David Martosko:
At the urging of Valerie Jarrett, President Barack Obama canceled the operation to kill Osama bin Laden on three separate occasions before finally approving the May 2, 2011 Navy SEAL mission, according to an explosive new book scheduled for release August 21. The Daily Caller has seen a portion of the chapter in which the stunning revelation appears.
In ”Leading From Behind: The Reluctant President and the Advisors Who Decide for Him,“ Richard Miniter writes that Obama canceled the “kill” mission in January 2011, again in February, and a third time in March. Obama’s close adviser Valerie Jarrett persuaded him to hold off each time, according to the book.
Miniter, a two-time New York Times best-selling author, cites an unnamed source with Joint Special Operations Command who had direct knowledge of the operation and its planning.
Obama administration officials also said after the raid that the president had delayed giving the order to kill the arch-terrorist the day before the operation was carried out, in what turned out to be his fourth moment of indecision. At the time, the White House blamed the delay on unfavorable weather conditions near bin Laden’s compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan.
But when Miniter obtained that day’s weather reports from the U.S. Air Force Combat Meteorological Center, he said, they showed ideal conditions for the SEALs to carry out their orders.
Just the type of President we need as commander in chief. One who needs to search in his underwear to see if there is any thing there but navel fuzz.
that was dangerous, if you see the WHITE HOUSE LEAKS OF EXPLOSIVES INFORMATIONS
DANGEROUSLY CONNECTED TO LOST OF LIVES OF MILITARY FORCES IN WARZONE STILL AS WE SPEAK.
do they think the enemies will forget it with time?
that’s why you still have military shot cowardly in the back by afghans military,
for the LOST OF THEIR idol BIN LADEN.
I couldn’t read the original article, because their was a virus warning for it—certainly not a good sign for an article—but, off-hand, advice is why a President has advisers.
Liberal1 [objectivity]
it depend of advisers, so far his advisers don’t seem to have the tools they need to think right.
and less to be in the WHITE HOUSE
@Liberal1 (objectivity):
Wow!
Viruses at The Daily Caller???
Well, poor little lib.
Try:
http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2012/07/report-obama-canceled-bin-laden-raid-three-times.php
or:
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/158411#.UBa25KOwXdE
or:
http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2012/07/new_book_alleges_obama_delayed_bin_laden_decision_3_times_before_strike.html
It’s not like it’s hard to find an alternative printing of anything on the web.
As to this story, wasn’t this information made public before this?
Yes, but only by the White House Insider.
MAY 3RD, 2011
http://theulstermanreport.com/2012/04/30/white-house-insider-obama-hesitated-panetta-issued-order-to-kill-osama-bin-laden/
The very same details!
Some of them:
The primary opposition to this plan originated from Valerie Jarrett, and it was her opposition that was enough to create uncertainty within President Obama.
Obama would meet with various components of the pro-invasion faction, almost always with Jarrett present, and then often fail to indicate his position.
This situation continued for some time, though the division between Jarrett/Obama and the rest intensified more recently, most notably from Hillary Clinton. She [Clinton] was livid over the president’s failure to act…..
Nothing changed with the president’s opinion – he continued to avoid having one.
Every time military and intelligence officials appeared to make progress in forming a position, Jarrett would intervene and the stalling would begin again.
…..
Petraeus was threatening to act on his own via a bombing attack.
Panetta reported back to the president that a bombing of the compound would result in successful killing of Osama Bin Laden, and little risk to American lives.
Initially, as he had done before, the president indicated a willingness to act.
But once again, Jarrett intervened…….
Obama hesitated – this time openly delaying further meetings to discuss the issue with Panetta.
A brief meeting was held at this time with other officials, including Secretary Gates and members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, but Gates, like Panetta, was unable to push the president to act.
It was at this time that Gates indicated to certain Pentagon officials that he may resign earlier than originally indicated – he was that frustrated.
Both Panetta and Clinton convinced him to stay on and see the operation through.
…This insulation ended at some point with an abort order that I believe originated from Valerie Jarrett’s office, and was then followed up by President Obama.
This abort order was later explained as a delay due to weather conditions, but the actual conditions at that time would have been acceptable for the mission.
A storm system had been in the area earlier, but was no longer an issue.
