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You are here: Home / Politics / Yes We Did / Let the meme creation commence…

Let the meme creation commence…

by Sarah, Proud and Tall|  May 2, 201112:54 am| 152 Comments

This post is in: Yes We Did, Did You Know John McCain Was A POW?

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EATA: Once again, real life wins:

Xantar: You have to hand it to NY Times photographers. This one honestly moved me:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

•     •      •      •     •      •     •     •      •

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

H/t: srv

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ETA:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

H/t: Xantar

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

H/t: Penon

 

 

 

 

 

H/t: Punkdavid and freelancer


 

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Previous Post: « Mission Actually Accomplished: Osama bin Laden Confirmed Dead
Next Post: Killing Osama bin Laden: Twitterer Live-Tweeted Raid (and didn’t know it?!) »

Reader Interactions

152Comments

  1. 1.

    WarMunchkin

    May 2, 2011 at 12:58 am

    Site’s been down for me for a while. Did we get any word on the long-form death certificate?

  2. 2.

    Xantar

    May 2, 2011 at 12:59 am

    I vote for this one which has been posted twice or three times in previous threads.

  3. 3.

    Spaghetti Lee

    May 2, 2011 at 1:08 am

    I don’t get the second one. Is it a reference to the ’06 WHCD with Colbert?

  4. 4.

    Penon

    May 2, 2011 at 1:09 am

    I prefer the ‘crasher squirrel’ version of the Mission Accomplished snapshot.

  5. 5.

    Bluehill

    May 2, 2011 at 1:09 am

    Obama – all cattle, no hat

  6. 6.

    mai naem

    May 2, 2011 at 1:11 am

    Yes We Did. Yes We Can.

  7. 7.

    Countme In

    May 2, 2011 at 1:12 am

    So, President Barack Obama took out the leader of the second most murderous organization on the face of the Earth.

    When does he get started on the leaders of the Number One most murderous filth on the face of the Earth?

  8. 8.

    jeff

    May 2, 2011 at 1:12 am

    Glad he’s dead, but I don’t think Americans should be reacting like it’s VE DAY. We killed an old dickhead millionaire; let’s not give either the terrorist or the killing of the terrorist so much credit. (/I’m a survivor of 911, though I was not too close).

  9. 9.

    fitzwili

    May 2, 2011 at 1:12 am

    @Spaghetti Lee
    Seth Meyer zinged him with an why haven’t you found Osama joke. That picture is the reaction shot, a picture of a man who knows something the world doesn’t yet.

  10. 10.

    hilts

    May 2, 2011 at 1:12 am

    I’m fully confident that Michele Bachmann and Allen West will find some way to congratulate US special forces while simultaneously dissing Obama.

  11. 11.

    fitzwili

    May 2, 2011 at 1:12 am

    @Spaghetti Lee
    Seth Meyer zinged him with an why haven’t you found Osama joke. That picture is the reaction shot, a picture of a man who knows something the world doesn’t yet.

  12. 12.

    Martin

    May 2, 2011 at 1:13 am

    Oil prices down 1% on the news. Well, that’s one way to deal with gas prices.

  13. 13.

    Mark B

    May 2, 2011 at 1:13 am

    I’m kind of uncomfortable with all of the relatives of victims being dragged out and waxing elatedly about Osama Bin Laden being burned in hell by the God of the Bible. I understand why the families of the victims feel this way, but it’s not real helpful for them to say such things on television in the heat of the moment.

  14. 14.

    Citizen Alan

    May 2, 2011 at 1:14 am

    @Spaghetti Lee:

    I don’t get the second one. Is it a reference to the ‘06 WHCD with Colbert?

    Seth Myers made a bin Laden joke at the WHCD last night and the camera panned over to Obama who laughed and laughed and gave not the slightest hint that there was anything special he knew about the subject.

    I’ve bitched a good bit about Obama and the Dems over the last two years, but THIS is why I’m a Democrat and always will be: because Republicans like to prance around in a flight suit and say “look at my codpiece” and Democrats GET SHIT DONE!

  15. 15.

    Sarah Proud and Tall

    May 2, 2011 at 1:15 am

    @ Spaghetti Lee

    Here at about 2.04.

  16. 16.

    Sarah Proud and Tall

    May 2, 2011 at 1:20 am

    When does he get started on the leaders of the Number One most murderous filth on the face of the Earth?

    The Silence?
    /geek

  17. 17.

    Spaghetti Lee

    May 2, 2011 at 1:20 am

    @Citizen Alan:

    This will probably make me seem low class, but

    because Republicans like to prance around in a flight suit and say “look at my codpiece” and

    reminds me of Metalocalypse:
    “Check it out! My codpiece is the coolest!”
    “Uh, that’s a dildo. Strap-on dildo.”

  18. 18.

    MikeJ

    May 2, 2011 at 1:20 am

    @jeff: I too am a survivor of 9/11. I was a merely 20 miles away from the pentagon (hell, I drove past Dulles on my way to waork, probably AS THE VERY PLANE TAXIED!!!!!).

    Don’t be a fucking moron.

    @Sarah Proud and Tall: Did you know you can put a time stamp in a youtube video?

