# Did Obama really give the "go" order for bin Laden mission? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 3, 2011, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-obama-really-give-the-go-order-for-bin-laden-mission/580633 "2011-05-03T23:15:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-obama-really-give-the-go-order-for-bin-laden-mission/580633/1 "2011-05-03T23:15:16Z")
The new story flying around teh intranets is that Obama did not, in fact, give the go order for the mission that killed that Osama bin Laden. According to the story (and purported interview with the source), Obama was quote over-ruled unquote and the mission proceeded over his objections. [ > [@Ulsterman](#): > > Q: You stated that President Obama was “overruled” by military/intelligence officials regarding the decision to send in military specialists into the Osama Bin Laden compound. Was that accurate? > A: I was told – in these exact terms, “we overruled him.” (Obama) I have since followed up and received further details on exactly what that meant, as well as the specifics of how Leon Panetta worked around the president’s “persistent hesitation to act.” There appears NOT to have been an outright overruling of any specific position by President Obama, simply because there was no specific position from the president to do so. President Obama was, in this case, as in all others, working as an absentee president. ]([http://socyberty.com/issues/white-house-insider-obama-hesitated-panetta-issued-order-to-kill-osama-bin-laden/](http://socyberty.com/issues/white-house-insider-obama-hesitated-panetta-issued-order-to-kill-osama-bin-laden/)) (click the quote box for a link to the original site, [socyberty.com](http://socyberty.com)) Someone please correct me if I’m wrong, but wouldn’t “overruling” the President make the actors guilty of sedition? Does anyone think there’s any truth to this story? ---
**Author:** ![FinnAgain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finnagain/32/12500_2.png) [@FinnAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinnAgain)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-obama-really-give-the-go-order-for-bin-laden-mission/580633/2 "2011-05-03T23:17:25Z")
Well, now at least we know the new spin that the kookosphere will be using to spin this since the “he’s not really dead” stuff seems to have been a flash in the pan. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-obama-really-give-the-go-order-for-bin-laden-mission/580633/3 "2011-05-03T23:27:59Z")
Is this really “flying around the internets?” Its an anonymous source talking to an anonymous interviewer on a website that appears to basically be a blog-hosting cite. The same “ulsterman” has a pretty long list of Obama conspiracy theories, including ones in which Obama is caught have gay sex with another man, and then had that man murdered, (or murdered the man himself, it wasn’t really clear). I have trouble believing even the stupider rightwing cites would link to it. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-obama-really-give-the-go-order-for-bin-laden-mission/580633/4 "2011-05-03T23:29:40Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > Is this really “flying around the internets?” Its an anonymous source talking to an anonymous interviewer on a website that appears to basically be a blog-hosting cite. The same “ulsterman” has a pretty long list of Obama conspiracy theories, including ones in which Obama is caught have gay sex with another man, and then had that man murdered, (or murdered the man himself, it wasn’t really clear). > > I have trouble believing even the stupider rightwing cites would link to it. People who want to believe it will believe it. Sarah Palin will believe it, or say it’s credible; so will Glenn Beck. ---
**Author:** ![Capitaine\_Zombie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e95f7d/32.png) [@Capitaine\_Zombie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capitaine_Zombie)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-obama-really-give-the-go-order-for-bin-laden-mission/580633/5 "2011-05-03T23:29:45Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > Is this really “flying around the internets?” Its an anonymous source talking to an anonymous interviewer on a website that appears to basically be a blog-hosting cite. The same “ulsterman” has a pretty long list of Obama conspiracy theories, including ones in which Obama is caught have gay sex with another man, and then had that man murdered, (or murdered the man himself, it wasn’t really clear). Oh man, please shoot. Give the links. ---
**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:** [May 3, 2011, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-obama-really-give-the-go-order-for-bin-laden-mission/580633/6 "2011-05-03T23:29:46Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > Does anyone think there’s any truth to this story? Not I. It sounds like nothing more than the work of people who just can’t bring themselves to give Obama credit for _anything_. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-obama-really-give-the-go-order-for-bin-laden-mission/580633/7 "2011-05-03T23:30:36Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > Is this really “flying around the internets?” Its an anonymous source talking to an anonymous interviewer on a website that appears to basically be a blog-hosting cite. The same “ulsterman” has a pretty long list of Obama conspiracy theories, including ones in which Obama is caught have gay sex with another man, and then had that man murdered, (or murdered the man himself, it wasn’t really clear). > > I have trouble believing even the stupider rightwing cites would link to it. [Gather.com](http://Gather.com) and [newsflavor.com](http://newsflavor.com) have been all over it. I had two people at work show me the site on their phones. They were buying the story, but did kind of quiet down when I pointed out that the source was an unnamed anonymous “DC insider”. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-obama-really-give-the-go-order-for-bin-laden-mission/580633/8 "2011-05-03T23:33:07Z")
> [@Capitaine\_Zombie](#): > > Oh man, please shoot. Give the links. [It reads like a demented homicidal version of a Penthouse letter](http://newsflavor.com/politics/us-politics/the-ulsterman-report-sex-and-murder-in-the-land-of-obama/). ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-obama-really-give-the-go-order-for-bin-laden-mission/580633/9 "2011-05-03T23:33:08Z")
