Peter King: A Failed Osama Bin Laden Raid Would Have Doomed Obama's Presidency

WASHINGTON -- The Republican chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee is giving President Obama credit for a bold strike against Osama Bin Laden that could easily have gone wrong and shattered Obama's entire presidency.

"It really was a tremendously skilled operation," Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.) told The Huffington Post. "I give Obama full credit for this."

King said he was reminded of President Jimmy Carter's botched attempt to rescue 52 American hostages in Iran in 1980 -- a failed mission that ended with eight U.S. service members dead in a helicopter crash.

Carter's presidency had already been severely tarnished by hostage crisis, which went on to last 444 days, and the failed mission all but sealed his fate in the election that year.

"This could have easily gone wrong," explained King, who has been privy to classified Homeland Security briefings and sits on the House intelligence committee as well.

He detailed just how difficult the situation was and how careful the administration had to be striking inside the borders of Pakistan based on intelligence that could have come from unreliable sources.

"First of all, Bin Laden could have just as easily not been there, no matter how much you confirm this stuff," King said. "Until you get him, it could be some guy who looked like him; it could have been a setup; they could have had that place filled with kids, or innocent women. They could have had all sorts of deadly surface-to-air missiles waiting for those helicopters. The whole thing could have been a master setup."

And there would be no way for Obama to get out from under such a colossal failure, King said.

"In that case, it would have been all Obama’s fault," he argued. "He would have been a failed President the way Carter was."

So King gives the President full marks.

"If he would have gotten the blame if it didn’t work, then to me, I give him all the credit because it did work," KIng said. "So I have no problem giving him total credit for this."

Comments

[Bill Smith7]

05:07 PM on 06/11/2011

Maybe it DID fail. Search youtube for "Osama watches himself on TV Fake"

Compare the "Osama" in the government video to other photos of Osama. Also search on Akhbar Khan or Akhbar Han..

[IFany]

08:56 PM on 05/07/2011

I would be hard pressed to think that Bush would have made such a call, unless he could cover up the failure or have someone he could throw under the bus in the event of a failure, As he did with Powell, The intelligence community, and Brownie.

[Quinn M]

01:48 AM on 05/05/2011

Rep. King is absolutely right. It was a gutsy move by our Commander-in-chief. Many who refuse to give the president credit for this decision would have been quick to cast blame if the mission had failed.

[mlrose529]

12:43 AM on 05/05/2011

I'm somewhat amazed by the vitriol directed at Rep. King for his remarks. Seems to me he's being uncommonly candid about the political stakes that were involved here. The way I read it, particularly in context with his earlier words of praise, King is basically letting us know just what a ballsy decision the president made, given the variables. furthermore, the credit he extends to Obama is meant to convey genuine admiration for the president's nerve and judgement. Maybe Peter King is one of those people who just can't stand the taste of sour grapes.

[mlrose529]

12:30 AM on 05/05/2011

This progressive, for one, commends Rep. King for issuing the statements he has thus far. He lays out a basic truth few Republicans seem to want to acknowledge. A failed operation would've landed squarely in the president's lap. Likewise, a rousing success, as this mission was, should stand as a direct reflection of the capable leadership that brought it about...whomever that happens to be. King has made several different statements thus far, none of which rewrite history by glorifying George W. Bush or marginalizing the efforts of President Obama. Hats off, congressman.

[ProudMilVet]

12:28 AM on 05/05/2011

This success on behalf of the Obama Presidency, along with the total humiliation of Donald Trump at the White House correspondents dinner has got to have the GOP in an absolute tizzy right now.

[dennis1943]

05:17 AM on 05/05/2011

In the scheme of things,Trump is just collateral damage...........

[Uchenna Oguekwe]

12:59 AM on 05/04/2011

And yet there are those who do not want to give him credit when the operation going well.

[Blackman2day]

12:52 AM on 05/04/2011

It really pains Republicans to give President Obama praise without throwing some negative-water on their comments. Why not say the president did a good job and leave it at that? Now, they want to give credit to Bush. Give it a break! Bush failed! He gave up on capturing bin Laden. Like a little kid losing a game, he decided that he "didn't want to play no more". His exact words were "I don't know where he is; I don't think about him (bin Laden) anymore". And Peter King was/is a Bush protoge.

[Brazosmud]

11:36 PM on 05/03/2011

Wouldn't affect obama at all. He would just blame it on Bush.

[Adrian Jango]

11:45 AM on 05/03/2011

This CREDIT for Obama, I take it back on King's behalf, knowing he's not going to do that himself...Why should credit come with a threat??

[dfranz]

11:07 AM on 05/03/2011

Why??? It didn't doom Bush when he let him escape at Tora Bora. Actually, I think Bush liked having bin Ladin alive so he had a ready made boogyman available to frighten the public.

[eileenlefttoo]

01:04 PM on 05/03/2011

I agree. As long as Bin Laden was alive, Bush and Cheney could keep the American people frightened and under their control with all of their color code alerts. They wanted us to consider Bush our "protector in chief." @@

[Debra Lewis]

12:05 AM on 05/04/2011

That is almost exactly what I have been saying. MTRFKN Fearmonger Tag Teamers Bush/Cheney in one corner of the ring and the American public's life savings in the other-guess who won?

[filo]

11:06 AM on 05/03/2011

At the end King said: "Now if you'll excuse me I have a lot of Muslim Americans to investigate."

[AirForce Vet]

10:59 AM on 05/03/2011

Well Peter “Your Majesty” King, you said that a failed Bin Laden raid would have doomed the POTUS presidency. So are you saying that since the raid was effective, then we can look forward to a continuation of the current presidency and possibly a doom Republican presidential run in the future? People like you amaze me. What does it take to please you heathens?

Oh, by the way Peter, did you say the same thing when GW failed on many fronts, like failure to capture Bin Laden? It’s a sad day in Elephant land, isn’t it?

[kgb999]

03:18 PM on 05/03/2011

Actually. Obama didn't fail. And King didn't say he did. You are reacting to a headline and clearly didn't even bother to read the article before popping off a comment.

[AirForce Vet]

04:00 PM on 05/03/2011

Did you read my comment before you popped off. I never said Obama failed.

[Matt12]

10:23 AM on 05/03/2011

Well Peter, seems like all hatemongers are the same. n'est–ce pas?

[aviandonn]

10:13 AM on 05/03/2011

And there's the problem - the raid succeeded and the republicans are crying in beers because of it. There only alternative is to start spinning the facts. They have to convince as many people as possible that the whole thing was faked, or they have to downplay the importance of it (Osama - meh, not important), or they have to give all the credit to a man who had 8 years to catch the guy and couldn't do it.

Republicans are becoming more and more despicable by the minute. Any Congressional leader who refusing to credit this president with this triumph is simply showing his/her true colors - that they are not in congress in order to serve the country, but to destroy this president. I hope voters remember their despicable, destructive behavior come 2012.