It's Easier to Assassinate When You're a Liberal President

City Journal ^ | 6 May 2011 | Victor Davis Hanson

[mandaladon]

There was something quite Roman in the killing of Osama bin Laden, something reminiscent of the manner in which the Romans eventually dealt with a rogue’s gallery of charismatic tribal enemies—Spartacus, Vercingetorix, Jugurtha, Mithridates, Boudica, and others—all of whom claimed victory over the Romans and invulnerability from their global reach, only to be eventually defeated, forced to kill themselves, executed, or killed in battle.

The killing reminds us that there are official rules we cite and unofficial ones that, thankfully, we actually follow. Pakistan is to be praised publicly as a partner, even as privately it is recognized as the sort of enemy that allows bin Laden to build a mansion in a suburb inhabited by its retired military officers. So we swiftly invade the country, kill him, and then praise the Pakistanis for their help—with full knowledge that bin Laden couldn’t have been there for years without Pakistani government assistance. I have no idea whether disseminating such disinformation is sustainable.

The bin Laden hit came at an opportune time: the U.S. had been talking of decline and “leading from behind,” and yet just pulled off a commando raid beyond the capability of most other countries—at the same time that the Arab world has gone topsy-turvy, and its half-dozen ongoing rebellions and insurgencies have diverted the attention of the Arab Street. So Osama is dead and in Davy Jones’ Locker, while crowds chant against Assad and Qaddafi. The success of the operation should also raise “if you are going to take Tripoli, take Tripoli” questions, and may remind President Obama to finish his ill-conceived Libyan adventure, which can only succeed by achieving, either de facto or de jure, the mission objective of regime change.

[mandaladon]

It’s also easier to conduct assassinations abroad if the Commander-in-Chief is liberal. This neutralizes criticism from the media, universities, the legal community, and Hollywood. Obama the law professor can assassinate bin Laden in Pakistan, dump his body in the ocean, and with first-person emphasis boast of our brilliant mission in a way Bush the Texan could not get away with—in the same manner that killing the son of Qaddafi, and the effort to kill Qaddafi himself, are not really forbidden targeted assassinations under Obama, and in the manner that Guantánamo, tribunals, renditions, preventive detentions, Predators, wiretaps, and intercepts that so bothered Senator Obama and others are now deemed essential. This paradox is just the way it is; the media will report a liberal president’s Predator drone attack or commando hit as done with reluctance and without other viable choices. Were a conservative leader to take the same actions, he would be portrayed as a trigger-happy war-monger reveling in the violence. Thus, the street celebrations that ensued when news of bin Laden’s death broke are seen by the media as a new unity inspired by Obama. Three years ago, they would have been seen as macabre triumphalism. ...Liberals are the ultimate hypocrites.

[FrankR]

[Gene Eric]

If it were possible, UBL should have been brought to Gitmo for military trial with the chance for every family of a 9-11 victim to voice their respective peace.

[Christian4Bush]

bump

[newheart]

Personally, I would like to know who Obama called during those 16 hours of indecision. Who gave him permission.

[MHGinTN]

Well, he probably asked the real director of the White House, Valerie Jarrett. She told him to go play golf while she thought about it. She came to a decision and tolds him to quit after nine holes and get back to the rumpus room before Hillary took complete charge.

[Para-Ord.45]

bm

[MHGinTN]

Actually, I got that wrong. Jarrett told him to stop playing golf and get to the rumpus room immediately, and being the little boy lost narcissist that he is, he played passive aggresive and finished nine before leaving his game to do as he was told.

[CharacterCounts]

Why did you change the article title?

[blueunicorn6]

Democrat bullets are coated with love and compassion.

[JudgemAll]

Sheesh, after all these years, I thought Gore had invented the internet. No, it was a muslim after all, because muslims like him have invented everything (sarc off)

[NWFLConservative]

It's easier to get away with pretty much everything when you are a liberal, because you the media will stand behind you to either cover up all your screw-ups or put a spin on it so you don't look like the totally inept, bumbling fool that you really are.

And of course the media will be locked and loaded and poised to attack the right when they call the liberal's bluff and raise the BS flag! Liberals are in a no-lose situation and conservatives in a no-win situation. Although of late it looks as though Obama bin Laden has been doing an awful lot of peeing in the media's cornflakes so who knows? Maybe the worm will turn, and pigs will learn to how to fly.

[NWFLConservative]

Tinker-bama?

[Republic]

So true, so true.

[RicocheT]

Obama didn’t have the stones to order the attack, Panetta and Clinton had to do it and later when it was over and successful, Obama accepted the praise.

http://socyberty.com/issues/white-house-insider-obama-hesitated-panetta-issued-order-to-kill-osama-bin-laden/#ixzz1LbuGWfNO

[newheart]

I'm not a real sock puppet, but Valerie makes me play one on TV.

[Dr. Scarpetta]

Were a conservative leader to take the same actions, he would be portrayed as a trigger-happy war-monger reveling in the violence.

Exactly right.

I can't even imagine the reaction if Pres. Bush had ordered this assassination.

[XHogPilot]

It’s also easier to conduct assassinations abroad if the Commander-in-Chief is liberal. ...Liberals are the ultimate hypocrites.

It is far more ominous than this. The penultimate liberals, Stalin and Mao, are revered by the current occupiers of the White House. These two icons of Communism are directly responsible for the "political" killings of more people than all others combined in the history of humanity. The current events of the White-House-glorified extra-judicial killing of Osama bin Laden and related US drone attacks in the non-combatant nations of Pakistan, Yemen, and Libya, are tell-tales of a resurgent cowardly disregard for the law of nations and potentially, of another horrendous repeat of history.

Don't get me wrong about OBL - he needed killin', but there was little or no need to advertise our success. It may be favored in history as written years from now that OBL was no longer a combatant or leader of al-Qa'ida. As such he could be subject to criminal prosecution for past deeds, but not battlefield engagement.