Obama Had Multiple Options But Didn't Hesitate

President Obama had several options for assassinating Osama bin Laden, but did not let preference for one or the other delay an attack, an administration official told The Huffington Post.

The morning after covert U.S. forces killed bin Laden in a compound Abbottabad, Pakistan, ABC News reported that Obama had passed on a chance to bomb that same compound back in March. According to the report, the president was wary of attacking the location with two B-2 stealth bombers out of concern that it would reduce the building (and all evidence inside) to rubble. The potential for collateral damage -- 22 people were inside the compound, including women and children -- was also a deterrent, ABC reported.
 
An administration source did not refute that such an operation was conceived and scrapped. Politico's Mike Allen also reported on Monday that the “original plan for the raid was to bomb the house, but President Obama ultimately decided against that.”
 
The official did, however, push back against the notion (which could be inferred from either piece) that the president had a chance to kill bin Laden and didn't pull the trigger.
 
“It’s wrong to say it was delayed because of a decision by Obama,” the official said. “They were constantly revising the intelligence and military planning until it was finally ready.”
 
In addition to being potentially destructive of both evidence and civilian life, attacking the compound with B-2 stealth bombers was also determined to be operationally risky. The president and his team, instead, asked that the plan be revised to allow for a Navy SEALs unit to be transported in via helicopter. Training for that took time. The Navy SEALs unit “replicated the one-acre compound at Camp Alpha, a segregated section of Bagram Air Base. Trial runs were held in early April,” Marc Ambinder of the National Journal reported.

Comments

[hopeisalive]

10:29 AM on 05/04/2011

What I always find interesting when something major is done is the number of "armchair quarterbacks" that have to put their spin in on things. Three separate issues were apparently important in the planning of this thing. One key one is to lessen the amount of collateral damage as that would take away from the success of the operation. A second would be the killing of women and children and that to would negate the success. The third and, I believe, most important is to have credible proof that bin Laden was actually present and killed. It is over and done with and our soldiers deserve praise along with the Director of the CIA who worked out the plan and to President Obama for authorizing it.

[taiball8]

09:58 AM on 05/03/2011

Just as our president and his astute advisors planned and executed this task, I am certain the same will happen with our economy. I just wish the racists, hiding being the cloak and shroud of the so-called "Tea Party" movement (instead of KKK hoods) would be as supportive. Their subversive remarks and behavior are counterproductive. Face facts: President Obama is our president... elected by the people and for the people. Stop the shenanigans. Give him a chance to lead and we will all have brighter days. He's not playing games. He's got the responsibility of running the best country on the planet. Please stop the nonsense.

[2011onthegogyrl]

03:34 PM on 05/04/2011

Hurrah, great minds think alike! Thanks for calling these clowns out for what they are…a bunch of maniacs that can’t accept the fact there’s a new commander in town. Where were the tea-baggers when GWB led this country into two…futile wars adding 1,189,550,502,645, dollars and counting to the deficit (more numbers than I’ve ever seen). I too, say, give this president a chance to work his magic…It’s going to take time to get this economy back on track-one which the previous administration drove off the cliff!!! We need to try on some patience and support this president-it’s easy to critique someone else in order to feel good about yourself!!

[JM58]

07:46 AM on 05/03/2011

This headline of this article is so typical to most of the poor reporting and inaccurate reporting on this site....worst than FOX!
It states Obama never hesitated when presented with multiple options....carries on to state sources saying Obama had no specific preference of one type of attack over the other...and then explains he had an option to kill Osama two months ago, but decided not to use that chance. The US...mmm I mean NATO... are happy to bomb Kaddafi's kid's house in a recedential area..go figure. Mixed messages and inconsistent!

[Charlie Jones]

10:47 PM on 05/03/2011

Obviously, the arm-hair Generals sitting comfortably at their computer desks always know best---of course; after all, they have all the available intelligence and Security Advisors to help them make critical decisions about these very-delicate matters. They know better than the duly elected POTUS, the appointed and confirmed Sec'y Of State and the rest of the Cabinet level Officers. Their opinions are extremely valuable, so one wonders why they aren't the ones calling the shots instead.....hmmmm?

[DLee4144]

12:50 PM on 05/13/2011

There was a very good reason not to bomb the house. There were huge amounts of information in that house. We have names, plans, organizational strategies, etc-- and even better the people who would prefer that we not have any information can't be sure what information we actually have. Dropping a bomb on the house would have left a much better organized terrorist network than is currently the case, because we didn't just kill Bin Laden, we have thrown a huge wrench into the system.

[Charlie Jones]

03:40 PM on 05/13/2011

Exactly! Good point!

[speckitis]

06:37 AM on 05/03/2011

If we had gone with an air strike, OBL would've been bombed into a mythology so big we could never have countered it. Obama did the only correct (and gutsy) thing.

[walkabodog]

03:13 AM on 05/03/2011

Better that one man should die, than the current President lose his position. Right Mr. President?

