"Geronimo" And Other Code Names (PHOTOS)

"We have a visual on Geronimo," CIA director Leon Panetta told President Obama and his advisors, according to The New York Times.

He was using the the code name assigned to Osama bin Laden while narrating the May 2 U.S.-led operation that killed the al Qaeda leader.

The Telegraph reports why the code name Geronimo was assigned to bin Laden:

The code name Geronimo had apparently been chosen for bin Laden because, like the Native American chief, he had managed to evade capture for years and was apparently able to vanish into thin air.

In Geronimo's case his ability to stay on the run gave rise to legends that he was able to walk without leaving any tracks, and that he could survive being shot.

American intelligence organizations have assigned code names for high-profile individuals for years, not only for fugitives, but also for foreign heads of state, journalists and politicians.

Check out the slideshow below to see code names the CIA has given other historical figures.

1 of 5

"Geronimo"

1 of 6

First Slide

Previous Slide

@

Geronimo was the code name for Osama bin Laden, the former al Qaeda leader who was killed in a U.S. operation in Abbottabad on May 2, 2011.

Around The World In 10 Photos

North Korea's Craziest Threats

Kim Jong-Un: North Korea's Mysterious Master

Notre Dame Cathedral 850th Anniversary

The Queen Visits Ireland

Ahmadinejad's Craziest Quotes

Geronimo was the code name for Osama bin Laden, the former al Qaeda leader who was killed in a U.S. operation in Abbottabad on May 2, 2011.

comments(103)

Total comments: 103 | Post a Comment

1 of 6

This Code Name

Rank #2  |  Average: 4

Terrible Code Name Great Code Name

• 
  1
• 
  2
• 
  3
• 
  4
• 
  5
• 
  6
• 
  7
• 
  8
• 
  9
• 
  10

Current Top 5 Slides

loading...

Choose your Top 5 Slides

UserName

 | Become a fan

Picked These as the Top 5 Slides in the Slideshow

loading...

Top User Slides

← Prev|Next →

 | Become a fan

Picked These as the Top 5 Slides in the Slideshow

loading...

Users who voted on this slide

← Prev|Next →

loading...

Comments

[montanason]

12:39 PM on 05/08/2011

And no mention of the American reservation system...............

[blarneydude]

10:45 AM on 05/06/2011

When we start getting our military commanders to screen code names for political correctness, our days as a world power are numbered.

Geronimo is by no means the unvarnished hero he is being painted to be. Stop it. Not that it's even an issue. The man himself didn't call himself "Geronimo."

[Wayne Crawford]

09:55 PM on 05/05/2011

First off NOBODY here knows what the codename referred to. You can "ASSUME" that it is about your indian chief but you don't know their exact reasoning behind it.
You can "ASSUME" that bin laden is dead too... again that makes you less than stellar on the IQ tests.
You people are nothing but drones. You "ASSUME" that because the media says this guy is dead that he really is and you focus on CRAP saying that they used the wrong name for the mission. The fact is that bin laden is NOT DEAD. Why do you think they whisked away whatever body they claim to be his in such a hurry? When they got Saddam Hussein they had no problem showing us. Right now Obama is doing the same crap he did to get you drones to elect him.. he is feeding you full of CRAP to get you to accept him. Binladen WILL be back in the news before long... and he is not gone. Dont let your guard down.

[saltpeter]

09:55 AM on 05/06/2011

Spare me tool. I can ASSUME you have a brain but that would be too large an assumption. You wingnuts need to get your story straight. According to some wingnuts, Bin Laden was killed years ago. According to others, he still walks amongst us. And according to still another group of tinfoil hat wearers, he never even existed. Come on, crazies, at least be consistent with your stupidity.

[butchbuss00]

09:44 PM on 05/05/2011

AHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

[EricBlair84]

09:43 PM on 05/05/2011

They forgot one code name: Tim Osman.

[Anthony Longo]

08:40 PM on 05/05/2011

His code name should have houdini for evading our forces for so long

[Donny Wood]

05:24 PM on 05/05/2011

I heard alot of his underlings called him Scott. His Kids called him Papa Smurf.

[fastpitstops]

02:54 PM on 05/05/2011

The Obama Regime reminds me of the Keystone Cops. Only more deadly and more
serious. Geronimo was used to to give a signal to GW Bush and John Kerrey who served
in Viet Nam. U see .: the above named folks belong to Skull and Bones. If u dont know
what that is .. look it up.
In any case There is a legend that swirls around Skull and Bones. It involves Geronimo.
There you have it. Google it and you will see what I mean by all of this .

[saltpeter]

09:57 AM on 05/06/2011

Sorry the Keystone Cops are those that invade the one country we know Bin Laden is NOT IN and then turns around and declares MISSION ACCOMPLISHED for accomplishing NOTHING.

[Siebenstein]

04:30 AM on 05/05/2011

How patheitic are we getting?
Rating the code name?

[montanason]

01:05 PM on 05/05/2011

Not nearly as pathtetic as the ever changing, ever evolving stories being dispensed
on a nearly hourly basis about who did what, and what actually happened-but then
why concern oneself with such minutia?

[saltpeter]

09:59 AM on 05/06/2011

Almost as pathetic as people who think that there is some huge disparity between those stories. Sorry but obviously tools like you have never been in a firefight in your life. Heck, I could ask your wife about the play by play of what you two got up to last night and she might have a vastly different take on what exactly happened than you have.