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YGITlxfT6s&t=2m8s

  19. 19.

    punkdavid

    May 2, 2011 at 1:21 am

    Not my work, but this one is cool.

    http://29.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lkjsa0vvlq1qzu2tdo1_400.gif

  20. 20.

    Elizabelle

    May 2, 2011 at 1:21 am

    He looks righteous in those sunglasses in the third photo.

  21. 21.

    soonergrunt

    May 2, 2011 at 1:21 am

    @Sarah Proud and Tall: I see what you did there.

  22. 22.

    Cassidy

    May 2, 2011 at 1:27 am

    I’m disappointed to not see a “I’m in yur compound killing yur dudz!” yet. :(

  23. 23.

    debit

    May 2, 2011 at 1:28 am

    This is what happens when you meet a stranger in Alps, Osama.

    …

    …

    Okay, I thought it was funny.

  24. 24.

    jacy

    May 2, 2011 at 1:29 am

    @Sarah Proud and Tall:

    The Silence?

    I second your /geek.

  25. 25.

    MikeJ

    May 2, 2011 at 1:30 am

    you can’t get to dawn.com without solving a challenge because of too much traffic. They say official confirms a joint operation between CIA and ISI.

  26. 26.

    freelancer

    May 2, 2011 at 1:30 am

    I’m partial to the gif I saw on twitter and posted up front at my site.

  27. 27.

    AxelFoley

    May 2, 2011 at 1:32 am

    That last pic is the best one!

    HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

  28. 28.

    Citizen Alan

    May 2, 2011 at 1:33 am

    @Sarah Proud and Tall:

    The Silence?

    Off-topic, but am I alone in thinking that the Silence look kind of like Alan Greenspan but without the glasses and toupee?

  29. 29.

    Xantar

    May 2, 2011 at 1:33 am

    You have to hand it to NY Times photographers. This one honestly moved me.

  30. 30.

    PeakVT

    May 2, 2011 at 1:36 am

    Modified version of the first pic.

  31. 31.

    Sloegin

    May 2, 2011 at 1:37 am

    AJE (Al Jazeera English) live stream reports it wasn’t some cave in the tribal areas, it was a mansion outside of Islamabad.

    If true, the implications of this are crazy.

  32. 32.

    calling all toasters

    May 2, 2011 at 1:37 am

    Hey, Trump– I got you a death certificate, too!

  33. 33.

    soonergrunt

    May 2, 2011 at 1:37 am

    @MikeJ:

    They say official confirms a joint operation between CIA and ISI.

    My drunk ass a joint operation. CIA doesn’t trust ISI, certainly not for something as big as this.

    soonergrunt +5

  34. 34.

    Ash Can

    May 2, 2011 at 1:37 am

    @punkdavid: That one makes me LOL!

  35. 35.

    Martin

    May 2, 2011 at 1:39 am

    Politically, I think this is a massive win for Democrats. They’re hinting at it on TV, but you have an entire generation of voters that grew up since 9/11, so they’ve really only known 2 presidents. The Republican didn’t do shit, and the Democrat has routinely cleaned up after him. The GOP has literally lost an entire generation of voters.

  36. 36.

    Common Sense

    May 2, 2011 at 1:42 am

    Imagine you accidentally liveblogged the assassination of Osama Bin Laden. This guy’s gonna be on the news tomorrow.

    https://twitter.com/#!/ReallyVirtual

  37. 37.

    Martin

    May 2, 2011 at 1:42 am

    @soonergrunt: No shit. From the sounds of it, they didn’t even tell Congress, or at least not many in Congress.

  38. 38.

    Elizabelle

    May 2, 2011 at 1:43 am

    @Martin: I so hope you are right.

    Now to get the young ‘uns to vote.

  39. 39.

    Citizen Alan

    May 2, 2011 at 1:44 am

    @Sloegin:

    AJE (Al Jazeera English) live stream reports it wasn’t some cave in the tribal areas, it was a mansion outside of Islamabad.

    Pretty far outside Islamabad, about 50 km. It’s not like he was living in the suburbs.

  40. 40.

    MikeJ

    May 2, 2011 at 1:45 am

    @soonergrunt: I would agree, I’m just passing along what pakistani media says. Frankly, if they want to take partial credit, I say let them.

  41. 41.

    Spaghetti Lee

    May 2, 2011 at 1:46 am

    @Xantar:

    Wow. There’s my first tears of the night.

  42. 42.

    M. Bouffant

    May 2, 2011 at 1:47 am

    @hilts:

    Allen West reacts.

  43. 43.

    The Dangerman

    May 2, 2011 at 1:47 am

    @soonergrunt:

    My drunk ass a joint operation.

    Exactly; NO fucking way was this a joint operation.

    Curiously, however, it is being reported (I forget who, I’ve been channel surfing) that in the 40 minutes on the ground, no local Pakistani authorities (police, whatever) came to the scene. Presumably, the word got out somehow not to go there and get your ass shot off.

  44. 44.

    Martin

    May 2, 2011 at 1:48 am

    Huh. I wonder if those people on MSNBC realize they’re waving a 60 year old flag. Only has 48 stars on it.

  45. 45.

    Bruuuuce

    May 2, 2011 at 1:48 am

    Best comment I’ve seen on the topic, from my FB Friends list: “Did the President of the United States really just say ‘By Grabthar’s hammer, you have been avenged’?”

  46. 46.

