Would Romney have gotten bin Laden? Well, maybe
In 2007, then-candidate Barack Obama made it clear what he would do as president if he learned that Osama bin Laden was hiding in Pakistan and that U.S. forces had a chance to take him out:
“If we have actionable intelligence about high-value terrorist targets and (Pakistani) President Musharraf won’t act, we will.”
His then-opponent, Hillary Clinton, took a similar stance:
“If we had actionable intelligence that Osama bin Laden or other high-value targets were in Pakistan I would ensure that they were targeted and killed or captured.”
However, another presidential candidate took issue with such statements, as Reuters reported at the time:
“I do not concur in the words of Barack Obama in a plan to enter an ally of ours… I don’t think those kinds of comments help in this effort to draw more friends to our effort,” (Mitt) Romney told reporters on the campaign trail….
Romney, the former Massachusetts governor who is one of the Republican front-runners, said U.S. troops “shouldn’t be sent all over the world.” He called Obama’s comments “ill-timed” and “ill-considered.”
“There is a war being waged by terrorists of different types and nature across the world,” Romney said. “We want, as a civilized world, to participate with other nations in this civilized effort to help those nations reject the extreme with them.”
In 2008, as the primary season heated up, the debate continued.
“It’s not worth moving heaven and earth spending billions of dollars just trying to catch one person,” Romney said in a GOP debate. After that statement drew harsh criticism from John McCain and others, Romney toughened his language a few days later, suggesting that he would indeed target bin Laden.
Obama, on the other hand, stuck to his original position:
“We need more troops, more helicopters, more satellites, more Predator drones in the Afghan border region. And we must make it clear that if Pakistan cannot or will not act, we will take out high-level terrorist targets like bin Laden if we have them in our sights.”
Based on the evidence, it’s too much to argue that Romney would not have committed the manpower and money needed to track bin Laden. You also can’t argue that Romney would have balked at sending troops into Pakistan to kill the terrorist leader. Maybe he would have.
But against that “maybe,” you have the fact that another man had told us quite clearly what he would do if given the chance, and then did it.
– Jay Bookman
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448 comments Add your comment
stevie ray..Clowns to the Left and Jokers to the Right..here I am...
May 1st, 2012
7:29 am
NORMAL,
So you are admitting the spineless one has zero leadership skills to negotiate thru typical logjam in congress? Telling indeed…time for him to move over and see what someone else can do. Wasn’t he also gonna negotiate directly with IRAN? Perhaps I have him confused with Palen comment???
Funny how your guy is working so hard to cement his single lasting, meaningful legacy which I would concede despite the fact his role was to select between 3 options based on a rebuilt intelligence network not afforded to his predecessor…Kudos for getting OBL…I agree that even Jimmy Carter would have made that political, yet ceremonious decision.
Granny Godzilla - Union Thugette
May 1st, 2012
7:30 am
MiltonMan
No matter how often you post, the fact remains that President Obama moved to close gitmo.
That remains the truth.
No matter what the congress did…
President Obama signed the executive order to close Gitmo.
I know you are unable to give this President credit, but that sir,
is your own personal issue.
stevie ray..Clowns to the Left and Jokers to the Right..here I am...
May 1st, 2012
7:31 am
What about “the days of lobbyist and special interests controlling DC agenda is over….”
stevie ray..Clowns to the Left and Jokers to the Right..here I am...
May 1st, 2012
7:35 am
GRANNY,
He promised to use his leadership skills to make a complete closure occur…didn’t happen and probably shouldn’t in retrospect so his loss is our gain. I give him credit for OBL albeit ceremonious killing IMO and I like what he is doing with Drones which is great alternative to our kids getting in harms way…the balance of his record sux and is indefensible….you can only get so far with the blame game when it comes to presidential leadership.
stands for decibels
May 1st, 2012
7:36 am
Milton, what would a day for you be like if you didn’t make sh-t up?
Just wondering.