[ligligl]

04:27 AM on 05/05/2011

Thank goodness that's all over. Dead is dead. After all, who ever hears of Jesus anymore?

[ligligl]

04:26 AM on 05/05/2011

...and also because they killed Geronimo as well.

[rlclark65]

01:01 AM on 05/05/2011

I am firmly against any stereo typing of Native Americans. That is why I refuse to let my wife by Native American Jewelry any more, or gamble at any Indian Casino's. I don't want to perpetuate the idea that that is all they can do for income!

[Howzat]

11:15 AM on 05/05/2011

Everybody needs Wampum dude. BTW NAtive Casinos are Big Corporations now.

Does the Mafia still run those othere Casinos..

Have you banned chinese also third world goods?

This is a Conandrum (spelling?) for me.

[montanason]

12:57 PM on 05/05/2011

Big Corporations-right, and the trickle down economics is enriching everyone-
as mythical as those tales of oil wells and rich indians.
I'm wondering-do you think these monster casino corps will be on the newly
chartered list of secret donors-you know, those lists that sell political influence?

[Richard Maascarenhas]

09:07 PM on 05/04/2011

The Deadly Monster worm is DEAD, but will the Breeding stop……No!

Because He has laid countless eggs which will be breeding soon….Osama Bin Laden Quotes:

“Jihad will continue even if I am not around.”—Late September 2001, in an interview with a Pakistani newspaper.

In our religion, there is a special place in the hereafter for those who participate in jihad.
Osama bin Laden
In Time magazine May 6, 1996``We are seeking to incite the (Islamic) nation to rise up to liberate its land and to (conduct) jihad (holy war) for the sake of God." -- al-Jazeera, June 1999.

"`I was never afraid of death ... As Muslims, we believe that when we die, we go to heaven. Before a battle, God sends us ... tranquility." -- Independent, 1993.
"Acquiring weapons for the defense of Muslims is a religious duty. If I have indeed acquired these weapons, then I thank God for enabling me to do so. And if I seek to acquire these weapons, I am carrying out a duty. It would be a sin for Muslims not to try to possess the weapons that would prevent the infidels from inflicting harm on Muslims." Time Magazine Dec 1998
.

[montanason]

08:12 PM on 05/04/2011

I don't think indigenous people see this as an attempt at light hearted humor as has
been suggested in this thread- nor do I think we need the predictable excuses and
spin by those who aren't.
I would think that after 500 plus years of ongoing genocide under the aegis of such
notable doctrines as Papal Bulls and Manifest Destiny something more than this is
due.
In this spirit of light hearted humor let's give Bin Laden a new code name-how
about Jackson or Lincoln? What????????? nobody is smiling or laughing?

[Troll Trollister]

11:44 PM on 05/04/2011

I'm smiling and laughing. But then again I don't have the burden of a ridiculous chip on my shoulder.

[montanason]

11:18 AM on 05/05/2011

No, what you have is the greater burden of indifference and a glaring lack
of awareness/knowledge. Next you'll be telling one and all about your "Indian"
friends, or maybe your grandmother was a Cherokee "princess" and the
empathy you have for your people.

[ceez]

06:35 PM on 05/05/2011

i think we're taking this codename thing too seriously.

[Deseriee Begayescobar]

07:41 PM on 05/04/2011

this proves that black people are not the only ones that have to deal with racism in 2011 so stop whinning over it..whoever gave osama bin laden the codename geronimo needs shot in the head oh yeah by the way if it was not for white people we would not be in this situation

[montanason]

08:18 PM on 05/04/2011

Exactly

[Troll Trollister]

11:43 PM on 05/04/2011

Oh those whte people, with their germ theory of disease and antibiotics. I hate their computers and the internet, and all that science and technology. Those white folks really make me mad. I'd rather be living in a teepee and tromping around on the high plains (horses were brought over by those dang whites too). I'd rather not have access to modern medicine with medical and dental care. Oh I hate those whites. And what's up with modern agriculture - if it wasn't for that I'd be malnourished rather than overweight. Dang whites. If it wasn't for them I wouldn't be sitting here trolling on the Internet, with a twinkie in one hand and a mouse in the other. And don't get me started about average life span. It was much better having an average life span of 35 rather than 80! Dang those whites!

[ligligl]

04:29 AM on 05/05/2011

...but at least they let the planet live...

[montanason]

11:08 AM on 05/05/2011

Troll-Perhaps while trolling you missed conflicting information-such as
indigenous people have the lowest life expectancy rate in this hemisphere
second only to Haitians.
Or the fact that on the Dine rez less than 50% have adequate
plumbing and clean water-not to mention electricity. One example of
many.
Indigenous also have according to statistics the highest infant mortality rate, and across the board the incidence of such illnesses as diabetes,
heart disease, high blood pressure, and birth deformities are
all significantly above the national average.
It is to our eternal shame we aren't grateful for the complete
lack of rez infrastucture, job opportunities, and the untenable
rate of unemployment-for the basically unregulated mining companies
that strip the land and pollute the available water with such dietary
adjuncts as uranium.
Reservations were historically labelled POW camps-little has changed,
but as long as you have that twinkie and dealing with your obesity don't
concern yourself with any of these facts.