Dr. Boyce: Attacking Cornel West Does Not Resolve the Black Political Problem

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, YourBlackWorld.com

If a man is offered a piece of stale bread for dinner, he’s probably not going to want to eat it.  If you were to then say, well, “stale bread is better than horse manure,” this won’t make the stale bread taste any better.  When given the choice between bad food and horrible food, some people would just rather not eat or try to eat someplace else.

But this is what black America is being fed when they are told that they should passionately support the Democrats simply because the Republicans are going to be worse.  The meal is being fed, in part, by elitist liberals like Melissa Harris Perry at Tulane University (formerly Princeton), a darker-skinned staple in the white liberal establishment and fully-indoctrinated member in the Barack Obama fan club.   In a recent article where Perry works diligently to dismiss the political and scholarly relevance of Dr. Cornel West (a huge mistake on her part, since West earned his stripes when Perry was still in high school), she reproduces the same rhetoric that Ivy Leaguers utilize to somehow convince rank-and-file black folks to start seeing things that simply don’t exist.  The same political magic trick was used when the administration got a tiny militia of black Harvard Law Professors to campaign on behalf of Elena Kagan for the Supreme Court in spite of her undeniably racist hiring record – this is how Harvard and Yale folks take care of one another.  Notice that our entire Supreme Court is full of Ivy League graduates; the elite protect their power by manipulating the minds of poor and working class Americans.

Let’s be clear, I am no fan of the disposition against President Obama taken three years ago by Tavis Smiley.  I took Tavis to the carpet for his very personal assault on Obama, which I speculate might explain why he hasn’t ever spoken to me (I could actually care less, to be honest).  I am neither an Obama critic nor am I a super fan.   My agenda is simple:  I want to see leading politicians address massive black unemployment, mass incarceration, rampant racial discrimination in the workplace and the dysfunctional educational systems that are destroying black children and families.  To date, politicians are not standing strong on nearly any of these issues, and given that our surveys show that these problems affect the vast majority of the black community, this should be a concern.

What disturbs me most about the calls I’ve received from the White House and others who somehow believe that we are helping the president by resigning our right to free speech, is that the political types in Washington are more concerned about who gets blamed for the problem than they are about solving the problem.  After Dr. Wilmer Leon and I spoke about the seemingly unproductive relationship between the Obama Administration and the Congressional Black Caucus, most prominent critics of that conversation could only ask, “Why are you blaming Valerie Jarrett for canceling meetings with the CBC?”  Most interesting is that I spoke to Dr. Leon because he could provide an objective opinion on political strategy without any of the selfish agendas that drive those who either reject or support the president outright.  Dr. Leon makes it clear that if you spend all of your time either hating the Obama Administration for no reason or popping champagne bottles because you think we’ve hit Juneteenth Part II, you are not using your political voice in an effective way.

I don’t care if the responsibility for Washington’s political apathy falls on Valerie Jarrett, Barack Obama, the CBC or the pet chicken in the front yard.  All I know is that I just talked the daughter of a formerly incarcerated man who told me that none of his five children graduated from high school because their father was not there to guide them.  I am not sure why any black person on the planet would have any incentive whatsoever to vehemently support an administration with a black male attorney general who has not lifted a finger to reform a justice system that is undeniably racist.

So, perhaps those who are quick to implement the “stop snitching on Obama” policy on Cornel West should stop trying to counter his argument by telling West to remain silent.  Instead, he should be silenced with relevant and meaningful action on the part of the Obama Administration.  Spinning, twisting and reshaping the conversation means nothing when black unemployment continues to rise, mass incarceration decimates our people and our children are not being educated.  You can either get angry at someone for calling you fat, or you can take your fat butt to the gym.  Unfortunately, it’s easier for Washington types and elitist liberals to use political double-speak than it is for them to point to concrete evidence that working and middle class black people (the bulk of whom experience rampant and unregulated discrimination in the workplace) have a reason to be excited about the next election.  Whether they should reject President Obama vs. his Republican counterparts is debatable; but whether they should reject all of Washington is undeniable.

The bottom line is simple:  Giving black folks a choice between stale bread and horse manure is not going to make them want to eat at your restaurant.  It’s time for some political courage and action, instead of asking us to submit to a system that clearly isn’t working.  Whether one agrees with Cornel West or not, he must ultimately be given credit for guiding the conversation back to poor, black and brown people.  Attacking West for pointing out the obvious is nothing more than a counter-productive distraction.

Dr. Boyce Watkins is a Professor at Syracuse University and founder of the Your Black World Coalition.  To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered to your email, please click here.

Schuldengrenze erreicht: Amerika darf sich kein neues Geld leihen
FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE: Die Vereinigten Staaten haben ihre Schuldengrenze erreicht und dürfen sich kein neues Geld leihen. Noch können das Sondermaßnahmen hinauszögern. Präsident Obama warnt vor einer neuen Krise - schlimmer als die jüngste.

Die Vereinigten Staaten haben am Montag die gesetzlich erlaubte Schuldengrenze erreicht und dürfen sich kein frisches Geld mehr leihen (siehe Amerika stößt an seine Schuldengrenze). Das Finanzministerium kann nach eigenen Angaben mit Hilfe von Sondermaßnahmen bis zum 2. August Mittel auftreiben, um Rechnungen zu bezahlen. Die Frist könne sich ändern - je nach Entwicklung von Ausgaben und Einnahmen. In den Blick rücken nun die Notreserven und das Tafelsilber. Zunächst will die Regierung ihre Einzahlungen in die staatliche Altersvorsorge stoppen, um den Haushalt zu entlasten. Die Republikaner forderten unterdessen neue Sparanstrengungen.

Wird die Schuldengrenze von derzeit 14,3 Billionen Dollar bis zum Fristablauf nicht erhöht, droht der Zahlungsausfall. Präsident Barack Obama warnte, dann könnten die Vereinigten Staaten in eine Rezession rutschen und eine Finanzkrise lostreten, die schlimmer wäre als die jüngste. » | FAZ.NET / Reuters | Dienstag, 17. Mai 2011

Amnesty slams US on detentions, executions

The US human rights record has been marred by indefinite detentions at Guantanamo Bay and in Afghanistan and by a flawed capital punishment system, Amnesty International said Friday.

In its annual global human rights report, the London-based organisation said US authorities executed 46 people over the past year, despite doubts in several case about the defendants' guilt and questions in others over legal representation or mental impairment.

At the Guantanamo Bay detention center on a US naval base in Cuba, 174 men were still being held at the end of the year, "including 3 who had been convicted under a military commission system which failed to meet international fair trial standards," the report said.

"Scores of men remained in indefinite military detention in Guantanamo as President (Barack) Obama's one-year deadline for closure of the facility there came and went," it said.

"Military commission proceedings were conducted in a handful of cases, and the only Guantanamo detainee so far transferred to the US mainland for prosecution in a federal court was tried and convicted."