Granny Godzilla - Union Thugette
May 1st, 2012
7:38 am
oh stevie
bless your heart
not up to date on Iran at the moment are you?
May 23rd would be a good date….
Normal Free, Plain and Simple
May 1st, 2012
7:40 am
stevie ray..Clowns to the Left and Jokers to the Right..here I am…
May 1st, 2012
7:29 am
What I am saying is there was a time that after the elections were over, the losing party said that they would still gladly work with the new president for the good of the America.
Today’s Republicans don’t give a fig about America. They want Corporate rights, theological oppression (”if you ain’t Christian, you ain’t sh*t), they want women’s rights
to be removed…in short, they want an elite/slave state that is NOT the America I have fought for and love.
Is President Obama perfect? No, but he is the one out there with the interests of the American people in his heart and that makes him the best man for the job.
Don’t agree? Then suck a lemon. My mind is made up. I am going to vote for President Obama.
Granny Godzilla - Union Thugette
May 1st, 2012
7:40 am
stevie
sorry you feel that way.
you can’t help it, we know.
Mighty Righty
May 1st, 2012
7:43 am
I can appreciate the difficulty the left has in trying to come up with somehing positive that has been accomplished the last three years by Obama or by his do nothing administration. The killing of bin Laden is something to talk about. As feeble as this very minor accomplishment is when you have nothing else, well it speaks for itself. It must be stomach turning for the radical left to have to brag about something that they would be the first to scream if a Republican had done the same thing. History shows other presidents did not do the same. FDR did not brag about killing Admiral Yamamoto. Trurman did not brag about the nucleur decision to bomb Japan. (A far greater decision than the killing of a minor player in the war on “over seas contingecies.} Eisenhower did not take credit for commanding the invasion of Europe and could have taken credit for the defeat of Nazi Germany with more credibility than the killing of bin Laden. Nixon did not take credit for ending the Viet Nam War, which he did. Reagan did not take credit for ending the “Cold War.” As John Mc Cain said last night, “Heros do not brag.” But then Obama has no accomplishments to cite for his three years in office.
nelson
May 1st, 2012
7:43 am
If it happened that Romney had been in charge, he would focused on defeating all the enemies of the humanity. In particular he would have put the safety of the SEALS first and not had a plane load go down full of SEALS.
Granny Godzilla - Union Thugette
May 1st, 2012
7:46 am
mighty Righty
call us when President Obama orders a flight suit will ya’?
TiredOfIt
May 1st, 2012
7:47 am
When will be see Bush on the campaign trail with Romney? I can’t wait to hear him take credit for two unfunded wars, Medicare Part D, collapse of the financial markets, and choking on a pretzel. Now that is a record to be proud of.
MiltonMan
May 1st, 2012
7:47 am
“No matter how often you post, the fact remains that President Obama moved to close gitmo.
That remains the truth.
No matter what the congress did…
President Obama signed the executive order to close Gitmo.
I know you are unable to give this President credit, but that sir,
is your own personal issue.”
Wrong again. I have given him credit for signing the executive order but his “promise” was that he was going to close Gitmo. His “promise” did not come with caveats comparable to “I will close it only if Congress gets on board”. The democrats controlled the executive & legislative branches of govt & he could still not get this done. Bush had terrible leadership skills; so does Obama.
Normal Free, Plain and Simple
May 1st, 2012
7:48 am
Mighty Righty
May 1st, 2012
7:43 am
They were still the President of the time and they made the decision to go, just like President Obama. Those were different times too. The Republicans were more sane back then, yes even Nixon.
Sometimes I wish we still had the Soviet Union around. Political thinking seemed to be more focused with a common enemy around.
MiltonMan
May 1st, 2012
7:49 am
Stands: “Made up stuff”???
Please elaborate.
Normal Free, Plain and Simple
May 1st, 2012
7:49 am
nelson
May 1st, 2012
7:43 am
What the hell are you talking about?
stands for decibels
May 1st, 2012
7:51 am
Please elaborate.
your crap about gitmo for starters.
