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Navy SEALs take offense at Obama's attribution in bin Laden killing
By Catholic Online (NEWS CONSORTIUM)
May 2nd, 2012
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)
May 2nd, 2012
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)
Both serving and former U.S. Navy SEALs have taken exception to
President Obama taking the credit in the killing of Osama bin Laden. The
elite military force also accused him of using Special Forces operators
as "ammunition" for his re-election campaign.
The White House is observing the first anniversary of the SEAL Team Six raid that killed bin Laden inside his compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan with a series of briefings. The Situation Room will highlight the reportedly "gutsy call" made by Obama.
Obama used a news conference in order to highlight his personal role, implying that his Republican opponent Mitt Romney - who previously expressed reservations about troops into Pakistan in 2008 - would have let bin Laden live.
"I said that I'd go after bin Laden if we had a clear shot at him, and I did," Obama said. "If there are others who have said one thing and now suggest they'd do something else, then I'd go ahead and let them explain it."
Former Commander in the U.S. Navy Ryan Zinke, who spent 23 years as a SEAL and led a SEAL Team 6 assault unit, says that "The decision was a no brainer. I applaud him for making it but I would not overly pat myself on the back for making the right call.
"I think every president would have done the same. He is justified in saying it was his decision but the preparation, the sacrifice - it was a broader team effort."
Zinke, now a Republican state senator in Montana, added that Obama was exploiting bin Laden's death for his re-election bid. "The President and his administration are positioning him as a war president using the SEALs as ammunition. It was predictable."
Arianna Huffington, an outspoken liberal who runs the left-leaning Huffington Post website, roundly condemned it. "We should celebrate the fact that they did such a great job. It's one thing to have an NBC special from the Situation Room... all that to me is perfectly legitimate, but to turn it into a campaign ad is one of the most despicable things you can do."
IN a related incident, Mitt Romney responded to a shouted question by a reporter by saying: "Even Jimmy Carter would have given that order."
"Obama wasn't in the field, at risk, carrying a gun," a serving SEAL Team member said. "As president, at every turn he should be thanking the guys who put their lives on the line to do this. He does so in his official speeches because he speechwriters are smart.
"But the more he tries to take the credit for it, the more the ground operators are saying, "Come on, man!" It really didn't matter who was president. At the end of the day, they were going to go."
© 2012, Distributed by NEWS CONSORTIUM.