# 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:** 3
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-navy-seal-takes-aim-at-obama-over-bin-laden-killing/621745/41 "2012-05-14T03:18:04Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > **If** he is. And if he **exists.** ---
**Author:** ![Kozmik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8dc957/32.png) [@Kozmik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kozmik)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-navy-seal-takes-aim-at-obama-over-bin-laden-killing/621745/42 "2012-05-14T03:22:33Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > And if he **exists.** And if it _happened_. ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-navy-seal-takes-aim-at-obama-over-bin-laden-killing/621745/43 "2012-05-14T03:35:24Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > And if he **exists.** Good point. And even if he does exist, so what? SEALs are known for their physical prowess, pain endurance, top-notch military training, and ability to execute precision missions and follow orders. I’ve read nothing that they’re adept at mind reading or remote viewing. Why should anyone give a fig what this guy says? ---
**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 14, 2012, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-navy-seal-takes-aim-at-obama-over-bin-laden-killing/621745/44 "2012-05-14T04:10:02Z")
> [@Onomatopoeia](#): > > Good point. > > And even if he does exist, so what? SEALs are known for their physical prowess, pain endurance, top-notch military training, and ability to execute precision missions and follow orders. I’ve read nothing that they’re adept at mind reading or remote viewing. Why should anyone give a fig what this guy says? Fox News does. There lies the problem. Sorry for the pun. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-navy-seal-takes-aim-at-obama-over-bin-laden-killing/621745/45 "2012-05-14T04:30:59Z")
Question: How come the original poster of this pile of lies ( **2ManyTacos** ) has not come back into this thread to apologize for posting it in the first place? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-navy-seal-takes-aim-at-obama-over-bin-laden-killing/621745/46 "2012-05-14T05:50:23Z")
Why should he apologize? It’s pretty clear that he doesn’t agree with it, on the whole. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-navy-seal-takes-aim-at-obama-over-bin-laden-killing/621745/47 "2012-05-14T07:42:50Z")
> [@Merneith](#): > > Just more Swiftboating bullshit, isn’t it? Really, it’s just like any other poorly-made sequel. _ **Swiftboat II: 2012** _ - “They’re Back. They’re Pissed. And This Time, They’re SEALs” - ---
**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 14, 2012, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-navy-seal-takes-aim-at-obama-over-bin-laden-killing/621745/48 "2012-05-14T10:34:57Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > This stuff is just complaining long after the fact. Actually, that’s what amuses me the most about this. Swiftboating or pretending Ronald Reagan was Tea Party material I can grok, because many people targeted by these chain mails were barely out of diapers at the time the events being distorted happened. And the ones who weren’t have Alzheimer’s now. But this is not long after the fact. This was last year. Motherfucker we were _there_, we saw how it happened and we heard what Obama said. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-navy-seal-takes-aim-at-obama-over-bin-laden-killing/621745/49 "2012-05-14T16:37:10Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > Question: How come the original poster of this pile of lies ( **2ManyTacos** ) has not come back into this thread to apologize for posting it in the first place? Why should he apologize? He didn’t say he believed any of this garbage: > [@2ManyTacos](#): > > 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. The OP said he was concerned about the golf claim, but that was apparently horseshit. > [@Kobal2](#): > > Motherfucker we were _there_, we saw how it happened and we heard what Obama said. Yeah. They’re just desperate here: Republicans have campaigned very hard on the terrorism/national security issue in recent years, and they know Romney can’t beat Obama on that issue in 2012. Some of them are obviously very worried that that will hurt Romney a lot. So they’re just trying to deny Obama any applause for something that unquestionably happened on his watch and for which he deserves a significant amount of credit for the decisions he made. This is only going to work on two groups of people: those who are so partisan they can’t give Obama any credit even when he does right, and those with _Memento_-style memory problems. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-navy-seal-takes-aim-at-obama-over-bin-laden-killing/621745/50 "2012-05-14T18:02:56Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Why should he apologize? He didn’t say he believed any of this garbage: > . Fair enough. I just always wonder about the posters who come up with a controversial statement, that turns out to be complete fabricated BS, and then they never return to the thread to say “Thanks I thought so” or whatever. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-navy-seal-takes-aim-at-obama-over-bin-laden-killing/621745/51 "2012-05-14T18:24:27Z")
> [@2ManyTacos](#): > > _“ **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. I don’t think voices in the author’s head count as “sources”. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-navy-seal-takes-aim-at-obama-over-bin-laden-killing/621745/52 "2012-05-14T18:24:59Z")
> [@Steve\_MB](#): > > I don’t think voices in the author’s head count as “sources”. Reliable, though: they always tell him what he wants to hear! ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-navy-seal-takes-aim-at-obama-over-bin-laden-killing/621745/53 "2012-05-14T18:30:33Z")