> [@Capitaine\_Zombie](#): > > Oh man, please shoot. Give the links. [Because you asked.](http://newsflavor.com/politics/us-politics/the-ulsterman-report-sex-and-murder-in-the-land-of-obama/) But for the sake of your mental hygiene, I wouldn’t suggest reading that link. ---
**Author:** ![FinnAgain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finnagain/32/12500_2.png) [@FinnAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinnAgain)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-obama-really-give-the-go-order-for-bin-laden-mission/580633/10 "2011-05-03T23:33:40Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > an unnamed anonymous “DC insider”. Crazy homeless people live inside DC too.😃 ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-obama-really-give-the-go-order-for-bin-laden-mission/580633/11 "2011-05-03T23:36:59Z")
Given the convoluted way you describe it, if there’s any truth to it at all, its sounds like it was a case of: The mission was underway but the Pres still wanted to be notified of its progress and _specifically give approval_ before it proceeded past certain points but he wasn’t available during an unexpectedly critical point so someone said go anyway. Or words to that effect. Even if its true I don’t see this mattering much. Like Obama or anyone in his administration’s going to complain?! ---
**Author:** ![hansel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6bbea6/32.png) [@hansel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hansel)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-obama-really-give-the-go-order-for-bin-laden-mission/580633/12 "2011-05-03T23:38:34Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > I have trouble believing even the stupider rightwing cites would link to it. [Pamela Geller at Atlas Shrugs.](http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/2011/05/skulking-towards-bin-laden-obama-overridden-by-military-and-intel-officials-in-takeout-of-obl.html) I don’t know whether this disproves your thesis or locates her even further over the line you draw. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-obama-really-give-the-go-order-for-bin-laden-mission/580633/13 "2011-05-03T23:38:51Z")
Sigh. I’d be willing to bet that the guy that attempted to “overrule” Obama would have been fired on the spot. Obama made this call. He’s shown the world he can make the tough decisions, and deserves credit for it. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-obama-really-give-the-go-order-for-bin-laden-mission/580633/14 "2011-05-03T23:43:41Z")
> [@hansel](#): > > [Pamela Geller at Atlas Shrugs.](http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/2011/05/skulking-towards-bin-laden-obama-overridden-by-military-and-intel-officials-in-takeout-of-obl.html) > > I don’t know whether this disproves your thesis or locates her even further over the line you draw. Someone should point out to her the other stories on that site, and ask her whether she plans to publicize those too. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-obama-really-give-the-go-order-for-bin-laden-mission/580633/15 "2011-05-03T23:44:12Z")
Who has the authority to overrule the president of the United States? ---
**Author:** ![FinnAgain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finnagain/32/12500_2.png) [@FinnAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinnAgain)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-obama-really-give-the-go-order-for-bin-laden-mission/580633/16 "2011-05-03T23:45:16Z")
Jack Motherfucking Bauer. ---
**Author:** ![DxZero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@DxZero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DxZero)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-obama-really-give-the-go-order-for-bin-laden-mission/580633/17 "2011-05-03T23:46:52Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > Who has the authority to overrule the president of the United States? In certain instances, the First Lady. ---
**Author:** ![emacknight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3ec8ea/32.png) [@emacknight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emacknight)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-obama-really-give-the-go-order-for-bin-laden-mission/580633/18 "2011-05-03T23:48:02Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > Who has the authority to overrule the president of the United States? Corporations. They wanted Osama dead to boost t-shirt sales and increase offshoring to Pakistan. That compound was on prime real estate. ---
**Author:** ![Capitaine\_Zombie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e95f7d/32.png) [@Capitaine\_Zombie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capitaine_Zombie)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-obama-really-give-the-go-order-for-bin-laden-mission/580633/19 "2011-05-03T23:48:08Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > [Because you asked.](http://newsflavor.com/politics/us-politics/the-ulsterman-report-sex-and-murder-in-the-land-of-obama/) But for the sake of your mental hygiene, I wouldn’t suggest reading that link. Ohhh thanks to you and **Snowboarder Pro** , I hadnt realized people wrote gay fan fiction about their favorite President. I love that bit > [@](#): > > I also smelled something that was odd. Never smelled it before or since that night. A heavy sweet smell that was filling up the hallway. It was not marijuana or anything like that. I was in college. I was plenty familiar with what marijuana smelled like. Something different. And as I stood there not quite sure what to do the smell seemed to go from sweet to kind of gross like rotting garbage. It was weird. Obama has the Devil’ Herb, the one He gives to His most trusted sorcerors, so they can unleash socialism and gayness upon us. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-obama-really-give-the-go-order-for-bin-laden-mission/580633/20 "2011-05-03T23:57:09Z")
Out of what is probably a perverse curiosity, how exactly would you go about over ruling the President’s decision to not send in military force to do something like this? Who could over rule the President about NOT sending in troops to take out Osama?? What or where would their powers derive from? I mean, I could sort of see Congress preventing a President from sending in a major military force (by the expedient of cutting the purse strings), but how do you over ride a decision to not use military force by the C&C?? :dubious: -XT [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-obama-really-give-the-go-order-for-bin-laden-mission/580633.md?page=2)