Additionally, the report said "hundreds" were being held at the US airbase in Bagram, Afghanistan, without due process and some were "subjected to torture or other ill-treatment, including prolonged isolation, sleep deprivation and exposure to extreme temperatures."

Amnesty said US authorities also "blocked efforts to secure accountability and remedy for crimes under international law committed against detainees previously subjected to the USA's secret detention and rendition programme."

It said there were questions about "crimes under international law of torture and enforced disappearance," under the CIA program where detainees were transferred from one state to another "by means that bypass judicial and administrative due process."

It also noted that former president George W. Bush acknowledged in his memoirs that "he had personally authorised 'enhanced interrogation techniques' for use by the CIA against detainees held in secret custody."

In other criticisms of the United States, Amnesty said "excessive force" by US law enforcement was a concern, with 45 people killed during the past year after being struck by police Tasers -- 450 deaths since 2001.

"Most of the deceased were unarmed and did not appear to present a serious threat when they were shocked," it said.

Amnesty also expressed concern about an immigration law passed in Arizona which could allow police to demand proof of legal status, fearing it would increase "racial profiling."

It also said "hundreds of women continued to die from preventable pregnancy-related complications" because of a lack of health care coverage.

Source: Agence France-Presse, May 13, 2011

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With bin Laden dead, Obama has to turn to the Mideast

Nothing will help the American right wing, the Israeli right wing or Fox News now; the assassination of Osama bin Laden has given U.S. President Barack Obama a decided boost.

Now that bin Laden is dead, Obama is seen not as a geek but as a killer, not as a softy but as a fairly tough leader. The young man has successfully completed his coming-of-age ceremony. Combined with the burgeoning recovery of the economy and the president’s movement toward the political center, bin Laden’s death has turned Obama into a strong and authoritative leader. If he doesn’t make any big mistakes in the coming year, chances are good that he’ll continue living in the White House until 2016.

But Obama insists on making big mistakes. His Middle East policy is inconsistent and incoherent. His guiding principles are obtuse and bizarre. He supported the removal of Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak from office but grants immunity to Syria’s Bashar Assad. He went to war to avoid a bloodbath in Libya, but won’t raise a finger to stop the massacres in Syria.

Weak leadership and a lack of moral clarity continue to characterize Obama. Instead of leading the Arab world to a good place, he’s being dragged along with it to a bad one.

One problem is Iran. The Arab spring has caused a situation in which no Sunni power except for Saudi Arabia now stands in the way of the ayatollahs. The revolutions in Arab countries have also improved the economic situation in Tehran by pushing up the price of oil. Improved strategic and economic positioning allow Iran to rush toward a nuclear reactor and erode America’s hegemony in the region.

Turkey poses another problem. In mid-June, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is expected to win reelection in a landslide victory. Right after that, the temporary respite he’s granted himself will end. Encouraged by the scope of his mandate to govern, this ambitious Islamist will try to build a neo-Ottoman Empire. He’ll work with the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas and Iran to undermine the U.S. foothold in the Middle East.

The third problem is Palestine. As everyone knows, another Black September is in the offing. Palestinian Authority President Mohammed Abbas is provoking Obama by his plan to undermine Israeli stability with the expected international recognition of a Palestinian state and his reconciliation with bin Laden’s supporters in Gaza. If a Hamas-Fatah government leads to PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad’s disappearance from the scene, the result will be the collapse of American’s peace policy.

The fourth problem, Egypt, is the most severe of all. Egypt is likely to go bankrupt by the end of the year because of the loss of income from tourism, the strengthening of the army’s monopoly and the new government’s inability to be anything other than populist. Mubarak was bad? The White House will be longing for him way before Christmas. The economic growth he created will contract. Poverty will turn into shortages, shortages into despair, despair into protest. The army will not be able to withstand the disappointment and rage.

Egypt will become a black hole.

There are no simple solutions to these four problems, none of which are Obama’s doing. Perhaps he hasn’t offered a genuine answer to any of these strategic problems because he did not understand that when he opened the Pandora’s box of the Middle East, he became responsible for what emerged from it. While Obama exhibited professional determination in taking care of Osama, he was hesitant and amateurish when it came to the fundamental problems of the Middle East.

Egypt is the most pressing problem. Two years ago Obama gave a very impressive speech in Cairo. Three months go he encouraged the revolution there. But now the U.S. president has disappeared. Where is the American plan to rebuild the Egyptian nation? Where is the international initiative to save the Egyptian economy? Where is the effort to do on the banks of the Nile what is being done in Ramallah?

The summer of 2011 is the summer of Barack Hussein Obama. If he does not stabilize the Middle East this summer, a regional avalanche will take place by summer’s end. Obama will bear personal responsibility if the Arab spring turns into a cold and bleak winter.

Read more

President Bush Speaks About Bin Laden’s Death

Well GW, it was your idea, so what do you have to say about the death of Osama Bin Laden after a successful mission orchestrated by President Obama.

The Former Presidents Bush and Clinton were both briefed by President Obama of the news before his press conference to the nation, and Bush shortly released the following statement of his own.

“This momentous achievement marks a victory for America, for people who seek peace around the world, and for all those who lost loved ones on September 11, 2001. The fight against terror goes on, but tonight America has sent an unmistakable message: No matter how long it takes, justice will be done.”
Clinton, who had originally started the Bin Laden search back in the early 90′s had this to say,
“This is a profoundly important moment not just for the families of those who lost their lives on 9/11 and in al-Qaida’s other attacks but for people all over the world who want to build a common future of peace, freedom, and cooperation for our children. I congratulate the President, the National Security team and the members of our armed forces on bringing Osama bin Laden to justice after more than a decade of murderous al-Qaida attacks.”

During his address to the nation, Obama said, “Bin Laden was not a Muslim leader; he was a mass murderer of Muslims. Indeed, al Qaeda has slaughtered scores of Muslims in many countries, including our own. So his demise should be welcomed by all who believe in peace and human dignity. Justice has been served.”

by Charley Been

Osama's Back!!! Osama Bin Laden is Not Dead! (Really Obama??)

Osama Bin Landen is Back!! Obama Lied. Osama Bin Laden is Not Dead!!!

Did the Saudis (order Pakistan to) sell out Bin Laden?

Osama Bin Laden apparently lived in Pakistan for much of the past ten years. With all due respect to President Obama's pride in the US forces who got Bin Laden, it should be obvious to all that the United States suddenly found Bin Laden now because someone chose to turn him in. But who? Asia Times' Spengler blog believes that Bin Laden's activities in Yemen were threatening Saudi interests, and therefore the Saudis ordered the Pakistanis - who may yet be the principal Sunni ally for Saudi Arabia - to turn Bin Laden in.

