And here are a few quick thoughts on it:
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Pakistan is one of the top five recipients of American military aid. Yet even though Bin Laden's hideout was in Abbottabad---less than a mile from Pakistan's most prestigious military academy---the article cites a White House senior advisor as saying:
There was a real lack of confidence that the Pakistanis could keep this secret for more than a nanosecond.
It's probably safe to assume that the Bin Ladens weren't living in Abbottabad because Mrs. Bin Laden liked the schools, or because Osama liked their public transportation system.
...
When describing the day of the raid, the author writes:
On the morning of Sunday, May 1st, White House officials cancelled scheduled visits, ordered sandwich platters from Costco, and transformed the Situation Room into a war room.Costco?
Google maps shows at least 50 delis closer to the White House than the nearest Costco.
Are all of the other delis closed? Does downtown DC completely shut down on Sunday?
You've gotta cross the fucking Potomac to get to that Costco.
And if you're going to Costco, why not have the decency get some rotisserie chickens?
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The raid happened on May 1st because it was a moonless night that would allow helicopters to fly into Pakistan under the cover of complete darkness. However, as the helicopters reached their destination, a local resident tweeted,
Helicopter hovering above Abbottabad at 1 am (is a rare event).It would have been funny to see the fallout if it was discovered that Bin Laden escaped because he was tipped off by someone's Tweet. It almost would have been worth Bin Laden getting away if he was tipped off by the Tweet.
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After reading the initial reports about the raid back in May, I wondered if they could have captured Bin Laden alive.
According to the article, the Navy SEALs had Bin Laden unarmed and motionless---and pretty much cornered---before they shot him. However, the special operations officer being interviewed for the article says, "There was never any question of detaining or capturing him---it wasn't a split-second decision. No one wanted detainees."
Why not?
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In re: Bin Laden's porn:
“We find it on all these guys, whether they’re in Somalia, Iraq, or Afghanistan.”
Just tell us what it is.
I don't want to watch it. I really don't.
I'm just curious to know what it is. Is it middle eastern women in bur-qua's with hairy middle eastern men? Or is it big-chested bleached blondes with musclebound American men? Or is it guys dressed like Santa Claus using vibrators on farm animals?
Just tell us what it is.
The American people want to know.
(do the American people have a right to know?)
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During the mission, it was agreed that the codeword "Geronimo" would be used by the SEALs to signify that Bin Laden had been found. After killing Bin Laden, the SEAL who fired the shot reported on his radio,
"For God and country---Geronimo, Geronimo, Geronimo. E.K.I.A." --- "enemy killed in action."
"For God and country" -- An interesting metaphor for religion and nationalism.
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