Check the data yourself to confirm.
Jarrett, having been caught off guard, was now scrambling to determine who had initiated the plan.
She was furious…..
I dont know why Hillary Clinton would be furious, this is exactly what her husband did for 8 years and had OBL in custody waiting for him to agree to arrest him. We all know Clinton passed on making a decision and even forbid Special Forces Teams that had him in their sights to take action.
@Liberal1 (objectivity):
And I and every other conservative here at FA would agree with you on this. So tell us, why does it seem that Obama has an Adviser, singular, not AdviserS, plural? I believe that is the point of the article above.
@Aleric:
I think it was a WH nuclear football holder who wrote the book about Bill Clinton letting a pre-9-11-01 Osama slip away.
Bill was paying so much attention to a busty blond under a tent at a golf tourney that he could not be bothered by military men who kept pestering him about doing something like authorizing a strike on Osama.
And Hillary, post 9-11-01, was NOT going to be accused of making that same mistake.
If she could help it, that is.
@Aleric: Slick was busy getting a hummer from Monica. Let’s make sure we understand the priority.
@Nan G:
The Daily Caller is one of my first stops in the morning, and my virus program stopped today as well. It seems to be ok this afternoon, but there was something wrong this morning. It looks like it was a adjacker, which can happen to almost any site.
It happened here once; I sent Curt an email and it cleared up the next day.
I seem to recall that the Obama administration successfully eliminated Osama bin Laden within 18 months of the day the President took office.
Under the Obama administration, nearly all of al Qaeda’s leadership has also been eliminated.
Deal with it.
@Greg: So Greg, Obama developed all of the intel infrastructure to find OBL, Then single handed, he rappelled down the ropes from the helo and shot him 3 times? And the rest of AQ, He developed all of the intel himself and developed the drone technology and then he sat in Nevada and worked the joy stick that sent the rockets that killed the terrorists? Maybe the previous president set up the intel infrastructure, intrrrogated the prisoners to gather information and trained all of the people who actual performed the missions. Obama did what? Make a decision after passing 3 times? You both are pathetic!
Randy You’re a smart guy,an Army Col. Why would you buy without question unverified assertions from an unnamed source? Do you do that often?
What is a ”wimp?”
Newsweek seems to think Romney is one.
But, I’m looking at this indecision on Obama’s part.
Knowing it is NOT the first instance of indecision on Obama’s part.
Knowing Obama was used to voting ”present” rather than risking alienating one or another little faction of his base.
Knowing how Obama throws a baseball.
Knowing what Obama considers as building work.
Knowing how Obama rides a bike.
Knowing how Obama deals with an umbrella.
Knowing how Obama goes down steps.
Romney took a REAL mess with our Winter Games in Salt Lake City and he fixed them.
Obama has made our economy WORSE.
But Obama doesn’t accept that ”the Buck Stops Here.”
No no.
Obama is a far bigger wimp.
Obama is Jarrett-whipped
Looks like the SEALS disagree with giving Obama all the credit.
http://communities.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/conscience-conservative/2012/may/2/navy-seals-hit-obama-making-osama-bin-laden-raid-p/
@Richard Wheeler: Well Rich, I happened to hear this a long time ago from a friend in the intel section at the Pentagon. Word of a Commander in Chief with nothing in his under wear but his hand gets around rather quickly in the military.
Randy I gotta agree with Greg on this one. OBL brought down on BHO’s watch,There it is.
Nan We need more cowboys like “The Gipper’ and Teddy R.
Sorry “w” You were just a wanabee
@Randy: Applying the same logic to WWII, Truman gets all the credit for taking down Hitler and the NAZI’s because it happened on his watch. The troops had nothing to do with it and FDR made no decisions prior to his death to set the stage for it to happen. Looks like the history books are wrong again. The “Greatest Generation” wasn’t so great after all and FDR was vastly over rated as a war time leader.
@another vet, #19:
The right seems to want to apply one sort of logic regarding responsibility for any economic and domestic problems, and just the opposite sort of logic regarding responsibility for the attainment of any military and foreign policy objectives.
