May 1, 2011

Can we go home now?

From the Drudge Report:
We Got Him.

By the way, here's my movie review of September 26, 2001.

It turns out that Abbottabad, where OBL was living, isn't some out-of-the-way hole in the ground, it's a resort town with a golf course where the the Pakistan Military Academy is located. The Google Maps view of the town is pretty hilarious because of all the Pakistani elite institutions located in Abbottabad. It's like West Point, Annapolis, and Colorado Springs rolled into one. Clearly, the U.S. has been scammed by Pakistani authorities for years.
Abbottabad, the city where Osama bin Laden met his death on Sunday, has a long history dating from the days of British rule as a military station. It remains today the headquarters of a brigade in the Second Division of Pakistan's Northern Army Corps, and is dotted with military buildings and home to thousands of army personnel. The Associated Press says the house where bin Laden died is just 100 yards from a Pakistani military academy.

Abbottabad, which is named after James Abbott, is known as the City of Schools. Presumably, Osama was just looking for a neighborhood with good schools for his kids.

Are we going to have to declare war on Pakistan?

We've been scammed.

SCAM SCAM SCAM.

55 comments:

  1. I'm in Chicago, women here are ululating in the street and throwing rice showers - think I'm going to go fire my gun in the air.

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  2. I look forward to reading the inevitable books about this special forces operation. I'd also like to shake the hands of the Delta Force operators or whomever pulled this off.

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  3. James N.S.W Australia5/1/11, 8:47 PM

    Forgive me for being cynical, but I don't care about this. I understand the symbolism and the emotional impact this will have but from a practical perspective it matters zilch. If anything this might be a bad thing if it assists in Barry's re-election in 2012.

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  4. Can't wait for that beer with Peggy Noonan on the steps of Federal Hall....

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  5. USA USA USA

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  6. Are they sure this is Bin Laden ?

    I'm going to need to see a birth certificate or something....

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  7. Captain Jack Aubrey5/1/11, 9:08 PM

    Thrilled he is dead. Thrilled it was American servicemen (apparently) who got him. They've sacrificed enough in the last 10 years, they deserve this win.

    However, the events that have transpired since 9/11, the costs of two wars, the political mismanagement of every sort - all make that distant event seem less important in retrospect. There are still much, much greater threats to our country than OBL.

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  8. Actually, it's probably more newsworthy that "The Man Who Would Be King" is finally coming out on blu-ray next month. The only dvd version that's ever been released is of such low quality that it's really not worth watching. With luck it'll be restored properly:

    http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/The-Man-Who-Would-Be-King-Blu-ray/20577/

    Also, dueling Michael Caines from Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon on the BBC
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFIQIpC5_wY

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  9. So, at this rate, Muammar Gaddafi only has 9 years and 7 months left to live.

    Of course, the life expectancy of Qathafey's grandchildren is probably a lot lower.

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  10. I have never believed that Osama Bin Ladin was an actual person. And hearing the news cycles' made up version of the origin of the Taliban and Al Qaeda, I am even less inclined to be credulous.

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  11. the official position is that the US has no troops in pakistan. you can't withdraw from a nation you don't have troops in.

    meanwhile, deadliest month in iraq for americans in 2 years, nobody knows what's going on in libya except random bystanders are now getting blown up by "the good guys", 500 taliban make a prison break in afghanistan and launch an attack initiative, and the new more muslim egypt is now friendly towards israel's enemies.

    US television media gives none of this any coverage, obama takes no questions or heat about any of it, ever.

    there could be a re-election in the air.

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  12. Can we go home now?

    Has Syria been tamed?

    Has Iran been vanquished?

    Is Libya a land of rainbows, unicorns, gumdrop smiles and incorruptible democracy?

    Have we yet agreed to take in millions more Muslim immigrants to do jobs that Americans won't do and preach doctrines Americans disdain?

    Is the world safe for Israel?

    I'm afraid the answer to your question, like all of my questions, is no.

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  13. Truth said...

    "GOLDSTEIN IS DEAD"

    Too bad. He seemed to have had a lot of talent.

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Goldstein

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  14. In reality, bin Laden actually died circa December 2001. He was reported dead at that time, and there wasn't much "proof" of his continued existence after that point except for the Extremely Blurry (TM) video that came out just before the 2004 presidential election. I guess they finally decided keeping up the charade was more trouble than it was worth.

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  15. Can we go home now?

    I think you know the answer to that.

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  16. If it's a running joke to spell Khadaffy's name in new and different ways every time we use it, well, count me in.

    Qathafey is remarkable spelling. Getting the "-fey" for closure is just so sublime.