[gallon]

06:05 AM on 05/03/2011

Would you be one of the legion of internet trolls with multiple personalities here to slam the president?

[Pediego]

01:30 AM on 05/03/2011

8 years to the day between GWB's MISSION ACCOMPLISHED! to BHO's ACCOMPLHED MISSION on Al Qaeda. Obama 2012!

[eggygen]

11:27 PM on 05/02/2011

Now, that is how you do business and make executive decisions.
You distill and distill, and distill some more until you get the right balance.
Bombing the compound could be construed as a cowardly act by bin laden's cronies and as such would not have sent a determined message.
Patience, resolution and intelligen­­ce are the hall mark of a successful operation. Mr. President, you have set the bar truly high, and have revolution­­ized the standard operating procedures for ops pertaining to high valued targets.

[Pediego]

01:32 AM on 05/03/2011

CLASS! CLASS! CLASS! CLASS! All the way. Obama 2012!

[rossitheaussi]

03:43 AM on 05/03/2011

Absolutely class all the way

[Sophiedo]

01:45 AM on 05/03/2011

Like a highly skilled surgery, amazing feat by our military and our President. Well said! fav'd!

[jackstraw 67]

11:14 PM on 05/02/2011

As a American I am so proud of my President!!!!!! President Obama did suck agreat job whne you hear what he did and how it went down. Makes the call to get OBL and then goes to Alabama and is so feeling and shows such compasion to those suffering Americans and then goes to the press dinner the whole time knowing the next night what was going to happen, Such a cool man and makes me so proud after 8 years of President Bush who sounds like he is just shooting from the hip all the time. I AM JUST PROUD

[Basselope]

10:58 PM on 05/02/2011

Wow. It is REALLY NICE To have an adult in charge. I have little doubt bush would have tried to bomb and accidentally wind up bombing Iraq again.

[Luci Tomlin]

10:55 PM on 05/02/2011

WHY would O'Bama's "APPROVAL RATING" go UP because of the demise of binLaden? HE didn't do anything but "NOD"! George W. should get the most CREDIT! If O'Bama had not "stalled' the proceedings, OBL would have been gone MONTHS ago! O'Bama has 'STALLED" on MANY things! The outcome of many of these had dire results! READ the fine print, comprehend it, then put the plan in PLACE! I have a feeling this has another ASPECT to it! One that will be revealed in time and it will NOT be complimentary to the White House!

[fem56]

11:05 PM on 05/02/2011

You dearly hope! Don't think Obama father was from Ireland but okay if you insist.

[StillIRise]

12:02 AM on 05/03/2011

You're really not handling this well, are you?

[farleft1917]

10:43 PM on 05/02/2011

Well at least Obama had the decency not to ruin the Royal Wedding...

[fem56]

11:06 PM on 05/02/2011

I am sure the administration took that into account.

[MichelleArmsRock]

10:19 PM on 05/02/2011

So if there is relatiation----the blood is on Obama hands--if the hague doenst prosecute him first
Conservatives couldnt kill this many muslims and get away with it----How could a conservative consider voting for themselves

[DIdaho]

10:34 PM on 05/02/2011

I guess you didn't read the article. Bombing the compound could have killed innocents. Sending in a Seal Team limited that. Are you suggesting that Bin Laden's blood is on Obama's hands?

[mlrose529]

01:19 AM on 05/03/2011

If it means feeling less wrong than they already do then yeah,,,they'll side with Bin Laden over president and country. We've seen it before. Don't you just love these sad and pathetic efforts to constantly pull a sow's ear from silk...even if it means second-guessing the president on behalf of the world's number one criminal? think about that a minute because it boggles the mind. These trolls are so pathologically bent toward Obama's nullification -- and one shudders to use the 'r' word because of course, that doesn't factor into this -- they will see their country destroyed before conceding the legitimacy of our president. I only take comfort in this rank's advancing age and the vile old-fashioned fears they'll take with them when they go.

[MichelleArmsRock]

08:01 AM on 05/03/2011

If there is a terror attack----in america---obama owns it----imperialist occupying aggression----from the military industrial complex----The chickens are oming home.....to rooosttt!

[Sophiedo]

01:48 AM on 05/03/2011

huh?....omgawd....

[Not Basic]

10:07 PM on 05/02/2011

Obama made a smart choice. The intel gathered there could be extremely vital, as it could hold information that could release the whereabouts of other high-priority terrorists. Plus, the stealth bombers would have obliterated the compound, which could have possibly ruined the chances for us being able to have a DNA test on bin Laden.

[Nosepuede]

09:55 PM on 05/02/2011

We now know the merits of our interegation methods. What a wonderful intelligence community we have.

[regulargal]

09:34 PM on 05/02/2011

Comments have gotten stupid since this AoL merger.

[mamapower]

12:31 AM on 05/03/2011

More right wing troIIs are posting.