@Richard Wheeler:That’s not what he said. Greg gave credit to the Obama administration for taking down OBL. It’s stated right in the first sentence of his post. Since you agree with that, like the SEAL ad states, politics vs. heroism. Thanks for clarifying where you stand on the issue of who took down OBL.
@another vet, #16:
Looks like the right wing has got itself another swiftboating operation going.
Hey, don’t blame me for that assessment. Blame Veterans for a Strong America‘s founder, chairman, and single, solitary staffer, Joel Arends, who responded to the comparison with this:
What, exactly, is Arends doing? He’s presuming to speak on behalf of other veterans, and doing it specifically for political reasons. Correct?
Another Vet To be clear Seals deserve most all the credit for taking out OBL under Obama’s watch. Randy’s tongue in cheek #12 is obviously unnecessary re sentances 2 and 3 since BHO never made such claims.
@Greg: We’ll see how the Veteran vote goes this election. What in his ad is untrue? Did Obama take credit for taking down OBL or didn’t he? When you guys come here and make statement of how Obama took down OBL and all of these AQ members, you demean the sacrifices of those who put their asses on the line over there. If your theory is correct, try this experiment. Walk on to a military post and tell those who returned from Afghanistan that Obama and not the military, took out the bad guys in Afghanistan. We’ll see who speaks for the majority of the Vets who served there. It would be interesting to get CJ’s input since he just returned from there.
@another vet: Better yet, stop in at the Special Ops Club at FT Bragg and spew your garbage.
@another vet, #24:
Justice caught up to Osama bin Laden on Obama’s watch. The successful mission took place pursuant to Obama’s orders. He deserves credit for that, to the same extent that any Commander in Chief would.
The right seems hellbent on denying him that. In fact, they want to demonize him for presuming to suggest that he was anything but an obstacle. So long as the right does that, they can expect push back from Obama’s supporters. Many of whom are veterans.
Randy and A.V. I agree with Greg’s #26. How can a rational person disagree?
Re Swift Boaters I’ll take the word of the guys ON the boat vs. those up river. Wouldn’t you guys?
This report supports another report I read at the time. Not only did Pres. Obama cancel the orders to send the Navy Seals in to take out bin Laden three times at Iranian born Jarrett’s insistence but Secretary Panetta violated the US Constitution and cut Pres. Obama out of the operational chain of command. According to the White House insider based report Pres. Obama said no, so Secretary Panetta assumed command authority behind Pres. Obama’s back. Secretary Panetta violated Pres.Obama’s orders not to send in the Seal Team. Secretary Panetta ordered the Navy Seal Team in and turned command authority back over to Obama after bin Laden was dead and the Seals safely on their very out of Pakistan.
“My Fellow Americans:
Last night, when I spoke with you about the fall of Rome, I knew at that moment that troops of the United States and our Allies were crossing the Channel in another and greater operation. It has come to pass with success thus far.
And so, in tis poignant hour, I ask you join with me in prayer:
Almighty God: our sons, pride of our nation, this day have set upon a mighty endeavor, a struggle to perserve our Republic, our religion, and our civilization, and to set free a suffering humanity.
Lead the straight an true; give strength to their arms, stoutness to their hearts, steadfastness in their faith.
They will need Thy blessings. Their roa will be long and hard. For the enemy is strong. He may hurl back our forces. Success may not come with rushing speed, but we shall return again and again, and we know that by Thy grace, and by the righteousness of our cause, our sons will triumph.
They will be sore tried, by night and by day, without rest — until the victory is won. The darkness will be rent by noise and flame. Men’s souls will be shaken with the violence of war.
For these men are lately drawn from ways of peace. They fight not for the lust of conquest. They fight to end conquest. They fight to liberate. They fight to let justice arise, and tolerance and goodwill among all Thy people. They yearn but for the end of battle, for their return to the haven of home.
Some will never return. Embrace these, Father, and receive them. Thy heroic servants, into Thy kingdom.
And for us at home — fathers, mothers, children, wives, sisters, and brothers of brave men overseas, whose thoughts and prayers are ever with them — help us, Almighty God, to redidicate ourselves in renewed faith in Thee in this hour of great sacrifice.
Many people have urged that I call the nation into a single day of prayer. But because the road is long and the desire is great, I ask that our people devote themselves in a continuance of prayer. As we rise to each new day, and against when each day is spent, let words of prayer be on our lips, invoking Thy help to our efforts.
