When Zakaria asked about the question of credit for the success of the OBL mission, Rice tried to position it as an American success that both Presidents in this war share. While the leads were developed under George Bush, Rice notes that Barack Obama faced tough decisions in making the call for a SEAL operation rather than a long-range missile attack on the compound:
ZAKARIA: We’re hearing some Republicans, people like Rush Limbaugh say Obama really doesn’t deserve much credit for this. You know – the operation was a routine operation. You’ve been in the White House, do you think that the President at key moments had to make difficult calls, whether to use a drone, whether to use special operations?
RICE: I’ve been in the White House, and I’ve seen a president make difficult decisions. And there were difficult decisions in this. What that – what President Obama has done, indeed it was a – it was a brave decision. Now it is absolutely the case that the United States of America has been fighting this war for at least ten years, and really a bit longer. And so this is a victory across presidencies. It’s a – it’s a victory for having learned more how to fight the counter terrorism fight. But there’s no doubt that as President Bush had to make some very, very hard calls that frankly helped to set this up, President Obama had to make some very difficult calls to bring it to conclusion.
Rice has this right. While we can rightly note with some amusement the lockstep use of the catchphrase “gutsy call” by Democrats attempting to make this all about Obama, it wasn’t an easy call to make. Had it gone wrong, Obama would have come under tremendous criticism for not taking the safer route of simply wiping the compound off the map with long-range airstrikes. The frustration comes from the fact that the current administration has acted rather gracelessly in failing to acknowledge the tough calls made by its preceding administration — including policies opposed by Senator and then Candidate Obama — that provided the basis for the success of this mission. That is especially true of the operation of Guantanamo Bay, where the lead was first developed.
Let’s look at this a little differently; Obama fought courageously to end the process that provided the intel that led to the successful assassination raid. An event that could have possibly happened much sooner without his sanctimonious interference. He had two choices, drone or raid, one is gutsy and the other is cowardly. Yea right, let’s give him another Nobel Prize and call it a day or maybe you would lie to give him the Congressional Medal of Honor. The SEALS killed the bastard and did a bang up job. (intentional weak pun)
So by trying to prevent something from happening in years past and now when he has only two choice he is a hero. Yea Right!
Oh, that “mission”
http://curmudgeonlyskeptical.blogspot.com/2011/05/mission-accomplished.html
IT remain the facts that a COMMANDER IN CHIEF has to weight in the scale balance how important his MILITARY’s LIVES ARE, and with the newest weaponrys and tecknology of this era,
that so DANGEROUS MISSION could have been done otherwise with a couple odf blast so dangerous but only for the TARGET FOCUSED ON,
THE NAVY SEALS , AND LETS NOT FORGET THAT EVER, WENT TO A SUICIDAL MISSION IMPOSSIBLE,
AND MADE IT BACK ALL ALIVE, EXCEPT FOR ONE HELYCOPTER,
THEY HAD litteraly GOD with them, helping those SUPER BRAVES SEALS,
TO AN INCREDIBLY NO FAIL MISSION, IN A FORHEIN ANTI AMERICAN COUNTRY THAT HAS PROTECTED BIN LADEN FOR MANY YEARS WITHOUT ANY WILLING CHANCES OF HELPING THE MILITARYS EVER.
Well said, Ms Bees.