And don’t pretend you’re not making sh-t up.
MiltonMan
May 1st, 2012
7:51 am
“What I am saying is there was a time that after the elections were over, the losing party said that they would still gladly work with the new president for the good of the America.”
Kind of like the democrats working with Bushie??? Nope they were more concerned about hanging chads & acting like little cry-babies all the way up the Supreme Court.
Granny Godzilla - Union Thugette
May 1st, 2012
7:52 am
milton man
I’m quite sure the President is delighted by your credit.
Cmdr Oligovsky
May 1st, 2012
7:53 am
Power to the people.
JamVet
May 1st, 2012
7:53 am
You Republicans are the laughingstock of the entire world.
Reality averse, empirically challenged, hyper-paranoid and forever stuck on McCarthy stupid.
No wonder you craven clowns in the1950s regressive movement think the planet is cooling.
The only thing missing to make you feel really great is the return of segregation…
Mary Elizabeth
May 1st, 2012
7:53 am
To understand President Obama’s thinking regarding the issues of war and peace in our world, please read the following excerpt from his Nobel Peace Prize Speech, given in 2009. The link is given, below, to encourage readers to read that speech, in full.
===================================================
“I do not bring with me today a definitive solution to the problems of war. What I do know is that meeting these challenges will require the same vision, hard work, and persistence of those men and women who acted so boldly decades ago. And it will require us to think in new ways about the notions of just war and the imperatives of a just peace.
We must begin by acknowledging the hard truth that we will not eradicate violent conflict in our lifetimes. There will be times when nations – acting individually or in concert – will find the use of force not only necessary but morally justified.
I make this statement mindful of what Martin Luther King said in this same ceremony years ago – ‘Violence never brings permanent peace. It solves no social problem: it merely creates new and more complicated ones.’ As someone who stands here as a direct consequence of Dr. King’s life’s work, I am living testimony to the moral force of non-violence. I know there is nothing weak -nothing passive – nothing naïve – in the creed and lives of Gandhi and King.
But as a head of state sworn to protect and defend my nation, I cannot be guided by their examples alone. I face the world as it is, and cannot stand idle in the face of threats to the American people. For make no mistake: evil does exist in the world. A non-violent movement could not have halted Hitler’s armies. Negotiations cannot convince al Qaeda’s leaders to lay down their arms. To say that force is sometimes necessary is not a call to cynicism – it is a recognition of history; the imperfections of man and the limits of reason.”
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34360743/ns/politics-white_house/t/full-text-obamas-nobel-peace-prize-speech/
Granny Godzilla - Union Thugette
May 1st, 2012
7:56 am
milton man
you wouldn’t stand up and challenge an election if it was questionable?
really?
you wouldn’t?
Granny Godzilla - Union Thugette
May 1st, 2012
7:57 am
milton man
do you stand up for anything anywhere but on this blog?
stands for decibels
May 1st, 2012
7:57 am
Kind of like the democrats working with Bushie?
Compared to the way the Goopers blocked everything Obama was elected to accomplish? no. No “kind of like” whatsoever.” and post-9/11, Chimpy McWarHard-On got most everything he needed from supine Dems.
Here’s a shovel. Keep digging.
stands for decibels
May 1st, 2012
7:58 am
You Republicans are the laughingstock of the entire world.
Oh come now. I’m sure the hardline Islamists admire them.
MiltonMan
May 1st, 2012
7:58 am
“Please elaborate.
your crap about gitmo for starters.
And don’t pretend you’re not making sh-t up.”
Gotcha – having a hard time deciphering your one-cell brain their pal.
(1) Obama never said he would close Gitmo.
(2) Obama never signed executive order to close said Gitmo.
(3) Obama never wanted to to try Gitmo prisoners in US civilian court
(4) A Bi-partisian effort never rebuked Obama over this
Here are the “facts” through your distorted view. Happy now?