In short, while al-Qaeda had drawn funding from both Saudi and Iranian sources, in present circumstances its activity tended to serve Iranian rather than Saudi interests. Support for terrorism, moreover, is a two-way street: precisely because Saudi Arabia was "a critical financial support base for al-Qaeda", Saudi intelligence knows something about the recipients of their money.

The Saudis, moreover, have an interest in cleaning up the terrorist associations of the Pakistani military. As the Saudi cold war with Iran grows increasingly hot, Riyadh may look towards Islamabad for military support. Asia Times Online has reported that the Bahrain National Guard already is recruiting Pakistani mercenaries. (See Pakistan ready for Middle East role, April 2.)

And there is speculation that Saudi Arabia in a pinch might ask for Pakistani troops, and also that Riyadh might source nuclear weapons technology from Pakistan to counter Iran's nuclear program. Where else might the Saudis go for support in a war with Iran? The Saudis cannot trust the United States. King Abdullah reportedly was enraged that Obama pulled the rug out from under Mubarak, a longstanding American ally. And they cannot trust the Turks, who have become the region's spoiler.

Pakistan's military capacity and urgent need for money make it the Sunni power most amenable to Saudi interests. That is one more reason to clear the deck of unreliable elements like Bin Laden.

Ironically, Bin Laden appears to be a casualty in the great Arab breakdown of 2011. We can only guess as to the details of his demise, and may never know the entire truth. But it is a fair conclusion that he was crushed between the tectonic plates now shifting in the Muslim world.

Read the whole thing.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem

Twitter Revolution: Bin Laden Raid Tweeted Live

By ONE Liners Agency
TUESDAY, May 03, 2011

The U.S. force raid on Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was tweeted live, unknowingly, by an IT consultant in Abbottabad, Pakistan.

Sohaib Athar, living in Abbottabad where bin Laden was killed, tweeted initially before the assault that a overhead helicopter was hovering. He added that the helicopter may not be of Pakistan government.

Athar was not aware that he was tweeting about the biggest milestone of U.S. war against terrorism until Barack Obama announced on national television that Laden is dead.

At 1 a.m. local time Athar posted his first tweet. He said, "Helicopter hovering above Abbottabad at 1AM (is a rare event)."

Next he tweeted about a loud sound of as explosion which is now known to all about the U.S. forces blowing up their damaged helicopter.

Athar tweeted, "A huge window shaking bang here in Abbottabad Cantt. I hope its not the start of something nasty :-S."

While the assault was in progress, this IT consultant also drew information from local friends in the area who were online at the same time.

He said in his tweet, "The few people online at this time of the night are saying one of the copters was not Pakistani..."

He continued, "People are saying it was not a technical fault and it was shot down. I heard it CIRCLE 3-4 times above, sounded purposeful."

According to the US officials, the raid was for 40 mins. Athar tweeted two hours later that still a military presence is there in the area.

Athar's biography in Twitter describes him as: "An IT consultant taking a break from the rat-race by hiding in the mountains with his laptops."

How US Troops Found & Killed Osama Bin Laden, Hard to Believe?

"This was a kill operation," one of the officials said.



"If he had waved a white flag of surrender, he would have been taken alive," the official added. But the operating assumption among the U.S. raiders, he added, was that bin Laden would put up a fight -- which he did.



Bin Laden "participated" in a firefight between the U.S. commandos and residents of the fortified compound near the Pakistani capital Islamabad where he had been hiding, the official said.



Other U.S. officials said the U.S. strike team shot the al Qaeda leader dead with bullets to the chest and head during the course of the 40-minute operation. He did not return fire.



Three other men and a woman lay dead after the raid, but no Americans were killed. Bin Laden's wife, originally thought killed, was only wounded. The woman killed in the raid was not used as a human shield by the al Qaeda leader before his death, a U.S. official said, correcting an earlier description.



John Brennan, President Barack Obama's top counterterrorism adviser, had said U.S. officials believed the dead woman was one of bin Laden's wives and that he had used her as a human shield.



Brennan said the commandos were prepared to capture bin Laden alive, but they knew that was a remote possibility.



"If we had the opportunity to take bin Laden alive, if he didn't present any threat, the individuals involved were able and prepared to do that," Brennan told reporters.



"The concern was that bin Laden would oppose any type of capture operation. Indeed, he did. It was a firefight. He, therefore, was killed in that firefight, and that's when the remains were removed."



The operation was carried out by a team of about 15 special forces operatives -- most, if not all, U.S. Navy SEALs, according to U.S. officials familiar with the details. They indicated the team was based in Afghanistan.



One official said it included forensic specialists whose job was to collect evidence proving that bin Laden was caught in the raid and intelligence that might be useful in tracking down other al Qaeda leaders or foiling ongoing plots.



National Journal said U.S. authorities used intelligence about bin Laden's compound to build a replica of it and use it for trial runs in early April.



Within hours of bin Laden's death, which Obama announced in a dramatic, late-night White House speech, the commandos had buried bin Laden's body at sea, two U.S. officials said.



It was done so that bin Laden's body would not become a symbol of veneration or inspiration for would-be militants, U.S. officials said.



"You wouldn't want to leave him so that his body could become a shrine," one of the officials said.



CIA WAS CONFIDENT



U.S. officials said the key information that eventually led to bin Laden's trail came from questioning of militants detained by U.S. forces following the Sept 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington.



Captured militants, including some held at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, told intelligence officials of a particular al Qaeda "courier" whom they had heard was close to bin Laden.



They also mentioned two captured al Qaeda operations chiefs, including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, widely believed to have masterminded the attacks.



Initially U.S. intelligence did not know either the name or whereabouts of the courier. But officials said that about four years ago, U.S. agencies learned the individual's name.



Two years ago, U.S. intelligence received credible information indicating that the courier and his brother, another suspected militant operative, were operating somewhere near Islamabad.



Then, in August 2010, the U.S. pinpointed the compound in Abbottabad where intelligence indicated the two brothers, their families, and a third large family were living.



It was located in a ritzy neighborhood at the end of a dirt road, not far from one of Pakistan's principal military academies. Residents of the area included retired Pakistani military officers.



Working with the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), which analyzes pictures from spy satellites and aircraft, and the National Security Agency, which conducts electronic eavesdropping, the CIA concluded that the compound was built with unusual security features -- including high-walls topped with barbed-wire -- and that its inhabitants appeared to take unusual security precautions.



By earlier this year, the CIA believed that it had "high confidence" that a "high-value" al Qaeda target was at the Abbottabad compound, and a strong probability that this target was bin Laden.



But one official said the agency was never "100 percent certain" that bin Laden was the one who was hiding out.



(This story was corrected in the seventh paragraph to say commandos were prepared to capture bin Laden alive, not Obama)



(Additional reporting by Steve Holland and Jeff Mason; editing by Warren Strobel and Mohammad Zargham)

Bin Laden's Legacy

Christopher Hitchens has a nice piece about the death of Osama bin Laden over at Slate:

If you tell me that you are staying in a rather nice walled compound in Abbottabad, I can tell you in return that you are the honored guest of a military establishment that annually consumes several billion dollars of American aid. It's the sheer blatancy of it that catches the breath.

