Osama Bin Laden is dead

[neorichieb1971]

You can't live on a "worst case scenario" basis and be happy though. I'm sorry but I'd like to live in a world where most people are like the ones I see down my street. They might wave or say hello, they might not. But I certainly do not want to believe I could walk down the street and be gunned down just because a news reporter said it might happen or could happen.

I agreed with most of what "power of nightmares" had to say. It was certainly more realistic than Osama having an underground "James Bond" esque tunnel network in the mountains. The guy looked like he hadn't bathed in a year, so why should we believe he's got all this stuff? Not to mention who do you hire to build such a thing?

[Skykid]

I'm willing to bet that in the coming months the US will begin a process of withdrawing its military personnel from the middle east. It's time to go, it's over. What better way to signify this to your public: Tell 'em you capped Bin Laden, but you're not going to be crude enough to show them the evidence.

Regular as clockwork.


Damn I'm good.

[GaijinPunch]

Yeah, nobody could've seen a Democrat pulling out of a war zone.

[Pixel_Outlaw]

[Skykid]

Yeah, nobody could've seen a Democrat pulling out of a war zone.

That's neither here nor there, it's the significance of the timing of the two events that's pertinent.

[Acid King]

I'm willing to bet that in the coming months the US will begin a process of withdrawing its military personnel from the middle east. It's time to go, it's over. What better way to signify this to your public: Tell 'em you capped Bin Laden, but you're not going to be crude enough to show them the evidence.

Regular as clockwork.


Damn I'm good.

Yeah, you're fucking brilliant.

From the linked article

Obama’s plan would still leave about twice as many U.S. military personnel in Afghanistan as there were when he was elected in 2008 on a promise to end combat operations in Iraq and focus on the battle against al-Qaeda and the Taliban.

That's neither here nor there, it's the significance of the timing of the two events that's pertinent.

Surely it has nothing to do with Obama getting hammered from all sides on Afghanistan, including Republicans who are now on their election soapboxes, the looming election (curious that the withdrawal coincides with campaign season) and the potential electoral backlash from liberals for his war mongering, or that the country is broke. This was happening even before bin Laden's death was announced, opposition to the war actually diminished after he was killed. He didn't need to announce bin Laden's death to have a valid reason to withdraw, the war was already spectacularly unpopular. Suggesting bin Laden's death was a ploy for him to pull out is an absurd simplification that the facts just don't support.

[CMoon]

[Barrakketh]

the potential electoral backlash from liberals for his war mongering

When Obama was running for president that one of the things he mentioned was:

http://web.archive.org/web/200810301056 ... om/issues/

Obama will refocus our resources on al Qaeda in Afghanistan and finish the fight with the terrorists who attacked us on 9/11.

http://web.archive.org/web/200811020201 ... /index.php

The decision to invade Iraq diverted resources from the war in Afghanistan, making it harder for us to kill or capture Osama Bin Laden and others involved in the 9/11 attacks.

If the so-called "liberals" are getting pissy about the President doing what he said he would do, they should probably pay attention to what his policies are before voting. I'm more pissed about him keeping the same guys in the Fed that were there when the economy tanked and his continuation of the same policies with regards to executive power that Bush The Lesser abused.

[BulletMagnet]

I'm more pissed about him keeping the same guys in the Fed that were there when the economy tanked and his continuation of the same policies with regards to executive power that Bush The Lesser abused.

Hear hear...though of course this doesn't mean he's still not The Most Radically-Leftist (Foreign-Born Anti-Colonial Reverse Racist Secret Muslim) President We've Ever Had.

[Skykid]

I don't really care that one of Obama's electoral promises was to withdraw troops from the middle-east, it's the timing of events (one real, one baloney) and their significance in the charade we've had to put up with for the last ten years known as THE WAR ON TERROR!!!!!!111

This thread is like getting stuck in a void where no singular statement holds any importance for anyone on opposing sides of the argument, primarily on the basis of circular reasoning.

In other words:

[dcharlie]

I dunno, seems no matter when he pulled out someone somewhere would have raised an eyebrow and went "oh that's convenient! *nudge* *wink*"

If Bin Laden wasn't dead it'd be "oh elections coming up? How convenient!"

The Right and Left will see whatever they want to see in every decission these days, both sides spinning like crazy though the Right are taking it to a whole new level (see Rapper Common in the Whitehouse facade as one example of how anything is being used for dumb political point scoring).

[CMoon]

In other words:

Hey now, don't put me on either side. The rules are well set out here: You make some claim like Walter from The Big Lebowski ('Am I right???!!!!'), and leave it out there for someone to take the bait. Inevitably someone DOES take the bait. Threads inflate to 20 pages long. I enjoy reading them. I don't really know what would happen to the offtopic forums if this phenomena did not happen.

Please continue

[GaijinPunch]

I don't really care that one of Obama's electoral promises was to withdraw troops from the middle-east, it's the timing of events (one real, one baloney) and their significance in the charade we've had to put up with for the last ten years known as THE WAR ON TERROR!!!!!!111

Not really, but you can go on thinking that.

[neorichieb1971]

"War on terror" lol.

I think even if you went and participated in the war in terror there is more chance of you getting killed by accident than from the enemy.

[Skykid]

Please continue

I can't bring myself to keep flogging dead horses purely for your entertainment value.

[CMoon]

Please continue

I can't bring myself to keep flogging dead horses purely for your entertainment value.

Awww shit.

[CMoon]

"War on terror" lol.

I think even if you went and participated in the war in terror there is more chance of you getting killed by accident than from the enemy.

Like a box falling on your foot. What's the percentage of soldiers in Iraq/Afghanistan who haven't actually seen any combat?

