# Former Navy SEAL takes aim at Obama over bin Laden killing **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [May 13, 2012, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-navy-seal-takes-aim-at-obama-over-bin-laden-killing/621745 "2012-05-13T01:57:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![2ManyTacos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/2/3da27b/32.png) [@2ManyTacos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2ManyTacos)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2012, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-navy-seal-takes-aim-at-obama-over-bin-laden-killing/621745/1 "2012-05-13T01:57:26Z")
[And he’s pretty damned vocal about it.](http://www.reagancoalition.com/articles/2012/20120507007-navy-seal.html) I wouldn’t doubt that many of you have read this letter already, as it has apparently been circulating throughout the internet over the past few days. One of my family members, who is vehemently Republican/anti-Obama, sent me this guy’s letter in a text message as a way to rebuke my constant claim that Obama deserves a fair amount of credit for the bin Laden raid. _“ **Yet reliable sources continue to report that not only did you attempt to stop or delay Bin Laden’s demise,** you did not even leave the golf course for the situation room until 20 minutes before SEAL Team 6 took out Osama Bin Laden. Even the clothes you wore in the situation room betray this fact. This is a Commander in Chief? A man who takes credit for actions largely taken while he was out golfing?”_ The bolded part is really the only area of the letter that makes me pause for a minute; I don’t really know what “sources” this guy is referring to, but if they’re out there I’d like to at least verify them I guess. Still, I watched the recent NBC special documenting the bin Laden raid a few days ago, and nothing that this guy says in his letter seems conducive to what everybody involved says had happened. What do you guys make of this? It’s obviously biased to the extreme, but is any of this man’s letter merited? ---
**Author:** ![Kozmik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8dc957/32.png) [@Kozmik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kozmik)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2012, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-navy-seal-takes-aim-at-obama-over-bin-laden-killing/621745/2 "2012-05-13T01:59:11Z")
Good title/headline. 😃 ---
**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:** [May 13, 2012, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-navy-seal-takes-aim-at-obama-over-bin-laden-killing/621745/3 "2012-05-13T02:01:13Z")
[Snopes](http://www.snopes.com/politics/military/navyseal.asp) on this topic. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2012, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-navy-seal-takes-aim-at-obama-over-bin-laden-killing/621745/4 "2012-05-13T02:07:13Z")
I have friends that send me conservative screeds like this fairly often. It’s like they’re all written by the same person. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2012, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-navy-seal-takes-aim-at-obama-over-bin-laden-killing/621745/5 "2012-05-13T02:16:30Z")
I wish Snopes had researched the author. IIRC, every cab driver in San Diego was a former SEAL. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2012, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-navy-seal-takes-aim-at-obama-over-bin-laden-killing/621745/6 "2012-05-13T02:21:54Z")
As pointed up by Snopes, the information in the screed is baloney. > [@](#): > > However, as noted above, the President arrived in the White House Situation Room around 2:00 PM; it was not until around 2:30 PM that the first wave of helicopters with Navy SEALS left Jalalabad, Afghanistan, for the compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, where Osama bin Laden was believed to be hiding. The flight from Jalalabad to Abbottabad took about 90 minutes, so the President had been present in the Situation Room for around two hours before the SEAL team had even arrived at the target where their assault was to take place. The assault itself then took an additional 38 minutes to complete. (The iconic Situation Room photograph taken in a room adjoining the White House Situation Room that day was snapped at 4:06 PM, about the time that one of the two Black Hawk helicopters crashed while hovering above the compound prior to the assault, so clearly President Obama had been in the Situation Room for well over two hours before “SEAL Team 6 took out Osama Bin Laden” and could not have remained at a golf course until just 20 minutes prior to that event.) > > As for the claim that President Obama “refers to the event as if it were YOU and you alone which accomplished the worthy task of slaying one of America’s greatest enemies,” a review of the transcript from the President’s announcement of the death of Osama bin Laden on 2 May 2011 shows that although he stated clearly that the decision to go ahead with the operation was his, he also offered his praise of those involved in planning and carrying it out So yeah, if that is not a Commander in Chief, I’m Bugs Bunny. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2012, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-navy-seal-takes-aim-at-obama-over-bin-laden-killing/621745/7 "2012-05-13T03:04:50Z")