There's perhaps some slight satisfaction to be gained from this smoking-gun proof of official Pakistani complicity with al-Qaida, but in general it only underlines the sense of anticlimax. After all, who did not know that the United States was lavishly feeding the same hands that fed Bin Laden? There's some minor triumph, also, in the confirmation that our old enemy was not a heroic guerrilla fighter but the pampered client of a corrupt and vicious oligarchy that runs a failed and rogue state.

Also check out Eight Mysteries About the Killing of Osama bin Laden or you can actually find the full article also at Slate.

Posted byWriter

Bin Laden death 'not an execution'

Osama bin Laden

The death of bin Laden was not an "execution" and does not call into question Europe's opposition to the death penalty, the European Commission said today.

In the wake of a statement from Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso welcoming his death as a "major achievement" which ensured his crimes did not go unpunished, a spokeswoman insisted the EU's underlying values of justice were not called into question.

"Our values relating to justice in the EU are very important values for us."

She said the statement, issued jointly with EU Council president Herman Van Rompuy, hailed an "important defeat" for a terrorist movement responsible for many deaths across the world.

She added: "Bin Laden was responsible for many deaths and with his death one enemy has disappeared and we see that as a step towards making the world a safer place.

"This in no way questions the basic principles and values we have always supported ... this was not the execution of a death sentence, it was something completely different. We continue to be against the death penalty."

The joint Commission statement said: "Osama bin Laden was a criminal responsible for heinous terrorist attacks that cost the lives of thousands of innocent people. His death makes the world a safer place and shows that such crimes do not remain unpunished.

"This is a major achievement in our efforts to rid the world of terrorism.

"The European Union continues to stand shoulder to shoulder with the United States, our international partners and our friends in the Muslim world in combating the scourge of global extremism and in building a world of peace, security and prosperity for all."

Thorbjorn Jagland, secretary general of Europe's human rights watchdog the Council of Europe, hailed the death as of huge significance.

He said: "The news of the death of Osama bin Laden is certainly an important step in the international efforts in fighting terrorism. It is of immense symbolic significance.

"However, as recent events have shown, the threat of terrorism remains acute today and the Council of Europe is dedicated to combating terrorism together with its member states."

European Parliament president Jerzy Buzek said: "We have woken up in a more secure world.

"Although the fight of the international community against terrorists is not over, an important step has been made in the fight against al-Qa’ida, to give security to millions of people: Christians, Muslims, all those who believe in peaceful coexistence."

Osama bin Laden, mastermind of the attacks of September 11 and the man who ever since has remained an elusive, shadowy presence at the centre of perhaps the world’s greatest manhunt, has been killed by special forces troops at a compound two hours outside of Islamabad.

The al-Qa’ida leader was killed on Sunday during an operation north of the Pakistani capital led by helicopter-borne US special forces.

Source: The Independent, May 2, 2011

How bin Laden was killed

The raid on bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad, about 50 kilometers (31 miles) north of Islamabad, came about four years after U.S. intelligence officials identified a man who served as one of the al Qaeda leader's trusted couriers, according to senior Obama administration officials.

Bin Laden was shot in the head and chest during the operation, a senior administration official told CNN. White House counterterrorism adviser John Brennan said that despite intelligence indicating that he was in the compound, there was no certainty the al Qaeda leader was actually there when the president authorized the assault.

In announcing bin Laden's death Sunday night, Obama called it "the most significant achievement to date in our nation's effort to defeat al Qaeda."

"A small team of Americans carried out the operation with extraordinary courage and capability. No Americans were harmed. They took care to avoid civilian casualties," he said. "After a firefight, they killed Osama bin Laden and took custody of his body."

Four others in the compound died in the raid, including bin Laden's adult son and a woman, Brennan said.

"Thinking about that from a visual perspective, here is bin Laden, who has been calling for these attacks, living in this million-dollar-plus compound; living in an area that is far removed from the front; hiding behind women who were put in front of him as a shield," Brennan told reporters. "I think it really just speaks to just how false his narrative has been over the years."

A senior administration official said later that the woman who died was not bin Laden's wife and may not have been used as a human shield, as originally reported. Nor did bin Laden have a gun, as earlier reports had indicated, the senior official said.

A DNA match confirmed with virtual certainty that bin Laden was killed in the operation, a senior administration official told CNN. Officials compared DNA of the person killed with bin Laden "family DNA," a senior administration official said, and a senior U.S. defense official said one of bin Laden's wives identified the body to U.S. forces.

There are also photographs of the body with a gunshot wound to the side of the head that shows an individual who is recognizable as bin Laden, a U.S. government official said. No decision has yet been made on whether to release the photographs and if so, when and how.

Calling the U.S. operation a surgical raid, officials said it was conducted by a small team and designed to minimize collateral damage.

A firefight was under way for most of the 40 minutes that U.S. Special Operations forces were in the compound, as the team encountered resistance from bin Laden and three other men, a senior defense official said.

The official said the forces had to fight their way through the first floor of the three-story building, where two adult males lived.

Bin Laden and his family lived on the second and third floors, and they were cleared last, with bin Laden killed in the last five or 10 minutes of the siege, the official said.

One of bin Laden's wives identified his body to U.S. forces after the team made visual identification, the official said.

In the end, all four of the combatants in the compound were dead, along with a woman whom one of the men used as a human shield, the officials said. Sources said bin Laden was shot in the head.

John Brennan, assistant to the president for homeland security and counterterrorism, said it is his understanding that the woman who was killed was one of bin Laden's wives.

Later, a senior U.S. official said that bin Laden's wife was not the woman killed and that she may not have been used as a human shield after all. This official also said that bin Laden was shot twice, once in the chest and once in the head.

At some point, one of the assaulting helicopters crashed due to a mechanical failure, according to the officials. It was destroyed as the U.S. team flew away, they said.

Obama and the senior administration officials said no U.S. forces were harmed in the operation, which took place very early Monday morning Pakistani time.

Source: CNN, May 3, 2011


Storming bin Laden's compound

Bin Laden's compound

The operation took place at a fortified compound on the outskirts of Abbottabad in north-west Pakistan.

It happened at some time between 0000 and 0130 local time on Monday morning (Sunday 1900-2030 GMT), dozens of local residents told a BBC reporter. Between two and four helicopters were seen flying low over the area, causing panic among some residents.

Residents describe hearing three explosions several minutes apart, followed by a huge explosion that shook their houses and knocked crockery from shelves. Most residents said they then also heard gunshots, but that the firing was brief, just a couple of minutes or so.