JamVet
May 1st, 2012
8:01 am
The killing of bin Laden…As feeble as this very minor accomplishment is…
Go ahead and tell that to all those people who had family members and friends murdered in NYC, Washington DC and Shanksville, Pennsylvania, you Republican fool/tool.
II always knew that you neocons have become completely justice averse, but if that is not proof, I’m not sure what is.
MiltonMan
May 1st, 2012
8:01 am
“milton man
do you stand up for anything anywhere but on this blog?”
Yes served & retired from the military. Can the same be said of you all Mrs. “High & Mighty & Judgemental” One?
Lumpkin, JD
May 1st, 2012
8:02 am
Obama got bin Laden in spite of his overall imcompetence. You know what they say about blind pigs…..
MiltonMan
May 1st, 2012
8:03 am
I will give credit to Obama for taking out OBL. I still might vote for the guy for that; will have to see what Mittie has cooking in the oven.
stands for decibels
May 1st, 2012
8:03 am
Anyone have a wingnut-to-English translator for Milton’s post @ 7.58?
Much appreciated.
Anyway, I see there are gas SHEETZ…
Mary Elizabeth
May 1st, 2012
8:04 am
And now, please read the closing remarks that President Obama made in his Nobel Peace Prize Speech, in which he encourages forward thinking toward the ideal of non-violence and peace in the world’s future (which I envision as an evolution of humankind’s consciousness):
===================================================
“But we do not have to think that human nature is perfect for us to still believe that the human condition can be perfected. We do not have to live in an idealized world to still reach for those ideals that will make it a better place. The non-violence practiced by men like Gandhi and King may not have been practical or possible in every circumstance, but the love that they preached – their faith in human progress – must always be the North Star that guides us on our journey.
For if we lose that faith – if we dismiss it as silly or naïve; if we divorce it from the decisions that we make on issues of war and peace – then we lose what is best about humanity. We lose our sense of possibility. We lose our moral compass.
Like generations have before us, we must reject that future. As Dr. King said at this occasion so many years ago, ‘I refuse to accept despair as the final response to the ambiguities of history. I refuse to accept the idea that the ‘isness’ of man’s present nature makes him morally incapable of reaching up for the eternal ‘oughtness’ that forever confronts him.’
So let us reach for the world that ought to be – that spark of the divine that still stirs within each of our souls. Somewhere today, in the here and now, a soldier sees he’s outgunned but stands firm to keep the peace. Somewhere today, in this world, a young protestor awaits the brutality of her government, but has the courage to march on. Somewhere today, a mother facing punishing poverty still takes the time to teach her child, who believes that a cruel world still has a place for his dreams.
Let us live by their example. We can acknowledge that oppression will always be with us, and still strive for justice. We can admit the intractability of depravation, and still strive for dignity. We can understand that there will be war, and still strive for peace. We can do that – for that is the story of human progress; that is the hope of all the world; and at this moment of challenge, that must be our work here on Earth.”
Mick
May 1st, 2012
8:06 am
The obama haters are very one dimensional and see what they want to see; The world economy was going to hell in a handbasket in sept. 2008, who do they blame about that? the president of course because he hasn’t “fixed” it in three years. In 2006, bush disbanded the cia unit that was tasked for locating bin laden – fact. He just didn’t care anymore, besides he was too busy trying to deal with his iraq fiasco. This president has done pretty darn good considering the cards he was dealt. Republicans are sore losermans and have worked every inch of the way to undermine obama. They have no plan, no solutions for america except to attack this president and thwart his every move. Hopefully, they and their ilk will be routed come november…
Recon 0311 2533
May 1st, 2012
8:06 am
One thing we do know for certain is that Joe Biden wouldn’t have approved that mission. After several years of intelligence gathering and some that was gained through enhanced interrogation, which Obama would not have approved we have Obama shamelessly taking victory laps. He also infers that Romney would not have have given approval. The fact is Obama had no other choice and Panetta along with Hillary Clinton probably told him that the word would eventually leak out that they had hard intelligence and if he didn’t green light the operation he would be political toast. This is desperation on the part of a failing president and his supporters to divert attention from his failures.
