As I said, I’ve had no time to properly research but just thinking about this it would be scary should anything of this nature come to pass. The presented facade is SOP to the closed door back room bidness of which we can only speculate but never know.
Ironman, Obama may have a 9% average increase in favorablity, but it won’t last. Gas is still $4./gal, milk almost $5/gal, groceries are still going up, the only people getting jobs are those going to work for the feds, and the economy still sucks. That ain’t gonna change anytime soon. Two weeks from now, when all the talking heads quit talking about killing ObL, reality of everyday life will again set in and you can watch Obama’s numbers go down.
@MataHarley:
Mata, the smartest man in the universe could have issued an EO just as he did for Gitmo. He was very much in favor of the release of the images and it absolutely was meant to stick another fork in Bush.
Does ABC have bin Laden’s strategy confused with another well known American’s plans of organizing for America ?