Just want to post this here before I go....
I've got a theory working that ALL true BDS'ers have low IQ's (as evidenced by some on this thread).
I'll share it with you later. ;)
Posted on 05/05/2011 6:30:28 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
As lefties gloat over the political implications of Osama bin Laden’s demise, and the media ramp up an “Obama bounce” meme, conservatives should politely but persistently shift the conversation from politics to policy. In my latest column for Townhall, I draw on a number of fascinating news accounts elucidating how the our military and intelligence community finally nailed bin Laden. US officials describe a “mosaic” of intelligence that ultimately led a team of Navy SEALs to a compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan — suggesting that it took many years and myriad sources to pinpoint bin Laden’s precise location. As we now know, the central strand of intel involved one of bin Laden’s trusted couriers, Abu Ahmed Al-Kuwaiti; finding him was the key to locating his boss. The early evidence is in, and President Bush and his team should feel gratified and vindicated:
Osama bin Laden was found because the United States military exploited actionable intelligence extracted by subjecting terrorists to enhanced interrogation techniques (EITs) in secret CIA prisons, by questioning enemy combatants at Guantanamo Bay, and by capturing a top al Qaeda source in Iraq.
As long as some liberals remain intent on keeping political score, it must be pointed out that all three sources of these indispensible data points were direct or indirect results of Bush policies – EITs, Gitmo, and the Iraq war – that much of the American Left, including Barack Obama, fought tooth and nail.
Much of the evidence I cite to back up my thesis comes from two sources: A short AP story published shortly after the raid (and linked here by Allahpundit), and an incredibly detailed piece in London’s Daily Telegraph. A few key bits from the resulting information goldmine:
On the Guantanamo connection -
Secret American military files from Guantanamo Bay, leaked to Wikileaks and seen by The Daily Telegraph, suggest that al-Kuwaiti may have been with bin Laden ever since he disappeared from the Tora Bora mountains in Afghanistan in 2001.
The file for the Guantanamo detainee, Muhammad Mani al-Qahtani, who was to have been the “20th hijacker” on 9/11, contains a reference to the key US intelligence thread that led directly to bin Laden.
According to the file, al-Kuwaiti provided al-Qahtani with computer training for the mission to attack the US in the summer of 2001. Al-Qahtani was told by the lead 9/11 hijacker, Muhammad Atta, “to make reservations and buy airline tickets to Orlando for five individuals” including himself.
“Detainee [al-Qahtani] received computer training from al-Qaeda member Abu Ahmad al-Kuwaiti in preparation for his mission to the US,” according to the file, dated 30 October 2008.
On KSM, secret CIA “black site” prisons, and Enhanced Interrogation Techniques -
Current and former U.S. officials say that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, provided the nom de guerre of one of bin Laden’s most trusted aides. The CIA got similar information from Mohammed’s successor, Abu Faraj al-Libi. Both were subjected to harsh interrogation tactics inside CIA prisons in Poland and Romania.
…
The CIA gained crucial information confirming the role of al-Kuwaiti from two inmates at Guantanamo Bay – Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and Abu Faraj al-Libi.
Al-Libi’s file, dated 10 September 2008, also refers to his contact with bin Laden’s personal courier, although he gives another name.
And on the Al Qaeda operative captured in Iraq:
The file suggests that the courier’s identity was provided to the US by another key source, the al-Qaida facilitator Hassan Ghul, who was captured in Iraq in 2004 and interrogated by the CIA. Ghul was never sent to Guantanamo but was believed to have been taken to a prison in Pakistan.
He told the Americans that al-Kuwaiti travelled with bin Laden…
The picture that emerges from al-Qahtani’s Guantanamo file supports statements given in the last 24 hours by US officials, who named Ghul as the “linchpin” in the intelligence operation to find bin Laden.