As the explosions started, they say, the lights in the area went off, going on and off again shortly afterwards. One report quotes some residents as saying they were commanded in Pashto - not the common language of the area - to turn their lights off, but this is unconfirmed.

It is believed that militants inside the house fired at the helicopters, but eventually they were able to land or hover outside the compound, and the commandos - a special team of some 15 or 25 US Navy Seals - emerged from them.

At some point in the operation one of the helicopters crashed, either from technical failure or having been hit by gunfire from the ground. But no US commandos were injured.

There are contradictory reports about which base the helicopters took off from, with some saying the US air bases at Jalalabad or Bagram in Afghanistan, but others suggesting it was the nearby Ghazi air base inside Pakistan.

Security concerns

The target of the operation was the compound, which had at its centre a large three-storey building with high walls, barbed wire and security cameras - and few windows.

The compound - valued at about $1m (£600,000) - had two security gates but no phone or internet lines running into the building.

Its occupants were so concerned about security that they were reported to burn their rubbish rather than leave it out for collection as other residents in the area did.

Mr Brennan told reporters that the commando team had been "able and prepared" to take Bin Laden alive "if he didn't present any threat".

"The concern was that Bin Laden would oppose any type of capture operation. Indeed, he did. It was a firefight. He, therefore, was killed in that firefight, and that's when the remains were removed," said Mr Brennan.

However other US officials who spoke to news agencies on condition of anonymity denied that Bin Laden had returned fire.

The al-Qaeda leader was in his bedroom when he was shot twice, officials said - once in the head and once in the chest.

Footage purporting to be of the bedroom appears to show a round gaping hole in the wall, suggesting US forces blasted their way into the building.

US officials described the operation as a "surgical raid" and said that as well as Bin Laden, three adult males - thought to comprise Bin Laden's trusted courier, his brother and Bin Laden's adult son - were killed.

A woman was also killed. She was originally reported to be one of Bin Laden's wives, though later reports suggested his wife was only wounded. There have also been conflicting reports as to whether the woman who died was being used as a human shield.

A senior intelligence official told reporters at a US Department of Defense briefing that Bin Laden's body was identified visually on the scene by operatives, by name by a woman at the scene believed to be one of his wives, by CIA specialists using photos and finally later on Monday by experts who found "virtually a 100% DNA match of the body against DNA of several Bin Laden family members".

The team left the compound carrying documents, hard drives and DVDs which it is hoped could yield further valuable intelligence data, officials said.

According to an official from Pakistan's main intelligence agency, the ISI, there were 17 or 18 people in the compound at the time of the attack, while US officials say those who survived the attack included a wife, a daughter, and eight to nine other children, not apparently Bin Laden's.

The ISI and US officials contradict each other as to whether a detainee was taken away alive.

Bin Laden's body was then flown to Afghanistan before eventually being buried at sea. US officials said this was to avoid his grave becoming a shrine.

Source: BBC, May 3, 2011


May 4, 2011 Updates

U.S. revises story on bin Laden's raid, offers more details

Bin Laden's residence sits in
a region where most residents
are Pakistani army personnel.

Abbottabad, Pakistan (CNN) -- U.S. officials issued a revised version of the nighttime raid that killed the world's most-notorious terrorist.

The 40-minute raid early Monday in Pakistan left Osama bin Laden dead, along with four others in the complex that sits on a mountainous region near the capital.

Bin Laden was not armed during the raid, but he put up resistance when U.S. forces entered the compound, the White House said. Officials had earlier said that bin Laden was an active participant in the firefight, implying that he was armed and gave the U.S. Navy SEALs little choice but to shoot him down.

After the operation, U.S. forces departed with the al Qaeda leader's body, nearly 10 years after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States.

U.S. military personnel arrived on two helicopters, attacked the residence and started moving methodically from room to room, said White House Press Secretary Jay Carney.

They were engaged in a firefight throughout the operation, he said.

There were no armed guards around the compound, according to a U.S. official who is not authorized to speak on the record.

CIA Director Leon Panetta told PBS "NewsHour" that the original plan was for two Black Hawk helicopters, carrying 25 people, to go into the compound.

The first was to go over a courtyard, while the second was to go over the roof. But the first helicopter had problems and had to set down on the ground, prompting the second one to do the same, he said.

"Both teams immediately went into the compound itself. They had to breach about three or four walls in order to get in there," he said. "They were able to do that and they immediately then went into the compound itself and fought their way up to the third floor."

Besides the bin Laden family, two other families lived in the compound, according to Carney.

On the first floor of the building, two al Qaeda couriers were killed in addition to a woman caught in the crossfire, he said.

Bin Laden and his family lived on the second and third floors, and they were cleared last, with bin Laden killed toward the end of the siege, Carney said.

Bin Laden was not armed but did put up resistance when U.S. forces entered the compound, he said.

According to the U.S. official, who is not authorized to speak on the record, bin Laden "didn't hold his hands up and surrender."

A woman in the room with him -- believed to be bin Laden's wife -- rushed U.S. forces and was shot in the leg, but not killed, said Carney.

Officials had earlier said that bin Laden was shielded during the shooting by women, including his wife.

Five of the approximately two dozen people in the compound were killed -- the two couriers, the woman, bin Laden and his son, said the U.S. official who sought anonymity.

Panetta told PBS he didn't think bin Laden said anything to U.S. forces before he was killed. Read more.

Source: CNN, May 4, 2011


White House changes story: Bin Laden unarmed

The administration possesses graphic images of bin Laden's corpse, at least one of which is likely to be released, according to CIA Director Leon Panetta. Officials hope that doing so would quiet any doubts that bin Laden is indeed dead. The worry is that anti-U.S. sentiment would be inflamed as a result.

CBS News national security correspondent David Martin has also had the photos described to him and said it "does sound very gruesome."

Bin Laden was shot twice at close range, once in the chest and once in the head, right above his left eye and that bullet opened his skull, exposing his brain and it also blew out his eye. So these are not going to be pictures for the squeamish," Martin said.

How did bin Laden resist Navy SEALs without a weapon?

White House officials initially suggested bin Laden had been holding a gun and perhaps firing at U.S. forces. The corrected account raised questions about whether the Americans ever planned to take him alive, or simply were out to kill him.

After they shot him in the head and chest, the SEAL team in just minutes quickly swept bin Laden's compound for useful intelligence, making off with a cache of computer equipment and documents. The CIA was hurriedly setting up a task force to review the material from the highest level of al Qaeda's leadership.

The revised account of bin Laden's final moments was one of many official details that have changed since he was killed in the nighttime raid early Monday morning in the Pakistani city of Abbottabad. The White House misidentified which of bin Laden's sons was killed — it was Khalid, not Hamza. Officials incorrectly said bin Laden's wife died in gunfire while serving as his human shield. That actually was the wife of a bin Laden aide, and she was just caught in crossfire, the White House said Tuesday.

