# Did Obama kill Osama ? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [September 29, 2013, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-obama-kill-osama/669963 "2013-09-29T23:32:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2013, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-obama-kill-osama/669963/21 "2013-09-30T00:50:15Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Sorry. I was thinking of Rudolf Hess. Oh… I was gonna defend you on “the same thing” as “made sure the burial site wasn’t identifiable” to prevent it being used as a shrine. “Much the same thing.” ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2013, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-obama-kill-osama/669963/22 "2013-09-30T00:55:41Z")
I generally respect Hersh as a journalist and thank him for things like his My Lai expose, but he does sometimes get ahead of himself, especially when talking. > [@Wikipedia](#): > > Those who criticize Hersh’s credibility especially point to allegations Hersh has made in public speeches and interviews, rather than in print. In an interview with New York magazine, Hersh made a distinction between the standards of strict factual accuracy for his print reporting and the leeway he allows himself in speeches, in which he may talk informally about stories still being worked on or blur information to protect his sources. “Sometimes I change events, dates, and places in a certain way to protect people… I can’t fudge what I write. But I can certainly fudge what I say.” > **[Seymour Hersh | Speeches](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seymour_Hersh#Speeches)** > > In a 2005 interview with New York magazine, Hersh made a distinction between the strict standards of accuracy observed in his print reporting and the leeway he allowed himself in speeches, in which he spoke informally about stories still being worked on, or changed information to protect his sources: "Sometimes I change events, dates, and places in a certain way to protect people. ... I can't fudge what I write. But I can certainly fudge what I say." > In a July 2004 speech to the American Civil L... You may think of Opus Dei as either old, Italian widows (those were the ones I knew) or albino assassins from _The da Vinci Code_ and [the Knights of Malta](http://api.ning.com/files/IvqemBCauJG07V-OSF3PWtxwab*2LmYrileK28ClQlXKoWMGYtMFUO1tR-gfRcNpwMBrb1dKaoNBjcI3NwK7YZ3hEy2owTJT/KnightsofMaltaThePopeCatholicChirchVaticanbiggestfinancialpower.jpg%5B/url) from pretty much every conspiracy theory involving the Illuminati, but Hersh believes they have inveigled their way into the highest reaches of the US Military: > [@The Raw Story](#): > > He further claimed that Gen. Stanley McChrystal, Vice Admiral William McRaven and others in the JSOC were members of the “Knights of Malta” and “Opus Dei,” two little known Catholic orders. > > “They do see what they’re doing — and this is not an atypical attitude among some military — it’s a crusade, literally,” Hersh reportedly continued. “They see themselves as the protectors of the Christians. They’re protecting them from the Muslims [as in] the 13th century. And this is their function.” > > He added that members of these societies have developed a secret set of insignias that represent “the whole notion that this is a culture war” between religions. [http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/01/21/highranking-members-military-part-knights-malta-opus-dei-reporter-claims/](http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/01/21/highranking-members-military-part-knights-malta-opus-dei-reporter-claims/) I do not automatically accept what Seymour Hersh says as fact before I see his sources, and he’s not always forthcoming with those. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2013, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-obama-kill-osama/669963/23 "2013-09-30T03:48:15Z")
> [@tomndebb](#): > > Nah. They are part of the conspiracy. Al Qaeda is part of the global Jewish media conspiracy? Man, that is some deep, deep cover. ---
**Author:** ![R.P.McMurphy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7993a0/32.png) [@R.P.McMurphy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/R.P.McMurphy)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2013, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-obama-kill-osama/669963/24 "2013-09-30T03:57:36Z")
Hersh wouldn’t have sold a dozen books if he hadn’t made that statement. Now he’s got people lined up to read his nonsense. If nobody ever said it before, I will say it, “Nobody ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public”. Go ahead, buy it and read it. Chat it up. Hype it for him. I’m going to bed. ---
**Author:** ![coremelt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@coremelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coremelt)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2013, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-obama-kill-osama/669963/25 "2013-09-30T04:09:24Z")
> [@Gack](#): > > incredible, and totally unprecedented … preposterous ideas … that is preposterous. I have this mental image of Gack walking down the street and of his Jaw constantly dropping at everything he sees: " totally unprecedented … preposterous ideas … that is preposterous." Life must be hard… ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2013, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-obama-kill-osama/669963/26 "2013-09-30T04:24:06Z")
waiting to figure out what the chicken expirement will be - maybe a ‘burial at sea’ test using the toilet? ---
**Author:** ![chacoguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@chacoguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chacoguy)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2013, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-obama-kill-osama/669963/27 "2013-09-30T04:38:10Z")
I’m guessing that he was eaten by a creature living under a bridge. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2013, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-obama-kill-osama/669963/28 "2013-09-30T04:43:19Z")