    PeakVT

    May 2, 2011 at 1:48 am

    @Common Sense: That’s hilarious.

  47. 47.

    AxelFoley

    May 2, 2011 at 1:48 am

    Time to mass market these figures:

    http://blog.jeffbalke.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/obama_ninja.jpg

    http://www.cherrybombed.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/obamavsvader.jpg

    http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3324/3312252685_05418a4ba7.jpg

  48. 48.

    Strandedvandal

    May 2, 2011 at 1:48 am

    Now I get to hunker down my hotel room for at least a day to see if there are any crazies in New Delhi looking for payback. 5 more days and I am out of here.

  49. 49.

    Mnemosyne

    May 2, 2011 at 1:49 am

    @Xantar:

    I thought it was a funny coincidence that one of the guys near the middle of the picture is named Pelosi. Either that, or it is Nancy and she really gets shit done!

  50. 50.

    Martin

    May 2, 2011 at 1:49 am

    @Elizabelle: Well, yes. That’s been the problem all along, hasn’t it? I suspect that 2012 turnout just got a little bit easier.

  51. 51.

    soonergrunt

    May 2, 2011 at 1:49 am

    @Martin: I’m shocked that NONE of this leaked. There was absolutely no warning on this thing at all. Talk about a disciplined operation at all levels.

    soonergrunt +7

  52. 52.

    Sarah Proud and Tall

    May 2, 2011 at 1:50 am

    @Citizen Alan:

    am I alone in thinking that the Silence look kind of like Alan Greenspan but without the glasses and toupee?

    Yes, I suspect you are correct. I can proudly say that I have never seen Greenspan in that condition. I did once see him kissing Ayn Rand, which left mental scars upon me which are still to clear up.

  53. 53.

    Patrick

    May 2, 2011 at 1:50 am

    From what little we know of the details of the operation, the President’s stake in this was very similar to what Jimmy Carter had as the signed off on the hostage rescue mission that ended with the Desert One debacle.

    Desert One was hung around Carter’s…and all Democrats’…necks not only the 1980 election, but for most of that next decade.

    It’ll be interesting to see if the President gets the leadership credit for this that he deserves.

  54. 54.

    Bruuuuce

    May 2, 2011 at 1:51 am

    @M. Bouffant: Allen West: Wrong even when he’s right. (He was fine up until “from”)

  55. 55.

    Mike Furlan

    May 2, 2011 at 1:51 am

    Robert Baer was just on Al Jazeera saying that:

    Obama just “got lucky.”

    That killing Bin Laden will just make things worse.

    Not logically consistent, but it should work with the teaparty.

  56. 56.

    Sarah Proud and Tall

    May 2, 2011 at 1:52 am

    Excuse the formatting wonkyness on the post, if you will.

    The WordPress Gods are angry.

  57. 57.

    CaseyL

    May 2, 2011 at 1:53 am

    Interesting that OBL was in a huge compound in an affluent area – hiding in plain sight, practically. Wonder if he slipped over the border from Afghanistan in the chaos after Benazir Bhutto was assassinated.

    Normally, I’d agree that the Pakistani government had to know he was there, but I get the sense that Zardari’s Administration barely knows its collective ass from a hole in the ground. The security apparatus, on the other hand…

    Be interesting to know if Obama thanking Zardari for helping out with the operation is kind of like Michael kissing Fredo in Godfather II.

  58. 58.

    Thymezone

    May 2, 2011 at 1:53 am

    Yeah, baby.

  59. 59.

    The Dangerman

    May 2, 2011 at 1:53 am

    @Common Sense:

    Imagine you accidentally liveblogged the assassination of Osama Bin Laden.

    Unfuckingbelievable; live and as it happened.

  60. 60.

    scav

    May 2, 2011 at 1:54 am

    @jacy: and SP&T
    and I just went with the thought: “Now things get complicated.”
    /geek

  61. 61.

    Bruuuuce

    May 2, 2011 at 1:55 am

    @Citizen Alan: I dunno. I always forget what Greenspan looks like when I’m not looking at him :-)

  62. 62.

    Not Really

    May 2, 2011 at 1:55 am

    How they did it – “http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42853221/ns/world_news-south_and_central_asia/”

  63. 63.

    soonergrunt

    May 2, 2011 at 1:56 am

    @Mike Furlan: who the fuck is Robert Baer?
    Srsly? Whoe the fuc k is Robert Baer? Nobody ever heard of this guy.

    soonergrunt +8

  64. 64.

    TooManyJens

    May 2, 2011 at 1:57 am

    @Bruuuuce: What are those marks on your face?

  65. 65.

    Mnemosyne

    May 2, 2011 at 1:57 am

    One of my friends sent this image to me.

  66. 66.

    Mike Furlan

    May 2, 2011 at 1:57 am

    @soonergrunt:

    Thought he was pretty well known:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Baer

  67. 67.

    Comrade Luke

    May 2, 2011 at 1:58 am

    Nice: http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2011/05/02/world/02binladen4_683/02binladen4_683-custom11.jpg

  68. 68.

    PeakVT

    May 2, 2011 at 1:58 am

    @Thymezone: Ugh. I hate the financial media with a passion.

    ETA: @soonergrunt: Cripes, man, slow down. You want to remember this night, dontcha?

  69. 69.