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney attributed those discrepancies to the fog of war, saying the information was coming in bit by bit and was still being reviewed. Nevertheless, the contradictory statements may raise suspicions about the White House's version of events, given that no independent account from another source is likely to emerge. The only non-U.S. witnesses to survive the raid are in Pakistani custody.

Source: CBSNews, May 4, 2011


May 5, 2011 Update

Account Tells of One-Sided Battle in Bin Laden Raid

The new details suggested that the raid, though chaotic and bloody, was extremely one-sided, with a force of more than 20 Navy Seal members quickly dispatching the handful of men protecting Bin Laden.

Administration officials said that the only shots fired by those in the compound came at the beginning of the operation, when Bin Laden’s trusted courier, Abu Ahmed al-Kuwaiti, opened fire from behind the door of the guesthouse adjacent to the house where Bin Laden was hiding.

After the Seal members shot and killed Mr. Kuwaiti and a woman in the guesthouse, the Americans were never fired upon again.

This account differs from an official version of events issued by the Pentagon on Tuesday, and read by the White House spokesman, Jay Carney, which said the Seal members “were engaged in a firefight throughout the operation.”

In a television interview on PBS on Tuesday, Leon E. Panetta, the director of the C.I.A., said, “There were some firefights that were going on as these guys were making their way up the staircase of that compound.”

Administration officials said the official account of events has changed over the course of the week because it has taken time to get thorough after-action reports from the Seal team. And, they added, because the Special Operations troops had been fired upon as soon as they touched down in the compound, they were under the assumption that everyone inside was armed.

“They were in a threatening and hostile environment the entire time,” one American official said.

When the commandos moved into the main house, they saw the courier’s brother, who they believed was preparing to fire a weapon. They shot and killed him. Then, as they made their way up the stairs of the house, officials said they killed Bin Laden’s son Khalid as he lunged toward the Seal team.

When the commandos reached the top floor, they entered a room and saw Osama bin Laden with an AK-47 and a Makarov pistol in arm’s reach. They shot and killed him, as well as wounding a woman with him.

The firefight over and Bin Laden dead, the team found a trove of information and had the time to remove much of it: about 100 thumb drives, DVDs and computer disks, along with 10 computer hard drives and 5 computers. There were also piles of paper documents in the house.

The White House declined to release any additional details about the operation, saying that further information would jeopardize the military’s ability to conduct clandestine operations in the future. The administration’s reticence came after it was forced on Tuesday to correct parts of its initial account of the raid, including assertions that Bin Laden had used his wife as a “human shield.”

Source: The New York Times, May 5, 2011


Michael Moore: Bin Laden Wasn't Killed, He Was Executed

Osama bin Laden wasn’t killed by a Navy SEAL team -- he was straight up executed, Michael Moore told TheWrap on Wednesday.

The “Fahrenheit 9/11” director has been setting Twitter aflame Wednesday afternoon urging the Obama administration to come clean about the circumstances surrounding the terrorist leader’s death -- particularly in light of the White House’s shifting account of last weekend’s firefight in Abbottabad (see map below).

The Oscar-winning director has been tweeting about his belief that Bin Laden should have received a trial, and his theory that Pakistan was keeping the Al Qaeda head under house arrest. TheWrap grilled Moore about his controversial views.

Is Obama lying about how Bin Laden died?

Common sense tells you he was executed. That was the plan all along. Just tell us that and quit treating us like children.

I have a lot of faith in Obama, but we’ve received three different stories in three days. We heard, "There was a firefight." "He used a woman as a shield." Now it turns out none of these things were true. He wasn’t armed.

Does it matter if he was executed? Do you think he deserved a trial?

I am a Catholic, and the position of the Catholic Church and the Pope is that we are 100 percent against the death penalty unless it is in self-defense. Look at the Nuremberg Trials. We didn’t just pop a bullet in the heads of the worst scum in history. We thought it was important to put them on trial and expose their evil. In a democracy we believe in a system of justice and we believe in a judicial system that gives people a day in court...and then we hung them.

It doesn’t mean we can’t hang them afterward.

Do you think people will be angry if it turns out the operation was less heroic than it originally seemed?

It was heroic. There was no need to embellish things. People in positions of power tread so gingerly around the electorate. Some people may not like it, but don’t bullsh*t us anymore about stuff like this.

The government, especially the Pentagon, has a poor track record of telling the truth, starting with Jessica Lynch. Pat Tillman, that was all made up, and this firefight is going to turn out to be hooey.

Also Read: Killing Bin Laden: Keeping Secrets in the Age of WikiLeaks

Will it hurt Obama if the story turns out to have been partly false?

It won’t hurt him, because the basic facts will remain the same. Osama is still dead and everybody is happy about it.

In your tweets you say that Pakistan was safeguarding Bin Laden.

This is not a conspiracy theory. This was a garrison city. He was living in a compound attached to their version of West Point.

Source: TheWrap, Brent Lang, May 5, 2011


May 6, 2011 Update

Osama Bin Laden: Legality of Killing Questioned

The death of the man held responsible for mass atrocities, including the 11 September 2001 attacks, was welcomed around the world.

But as the US narrative of the raid has developed - and changed - since Monday's raid, there have been growing questions about whether it was legal to kill the al-Qaeda leader.

At one level, these questions have focused on what happened during the operation at the building in Abbottabad in which Bin Laden was found.

"The issue here is whether what was done was an act of legitimate self-defence," said Benjamin Ferencz, an international law specialist who served as a prosecutor during the Nuremburg trials and argued that it would have been better to capture Bin Laden and send him to court.

"Killing a captive who poses no immediate threat is a crime under military law as well as all other law," he told the BBC World Service.

'Killing appropriate'

Putting the case for the legality of the raid on Wednesday, US Attorney General Eric Holder said it was "conducted in a way that was consistent with our law, with our values".

"If he had surrendered, attempted to surrender, I think we should obviously have accepted that, but there was no indication that he wanted to do that and therefore his killing was appropriate," he told the Senate judiciary committee.

No blow-by-blow account of what happened in the moments before Bin Laden was shot has been agreed upon.

US officials have suggested that Bin Laden may have been reaching for a weapon, and that the Navy Seals may have suspected that people in the compound were wearing suicide belts.

But they have also said Bin Laden was not carrying a weapon - after initially saying he was.

And they have told US media that just one person in the compound shot at the special forces team, in what appears to have been a fairly one-sided confrontation.

Legal experts have therefore asked whether the US forces were instructed to kill, and whether Bin Laden was given a chance to surrender.

'Proportionate response?'

Like Mr Ferencz, British law professor Philippe Sands QC, of University College London says it is impossible to make a definitive legal judgement without knowing precisely what happened. But he says the case for the raid's legality has been weakened.

"The question to ask is: were the measures taken in the actual situation that pertained reasonable and proportionate given the circumstances in which the [Navy Seals] found themselves?" he told the BBC.