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  17. The NYT, quickly, goes for a modest 7 page obituary:

    http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/02/world/02osama-bin-laden-obituary.html

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  18. It's truly amazing that there are still people out there who actually think Osama bin Laden was responsible for 9/11.

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  19. For at least one night I can go to sleep with the following thought.

    America, Fuck Yeah!

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  20. Great news and thank goodness that scumbag is toast.

    Fascinating timing politically. Apparently the White House decided to go balls out, diplomatic niceties be damned, about 5 weeks ago to get this guy. Was it the confluence of the still struggling economy/Libya becoming an embarassment/Trump Birth Certificate - all those things and the Obama administration starting to take on water politically, maybe getting some internal polling that was very concerning, and decided they needed a dramatic game changer? Was Bin Laden "given up" by someone, some group or some country, and if so why and why now?

    Or was it just a matter of years of tough military and intelligence work finally breaking through?

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  21. Can we now stop molesting children and fondling breasts and stroking weiners and harassing heros to board planes?

    MDR

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  22. Sure. We just killed AQ's Obama, and handed the reins over to a guy known for deviousness and ruthlessness (Zarqawi).

    Osama was shot by Special Forces 75 miles outside of the capital of Pakistan, a major "tourist" center (such as Pakistan has). That speaks volumes.

    Obama re-elected? That's what Gulf War victor George Herbert Walker Bush thought. Gas is not getting any cheaper. Nor is food. Libya is a mess.

    And AQ WILL retaliate, big time, guaranteed. As will lots of Muslims all over the world spontaneously. "Sudden Jihad Syndrome" its called.

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  23. Bwa ha ha ha ha ha...I would LOVE to have taken a long look at Bill O'Reilly's or Limbaugh's faces when they heard the news Obama killed Laden. Hey, Republicunts, get used to Osama because he will be your president for the next six years!!!

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  24. Well, that might explain why today my family outing was a bust. I dragged my wife and kids to the annual airshow at Beale AFB, outside Maryville, CA. The base seemed unusually empty of military personnel with only a modest staff of MPs keeping the crowds in order. The static displays were thin and comprised mostly of military equipment flown in from other air bases. Only a brief demonstration by the Thunderbirds made the outing somewhat worthwhile.

    When I got home, I glanced at the Drudge report. Then it struck me: "No, Beale hasn't been decimated by budget cuts. Most of the base personnel were out somewhere drawing a bead on Bin Laden."

    From Wikipedia:

    "The host unit at Beale is the 9th Reconnaissance Wing (9 RW) assigned to the Air Combat Command. The 9 RW collects intelligence essential for Presidential and Congressional decisions critical to the national defense. To accomplish this mission, the wing is equipped with the nation's fleet of U-2 and Global Hawk UAV reconnaissance aircraft and associated support equipment. The wing also maintains a high state of readiness in its combat support and combat service support forces for potential deployment in response to theater contingencies."

    On the other hand, maybe the airshow was a victim of budget cuts. The Thunderbird pilots seemed to be using the afterburners very sparingly, this year.

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  25. "...get used to Osama because he will be your president for the next six years!!!"

    So we'll be governed by a dead anti-American instead of a live one.

    Could be an improvement.

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  26. Steve,

    You're forgetting "We are all Georgians Now" and therefore have to guard against the Russian Bear gobbling up this vastly important country. Plus Libya must be liberated, and Paraguay is being menaced by Uruguay - not to mention that North Korea is about to conquer the world.

    So, no we can't go home. What are you some kind of Isolationist? You want to go back to the 50s? Or wait, you want go back to the 20s? Do you realize women couldn't watch "Desperate Housewives" back then?

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  27. Well, the "chatter" I've sometimes seen on blogsites by former CIA officers with supposedly good connections was that most of the intelligence analysts thought he'd been dead since about the end of 2001 or so, and various different groups had been "keeping him alive" in the media for their own various reasons. Given all the original 2001 government claims about his severe kidney problems and the lack of any evidence of him in recent years, this seemed pretty plausible to me. Since the Republicans are generally conspiracy-minded and also don't want Obama to get any credit, I assume they'd demand an independent check of the DNA evidence, so I suppose we'll know for sure.

    Either way, it's pretty clear that Osama actually won his war against America in absolutely decisive terms, given the financial, foreign-policy, and domestic-security/civil-liberty results of his efforts, at least unless something pretty remarkable happens in the relatively near future. I suspect that future professors of history will cite the outcome as being one of the most totally one-sided victories in the history of warfare.

    So we can all feel good about setting a historical record which may easily stand for centuries...

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  28. Abu Musab al-Zarqawi5/1/11, 11:06 PM

    "We just killed AQ's Obama, and handed the reins over to a guy known for deviousness and ruthlessness (Zarqawi)."