Hi Joe: Thanks for your email message. Not everything you read on the internet is necessarily true. For example, I couldn’t find any media accounts about the author of the piece: is there any reason to believe that he is actually a Navy Seal? He might be. Is he a friend of yours? On the substance, I’m afraid your correspondent is mistaken. One website I’ve found useful is [snopes.com](http://snopes.com): they make it their practice to compare internet folklore to confirmable facts. Here’s the link: > **[Former Navy SEAL Rebukes Obama](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/former-navy-seal-rebukes-obama/)** > > Navy SEAL rebukes President Obama over the various aspects of the killing of Osama bin Laden. Is it legitimate and accurate criticism? It turns out that while Obama was on the golf course earlier in the day, he kept this appointment so as to stick to a normal routine as everyone else did. And the 20 minute claim is just false. Furthermore, the President ordered the raid against the express wishes of many (not all) of his staff. The idea that he “attempted to stop or delay Bin Laden’s demise” is an odd claim. Thanks for forwarding this letter to me though. I’m glad that you take time to keep up with current affairs and hope that in the future you check claims made in circulating emails against known facts. Sincerely yours, MfM [Reply: ALL] ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2012, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-navy-seal-takes-aim-at-obama-over-bin-laden-killing/621745/8 "2012-05-13T03:12:21Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > I have friends that send me conservative screeds like this fairly often. It’s like they’re all written by the same person. And you respond to them with Snopes links, right? Please? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2012, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-navy-seal-takes-aim-at-obama-over-bin-laden-killing/621745/9 "2012-05-13T03:50:21Z")
> [@Lobohan](#): > > And you respond to them with Snopes links, right? > Please? I often do. Although just the other day, I did a full debunking myself of [this one.](http://beforeitsnews.com/story/1758/973/California_Is_Obama_s_Dream.html) It was child’s play. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2012, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-navy-seal-takes-aim-at-obama-over-bin-laden-killing/621745/10 "2012-05-13T03:50:48Z")
… and Eisenhower likewise deserves zero credit for Overlord. And while we’re at it, FDR is in no way responsible for anything during WWII. C’Mon, people! Really, if both helicopters had gone down, and the whole operation failed a’la Eagle Claw, Obama would have been fully responsible. Barack doesn’t hesitate to give credit to those who carried out his orders. He likewise gets to take credit for giving the order, and it should be noted the order was not in any way a no-brainer at the time. ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2012, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-navy-seal-takes-aim-at-obama-over-bin-laden-killing/621745/11 "2012-05-13T03:58:14Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > So yeah, if that is not a Commander in Chief, I’m Bugs Bunny. I knew W. McCodPiece, and Barack Obama is no W. McCodPiece. > **[Political Humor](https://www.liveabout.com/political-humor-4687972)** > > Red or blue, young or old, stay up to date on what's happening in DC, without taking it too seriously. Enjoy the best jokes about our political process, current events, and leaders. I said GOOD DAY, sir. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2012, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-navy-seal-takes-aim-at-obama-over-bin-laden-killing/621745/12 "2012-05-13T04:12:03Z")
OK, enlighten me here: what does it matter that the President was in the Situation Room “only” 20 minutes before the operation was a go, exactly ? What should he have done, chill in there for a couple hours ? Look very tense and concentrated for the whole day ? Does his seat in the room channel a morale buff or something ? He knew it was going on, his generals put a plan together and he gave it the go ahead, what more is he expected to do ? ---
**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:** [May 13, 2012, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-navy-seal-takes-aim-at-obama-over-bin-laden-killing/621745/13 "2012-05-13T04:15:55Z")
And the night before he sat at the correspondence dinner and, through the humor, had to act like he didn’t know what was coming down the next day. Obama should get an Academy Award just for that. Who are these people that hate Obama so much that they won’t give him credit for anything? Yet, the people they support accept no blame for their screw-ups and mismanagement and take credit where it is not due. I won’t use the word “racist”. Well, maybe . . . ---
**Author:** ![zombywoof](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/9e8a1a/32.png) [@zombywoof](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zombywoof)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2012, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-navy-seal-takes-aim-at-obama-over-bin-laden-killing/621745/14 "2012-05-13T04:59:33Z")
Robert Gates is on the record as saying “this is one of the most courageous calls – decisions — that I think I’ve ever seen a president make” - [link](http://www.cbsnews.com/2100-18560_162-20062368.html). ---
**Author:** ![wevets](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9a140/32.png) [@wevets](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wevets)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2012, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-navy-seal-takes-aim-at-obama-over-bin-laden-killing/621745/15 "2012-05-13T05:11:25Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > OK, enlighten me here: what does it matter that the President was in the Situation Room “only” 20 minutes before the operation was a go, exactly ? What should he have done, chill in there for a couple hours ? Look very tense and concentrated for the whole day ? Does his seat in the room channel a morale buff or something ? According to **Attack from the 3rd Dimension** ’s [snopes link](http://www.snopes.com/politics/military/navyseal.asp) that part is not true: > [@snopes](#): > > …the President arrived in the White House Situation Room around 2:00 PM; it was not until 2:30 PM that the first wave of helicopters with Navy SEALS left Jalalabad, Afghanistan for the compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, where Osama bin Laden was believed to be hiding. The flight from Jalalabad to Abbottabad took about 90 minutes, so the President had been present in the Situation Room for around two hours before the SEAL team had even arrived at the target where their assault was to take place. Not sure what he did in those two hours, but I believe he’s likely to be a busy guy. Doubt he was twiddling his thumbs. Maybe debating how long before they should inform the Pakistanis about the raid? ---
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2012, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-navy-seal-takes-aim-at-obama-over-bin-laden-killing/621745/16 "2012-05-13T06:18:45Z")