> [@R.P.McMurphy](#): > > Anyway, IIRC, Obama was scheduled to play 18 holes of golf that day. As others have noted, the WH was paranoid of acting as if anything out of the ordinary was going on. They made every effort to disguise the fact that something big was going down including the pizzas and the way the cars of those in the know arrived at the WH. Obama cut the golf down to 9 holes which they were worried would raise a flag. “Obama always plays 18.” The easiest thing to do would have been to cancel the golf but the WH wanted things to appear as normal as possible. > > It’s amazing that someone who is as accomplished as a Navy Seal can be so stupid. I’m glad he’s an ex-Seal. I’m guessing he washed out of one of the refresher courses on operational security. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-navy-seal-takes-aim-at-obama-over-bin-laden-killing/621745/54 "2012-05-14T18:39:09Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > Fair enough. I just always wonder about the posters who come up with a controversial statement, that turns out to be complete fabricated BS, and then they never return to the thread to say “Thanks I thought so” or whatever. True. Usually they say everybody’s in denial or part of the conspiracy. ---
**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 16, 2012, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-navy-seal-takes-aim-at-obama-over-bin-laden-killing/621745/55 "2012-05-16T17:28:17Z")
Now this from Robert Gates: [http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/gates\_says\_obama\_rolled\_dice\_with\_IpDHnYuva7eKKI831UFZ4N](http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/gates_says_obama_rolled_dice_with_IpDHnYuva7eKKI831UFZ4N) I guess Benny Smith has a better take on it than a former Secretary of Defense (who was in the room with Obama) and former head of the CIA. I think Benny is blinded by hate. Do any of these idiots ever come forward and admit they had it wrong? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2012, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-navy-seal-takes-aim-at-obama-over-bin-laden-killing/621745/56 "2012-05-16T17:44:19Z")
I thought the Situation Room was at CNN. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2012, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-navy-seal-takes-aim-at-obama-over-bin-laden-killing/621745/57 "2012-05-16T17:47:49Z")
> [@R.P.McMurphy](#): > > I think Benny is blinded by hate. Do any of these idiots ever come forward and admit they had it wrong? No. The conspiracy just gets bigger and bigger. ---
**Author:** ![2ManyTacos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/2/3da27b/32.png) [@2ManyTacos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2ManyTacos)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2012, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-navy-seal-takes-aim-at-obama-over-bin-laden-killing/621745/58 "2012-05-16T20:33:17Z")
Yeah guys, the only reason that I posted this was because I just wanted to check the only verifiable _claims_ that this guy actually made in his letter, and no, I don’t agree with or believe any of it. As somebody earlier mentioned, the only thing that makes this headline even remotely substantial is that the letter is coming from a former Navy SEAL, a guy who is obviously incredibly accomplished by virtue of him having been, y’know, a friggin’ Navy SEAL in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2012, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-navy-seal-takes-aim-at-obama-over-bin-laden-killing/621745/59 "2012-05-16T20:36:04Z")
The salient point here is that the guy’s Navy SEAL accomplishments - assuming they are real - don’t mean he’s well informed, unbiased, or even particularly intelligent at anything not related to being a Navy SEAL. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2012, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-navy-seal-takes-aim-at-obama-over-bin-laden-killing/621745/60 "2012-05-16T20:47:33Z")
Well, a google search tells me that the former SEAL is being promoted by FOX news, FreeRepublic, and various Teaparty and “patriot” blogs. I’m very happy that the gentleman has been a SEAL. Good for him. I’m not really sure why that would make him privy to the intelligence, decisions and operation behind the killing of Osama. To expand on\*\* R. P. McMurphy’s\*\* post upthread… I know…If we’re going to get people’s opinions on the matter… opinions from those who might have a bit of expertise… How about if we find out what [Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates says about the operation?](http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/gates_says_obama_rolled_dice_with_IpDHnYuva7eKKI831UFZ4N) You know, Gates? CIA director for President George H.W. Bush and defense secretary for Bush the Younger? Probably not an Obama yes-man, right? Probably modestly qualified to speak of this affair, since he was actually there? > [@](#): > > People don’t realize [what] made the decision tough for the president was we didn’t have one single piece of hard data that he was actually in that compound. Not one.” > [@](#): > > Gates had urged Obama to take down bin Laden from above, with an air attack that wouldn’t require US forces on the ground. > > “My view was let’s kill him but let’s use a missile of some kind,” said Gates. > [@](#): > > President asked for my view and I told him, I said 'You know, maybe Mr. President, I’ve been in this job too long and I’ve become too cautious,’ ” according to Gates. > > “And he said … 'No you’ve raised a lot of questions that I have to think about.’ But I\*\*’ve always thought it was a very courageous call.\*\*” (bolding mine) “A very courageous call” said Gates. But the whackdoodles will keep flapping their lips about it, and FOX, Freepers and the looney blogs will keep giving them airtime/internet space. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-navy-seal-takes-aim-at-obama-over-bin-laden-killing/621745.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-navy-seal-takes-aim-at-obama-over-bin-laden-killing/621745.md?page=4)