    Jennifer

    May 2, 2011 at 1:58 am

    Two more I’d like to see:

    Pic of Obama with the caption “Ding Dong, Motherfuckers.”

    Pic of Obama with the caption “My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed 3,000 of my fellow countrymen. Prepare to die.”

    Maybe someone who knows how to do these caption photo thingys can whip those up. I’m too lazy myself to figure out how to do it.

  70. 70.

    Susan Kitchens

    May 2, 2011 at 1:58 am

    I went and re-checked the Seth Meyers OBL reference again (oh, he DID say that!) and just now thought of the serious conclusion to the POTUS remarks at the end of the WHCD last night… where he talked about the sacrifice of service men and women, and talked of the kind of costs to those in the press covering events around the world.

    He spoke of this knowing that this mission was being undertaken, but with the outcome unknown. I think I’ll go back and listen to that part of the speech again in light of these events.

    . . . . .

    And did you see the twitter stream of the guy in Abottabad who was unknowingly livetweeting the assault on Osama?
    http://twitter.com/#!/ReallyVirtual
    A new internet star is born.

  71. 71.

    Sarah Proud and Tall

    May 2, 2011 at 2:01 am

    @TooManyJens:

    Why is that red light flashing on your palm, stupid face?

  72. 72.

    hilts

    May 2, 2011 at 2:01 am

    RNC flaming douchebag Reince Priebus airbrushes Obama out of the story

    Today is a tremendous day for our nation and the world, but most importantly those who lost loved ones on that horrific day. Justice was delivered to a ruthless terrorist courtesy of men and women of the United States military. For nearly a decade, literally thousands of American servicemembers, intelligence officers and civilians have made it their mission to capture or kill the mastermind of September 11th. Tonight we honor their work and congratulate them on a job well done.

    h/t http://www.pamshouseblend.com/diary/19158/osama-bin-laden-dead

  73. 73.

    Martin

    May 2, 2011 at 2:01 am

    @soonergrunt: Yeah, if I’ve got a single issue that I vote on, it’s competence. I’m also amazed at how patient they were on this – they confirmed that it was the location in February. Fucking February. Sit back, put eyes on the location, monitor, wait for the right time, train like you’ve never trained before, and then pull the trigger and get it done. Even with the helicopter failure, they had it covered.

    If they’ve known this location for 3 months, they told NOBODY. Kudos to everyone who was involved.

  74. 74.

    gex

    May 2, 2011 at 2:03 am

    @Martin: Oh, that would make me so happy. I hope that is so.

    @Elizabelle: No one stays young. They’ll age and get interested in voting too.

  75. 75.

    Roger Moore

    May 2, 2011 at 2:05 am

    @PeakVT:

    I hate the financial media with a passion.

    This. The financial media would respond to the second coming with complaints that Jesus was ruining the stock market.

  76. 76.

    Suffern ACE

    May 2, 2011 at 2:05 am

    @Strandedvandal: Had a similar experience the last time I was in Delhi. Let me guess, your hosts have basically locked you in a hotel room and told you that everywhere you want to go wouldn’t be safe, except the Dilli Haat, and maybe not even there…I was taken to the airport 7 hours before my flight. Not a bad airport though. Ask to go to the Kingdom of Dreams; it’s safe there, and kind of funky.

  77. 77.

    Martin

    May 2, 2011 at 2:06 am

    Shit, why the fuck didn’t we just search Google Maps for his location?

    We could have caught him ages ago.

  78. 78.

    ChrisB

    May 2, 2011 at 2:08 am

    Two things I haven’t forgotten:

    1. That Clinton and Richard Clarke and the guy giving the “Bin Laden to strike in US” daily brief all warned Bush about Bin Laden and he blew them all off.

    2. Bush saying that he didn’t spend much time thinking about Bin Laden.

    What an asshole.

  79. 79.

    gex

    May 2, 2011 at 2:08 am

    @Patrick: You sir, have one (more) spit-take take to your name.

    Obama will not get the leadership credit he deserves. They’ll pretend to be respectful for a tiny bit and then go back to the all out assault on Obama.

  80. 80.

    JPL

    May 2, 2011 at 2:08 am

    @soonergrunt: Fortunately this site had recommendations for hangovers.

  81. 81.

    Warren Terra

    May 2, 2011 at 2:09 am

    I liked the Obama kicking the door GIF. Sadly, but predictably, it was too good to be true.

    As long as you’re doing animated GIFs, though, we need some of those dancing leprechauns they deploy at Whiskey Fire.

  82. 82.

    Roger Moore

    May 2, 2011 at 2:10 am

    @Martin:

    Sit back, put eyes on the location, monitor, wait for the right time, train like you’ve never trained before, and then pull the trigger and get it done.

    That’s how you do it if you’re trying to do the job, not win the news cycle.

  83. 83.

    Ecks

    May 2, 2011 at 2:10 am

    @Martin: are you KIDDING telling congress? You don’t keep a secret AND tell congress people. The only reason all the news organizations new what Obama was going to announce before he got up there and openned his mouth is because they started telling congress.

  84. 84.

    The Dangerman

    May 2, 2011 at 2:11 am

    @Martin:

    …search Google Maps for his location?

    Some of the reviews there are hilarious!

