Americans Involved in Too Many Foreign Conflicts, New Poll Finds

At The Hill, "The Hill Poll: Majority says military involved in too many places." (At Memeorandum.)

And pluralities don't think U.S. intervention in Afghanistan and Iraq has made us safer. Check the link. For the general public, it's war-weariness that explains this. But on the ideological fringes, the findings will give support to isolationist voices who deplore the forward exercise of American power.

What's interesting about about the survey is there's no mention of President Obama's deployment to Libya. Yesterday's Los Angeles Times had an outstanding piece on outgoing Secretary of Defense Robert Gates. He's been on record of late saying that the U.S. is a little tired of war, and that the military needs a break. And from the Times' piece:

Gates' concern for the troops is a key part of his legacy as he leaves office.

He has pushed the lumbering Pentagon bureaucracy to turn out new armored vehicles and other equipment to keep soldiers safer in combat and to get them treatment faster when they are wounded.

And he has become a voice of caution and even outright opposition to committing American forces to new wars. Gates publicly questioned the need to join the NATO air war in Libya, arguing that the military already was overstretched in Afghanistan and Iraq. Since then, he has sought to limit the U.S. role.

Gates emphasizes that he would not hesitate to support sending troops to another conflict if national security were threatened, and he favors only "modest" reductions in troop levels in Afghanistan in coming months. That puts him at odds with some in the Obama administration who want to bring U.S. troops out sooner.

But the longer he is in office, Gates said, the "heavier" the burden he bears when he is asked to make decisions that inevitably involve sending more American troops to their deaths.

"I've got a military that's exhausted," he said. "Let's just finish the wars we're in and keep focused on that instead of signing up for other wars of choice."

I think that's a fair statement, and it's especially noteworthy considering President Obama's amateurish and hypocritical rationale for military intervention.

Candidates Show G.O.P. Less United on Goals of War

At New York Times:

DERRY, N.H. — The hawkish consensus on national security that has dominated Republican foreign policy for the last decade is giving way to a more nuanced view, with some presidential candidates expressing a desire to withdraw from Afghanistan as quickly as possible and suggesting that the United States has overreached in Libya.

The shift, while incremental so far, appears to mark a separation from a post-Sept. 11 posture in which Republicans were largely united in supporting an aggressive use of American power around the world. A new debate over the costs and benefits of deploying the military reflects the length of the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, the difficulty of building functional governments and the financial burden at home in a time of extreme fiscal pressure.

I noticed this, and I wondered a bit about Michele Bachmann on foreign policy. She hardly sounds like a neocon, but I think that's good. We've been in Afghanistan for almost 10 years, and that's hard to sustain politically. Look for a lot of folks to declare victory and advocate a rapid drawdown.

Bin Laden on Killing Americans

At LAT, "Osama bin Laden's journal contains his thoughts on killing Americans":

Osama bin Laden kept a personal journal in which he contemplated how to kill as many Americans as possible, including in terrorist attacks against Los Angeles, Chicago and Washington, according to U.S. officials.

The handwritten journal was part of a vast cache of digital and printed material hauled away from Bin Laden's hide-out after U.S. Navy SEALs killed him last week in Abbottabad, Pakistan.

One official said Wednesday that the trove provided "terabytes" of new information about Al Qaeda.

The official described the journal as full of planning ideas and outlines of potential operations — "aspirational guidance" on how to kill the maximum number of people rather than specific proposals or plots that were actually underway.

In one passage, Bin Laden wondered how many Americans would have to die in U.S. cities to force the U.S. government to withdraw from the Arab world. He concluded that it would require another mass murder on the scale of the Sept. 11 attacks to spur a reversal in U.S. policy, an official said.

The officials declined to provide details about potential plots in Los Angeles and Chicago. Bin Laden discussed an operation in Washington, one official said, "because of its iconic value."

Read it all at the link upstairs.

Show the Proof, Mr. President

It's so elementary.

See Peggy Noonan, "Americans don't want to 'spike the ball.' They want to show they crossed the goal line."

Here is the fact of the age: People believe nothing. They think everything is spin and lies. The minute a government says A is true, half the people on Earth know A is a lie. And when people believe nothing, as we know, they will believe anything. We faked the moon landing, there was a second gunman in Dallas, the World Trade Center was blown up in a U.S.-Zionist conspiracy, Hitler grew old in Argentina.

There will always be people who believe conspiracy theories, and with the Internet there will be more. They are impervious to evidence. But people who care about the truth need to be armed with evidence to refute them.

Mr. Obama misunderstands all this. He tells Steve Croft Sunday on Sixty Minutes that showing photos of the dead Osama would be to "spike the football." "We don't trot this stuff out as trophies." Trophies? Who does he think we are?