Give us strenght, too — strength in our daily tasks, to redouble the contributions we make in the physical and the material support of our armed forces.
And let our hearts be stout, to wait out the long travail, to bear sorrows that may come, to impart our courage unto our sons wheresoever they may be.
And, O Lord, give us faith. Give us faith in Thee; faith in our sons, faith in each other; faith in our united cursade. Let not the keeness of our spirt ever be dulled. Let not the impacts of temporary events, of temporal matters of but fleeting moment — let not these deter us in our unconquerable purpose.
With Thy blessing, we shall prevail over the unholy forces of our enemy. Help us to conquer the apostles of gree and racial arrogance. Lead us to the saving of our country, and with our sister nations into a world unity that will spell a sure peace — a peace invulnerable to the schemings of unworty men. And a peace that will let all of men live in freedom, reaping the just rewards of their honest toil.
Thy will be done, Almighty God.
Amen.”
Compare that to the number of times that Barack Hussein Obama, Jr. said “I” in his speech about the death of Osama bin Laden. From Leader to loser in less than a century.
@Mike O’Malley:
I am not sure that I even believe that Obama knew that the ObL compound raid was going to happen. Remember, he had to be pulled off the golf course that day and report to the Situation Room. That leaves us with two options; a) Panetta undercut Jarrett and Obama or b) Obama is one heartless bastard that can play golf when he is sending our SEALs into harm’s way.
retire05
you brought a GEM HERE AND I THANK YOU.
@Greg: and Rich
I’ve given credit to Obama okaying the order to execute the mission numerous times here before as have others. Most anyone would have given that order. Making the initial decision to go into Afghanistan in 2001 actually required more cajones and “political risk” since that seems to be the main concern of some. In Greg’s # 11 he specifically states, “I seem to recall that the Obama administration successfully eliminated Osama bin Laden within 18 months of the day the President took office.” It clearly gives all the credit to the administration. Everything that happened before then that led up to the mission didn’t count and neither did the efforts of the SEALS themselves. I totally disagree with that assessment and consider it an insult to those who put their lives on the line. As for Greg’s statement in #26, “Justice caught up to Osama bin Laden on Obama’s watch. The successful mission took place pursuant to Obama’s orders. He deserves credit for that, to the same extent that any Commander in Chief would. ” That, I can agree with. Neither he nor anyone in his administration took out OBL anymore than Bush captured Saddam Hussein.
As for the SWIFT VETS, the only one who knows for sure what Kerry did or not do is John Kerry himself. One of his biggest supporters from his group that vouched for him had his Silver Star revoked. Kind of destroys his credibility. Perhaps that was based on bullshit too. Regardless of that, what Kerry did when he returned is public knowledge. He was caught lying plain and simple and did so to tear down his fellow Veterans. How many years was it before McCain even talked to him because of his Winter Soldiers Meeting statements? A real piece of work. He deserved everything handed to him and then some.
another vet
was it worth SPECIAL OP MILITARY’S LIVES IN THE HELICOPTER, SOON AFTER, how many died, for that old terrorist life, revenge
FOR BIN LADDEN,
SOUND ON A SMALLER SCALE LIKE ATTACKING THE WHITES FOR TRAYVON BEING SHOUT by the attackers
@ilovebeeswarzone: Everyone seems to forget that the war is still going on. AQ has strengthened its presence elsewhere. As Bush said when all of this started, it’s going to last a long time and there will be setbacks. Not of all our successes will be evident or known by the public when they happen and there won’t be any signing of surrender papers on the USS Missouri.
A.V. FYI The Navy Captain whose Silver Star was pulled was NOT on Kerry’s boat. All who were, strongly supported him,as did the SecNav.
@Richard Wheeler:
Wade Sanders may not have served on Kerry’s boat, but he was certainly part of the Kerry campaign, introducting Kerry at the DNC convention. And he not only suffered the loss of his Silver Star, he was sentenced to 37 months in prison for child porn. Nice people that Kerry hung around with.