In short, Al-Kuwaiti’s existence was flagged by at least one Guantanamo Bay detainee, his role and pseudonym were confirmed by KSM and al-Libi, and his true identity was spilled by an Al Qaeda terrorist operating in Iraq. It’s no exaggeration to assert that all three of these intelligence “strands” may never — or perhaps would never — have materialized absent the controversial Bush administration policies listed above. These facts are not historical footnotes. They eviscerate a number of core left-wing articles of faith, including the flawed notions that President Bush “took his eye off the [Al Qaeda/bin Laden] ball,” that Iraq was unrelated to the larger war on terror, and that EITs are not effective — not to mention the ongoing obsession with shuttering Gitmo. As I conclude in the Townhall piece, Presidents Bush and Obama deserve significant credit for this massive accomplishment, and it would be intellectually dishonest to suggest otherwise:
Barack Obama ran for president, in large measure, as the anti-Bush. He was a prominent opponent of the war in Iraq. He promised to shutter the Guantanamo Bay prison. He pledged to ban certain EITs. Today, as president, he is rightfully receiving praise from virtually all quarters for his decisive order to take out the most wanted man in the world. Obama, his supporters, and indeed all Americans have every reason to celebrate that accomplishment. But they must also recognize and appreciate that actions and policies implemented by President Bush, often in the face of searing partisan criticism, played an inextricable role in identifying the dots that were finally connected and acted upon last weekend.
In response to bin Laden’s death, Americans of all partisan stripes should follow the example set forth by the current president and his predecessor: Credit the brave special ops forces who conducted the daring operation, offer political credit where it’s due, and celebrate this American achievement, which is a gift to all of civilization.
UPDATE – Larry Elder makes another good point in this vein:
Osama bin Laden was a) killed by a unit overseen by what New Yorker reporter Seymour Hersh denounced as Vice President Dick Cheney’s “executive assassination ring,” which was b) sent into action based on intel derived from the now-outlawed “enhanced interrogation techniques,” which were c) used on detainees captured during the George W. Bush administration, who were d) being held in now-outlawed “secret prisons” or in the intended-to-be-closed Gitmo.
That’s another feather in Bush’s cap. All of the detainees/informants involved in this story were captured on his watch.
Guy Benson is the Political Editor of Townhall.com — HotAir’s sister site — and hosts the Guy Benson Show. Follow him on twitter: @guypbenson
Boston Globe, March 8, 1987
“…”I’m very concerned,” said New Right leader Weyrich, a frequent White House visitor in recent days. “The position right now seems designed to get an agreement with Moscow. It’s getting a great push from Nancy Reagan so that there can be a Nobel Prize at the end for her husband.” Adds Howard Phillips of the Conservative Caucus, “I think it may be the same game Nixon played back in 1974 at the height of Watergate, using talks with Leonid Brezhnev as a prop to show that he was still an effective president. . . “On this and other foreign and domestic issues, the concern I have is that our options are not going to be presented forcefully . . .” Weyrich is only slightly less gloomy. “In the very short-term, we’re going to know whether conservatives are just window-dressing,” he said. “Howard Baker is saying to everybody and his mother that he wants to really reach out to us. We’ll soon see.” Many White House watchers take the mood of those on the New Right as a clue to which direction Reagan is moving in, which means the signs appear to point toward the middle — recalling Reagan’s moderation and compromises during his second term as governor of California in the early 1970s. Howard Phillips accepts the analogy but adds a warning to all Republicans. “As Reagan drifted to more of a consensus politician, he bought surcease from heavy criticism,” he said. “But in the process he also spent all his time responding to his opponents’ agenda, in effect legitimizing it. Just in case anyone has forgotten, I believe Reagan was succeeded as governor by Jerry Brown.’…”
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Note this line:
Just in case anyone has forgotten, I believe Reagan was succeeded as governor by Jerry Brown.’…”
..............
That reminds me of the “Bush brought us Obama/ Pelosi / Reid” meme (nothing new under the sun is there)
Just want to post this here before I go....
I've got a theory working that ALL true BDS'ers have low IQ's (as evidenced by some on this thread).
I'll share it with you later. ;)
Every single ONE of this little knot of Bush-hating 'purists' (most of whom are more liberal than the average freeper, btw) would have been bashing Reagan on this forum, had it existed.
There is no greater example of dishonesty and duplicity around than these 'perfect' conservatives.
They're ALL phonies.
These Bushbots and RINO apologists sound exactly like Mike Huckabee.
There are all kinds of Leftists.... knothead..
Some them are REPUBLICANS... calling themselves "conservatives" or "centrists"....
You must think this whole thing to SIMPLE!!!.. Its NOT simple..