"The facts for Bin Laden don't appear to easily meet that standard."

On a broader level, US officials have justified Bin Laden's killing as an act committed as part of an armed conflict with al-Qaeda.

Mr Holder said Bin Laden's killing was "an act of national self-defence", calling the al-Qaeda leader "a lawful military target" who had acknowledged his role in the 9/11 attacks.

"It's lawful to target an enemy commander in the field," he said.

Some legal experts have backed up that position.

"I don't think that this is an extrajudicial killing," Philip Bobbitt, a specialist on constitutional law and international security, told the BBC's Today programme. "I think this is part of an armed conflict authorised by the United Nations, authorised by both houses of Congress."

'Setting precedents'

But the fact that Bin Laden was killed in a normally quiet town in a country that was not informed about the raid until after it had finished, has also raised questions.

"As a matter of international law, one country is not free to enter another country apparently without the authorisation of that country, and intervene, whether to kidnap or kill a national of a third state," Mr Sands said.

He acknowledged that under the doctrine of necessity, where there is an "overriding threat to national security", such an act might not give rise to responsibility or liability.

But he said the difficulty with that argument was that it was put forward against a background of a rise in extrajudicial killings, including through the use of drones, and that this was not a "lawful direction to be taking".

The logical conclusion of any idea that Bin Laden could be killed as an enemy combatant was "that anyone associated with al-Qaeda in any country in the world can be taken out, can be executed," Mr Sands said.

"I think it's deeply troubling if we are indeed moving to a place where you can have a global assassination policy for those who are perceived to cause trouble," he added.

The UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Christof Heyns, and the special rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism, Martin Scheinin, have raised a similar concern.

"In certain exceptional cases, use of deadly force may be permissible as a measure of last resort... including in operations against terrorists," they said in statement.

"However, the norm should be that terrorists be dealt with as criminals, through legal processes of arrest, trial and judicially decided punishment," they added.

"Actions taken by states in combating terrorism, especially in high profile cases, set precedents for the way in which the right to life will be treated in future instances."

Source: BBC News, May 6, 2011



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OSAMA BIN LADEN DEAD - BARACK OBAMA SPEECH OFFICIAL BREAKING NEWS

"Justice has been done," the president declared as crowds formed outside the White House to celebrate, singing "The Star-Spangled Banner" and "We Are the Champions," NBC News reported.

Obama said bin Laden, whom he called a terrorist "responsible for the murder of thousands of American men, women and children," was killed in Pakistan earlier in the day after a firefight in an operation that was based on U.S. intelligence.

Officials long believed that bin Laden, the most wanted man in the world, was hiding a mountainous region along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.

It is a major accomplishment for Obama and his national security team, having fulfilled the goal once voiced by Obama's predecessor, George W. Bush, to bring to justice the mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks.

Obama declared that "the death of bin Laden marks the most significant achievement to date in our nation's struggle to defeat al-Qaida," he stressed that the effort continues.

"We must and we will remain vigilant at home and abroad," he said, while emphasizing that "the United States is not and never will be at war with Islam."



obama gives his speech on the killing of osama bin laden!!

OSAMA BIN LADEN IS DEAD

By STAFF Writer
Monday, May 02, 2011

Al-Qaeda leader Bin Laden is Dead, says U.S. President Barack Obama.

Al-Qaida mastermind and the most wanted face of terrorism Osama bin Laden was killed in Pakistan in a firefight with United States forces on Sunday, announced President Obama.

Mr. President declared in a dramatic late-night appearance in White House East Room that "justice has been done."

Six days after 9/11 WTC attacks a reporter asked the then U.S. President George W. Bush, "Do you want Bin Laden dead?" Bush replied, "I want him — I want justice." About a decade after the quest ended with the death of Osama.

Crowds outside White House after the news of Laden's death flashed

In a 80-minute confrontation with American forces in the medium-sized city of Abbttabad in Pakistan came end of Bin Laden. He was presumed to be hiding for long in this remote tribal area, about an hour's drive from Islamabad and home to Pakistani military base.

The massive compound where he was sheltered included a house about eight times larger than other homes in the locality. The house, however, had no Internet connections and not even a telephone.

According to a senior administration official, when American operatives converged, Osama "resisted the assault force" and in the middle of intense gun battle he was killed.

The official added further that first time last summer intelligence and military officials learned about a "high-value target" being protected in the compound. Since then a plan was being worked to get Laden. President Obama presided few national security meetings in beginning of March at the White House to discuss about the operation plan and on Friday morning he gave the final order of strike.

Al-Qaida Leaders Were In Pakistan On 9/11: WikiLeaks

Federal Government Shutdown Averted, US Lawmakers Reach Budget Deal

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Federal Government Shutdown Countdown Begins, 800,000 Staff May Be Suspended

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By ONE Liners Agency

WORLD NEWS / U.S. NEWS - Countdown has begun for government shutdown in United States after four failed talks in last three days between President Barack Obama and the Senate leaders. The shutdown will be first time in 15 years in which the budget negotiators have been able to resolved the lingering differences on Thursday night in second White House meeting. The federal shutdown could see the suspension of about 800,000 staff from work. However, efforts are being made to secure a last-minute deal at the White House meeting between Mr President and the Republican House Speaker John Boehner.
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Follow-up News: Federal Government Shutdown Averted, US Lawmakers Reach Budget Deal
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What would a federal government shutdown mean to Americans

Social Security - Of course there may be delayed for new enrollees in starting their benefits, but the existing social security checks would remain as normal and continue to be paid.

Medicare - It has been expected to flow as usual says doctors and hospitals. In the 1995 government shutdown, the Medicare payments flowed in normal way for seniors.

Postal Service - There will be no stopping in the delivery of mails and post office operations. It will be functioning usual as the postal service operates on its own funding stream.

Military and Homeland Security - People who are deemed essential for the security of the country either in Afghanistan, or US border, or at airports, would stay on the job.

Taxes - Still the tax filing date remains the same - April 18. Electronic returns will be processed said Internal Revenue Service. This means the paper returns process would be delayed by the government shutdown. The big question here is whether the department will get refunds promptly with electronic filers. Yet to find out.

Federal Government Employees - The pay of those employees whose salary is funded through annual appropriations may get furloughed. This may not be the case with those employees whose duties qualify as essential.

Federal Government Contractors - Many of the private contractors may go unpaid with this government shutdown and may be until a budget accord is reached.

What would a federal government shutdown mean to U.S. economy

According to many forecasters, the federal government shutdown would not have a big impact on the economy of the nation, if it is assumed that it does not last long. Few says it could cut down investors confidence in the economy. The investors may be more anxious whether Washington is able to manage the finances.

Martin Baily of Brookings Institution wrote recently that the shutdown could have positive impact on investors as they can see a sign "that we as a nation are going to get serious about our addiction to debt."