    Edit: “Terrible!! This place has no internet, no television, security was often caught sleeping. Very noisy. Room service was beyond awful. I was forced to burn my own garbage.”

    ROFL.

  85. 85.

    M. Bouffant

    May 2, 2011 at 2:11 am

    Miss Sarah, I am beginning to suspect that you are not a day over 85, judging from your Internet expertise.

  86. 86.

    MikeJ

    May 2, 2011 at 2:12 am

    @Patrick:

    Desert One was hung around Carter’s…and all Democrats’…necks not only the 1980 election, but for most of that next decade.

    And yet nobody blames Reagan for the marine barracks in Beirut, the incident that bin Laden said proved to him that Americans were cowards.

  87. 87.

    Phil Perspective

    May 2, 2011 at 2:14 am

    @hilts: I just told that prick off. I admonished him for not having the guts to thank the President.

  88. 88.

    Spaghetti Lee

    May 2, 2011 at 2:14 am

    @Martin:

    Teh Google sees all and knows all. What would happen if I went to Google Maps and typed in ‘happiness?’

  89. 89.

    Brachiator

    May 2, 2011 at 2:15 am

    I had been out, didn’t have the tv or radio on, fired up the computer but couldn’t get Balloon Juice for a while.

    And then this news.

    I am relieved, cautiously hopeful, feel great sympathy for those who lost people on 911 and who must have all kinds of emotions running through them.

    And Obama and his people, damn! Talk about mission freakin accomplished. Quietly, competently. Damn.

  90. 90.

    Strandedvandal

    May 2, 2011 at 2:15 am

    @Suffern ACE:

    Lol, pretty close! I have been here for over two weeks now, so I’ve been hiring autos and seeing the sights on my own for a while. But the touts and the cabbies all have stake in the game, so they want you to go where they get a cut. I know the game and I play along for a while. Once I get the lay of the land somewhat down, I do my own thing.

    This was a little different, and much more serious. I got a message from the India consulate, suggesting I stay put for a while. It’s strange to think I am ~500 miles from the “spot”

  91. 91.

    Sarah Proud and Tall

    May 2, 2011 at 2:15 am

    @M. Bouffant:

    Young people these days are so suspicious.

  92. 92.

    Spaghetti Lee

    May 2, 2011 at 2:17 am

    http://browse.deviantart.com/?order=5&q=bin%20laden#/d3fe3hh

    Got another good image.

  93. 93.

    Warren Terra

    May 2, 2011 at 2:17 am

    @Martin:

    @soonergrunt: Yeah, if I’ve got a single issue that I vote on, it’s competence. I’m also amazed at how patient they were on this – they confirmed that it was the location in February. Fucking February. Sit back, put eyes on the location, monitor, wait for the right time, train like you’ve never trained before, and then pull the trigger and get it done. Even with the helicopter failure, they had it covered.

    Reading about the helicopter failure was a bit incredible. You know they had to be thinking about Desert One when that happened. And it’s a bit incredible that, at the end of the day, this was one helicopter load versus a fortified compound, and no Americans got hurt.

    If they’ve known this location for 3 months, they told NOBODY. Kudos to everyone who was involved.

    Word at TPM is they knew something in August, and kept a lid on it. Some folks’ nearest and dearest might be feeling a bit miffed, but hopefully understanding, right now.

  94. 94.

    Yutsano

    May 2, 2011 at 2:17 am

    The firejock picture made my night.

    @Spaghetti Lee: The Disney World image is serious win.

  95. 95.

    GregB

    May 2, 2011 at 2:23 am

    I think that people need to remember that on 9/11 it was the lefty liberals and Democrats who sucked it up and supported the President when the nation was in need of unity.

    Now we can see the caliber of the Republicans and the political right in how they react to this closing of that chapter of American history.

  96. 96.

    James E. Powell

    May 2, 2011 at 2:23 am

    @Patrick:

    It’ll be interesting to see if the President gets the leadership credit for this that he deserves.

    Since he is a Democrat and- whisper -black, he gets no credit.

  97. 97.

    MikeJ

    May 2, 2011 at 2:23 am

    @Warren Terra:

    Word at TPM is they knew something in August, and kept a lid on it.

    MSNBC:

    In 2007, the U.S. learned the man’s name.
    __
    In 2009, “we identified areas in Pakistan where the courier and his brother operated. They were very careful, reinforcing belief we were on the right track.”
    __
    In August 2010, “we found their home in Abbottabad,” in an isolated area.

  98. 98.

    The Populist

    May 2, 2011 at 2:25 am

    Note to righties: Obama is Commander in Chief. If our forces found Osama and killed him, using your logic with Bush, he gets credit.

  99. 99.

    MattR

    May 2, 2011 at 2:26 am

    @Susan Kitchens: Reading that twitter field was pretty interesting

    On a more general note, it almost seems like a bad movie if it is true that they were able to pinpoint his location because it was the only house without internet or phone service. But I know enough to take all details of the operation with a grain of salt at this point in time. (although reading the MSNBC article it seems like that detail confirmed that they had the right house, not locate it initially)

  100. 100.

    Warren Terra

    May 2, 2011 at 2:28 am

    @MikeJ:

    In August 2010, “we found their home in Abbottabad,” in an isolated area.