    Whiskey, I'm also dead. Pay attention, man.

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  29. Pictures, pictures, pictures. I want to se a Ceausescu-style reel of his body, else I'll remain skeptical.

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  30. I'm just waiting for "Serious Foreign Policy Guy" to show up tell us redneck, isolationist, tank-town boobs, how really, really important this is.

    You see, blah, blah, symbolism of America's blah blah, effect on other countries, blah, blah, our national standing, blah blah, its all very complicated blah blah, American must engage the world blah blah, globalization, blah blah, a terrorist not a Muslim, blah blah.

    I'm just sad that Obsama didn't immigrate to the US in 2000 & become a citizen in 2005 and then help build the USA. Per Mayor Bloomberg, immigrants are our greatest strength.

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  31. My guess is Bush knew from the start where he was, but didn't kill him so that he could justify all the other wars, Patriot Act and Gitmo. They were just following him around.
    So Obummer, who probably does not have a coherent plan with the US apart from from his own reelection, used the resource handed over to himself to secure his own reelection. Now the MSM, which is flying 24/7 air cover for the anointed one, can tell every dumb American that they should vote for Obama coz he killed Osama.


    Ugh, no wonder Steve moved onto another topic.

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  32. Steve,
    The one thing Obama's killing tells us is that PAKISTANIS CANNOT BE TRUSTED.This goes for ALL other subcon Indians too - it's a genetic HBD thinf.
    Subcon Indian immigration is growing exponentially - it will soon overwhelm you.
    All Americans must learn the truth of the moral lesson above.

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  33. Wow, I just found myself agreeing with Whiskey, sorta.

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  34. "there could be re-election in the air"


    "It's the economy, stupid," is still the key. It's great we got him and every American (well, almost every) will have it on his mind for a few days, then that's it.

    I would like most to get Al-Zawahiri.

    BTW, let's see if, in a few days, the MSM questions the wisdom of going into Pakistan to get OBL. I approve of it, but do you think if W. had done it, the talking heads would have celebrated OBL's death for a couple of days, then begun criticizing that he wasn't brought in alive or, more likely, that we "risked alienating Pakistan" by crossing their borders to get him.

    I think it's funny that just the other day Trump was chastising a President that tippy toed around Pakistani sensibilites concerning OBL. Hmmmmm.

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  35. "Hey, Republicunts, get used to Osama because he will be your president for the next six years!!!"

    Dems I know hate Obama--he wants to take their medical coverage away, he's big on taxes, and they have shitty or no jobs. So, no, don't count on this saving O's ass.

    The price of food and oil, interest rates on savings and retirement plans, the lack of appreciation of homes....some dead Arab is meaningless under severe economic conditions.

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  36. Captain Jack Aubrey5/2/11, 12:01 AM

    The problem with Obama using bin Laden's killing as a bullet point for re-election is that, reportedly, some of the intel used to find him was collected through a Gitmo prisoner. You remember Gitmo: that prison camp in Cuba that Obama was going 'to shut down on day one of his presidency.'

    But what I really want to know is why Obama feels the urge to squeeze in the mention of race and/or the Civil Rights Era everytime he gives a major speech: the Berlin Wall speech, his annual speech to school students, and now the bin Laden announcement, among many, many others.

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  37. I was looking for Whiskey's reaction. Perhaps he would apologize to Obama? Uh, no..

    "Obama re-elected? That's what Gulf War victor George Herbert Walker Bush thought. Gas is not getting any cheaper. Nor is food. Libya is a mess. "

    Don't evade the point Whiskey. Bush let Osama get away. Obama got him. Recognize.

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  38. One more thing...
    "And AQ WILL retaliate, big time, guaranteed. As will lots of Muslims all over the world spontaneously. "Sudden Jihad Syndrome" its called."

    So what? Would you have recommended letting Osama live? Yes or no? If yes, explain whose side you're on please.

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  39. This is epic. Folks, tonight we witnessed history. The mastermind behind terrorist attacks the USS Cole, U.S. embassies in Africa, the World Trade Center, and the Pentagon has been eliminated. We have President Barack Obama to thank for keeping us, our families, and our forces overseas safe from what up until today had been the single greatest threat to American security -- Osama Bin Laden. I'm going to a baseball game tomorrow, and I know that the national anthem is going to be one of the most emotional I'll ever hear. Obama has this conservative's vote in 2012. BOO YA!

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  40. There have been many reports over the years suggesting that Osama has been dead for years:

    http://whatreallyhappened.com/WRHARTICLES/osama_dead.php

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  41. Abbottobad is less than 40 miles from Rawalpindi, where Khaleid Sheikh Mohammed was said to have been captured. We've spent a decade bombing caves for nothing.