John Kerry also threatened to sue the Swift Vets, but I guess he backed off because in civil court, he would have been required to not only produce his DD214, but all his service medical records, as well. Guess he thought better of that action. It is always easier to claim people, who were in the know, lied about you than to have to prove you were the actual liar.
Retire 05 Thanks for validating my statement that Sanders, like the swiftboaters, was NOT on Kerry’s boat.
@Richard Wheeler:
I never said that any of the Swift Vets served on Kerry’s boat. But there is no denying that they served with him. When John Kerry used a photo of him and the other Swiftboat sailors, over a dozen of them sent him a “cease and desist” letter telling Kerry he did not have their permission to use their images in his campaign. They didn’t have to have served specifically on Kerry’s boat to know that Kerry’s Vietnam Tales are just that; made up stories about things that never happened. Also, it was reported that out of the almost 20 Swift Vets Kerry was pictured with, only three supported his presidential campaign and two of them were hired by the Kerry campaign to hit the campaign trail in Kerry’s “reporting for duty” fiasco.
Was Kerry liked by his fellow sailors? Hell, no. And I got that straight from the horse’s mouth. My brother entered the Navy about the same time Kerry did, and was aboard the sister ship to Kerry’s first ship that sat off the coast of SVN. Everyone on both ships knew that Kerry was (as Kerry put it) friends with the Kennedy’s. My brother said that Kerry would talk about how, if you got three purple hearts you could get sent back home. In a time when a lot of guys didn’t even report minor injuries, Kerry demanded a Purple Heart for a piece of rice in his ass. My brother’s first ship was the old U.S.S. Dennis Buckley.
I have nothing but anamosity for John Kerry. He, along with his fellow Communists, Jane Fonda and her ex-husband, Tom Hayden, should all be in Leavenworth for the rest of their lives.
FactCheck, August 6, 2004: Republican-funded Group Attacks Kerry’s War Record
@Greg:
FactCheck.org, Greg? The same group (Annenburg) that funded William Ayers? You might as well get your information from HuffingtonPost or DailyKos. As for me, I’ll stick by what my brother told me. And he probably voted Republican for the first time in his life just so he could vote against Lurch.
Retire05 Once again you show what a screwball you are, as Aye says, on days ending in “y”
I’ve never defended Kerry’s actions after his return. I simply said I believe the guys on his boat. Then you start you’re rant.
Semper Fi
Same here. I’ll believe the guys who were there rather than those who weren’t. They stabbed a fellow Vietnam veteran in the back for the sake of politics. Betrayal doesn’t get much lower than that.
@Richard Wheeler:
If John Kerry was such a great hero, why did he have to pay the two guys on his boat to campaign for him?
@Greg:
You want stabbing in the back, Greg? Read Kerry’s bullshit testimony to Congress during his VVATW days. It took those soldiers who fought in Vietnam 30 years to get the credit, and respect, they deserved and that John Kerry tried to destroy. Him and his little Commie honey, Jane Fonda.
John Kerry is a slug and belongs behind bars in Leavenworth, not in the Senate. But you Dems just loooove those bad boys from Massachussets, don’t you, even if they let young women drown.
@Greg: Mostly because they could! Kerry lied. You can not attack a war record that isn’t a lie. The holder of the war record always has the option to show he was justified unless, he was a liar. It doesn’t matter who funded the search for the truth. It doesn’t make the truth any less truthful!
@Greg: Greg, you must be getting smarter! Kerry is the one who stabbed every Vietnam vet in the back. Check out his testimony in congress and in Paris!
CRUZ WINS
If you want to understand what honor between soldiers is about, consider John McCain’s comment about the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth television ad:
No doubt he well knows what sort of men would stoop so low. What was done to Kerry for the sake of politics was tried on him.
@Greg:
Would that be the same John McCain that refused to speak to John Kerry for years until they jointly took a trip to Vietnam in search of POWs and then came back, claiming there were no more POWs still alive although recent reports and photos proved differently?
If you using John McCain as a debate point againt me, Greg, as ususal you are out in left field. I dislike McCain as much as I dislike Kerry.
@Greg: McCain was wrong. It is not politics to show that the man running for the highest office in the country is a liar. If Kerry could have refuted the charges, he whould have done so. He couldn’t. Greg, I know you welcome a liar in the White House. I expect you will vote for the one again!