    That’s 2-3 months before what were certain to be difficult midterms. Anyone here think a Bush or a McCain administration would have spent another six months making sure everything was right under those circumstances?

  101. 101.

    MobiusKlein

    May 2, 2011 at 2:30 am

    And for anybody saying it’s being politicized –
    If the mission went bad, ObL got away, and American soldiers died, the second-guessing and hectoring would never stop.

    And event like this can not be divorced from the politics of the day.

  102. 102.

    Roger Moore

    May 2, 2011 at 2:33 am

    @MattR:

    it almost seems like a bad movie if it is true that they were able to pinpoint his location because it was the only house without internet or phone service.

    That’s not quite what they’re saying. They found the house by following the couriers, and got excited because the details- the security and the lack of phone and internet- matched what they expected for a highly placed al Qaeda member. I’m assuming they went to some lengths to monitor the place and assure themselves of who was actually living there before doing anything more.

  103. 103.

    Cain

    May 2, 2011 at 2:34 am

    John or someone needs to post this

  104. 104.

    malatesta

    May 2, 2011 at 2:34 am

    Delurking just to offer my contribution

  105. 105.

    Tom

    May 2, 2011 at 2:37 am

    How it went down.

  106. 106.

    M. Bouffant

    May 2, 2011 at 2:37 am

    @Sarah Proud and Tall:

    Young, ha! I have earned my cynicism & suspicion over many a long yr.

  107. 107.

    MikeJ

    May 2, 2011 at 2:37 am

    @Warren Terra: Malkin is saying that since the Bush admin learned the name of the courier in 2001, Bush should get the credit. Carefully eliding Tora Bora.

  108. 108.

    goblue72

    May 2, 2011 at 2:44 am

    Didn’t take long for Chunky Bobo to get his sour grapes in:

    http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/02/opinion/02douthat.html

  109. 109.

    The Dangerman

    May 2, 2011 at 2:45 am

    @MikeJ:

    Malkin is saying that since the Bush admin learned the name of the courier in 2001, Bush should get the credit.

    Reagan was also the person responsible for the economic growth during the Clinton years. Clinton, on the other hand, was to blame for 9/11.

    The spinners will be out in force tomorrow.

  110. 110.

    Martin

    May 2, 2011 at 2:46 am

    @MikeJ: Well, and avoiding the following 8 years in which they didn’t get any closer to OBL.

    I will say this, I think our move into Pakistan makes a LOT more sense now. I wonder if we’ll back out now that this is done.

  111. 111.

    cokane

    May 2, 2011 at 2:47 am

    Ya the spin is going to be hard to watch haha

  112. 112.

    Jon H

    May 2, 2011 at 2:48 am

    #fakemichelebachmann: “Obama killed Osama in a power struggle for control of Al Qaeda.”

  113. 113.

    Roger Moore

    May 2, 2011 at 2:52 am

    @goblue72:

    Didn’t take long for Chunky Bobo to get his sour grapes in

    That doesn’t seem that bad. He even has a point: al Qaeda isn’t an existential threat. The worst thing they can do to us is to goad us into blunders. Of course some of us realized that from the get go, but better late than never for Chunky Bobo.

  114. 114.

    MattR

    May 2, 2011 at 2:53 am

    @Martin:

    I will say this, I think our move into Pakistan makes a LOT more sense now. I wonder if we’ll back out now that this is done.

    This is why my default position is to give Presidents of both parties the benefit of the doubt when it comes to those types of foreign policy decisions. The odds are that they know something that the general public doesn’t. OTOH, Bush took advantage of that to manipulate this country into war with Iraq.

  115. 115.

    freelancer

    May 2, 2011 at 2:54 am

    If the reports are to be believed, SEAL Team Six is responsible. They are the same unit whose snipers took out the Somali Pirates during the Maersk Alabama hostage crisis two years ago.

    Here’s what Hannity had to say at the time. Expect this times a millionty billion wrt OBL.

  116. 116.

    Spaghetti Lee

    May 2, 2011 at 2:55 am

    Joe Miller wins the dumb, desperate reaction of the night award for me.

    http://static1.firedoglake.com/29/files/2011/05/Screen-shot-2011-05-01-at-8.32.08-PM.png

  117. 117.

    Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)

    May 2, 2011 at 2:58 am

    @CaseyL:

    Normally, I’d agree that the Pakistani government had to know he was there, but I get the sense that Zardari’s Administration barely knows its collective ass from a hole in the ground. The security apparatus, on the other hand…

    Well, you’re talking about two different ethnicities, for a large part. Zardari and the Bhuttos are Sindhi, the military and the ISI are dominated by Punjabis. Generally speaking, those incursions into and wars against India aren’t supported in Sindh, but there’s been a huge amount of support for those action in Pakistani Punjab because there’s the goal of bringing Indian Punjab into Pakistan.

    When the book is written, I’ve got a feeling we’ll learn that it was the government that was informed, and they shared the information with very few in the military and ISI.

  118. 118.

    Cain

    May 2, 2011 at 3:03 am

    @Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again):

    Well, you’re talking about two different ethnicities, for a large part. Zardari and the Bhuttos are Sindhi, the military and the ISI are dominated by Punjabis. Generally speaking, those incursions into and wars against India aren’t supported in Sindh, but there’s been a huge amount of support for those action in Pakistani Punjab because there’s the goal of bringing Indian Punjab into Pakistan.