Yes. I’m surprised you hadn’t heard about it, it was in all the papers. ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2013, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-obama-kill-osama/669963/29 "2013-09-30T04:46:52Z")
> [@tomndebb](#): > > Obama did? > bin Laden did? > Hirsch did? > > Out with it. The public has a right to know! “The public has a right to know”? _“The public has a right to know”???_ WAKE UP, MAN! _ **“THE PUBLIC” IS PART OF THE CONSPIRACY!!!** _ ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2013, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-obama-kill-osama/669963/30 "2013-09-30T04:50:02Z")
Osama bin Laden sleeps with the fishes. ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2013, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-obama-kill-osama/669963/31 "2013-09-30T04:50:07Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Who killed Kennedy? > > It was you and me. _ **EXACTLY!!!** _ This is all deeper than anybody has guessed. According to U.S. Census figures (not that _ **they** _ can be trusted either) there were at least 42,127,616 people on the Grassy Knoll on November 22, 1963. Wheels within wheels, man. Wheels within wheels. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2013, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-obama-kill-osama/669963/32 "2013-09-30T05:51:02Z")
> [@Gack](#): > > 1. when someone is assassinated you expect a body and there was no body The SEALS were hungry. _Really_ hungry. ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2013, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-obama-kill-osama/669963/33 "2013-09-30T06:17:50Z")
**Gack,** have you considered looking into the Billy Meier UFO photos? I think they might be right up your alley. There’s even a thread on the dope about it right now if you would like more information. ---
**Author:** ![Cheshire\_Human](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Cheshire\_Human](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheshire_Human)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2013, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-obama-kill-osama/669963/34 "2013-09-30T06:56:05Z")
> [@tomndebb](#): > > NEXT: Has anyone seen Sauron’s body? Orcs ate it. Look for orc shit. ---
**Author:** ![marshmallow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@marshmallow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marshmallow)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2013, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-obama-kill-osama/669963/35 "2013-09-30T07:04:08Z")
Obama is actually a mech piloted by squirrels. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2013, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-obama-kill-osama/669963/36 "2013-09-30T07:23:05Z")
**Gack,** is there any conspiracy theory that you _don’t_ believe in? If so, how do you make the distinction? ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2013, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-obama-kill-osama/669963/37 "2013-09-30T07:33:58Z")
I don’t think we can answer this question until we know what Oprah thinks about it. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2013, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-obama-kill-osama/669963/38 "2013-09-30T07:47:54Z")
> [@Gack](#): > > 1. when someone is assassinated you expect a body and there was no body > 2. the whole buried at sea after a 1000(?) mi. flight struck me as incredible, and totally unprecedented in the annals of human history, with the body being destoyed before its existence is even demonstrated. So your point is that there is not sufficient evidence to believe the claim. > [@](#): > > 1. several preposterous ideas were floated as to how Osama was ID’d, first it was the wife, then they laid him out and measured him, OK so far, but that wasn’t all, they did a DNA analysis, that was too much, and the topper was they used face recognition software, that is preposterous. Wait, so your point is that there is _too much evidence_ to believe the claim. > [@](#): > > 1. this is what finally settled my no vote, they captured a raft of videos at the home, and showed us a video of the back of Osama’s head as he watched TV. That was just too little to be believed. I dunno. Maybe they just have small televisions in Pakistan. Or in other words… What? ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2013, 8:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-obama-kill-osama/669963/39 "2013-09-30T08:11:10Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Wait, so your point is that there is _too much evidence_ to believe the claim. _Claiming_ you have evidence is not the same as _providing_ evidence. See also Bush and Obama’s use of secret legal memos to justify torturing or murdering people without any sort of due process; just because you _say_ you have proof doesn’t mean it’s true. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2013, 8:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-obama-kill-osama/669963/40 "2013-09-30T08:56:36Z")
Seymour Hersh deserves a little more respect than to be so airily dismissed with a light wave of the hand and a mocking jest. His track record of investigative journalism is second to none. This isn’t some crackpot right-wing blogger. He may have something, he may not. He’s earned the right to be taken seriously, even by the water-carriers for Obama in the media and on this board. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-obama-kill-osama/669963.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-obama-kill-osama/669963.md?page=3)