[Skykid]

Please continue

I can't bring myself to keep flogging dead horses purely for your entertainment value.

Awww shit.

I'm thinking about your waistline. This thread might be responsible for popcorn induced heart failure if it goes on any longer.

[Acid King]

If the so-called "liberals" are getting pissy about the President doing what he said he would do, they should probably pay attention to what his policies are before voting. I'm more pissed about him keeping the same guys in the Fed that were there when the economy tanked and his continuation of the same policies with regards to executive power that Bush The Lesser abused.

You share those links as though that's the extent of Obama's military policy. Note that I didn't specify he was getting backlash because of Afghanistan but because of his shitty use of the military. He's committed US forces to an open ended war, er, sorry, kinetic military action in Libya that was never authorized by Congress, still hasn't closed Gitmo, essentially authorized the summary execution of an American citizen, oversaw the expansion of the Bagram prison complex, continued extraordinary rendition and has strenuously argued against habeas rights for detainees. That's really just a choice sampling of what he's done to earn the disdain of liberals who voted for him.

Regardless of what he said on the campaign trail, people have more than 2 years of policy to look at. He rode a wave of enthusiasm to the White House and I question as to whether or not he can win reelection without the work of the activist base that propelled his campaign in '08.

[BryanM]

I question as to whether or not he can win reelection without the work of the activist base that propelled his campaign in '08.

The disappointment and disillusionment of the socialists hardly matters.

The man has a trillion billion kazillion dollars in his war chest thanks to being a good little puppet. His opponent will have less than that, and will have exhausted a good chunk of it just getting to the be in the fight. $ = commercials, so therefore $ = votes. It would be surprising if it was anything more than a one sided curb stomp, more profound then even last time.

It's cute when people pretend "politics" and "stances" matter. They don't. The only thing that matters if there's some scandal in his personal life or he has a crazy break down in public. He can lose if someone gets a photo of him touching himself at night while looking at gay pr0n or something similar. That's all she wrote.

I think even if you went and participated in the war in terror there is more chance of you getting killed by accident than from the enemy.

We all know the real death toll isn't ~3600. Suicides that otherwise would not have happened, brain damage that's as good as being dead..

Sometimes, dead is better.

[Acid King]

The disappointment and disillusionment of the socialists hardly matters.

Shitty turnout from your base will affect your election returns. Activists do all the legwork on campaigns and help drive turnout.

[BulletMagnet]

The pains Obama has taken since Day 1 to tenderly kiss the feet of the conservatives that left him such a horrific mess to clean up (who, again, in their gratitude, continue to scream about how dangerous a radical he is no matter what he does) certainly doesn't seem to indicate a lot of concern on his part. Then again, no candidate has done much to genuinely appeal to liberals for a very, very long time.

[Randorama]

Shitty turnout from your base will affect your election returns. Activists do all the legwork on campaigns and help drive turnout.

I agree, especially when we discuss the type of elections that you guys have in the USA. Being assured that a 3-4% of activists are happy and certain to vote for you matters a lot, if Bush jr.'s second term is an indication. In '08 there were even people from other countries to waste their time promoting Obama, thinking he was going to make a difference. I don't see any e.g. Australians moving there to promote him, this time, let alone young and idealistic democrats.

[jpj]

have you guys found bin laden yet?

[Jonathan Ingram]

He is in our hearts.

[Ed Oscuro]

and the water

[Jeneki]

Don't worry, he'll be a brain-in-a-jar final boss in the next Metal Slug game.

[ST Dragon]

Don't worry, he'll be a brain-in-a-jar final boss in the next Metal Slug game.

Or in the next Streets of Rage.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkV1_2re96A

[Ed Oscuro]

Don't worry, he'll be a brain-in-a-jar final boss in the next Metal Slug game.

*feeds Osama fish flakes*

Oh the irony

[BryanM]

The SNL clips of the election are tangentially related to this, I suppose:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tO2JVacQdMY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-eKugrkYOc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAyAeaUwBPY

The pains Obama has taken since Day 1 to tenderly kiss the feet of the conservatives that left him such a horrific mess to clean up (who, again, in their gratitude, continue to scream about how dangerous a radical he is no matter what he does)

It's incredible how many turdlings keep calling him "divisive". "He knows they have to oppose anything he suggests, so he keeps suggesting things people like so as to make us look like the bad guys, that tricky bastard!" The minimum wage thing is a hilarious example of them stabbing themselves in the face for no reason, though I think it wasn't raised for like 9 years during Bush's reign of terror? So I guess it's a part of their "eat the poor" business plan, and they always feel embarrassed when it comes up.

Also calling the Battleground Texas strategy as "dividing people by race and status"... yeah sure. Appealing to everyone who isn't an elderly evangelical white protestant, and then asking low-participation groups to get out and vote, is really pitting brother against brother.

I'll just be glad when Judgment Day (when Texas turns blue) comes and their spines are broken. It's very obvious, from pushing the guy at the DNC, that Democrats are angling to get Julian into the governorship and on the short list for king eventually.

It amuses me greatly, the idea of how many jimmies will be rustled at "President Castro". It puts me into the mythical "lolercide" mode.

Alaska is also one of those amusing places. As a place that's busy sliding off into an ocean right now (I think), Romney mocking O for wanting to "lower the seas and heal the planet" kind of backfired in that specific region. They were essentially like "HEAL THE PLANET?! HOLY CHRIST YES PLEASE DO THAT TWENTY YEARS AGO IF POSSIBLE SHIT WE'RE ALL DEAD PORKCHOP SANDWICHES."