    That doesn’t make a ton of sense.. since Sikhs hate Muslims more than Hindus do. (as a general statement of attitude..) I have no beef with muslims or pakistanis or anybody. They are part of the body. I don’t always agree with their lifestyle but I don’t hate them.. hell I think most of India and Pakistan can do with some civic sense.

  119. 119.

    Roger Moore

    May 2, 2011 at 3:04 am

    @Spaghetti Lee:

    Joe Miller wins the dumb, desperate reaction of the night award for me.

    The night is young. Give the rest of the crazies their chance to match him.

  120. 120.

    MattR

    May 2, 2011 at 3:06 am

    @Roger Moore: I think we’ll get better crazy after they get a good night’s sleep to power up.

  121. 121.

    Martin

    May 2, 2011 at 3:06 am

    @Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again): Well, I think the real answer may be that there’s nearly 200 million people in Pakistan. It’s not hard to hide someone in a volume that large if they have any kind of assistance, and if the government is not exactly top-rate.

  122. 122.

    patroclus

    May 2, 2011 at 3:07 am

    Osama’s last words” “You’re not the pizza guy!”

  123. 123.

    CaseyL

    May 2, 2011 at 3:08 am

    I’ve heard speculation that the US Navy Seals also found and carried off a treasure trove of intel in the form of computers and documents. Not sure how true that is, if there was no internet access (though they could still keep documents and records on the computers) and if OBL was “no longer a significant figure in Al-Qaeda.”

    Maybe the next few weeks and months will see a startling attrition rate in AQ operatives and funding sources. That would be very nice.

  124. 124.

    MikeJ

    May 2, 2011 at 3:09 am

    @Roger Moore: Edroso up late doing a rewrite on tomorrow’s voice column, trying to cram in the crazy.

  125. 125.

    Greyjoy

    May 2, 2011 at 3:11 am

    You know what I’m feeling right now? Relief…vindication…and incredible schadenfreude about how much of a giant fucking douchebag Donald Trump looks right now. Yeah, pal, you thought you did something sooo important, didn’t you? Pumping up a fringe issue until it was the news of the day? “Forcing” Obama to release his long-awaited long form? Oh, the presidency was practically gift-wrapped and waiting on your doorstep. But that was YESTERDAY. BITCH.

  126. 126.

    Roger Moore

    May 2, 2011 at 3:16 am

    @CaseyL:
    It seems entirely possible. They were supposed to have been there for 40 minutes, which seems like it’s longer than would have been necessary just for the firefight. Quickly grabbing whatever computers and documents they could grab would be the kind of thing you’d expect to be part of the mission planning.

    The question is what happens next. I can imagine two reactions by al Qaeda operatives if they think their operations might be compromised by any documents we’ve seized. If they’re close to doing something, they may try pushing up their operation date in the hopes of getting their blows in before we can take advantage of the intel to round them up. That would go with the heightened security people have been talking about. If they’re not ready to move, they’ll probably go to ground to avoid being caught in the kinds of followup actions you’re talking about.

  127. 127.

    ranger3

    May 2, 2011 at 3:17 am

    The Central Intelligence Agency…

    in ur base killin ur d00dz

  128. 128.

    freelancer

    May 2, 2011 at 3:18 am

    This meme is for DougJ. Enjoy.

  129. 129.

    Fucen Pneumatic Fuck Wrench Tarmal

    May 2, 2011 at 3:18 am

    @MattR:

    oh no, the professionals, even the lower rung pro-trollers, are on strict orders to drink through the night, and carry lemons just in case.

  130. 130.

    Elizabelle

    May 2, 2011 at 3:36 am

    Sleeping with the fishes.

    NYTimes reporting bin Laden has been buried at sea.

  131. 131.

    Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)

    May 2, 2011 at 3:44 am

    @Cain:

    Not Sikhs, Sindhis. Muslims, though much more liberal in their theology than most (90%+ of all Hindus in Pakistan live in Sindh). We’re talking about more than 13,000,000 in Karachi, 1,500,000 in Hyderabad.

  132. 132.

    Kyle

    May 2, 2011 at 3:47 am

    Malkin is saying that since the Bush admin learned the name of the courier in 2001, Bush should get the credit.

    Bush (March 13, 2002):
    “I am deeply concerned about Iraq…I am truly not that concerned about [Osama Bin Laden]”.

  133. 133.

    Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)

    May 2, 2011 at 3:48 am

    @Martin:

    200,000,000 or 2,000,000, it’s easier to hide them behind high walls and with the assistance of friends well-placed in the country’s intelligence agency. And make no mistake- OBL and the Taliban have quite a few friends in the ISI who have used AQ and the Taliban to infiltrate India in the past.

  134. 134.

    M. Bouffant

    May 2, 2011 at 3:56 am

    The NYT is reporting that bin Laden was buried at sea.

    What reaction will that inspire?

  135. 135.

    kdaug

    May 2, 2011 at 4:55 am

    @Sarah Proud and Tall: Get your hands off my damn bowtie.

  136. 136.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    May 2, 2011 at 5:30 am

    @Martin: You may in fact have an important point on that generational thing. I’m not much of a hoper, so I will wait and see.