Bush is a Progressive.. like the other republican elitists...
Evidenced by what he DOES and DOESN'T do....
But I HATE the republican progressives the most.. because they are shills..
Shills... you know.. fakes, poseurs, phoneys, turncoats, moles, spies, tools, what did Stalin call them.. "useful idiots"..
The very ones the TpCaucus HATES...
I don’t see anything that has happened that vindicates Bush one iota.
Way more questions than answers here on Bin Laden.
That's why I work in the Republican party primaries to get the most conservative people possible to reform our party from within.
If you think calling George W. Bush Alfred E. Newman helps conservatism, you must be a libertarian who smokes what you think should be made legal.
Don't just be angry and whine on the internet. Get to work.
btw, you still haven't looked up the meaning of the silly insults you throw out there, have you.
Buy a dictionary. Think. It might make a difference in your ability to discern.
Then again, maybe not.......
See you, Buffy. It's Mother's Day and I'm having some fun, and since you are humorless and witless, you and your witless buddies can't be a part of it. :)
You're off your rocker, skippy. You know nothing about my preferences.
The truth is G. Bush is as smart as you or I am..
But the truth is he resembles Afred E. Nueman STRONGLY...
The so-called conservative agenda NEEDS the TRUTH!...
He also exudes Alfies..the "What me worry?" by line..
He refuses to attack the democrats but prefers working with them..
The truth is he doesnt know the WAR is in Washington D.C. NOT IRAQ... so ignores the real threat..
SOoooo he fights the wrong war.. i.e. Iraq, Afganistan..
Iraq and Afganistan are mere skirmishes the real WAR is in Washington D.C...
What HIM worry?..
President Bush's grasp on exactly what that horrific attack meant on 9-11 and the programs he implemented to ensure our safety and to keep that war off our shores was magnificent.
He had to fight an horrific battle at home to as the liberal press and minions of other democrat elites tried to tear him apart daily. (Wonder why gas prices right now are not front page news at NBC, CBS or ABC or even NPR and NPB? Oh, that's right, by golly, a marxist is in the house and the liberal press cannot lick his hiney enough!)
Yes he signed into law to much spending but he did not take us where we are today.
And he respected the OFFICE of the PRESIDENCY and he set an example by his lifestyle as President, he did not party on our dime everyday of the week, or take extravagant vacations, etc., etc.,
So you feel betrayed by him? Sorry for you.
I do not.
I am glad SO VERY GLAD he was President exactly when he was. We needed him.
Yep, to 'get' more big government, big deficit,big regulation, big entitlement ‘conservatives’ just like GWB. Heaven help us.
Well put!
Another sane one comes across insanity island. Welcome.
It's scary to think that those who still see GWB as a success may now be involved in the Republican party, electing more RINOs.
You can deny, deny, deny the TRUTH all you want. You can condemn him for everything he is, and everything he thought and did if it makes you feel better, but somewhere down inside that sad heart of yours, I know you KNOW it isn't right to do so.
I know that you KNOW he was an honorable man who loves his country and that the things he did to prevent terrorists from killing more of us worked. You know somewhere inside that he worked incessantly to fight Islamofascism and to keep us from further harm.
It doesn't matter to him whether you belittle him or not, but if you can't even recognize that he wasn't a fool, and that your calling him names doesn't do a blasted THING to help this country, there is no hope for you.
Take care, hoser. We need to work (together) to fix this country, and we need to do it fast before it disappears before our very eyes.
[ The irony of your actually feeling that President Bush had a “What? ME worry?” attitude in light of the fact - FACT - that his policies resulted in the prevention of further attacks on this country ]
The “What me worry” part was more of his Mexican border fiasco Kabuki dance.. His policys had nothing to do with no more terrorists attacks.. Keeping them busy in Iraq had nothing to do with it.. or even Afganistan.. Killing soldiers in Iraq and Afganistan WERE attacks on this country.. epecially attacks on our economy(huge bucks spent).. Wars of attrition... like in Vietnam.. AND he spent many more bucks domestically to calm down the democrats.. with new “hairbrained” entitlements..
Sure he did not approach Obama’s largess but then he was “Alfred E. Nueman” NOT Clem Kadidlehopper like Obama “IS”..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9jPyBKrX5I
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