MiltonMan
May 1st, 2012
8:09 am
“Anyone have a wingnut-to-English translator for Milton’s post @ 7.58?
Much appreciated.
Anyway, I see there are gas SHEETZ…”
Having a tough time arguing the facts chief???
Mark T
May 1st, 2012
8:18 am
The former head of the CIA’s Clandestine Service Jose Rodriguez says President Obama is waging the nation’s war against radical Islam in a far more brutal manner than his predecessor President George W. Bush.
RELATED: Human Rights Watch: Prosecute Bush for Torture
“We don’t capture anybody any more,” Rodriguez told 60 Minutes’ Lesley Stahl on Sunday. “Their default option of this Administration has been to … take no prisoners … How could it be more ethical to kill people rather than capture them? I never understood that one.”
NICE TRY LIBS!
MiltonMan
May 1st, 2012
8:22 am
Why is the good ole USA having a hard time “developing” strong presidents? Can we have a civil discussion on this? With a few exceptions (Reagan, Clinton) most modern-day presidents have been deemed “un-popular failures” like BushII & Carter. Possible reasons:
(1) Politics are more heated/divided? Not sure about this one. Even though there is alot of vitriol being spewed out by both sides we don’t see fist fights or duels.
(2) Human Nature to dislike/hate those that don’t agree with you. “Love your neighbor” & good samaritian thrown out like yesterday’s trash.
(3) Leadership “skills” are not being taught these days?
(4) …
Joseph
May 1st, 2012
8:22 am
While you, Obama, and countless other libs are dancing around the end zone the economy is getting worse and worse. The GDP is hovering around 2% which easily makes this the worst recovery from a recession in decades even though Obama and the dems spent trillions of dollars. Does this tripe even remotely affect the American people by trying to insinuate that Romney wouldn’t have pulled the trigger? HELL NO!!!!
Joseph
May 1st, 2012
8:24 am
Anyone with an inkling of common sense realizes the dems have for years been soft on combating terrorism and Republicans strong on it… Why would libs even want to bring this issue up again??? LOL…
Mighty Righty
May 1st, 2012
8:26 am
Mary Elizabeth-A curious choice of words to describe Obama’s thinking.
New Obama slogan has long ties to Marxism, socialism
By Victor Morton
April 30, 2012, 06:56PM
Many Communist and radical publications and entities throughout the 19th and 20th centuries had the name “Forward!” or its foreign cognates. Wikipedia has an entire section called “Forward (generic name of socialist publications).”
“The name Forward carries a special meaning in socialist political terminology. It has been frequently used as a name for socialist, communist and other left-wing newspapers and publications,” the online encyclopedia explains.
The slogan “Forward!” reflected the conviction of European Marxists and radicals that their movements reflected the march of history, which would move forward past capitalism and into socialism and communism.
TiredOfIt
May 1st, 2012
8:32 am
Another tough-guy chicken hawk (shawn) telling us water boarding is not torture and he would submit to to it to prove it. ” I’ll do it for charity. I’ll let you do it. I’ll do it for the troops’ families.” We are still waiting, maybe he can talk Romney into taking his place. It amazes me the right-wingers idolize this guy.
Mighty Righty
May 1st, 2012
8:35 am
Milton Man-I agree. Our problem is we don’t have the choices. Four years ago the top two Democrats were Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama! Get serious. The Republican was even worse, John Mc Cain! Look at the prior choices. Bush 2, John Kerry, Al Gore. Remember Dukakis, Mc Govern, Mondale. I mean come on we couldn’t have elected a good president because we were never given a choice. Popularity means more than experience and competence. I don’t know what the solution is.