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  42. Two famous guys named O*ama was one too many.

    There can be only the one.

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  43. Apparently the military buried Osama at sea. Um, now I'm getting suspicious. Disposing of the corpse so quickly before confirming identity sounds like Americans are being scammed in a really dubious reelection scam by our commander in thief.

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  44. "It's truly amazing that there are still people out there who actually think Osama bin Laden was responsible for 9/11."

    I think it's truly amazing that anybody believes he's for real. After all, the government (WH? Pentagon? NSA? DARPA? CIA? Big Corps? Whow knows?) lost interest in him pretty soon except for invoking his name when questioned about why Americans are dying (and killing) in Afghanistan, or even more mystifyingly, in Iraq. The middle east war was planned long before 2001. Once I worked in a warehouse sort of place that had ex-military supplied and parts of uniforms. The Vietnam vet, who had worked in supplies, told me that the U.S. military had been planning for middle east war since after Vietnam and so the uniforms were gradually changing to a tan camouflage, instead of jungle green. That was 1990 and the changing of the uniforms had been in progress for some time.
    It is public-domain knowledge that Bin Laden's family were old business associates of the Bush family, who flew members of the family out of the U.S. immediately after 9/11, making them about the only planes in the air. That's the way the Bush's have always done things. Prescott Bush was aiding Nazi Germany until Congress forced him to stop. They are on a different sort of trajectory than most Americans, let us say.
    And by the way, why weren't jets scrambled after the "hits"? Why did Cheney call for a stand down when supposedly we'd been attacked by planes?
    That Americans swallowed this particular government-spun conspiracy tale of the 19 flying Arabs whose planes went into the big buildings never to be seen again, was so disheartening I knew that we were in for more lies of a preternatural nature. And so it has happened.
    And so few will believe it because the truth is just too strange, they relegate it to fiction and Hollywood.

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  45. So American industry was shipped overseas. I had a friend who had developed a company that made precision medical instruments and he even sought to employ persons from lower-income areas for some of the work. His instruments were stellar. Then they (not my friend, but others in the industry) decided to ship all this work to India.
    China is now the top-performing economy in the world. The business of America is war. When all else fails they take the country to war. Oh, not the people who actually are exposed to danger of course. No, those people who are among the least powerful--the middle and working classes. My nephew thinks he can't get a job and wants to join the military for that reason. They planned it this way. Utter evil

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  46. "So American industry was shipped overseas. I had a friend who had developed a company that made precision medical instruments and he even sought to employ persons from lower-income areas for some of the work. "

    Hitachi is moving its disk drive manufacturing unit from SJ to China. Hundreds will be laid off. Until the US starts using tarrifs to punish this kind of behavior, America's economy will continue to sputter as China is simply gifted with US manufacturing technology by multinational corporations.

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  47. DCThrowback said...
    If it's a running joke to spell Khadaffy's name in new and different ways every time we use it, well, count me in.

    For more fun, we can spell Osama's name different ways, too!:

    Osama bin Laden
    Usama bin Laden
    Usama bin Ladin
    Ussamah Bin Ladin
    Oussama Ben Laden
    Binladen
    Binladin

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  48. "We've been scammed".

    Well, DUH, Steve. Everybody has known for years that Pakistan isn't a true ally, but only a ""ally"" (nudge, wink.) This is just a diplomatic veil to avoid going to war with Pakistan, and therefore is something you should support.

    God, you're being obtuse. You once posted that you started flying a flag on 9/11 and swore not to take it down until Bin Laden was dead. (Or was it a necktie?) Then you said you had to sadly take it down because, after years had passed, it was too worn out.

    Where is that guy? Bin Laden is dead now!

    No matter what happens in the so-called WOT, you say it's bad.

    Eaten at any Iraqi restaurants lately? Say, how about another post decrying our ill-advised alliance with Prester John?

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  49. Wow, I just found myself agreeing with Whiskey, sorta.

    And I found myself agreeing with Truth: GOLDSTEIN IS DEAD!!

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  50. But Steve, what would the military do if we weren't constantly intervening in foreign countries? Guard the borders of this country? Madness.

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  51. That movie review is stellar. Taki needs to take off your word limit NOW!

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  52. "And I found myself agreeing with Truth: GOLDSTEIN IS DEAD!!"

    It's a good thing too, Ben. With the war with Eurasia in our rear view mirror, we can concentrate on FUCKING EASTASIA UP!

    USA! USA! USA!

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  53. If Obama was hiding in Abbottabad, is Gadfly hiding in Costellobad?

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