What other media writing on federal government shutdown

Wall Street Journal - Budget Talks Remain at Impasse
Los Angeles Times - Still no deal to avert government shutdown
USA Today - Reid blames possible shutdown on Tea Party's 'extreme social agenda'
Reuters - Reid says Republicans want shutdown to close clinics
AFP - US House speaker blasts White House on spending

Yemen police injure over 400 protesters

Thousands of demonstrators had planned a 2 a.m. march to protest Sunday’s crackdown on protesters in Taiz, south of capital Sana’a, that killed two people and injured over a hundred others.

Police fired live rounds and tear gas against the crowd that wounded at least 409 people.

The protesters are demanding the ouster of President Ali Abdullah Salah who has often signaled that he has no intention of resigning soon.

“A successful revolution in Yemen could mean the whole Persian Gulf region erupting into revolution,” Chris Bambery, a Middle East expert, told Press TV on Sunday.

“Yemen has been an important staging post for the Americans … It is one of the major centers of the CIA in the region,” he said.

Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh is an important ally for the US and the Saudis and they are trying to keep him in power to maintain their control over the Persian Gulf region, the analyst underlined.

Therefore, “There is no attempt [by the West] to reveal the realities of the Saleh regime: the torture, the repression, or the record of the Saudis constantly intervening in Yemen, carrying out bombing missions, etc.” he argued.

Inspired by the protests of Tunisia and Egypt, Yemen has witnessed daily anti-government protest rallies since mid-February, which demand crucial economic and political reforms, including an immediate end to President Saleh’s 33-year rule
Several opposition members argue that his long-promised political and economic reforms have not materialized.

PREPARE FOR THE LEFT TO DECLARE “VICTORY” IN LIBYA AND CROWN OBAMA A SAVIOR

by Vilmar
For all the grandstanding and fancy speeches Obama gave about Libya, it appears he does not have the intestinal fortitude to see it all through and so we’ve basically pulled out of Libyan military actions.

Two weeks after a dark-of-night barrage of mostly U.S. missiles and bombs opened the international air assault on Libya’s Moammar Gadhafi, the American combat role is ending, the rag-tag rebels are reeling and the Pentagon is betting its European allies can finish the job.
Gadhafi is still standing, with a few uncertain signs that his inner circle could crack. The Obama administration is hoping that if Gadhafi’s government doesn’t implode soon, a relentless campaign of airstrikes on his tanks, air defenses and most trusted army units will at least weaken his ability to survive a renewed uprising by a disjointed opposition. The rebels initially rattled Gadhafi but in recent days have given up most of their gains.

The bottom line, according to Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff: “He’s still killing his people.”

So the mission remains incomplete, but the U.S. is following through on a pledge to shift the main combat burden to Britain, France and other NATO allies.

Starting Sunday, no U.S. combat aircraft are to fly strike missions in Libya. NATO’s on-scene commander can request American strikes in the days ahead, in which case they may have to be approved in Washington.

On Saturday, U.S. combat aircraft flew 24 strike missions in Libya, the Pentagon said.
Some in Congress, including Sen. John McCain, the ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, have criticized the decision to withdraw U.S. combat aircraft from the regular cycle of NATO strikes.

Also withdrawing from the combat mission on Sunday will be the initial workhorses of the military campaign: U.S. Navy destroyers and submarines that launched Tomahawk cruise missiles from their positions in the Mediterranean Sea. No Tomahawks were fired Saturday, the Pentagon said.

In a nutshell, expect the Kept-Whores to go orgasmic praising their Messiah as a hero with courage to see tough fights through.
And if Gaddafi stays in power, the media will still praise Obama for being “smaht” enough to get us out…all the while ignoring the reasons he said we needed to get in there…..without any Congressional approval or consultation.

Oil Prices Soar to Highest Price Since 2008 on Obama’s Libya War … Up 100% Under Obama

Welcome to Obama’s QUAGMIRE …

It is amateur hour in the White House and “We the People” are feeling the brunt of the inexperience. Obama truly is the worst President ever. 

Thanks to Barack Obama’s “Kinetic Military Operation” WAR in Libya oil prices have climbed to their highest level since 2008. Obama claimed that the military operation in Libya would last days not weeks. The community organizer and “Ditherer” in Chief could never have been so wrong. Who but an inexperienced and completed over-matched individual could ever have thought that a any military action would have ended so quickly.

Instead of a quick outcome and slam dunk in Libya as stated by Obama, fighters loyal to Moammar Gadhafi pushed back rebels from key areas in eastern Libya and have dealt the rebels a severe setback. Today, a spokesman for the Libyan leader said that Gaddafi will stay in Libya “until the end”.  The result … oil prices rose to a 30 month high and the pain at the gas pumps will be felt by American workers trying to get to work. More ‘Hope & Change’ from Obama … rising gas prices.

Battles between Gadhafi’s troops and rebels have seesawed back and forth in Libyan ports and towns since mid-February, with the price of oil rising more than $20 a barrel since then. Energy consultants Cameron Hanover said traders are beginning to view the Libya uprising as a standoff for now. ‘Without control of the air, Gadhafi’s troops have been unable to hammer home their gains. And, without strong and well-trained ground forces, the rebels seem incapable of holding onto their gains. Optimism that Libyan oil might return to the market, seen earlier this week, was dashed.”

Libya’s oil exports, which went mainly to Europe, are shut down. The rebels have said they plan to start shipping oil again, although how soon that could happen is unclear.

As per ABC News, the weekly national average gas price showed the highest price ever during the month of March and the seventh consecutive increase this week,
Under President Barack Obama, oil prices have doubled and are up 100%. THANKS BARACK. Not only has this President been a complete incompetent failure in creating a $787  billion stimulus plan that created no jobs, added a ridiculous amount to the federal debt with Obamacare and has hampered job creation by an over-reaching and over-regulative government … the “Not Ready for Prime Time” President has not got the US into a hornet’s nest in Libya as oil prices skyrocket.

According to the GasBuddy gasoline price tracking web site, the price of a gallon of regular gas was around $1.79 when Mr. Obama took office. Today the national average is $3.58. The lowest average price in the continental United States is $3.31 in Tulsa Oklahoma, the highest is $4.14 in Santa Barbara, CA.

Who would ever have thought that during the 2008 Democrat primaries in the run up to the 2008 Presidential election that Joe Biden would have been the sage of sages and stated the following regarding the rank amateur Barack Obama. Watch VIDEO.

Biden said that Obama was not ready for the job and the Presidency is not one that lends itself to on the job training. Biden’s reply, “I stand by that statement”. Looks like Joe was 100% correct. However, as we are reminded by the Gateway Pundit Jim Hoft, Peggy was wrong. Obama was not going to pay for our gas, he doubled it instead. I wonder what peggy has to say for herself today? Sadly, the Kool-Aide drinking Obamaite would blame it still on George W. Bush.