  137. 137.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    May 2, 2011 at 6:04 am

    @M. Bouffant: The reaction it should inspire is admiration that the US honored, certainly in spirit, the religious practice of an enemy, by a burial within 24 hours. That’s called taking the high road. Now the reaction it will inspire, well, depends on who’s doing the reacting, I’d imagine.

  138. 138.

    gene108

    May 2, 2011 at 6:18 am

    @Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again):

    We’re talking about more than 13,000,000 in Karachi, 1,500,000 in Hyderabad.

    Hyderabad is the largest city in the Southern Indian state of Andra Pradesh.

    Karachi was formerly the capitol of Pakistan, until Islamabad was constructed.

    I do not see the relevance of comparing the two cities.

    @Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again):

    Well, you’re talking about two different ethnicities, for a large part. Zardari and the Bhuttos are Sindhi, the military and the ISI are dominated by Punjabis. Generally speaking, those incursions into and wars against India aren’t supported in Sindh, but there’s been a huge amount of support for those action in Pakistani Punjab because there’s the goal of bringing Indian Punjab into Pakistan.

    Jinnah’s original vision of Pakistan included all of Punjab, Kashmir and eastern Indian regions of what are now the states of Bengal, Assam and Orrisa.

    What he settled for during Partition was what he referred to as “moth eaten Pakistan”.

    I guess in some corners of Pakistan they still want to get Jinnah’s original borders established, even though it’s been over 60 years, since Independence.

  139. 139.

    Mister Papercut

    May 2, 2011 at 6:27 am

    For the butthurt-mongers who will be crying into their pillows that this is Obama’s Win.

  140. 140.

    R-Jud

    May 2, 2011 at 6:58 am

    This one was inevitable.

    YYYYYYEAAAAAAAAAH!

  141. 141.

    WereBear

    May 2, 2011 at 7:22 am

    @Warren Terra: Thus highlighting the difference between governance by grownups, and grandstanding by a-holes.

  142. 142.

    Calouste

    May 2, 2011 at 7:25 am

    @gene108:

    Pakistan also has a Hyderabad.

  143. 143.

    Brian R.

    May 2, 2011 at 7:33 am

    On the politics of this:

    Democrats, you just scored the go-ahead touchdown. Let’s fight our usual instinct to rush over to the refs and say that our player looked like he was out of bounds on the catch.

    We don’t have to strut around in flight suits, but we don’t have to dis our own accomplishments either. The GOP will be shitting on this as soon as they can figure out the angle, so let’s not help them get started

  144. 144.

    gnomedad

    May 2, 2011 at 7:42 am

    @R-Jud:
    Once in a while, you have to find some rich asshole and throw him against the wall to show the world you mean business.

  145. 145.

    Tom Betz

    May 2, 2011 at 7:55 am

    @Countme In: It would be unseemly for the President to send a squad of Navy Seals after Lloyd Blankfein.

  146. 146.

    Gina

    May 2, 2011 at 8:22 am

    @Roger Moore: I need to make a Bingo card with some of the potential wingnut whinges (left and right).

  147. 147.

    Tone in DC

    May 2, 2011 at 9:18 am

    @Greyjoy:
    You know what I’m feeling right now? Relief…vindication…and incredible schadenfreude about how much of a giant fucking douchebag Donald Trump looks right now. Yeah, pal, you thought you did something sooo important, didn’t you? Pumping up a fringe issue until it was the news of the day? “Forcing” Obama to release his long-awaited long form? Oh, the presidency was practically gift-wrapped and waiting on your doorstep. But that was YESTERDAY. BITCH.

    Oh AYUH.

  148. 148.

    Nylund

    May 2, 2011 at 10:10 am

    I hope Obama sent Osama a text right before the raid that said, “I’m in ur base killing ur d00dz.”

  149. 149.

    Bex

    May 2, 2011 at 11:04 am

    @Mike Furlan: Which is exactly what Baer would be saying if it were GBW. Riiiiiight.

  150. 150.

    piratedan

    May 2, 2011 at 12:28 pm

    here’s a couple more from membase

    http://memebase.com/2011/05/02/memes-a-new-world-record/

    http://memebase.com/2011/05/02/memes-checked-in-and-checked-out/

    and one more

    http://cheezburger.com/ubermonkey/lolz/View/4715851776

  151. 151.

    aretino

    May 2, 2011 at 12:29 pm

    @Martin:

    Huh. I wonder if those people on MSNBC realize they’re waving a 60 year old flag. Only has 48 stars on it.

    Surely it’s just the newest twist of birtherism. Hawaiian birth certificates don’t count because it was never even admitted into the Union!

  152. 152.

    Elie

    May 2, 2011 at 12:52 pm

    I did not get on line last night and therefore woke to this today.

    I guess I had always thought that Osama Bin Laden was already dead but being used to provide our exagerrated response to terrorism. Not that I thought that the terrorism did not exist, but that it was being used .. so my initial feeling was, “so what?”

    But now that I think on it more, I am glad to be past this figure, both the real person and the mythology surrounding him that was as potent as his truly evil acts.

    It would be great if the republicans and right wing could celebrate this for our country at least, but I am not counting on it. No matter. They demean themselves as they always have – unable to truly BE Americans and for Americans even though they constantly bleat that accusation to those of us who aren’t part of their tribe. Resentful children.

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