# Obama is killing too many terrorists!!! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 20, 2010, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-is-killing-too-many-terrorists/529810 "2010-02-20T21:58:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2010, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-is-killing-too-many-terrorists/529810/101 "2010-02-23T02:27:02Z")
[FBI Interrogator: Waterboarding Does Not Work | HuffPost Latest News](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-danzig/fbi-interrogator-waterboa_b_203095.html) A lot of those who do the interrogations say that water boarding does not work. Cheney is no expert on whether it works or not. He is a draft dodger who is an expert from afar. He has never been involved in questioning prisoners. What makes him a pro.? ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2010, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-is-killing-too-many-terrorists/529810/102 "2010-02-23T02:41:55Z")
[Justice OPR Report Damages Cheney's Claims On Torture, Reports Newsweek's Isikoff | HuffPost Latest News](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/22/justice-opr-report-damage_n_471892.html) Cheney is a big fat liar. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2010, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-is-killing-too-many-terrorists/529810/103 "2010-02-25T12:50:37Z")
[Half of Afghanistan Taliban leadership arrested in Pakistan](http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-South-Central/2010/0224/Half-of-Afghanistan-Taliban-leadership-arrested-in-Pakistan) > [@](#): > > Pakistan has arrested nearly half of the Afghanistan Taliban’s leadership in recent days, Pakistani officials told the Monitor Wednesday, dealing what could be a crucial blow to the insurgent movement. > > In total, seven of the insurgent group’s 15-member leadership council, thought to be based in Quetta, Pakistan, including the head of military operations, have been apprehended in the past week, according to Pakistani intelligence officials. > > Western and Pakistani media had previously reported the arrest of three of the 15, but this is the first confirmation of the wider scale of the Pakistan crackdown on the Taliban leadership, something the US has sought. From OP’s quote: > [@](#): > > The problem is that Obama is increasingly using drone strikes as a substitute for operations to bring terrorist leaders in alive for questioning – and that is putting the country at risk. Turns out that the _real_ problem is a misinformation campaign promoted by Mark Thiessen and his fellow Republicans. ---
**Author:** ![Camus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ba8739/32.png) [@Camus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Camus)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2010, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-is-killing-too-many-terrorists/529810/104 "2010-02-25T13:30:51Z")
> [@Squink](#): > > Turns out that the _real_ problem is a misinformation campaign promoted by Mark Thiessen and his fellow Republicans. And the real change has been something that’s been pretty much outside of our control: the cooperation of Pakistan. The ISI, for the most part, is the agency responsible for most of these captures. If they didn’t cooperate much, as was the case previously, then all the US had to go on was a few stray CIA informants and electronic intercepts. This would be good enough for a drone strike, but not enough to send a CIA or military team in - which wouldn’t be allowed by Pakistan anyway. The bottom line is that it was a bullshit argument to begin with. And to make it in the first place demonstrated that Mark Thiessen and whoever else either didn’t know what they were talking about or were deliberately making an argument they knew was based on a false premise. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2010, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-is-killing-too-many-terrorists/529810/105 "2010-02-25T13:37:35Z")
> [@Inigo\_Montoya](#): > > MR. OBAMA!!! > > I have the answer! > > Equip the predator drones with harpoons. Not antiship weapons, actual harpoons. We can harpoon the bad guys (like, through a leg or abdomen), reel them in, bring them in for prompt medical treatment and maybe talk to half of them. > > Solves the intel problems with eliminating sources and makes Marwan think twice about becoming a terrorist. > > I have lots of ideas. This plan not only completely impractical, it is also completely cool. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2010, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-is-killing-too-many-terrorists/529810/106 "2010-02-26T16:19:41Z")
> [@Camus](#): > > The bottom line is that it was a bullshit argument to begin with. And to make it in the first place demonstrated that Mark Thiessen and whoever else either didn’t know what they were talking about or were deliberately making an argument they knew was based on a false premise. I’m betting it was deliberate. ---
**Author:** ![Mosier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ea924/32.png) [@Mosier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mosier)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2010, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-is-killing-too-many-terrorists/529810/107 "2010-02-26T20:06:13Z")
> [@sleeping](#): > > Yeah, but come on, **Dio**. Of course, the Pubs are bereft of any principles, but in the broader context, the war on terrorism is bullshit and it should comprised of police actions and coordination with local governments rather than assassinations and military operations. POLICE actions? In fucking _Pakistan?_ Are you for real? ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2010, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-is-killing-too-many-terrorists/529810/108 "2010-02-27T21:41:35Z")
> [@Mosier](#): > > POLICE actions? In fucking _Pakistan?_ Are you for real? Right. Go in, in force, and turn their government AND the entire country against us. Brilliant. Besides, “police action” is war, just by a different name (as in the Korean "police action of the early 50s). ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2010, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-is-killing-too-many-terrorists/529810/109 "2010-02-28T00:58:53Z")
FWIW, I agree that it’s better where possible to take the suspects alive than to execute them without trial. Maybe the guys on the right only acknowledge this because it’s a Dem doing it & not Teh Rightfull Kyng Bushie, but they’re (partly) right in this case. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2010, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-is-killing-too-many-terrorists/529810/110 "2010-02-28T01:12:20Z")
> [@foolsguinea](#): > > they’re (partly) right in this case. Nope, because they’re Completely fucking wrong in saying we _aren’t_ doing that. They don’t get partial credit for belaboring the obvious in pursuit of cheap shots against the president. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2010, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-is-killing-too-many-terrorists/529810/111 "2010-02-28T01:15:01Z")
> [@foolsguinea](#): > > FWIW, I agree that it’s better where possible to take the suspects alive than to execute them without trial. Maybe the guys on the right only acknowledge this because it’s a Dem doing it & not Teh Rightfull Kyng Bushie, but they’re (partly) right in this case. As many have noted, Bush failed at either task. ---
**Author:** ![sleeping](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/839c29/32.png) [@sleeping](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sleeping)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2010, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-is-killing-too-many-terrorists/529810/112 "2010-02-28T02:09:41Z")
> [@Mosier](#): > > POLICE actions? In fucking _Pakistan?_ Are you for real? Refer to the latter portion–“coordination with local governments.” IOW, don’t do it unilaterally. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2010, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-is-killing-too-many-terrorists/529810/113 "2010-02-28T02:34:11Z")
Hell, why not direct American involvement in a civil/religious war in Pakistan? Whats the worst that could happen? ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2010, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-is-killing-too-many-terrorists/529810/114 "2010-03-01T07:14:34Z")
> [@Squink](#): > > How does he know that Obama “eliminated the CIA’s capability to capture senior terrorist leaders alive”? > > Is Thiessen just talking out of his hat, or does he have special access to classified information on the CIA’s overseas operations? You don’t understand the quote: > [@](#): > > Obama’s escalation of the “Predator War” comes at the very same time he has eliminated the CIA’s capability to capture senior terrorist leaders alive and interrogate them for information on new attacks. Obama hasn’t eliminated the CIA’s ability to capture terrorists, he’s eliminated their ability to capture _and_ interrogate terrorists. And by interrogate, Theissen means torture, which is what Obama has eliminated. The whole point of the article is to complain that Obama won’t allow the CIA torture captured prisoners, and is therefore a spineless wimp. And for the torture proponents like Theissen the whole point of the torture is torture. It doesn’t matter what intelligence you get from the prisoners, what matters is that we torture them. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-is-killing-too-many-terrorists/529810.md?page=5)