> [@Lobohan](#): > > > [@John\_Mace](#): > > > > I have friends that send me conservative screeds like this fairly often. It’s like they’re all written by the same person. > > And you respond to them with Snopes links, right? > Please? You realize, of course, that (at least according to the Freepers, to whom I am not going to link) Snopes is a liberal conspiracy? Just wait till Andy Schlafly gets done with the Conservative Bible project and can turn his attention to ConservaSnopes — then we’ll see some debunkin’ as is debunkin’! > [@R.P.McMurphy](#): > > And the night before he sat at the correspondence dinner and, through the humor, had to act like he didn’t know what was coming down the next day. Obama should get an Academy Award just for that. > > \<…\> Saw a documentary on the mission a while back in which one of the interviewees (an NBC correspondent, if memory serves) said that he does not want to play poker with President Obama. Ever. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2012, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-navy-seal-takes-aim-at-obama-over-bin-laden-killing/621745/17 "2012-05-13T06:43:03Z")
It’s part of the conservative effort to give Obama no credit for anything having to do with the bin Laden raid. I’m not sure how much this stuff would matter even if it were true since Obama was not commanding the mission personally, wasn’t at risk of getting shot himself, and wasn’t going to shoot anybody. Nobody thought otherwise. But as it happens it’s crap, and the good news (such as it is) is that I don’t think this nonsense would work on anybody who doesn’t already believe Obama is a do-nothing who shouldn’t be credited for authorizing the raid. If you already believed that, it doesn’t matter what figleaf you use to justify it. The bottom line here is that some people are desperate to give Obama no credit for his decision and prevent him from taking any credit for it, and that’s not going to work on anybody who’s paid any attention. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2012, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-navy-seal-takes-aim-at-obama-over-bin-laden-killing/621745/18 "2012-05-13T06:49:32Z")
> [@OttoDaFe](#): > > You realize, of course, that (at least according to the Freepers, to whom I am not going to link) Snopes is a liberal conspiracy? [Snopes](http://www.snopes.com/info/aboutus.asp) addresses that. > [@](#): > > Because [snopes.com](http://snopes.com) is all about rumors, it was only a matter of time before rumors began to circulate about it and its operators, such as the following: > > > [@](#): > > > > Snopes receives funding from an undisclosed source. The source is undisclosed because Snopes refuses to disclose that source. The Democratic Alliance, a funding channel for uber-Leftist (Marxist) Billionaires (George Soros etc.), direct funds to an “Internet Propaganda Arm” pushing these views. The Democratic Alliance has been reported to instruct Fundees to not disclose their funding source. > > The [snopes.com](http://snopes.com) web site is (and always has been) a completely independent, self-sufficient entity wholly owned by its operators, Barbara and David Mikkelson, and funded through advertising revenues. Neither the site nor its operators has ever received monies from (or been engaged in any business or editorial relationship with), any sponsor, investor, partner, political party, religious group, business organization, government agency, or any other outside group or organization. > > Barbara Mikkelson is a Canadian citizen and as such cannot vote in U.S. elections, register an affiliation with a U.S. political party, or donate to any U.S. political campaign or candidate. David Mikkelson is an American citizen whose participation in U.S. politics has never extended beyond periodically exercising his civic duty at the ballot box. As FactCheck confirmed in April 2009, David is a registered independent who has never donated to, or worked on behalf of, any political campaign or party. The Mikkelsons are wholly apolitical, vastly preferring their quiet scholarly lives in the company of their five cats to any political considerations. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2012, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-navy-seal-takes-aim-at-obama-over-bin-laden-killing/621745/19 "2012-05-13T06:51:33Z")
> [@wevets](#): > > Not sure what he did in those two hours, but I believe he’s likely to be a busy guy. Doubt he was twiddling his thumbs. Maybe debating how long before they should inform the Pakistanis about the raid? Oh I’m sure there were lots of details to iron, doubts to assuage and so forth ; but none of that requires him to be anywhere in particular. He could have debated this while playing golf. I guess maybe I’m biased by _The West Wing_ I’ve watched so much - in the show, whenever some Heavy Shit is going down, the President nips down to the situation room to meet a handful of uniformed advisors who quickly summarize what’s going on and the various possible courses of action available (and their probable consequences), the prez ponders a bit, says “All right, we’ll do this and that, keep me informed of any new developments ; report to me every 30 minutes” then he leaves the room and goes on with his schedule because the President is a somewhat busy guy. It’s not like the SEALs required his immediate input during the raid or were in direct communication with him, is what I’m saying. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2012, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-navy-seal-takes-aim-at-obama-over-bin-laden-killing/621745/20 "2012-05-13T07:11:04Z")
I expect one of the contingencies prepared for was the possibility that somebody \*might \*have to get on the phone to the President of Pakistan in a big ass hairy ape hurry. Somebody who will not be put on hold. Just in case. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-navy-seal-takes-aim-at-obama-over-bin-laden-killing/621745.md?page=2)