Mighty Righty
May 1st, 2012
8:38 am
Don’t you just love the radical communist WSO mobs. They don’t have jobs themselves and they want people who do to not work. The blind leading the blind. The stupid leading the stupid.
JamVet
May 1st, 2012
8:50 am
“Don’t you just love the radical communist WSO mobs. They don’t have jobs themselves and they want people who do to not work.”
Lying liars and the lies they tell.
Stupid McCarthyists…
Mary Elizabeth
May 1st, 2012
9:36 am
Mighty Righty, 8:26 am
“Mary Elizabeth-A curious choice of words to describe Obama’s thinking.”
=================================================
For any reader who may not have been following my two posts this morning, here is what I wrote in my second post at 8:04 am, to which Mighty refers:
“And now, please read the closing remarks that President Obama made in his Nobel Peace Prize Speech, in which he encourages forward thinking toward the ideal of non-violence and peace in the world’s future (which I envision as an evolution of humankind’s consciousness).”
============================================
Mighty, I can truthfully tell you that I had no idea that the word “forward” was part of Obama’s campaign slogan for the upcoming election, nor was I aware the the word “forward” was associated in the minds of some with Marxism and Socialism.
The word, as I placed it in my above post, sprang purely from my own mind, alone. I wanted to use the word “forward” in the sense of “progressive,” which is the direction of spiritual and mental evolution of human beings, from my perspective.)
Btw, I have subscribed, for years, to a Biblical magazine of daily scripture verses, with short essays regarding the chosen scripture by various writers, published by “Forward Movement, an agency of the Episcopal Church” (words taken from the back of the cover page).
It is unfortunate that a writer, such as editorial writer Morton of the conservative Washington Times, has chosen to place further fear in the America public’s mind that President Obama is a “Marxist or Socialist” through his inflammatory editorial. I do not believe that President Obama is either a Marxist or a Socialist, based on Obama’s words, as he speaks for himself.
I believe that we should try to elevate others to see beyond labels such as “Marxist and Socialist,” in that labels, by definition, limit in our minds who another person is, relative to the totality of his or her complex thinking. Please read both my 7:53 am post, as well as my 8:04 am post. They both consist primarily of the words of President Obama, which he spoke in his Nobel Peace Prize Speech.
Again, I believe we should allow President Obama speak for himself, in terms of understanding who he is and what he is about in full. I think that anyone who reads his words, above, will see a vision of war and peace that most Americans – Republican, Democrats, Independents, Conservatives and Liberals – could support. I had chosen the two different posts to reflect Obama’s vision, both the world as it is, and of the world as it could be in time, a progressive or “forward” thinking vision of humankind’s spiritual and mental evolution.
It is unfortunate when a word as benign, yet as postive, as is the word, “forward,” can be made to have Machiavellian intent.
independent thinker
May 1st, 2012
2:32 pm
Willard like Bush would look at the business angle of killing Ben Laden. ie. daddy Bush was in in business with the Ben Laden family and we sure do not want to appear to be too heavy handed on the Saudis whho control our oil supply. Yeah Willard -good excuse- it is not cost effective. I bet he will criticize Obama for the cost of that high tech helicopter Team six lost .
Joe Biden
May 1st, 2012
2:43 pm
Hey Joseph- quit watching Fox News all day and working yourself up every time Anne the Man Coulter and Sean the racist Hannity comes on TV;
FYI the stock market hit a four year high today and the price of gas is coming down.Ford, GM, Chrysler, Caterpillar , Apple and a dozen other US companies have reported record earnings. And as for your insane comments on Dems being soft on terrorists- Clinton nailed the 93 World Trade Center bombers and put them in jail, sent Timothy McVeigh to his maker and a few others. Now as to your boy Bush and mad man “scattershhot” Cheney, they wimped out and took a potty break at Tora Bora . So they got Sadaam out of his hidy hole- Was he a terrorist?