It's not about pride, it's about proof. "We got him, shot him and immediately threw him in the sea" is not enough. The U.S. government should release all the evidence it has that does not compromise security. Pictures of Osama are said to be gruesome. Then get the least gruesome one and put it out. Release the DNA evidence, incriminating information found in the house, and pictures of the raid. If there was a passport under the mattress, make it public. And let the SEALs tell their story. Allow them, if they are willing and eager, to go on "Nightline," "Frontline" and "60 Minutes." If they cannot be identified or don't wish to be, put a blue dot over their faces, filter their voices, and don't use their names.

All of this should be put in one big package and released to the world. In this way you give the nation and the world data, and a lot to talk about. That talk will crowd out and diminish conspiracy theories and deather denialism.

Americans don't want to spike the ball. They just want to show they crossed the goal line.

Al-Qaeda Vows Revenge

And that's after President Obambi bent over backwards not to inflame Islamist sensibilities.

See USA Today, "Al-Qaeda confirms bin Laden's death, threatens new attacks." (At Memeorandum.) Plus, a video report at CNN, "Al Qaeda, in Web message, confirms bin Laden's death."

Changing Reports on Bin Laden Raid

At Toronto Star:

Re: U.S. won’t release bin Laden photos, president says, May 5

It is somewhat disconcerting to hear the ever-changing reports from American officials regarding the death of Osama bin Laden. First, he was killed by Navy Seals following a firefight at his compound. Later it was announced that there were no armed guards at his compound. First, one of his wives was used as a human shield and was killed in the battle. Later it was stated that she wasn’t used as a human shield but was shot in the leg. First reports from American officials were that when the Navy Seals broke into his bedroom, he picked up a gun and was shot in an exchange of fire. Later it was reported that he wasn’t armed.

Although few in the western world will shed any tears over his death or the manner in which he was killed and his body dumped into the sea, it is important that we in the West observe the rule of law. If bin Laden was not armed and was not killed “in the crossfire,” then he should have been captured and put on trial for his crimes against humanity. This practice was properly observed with Saddam Hussein and the world didn’t fall apart.

Saul D. Paton, Toronto

Bin Laden's Cowardly Last Moments

At New York Post, "Bin Laden acted 'cowardly,' confused in final moments."

The terrorist leader was apparently within reach of two guns when he died during Sunday's raid. A senior US official confirmed that bin Laden was near the door along with the two weapons -- an AK-47 and a Makarov hand gun -- which are now in US custody.

And Fox News' Jennifer Griffin spoke with agents who were on the ground:

Bin Laden Cartoon Roundup

At Orange County Register, "Cartoon Gallery: 40 Osama bin Laden Cartoons."

And at Cap'n Bob & and Damsel's, "Pakistan - No Ally in GWOT."

Osama Bin Laden Planned 9/11 Anniversary Train Attack

At New York Times, "Data From Raid Links Bin Laden to Newer Terror Plots":

WASHINGTON — After reviewing computer files and documents seized at the compound where Osama bin Laden was killed, American intelligence analysts have concluded that the chief of Al Qaeda played a direct role for years in plotting terror attacks from his hide-out in Abbottabad, Pakistan, United States officials said Thursday.

The C.I.A. had Bin Laden’s compound under surveillance for months before American commandos killed him in an assault on Monday, watching and photographing residents and visitors from a rented house nearby, according to several officials briefed on the operation.

The documents taken at the Abbottabad compound, according to American officials, show that Bin Laden was in touch regularly with the terror network he created. With his whereabouts and activities a mystery in recent years, many intelligence analysts and terrorism experts had concluded that he had been relegated to an inspirational figure with little role in current and future Qaeda operations.

A rushed examination of the trove of materials from the compound in Pakistan prompted Obama administration officials on Thursday to issue a warning that Al Qaeda last year had considered attacks on American railroads.

The documents include a handwritten notebook from February 2010 that discusses tampering with tracks to derail a train on a bridge, possibly on Christmas, New Year’s Day, the day of the State of the Union address or the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, officials said. But they said there was no evidence of a specific plot.

More at the link above, and at Los Angeles Times, "Al Qaeda had U.S. trains in its sights, U.S. officials say."

Added: From ABC News, "Osama Bin Laden Evidence: Al Qaeda Considered 9/11 Anniversary Attack":

Details on Operation Neptune Spear

WaPo has some background, "Operation Neptune Spear: Code name for killing Osama bin Laden."

And check Barbara Starr's report:

Also, at NYT, "In Bin Laden’s Compound, Seals’ All-Star Team."

Ann Coulter on Bin Laden Photos

She's in fighting form!

RELATED: From William Bennett, "4 reasons to release bin Laden photos."And at The Hill, "Watchdog group is prepared to sue for photos of bin Laden."

Top Secret Stealth Helicopters Used in Raid Against Osama Bin Laden

Interesting report, at ABC News, "Top Secret Stealth Helicopter Program Revealed in Osama Bin Laden Raid: Experts":

Also, "Navy SEALs Who Captured, Killed Osama Bin Laden Return to United States" (via Memeorandum).

Reuters Releases Pictures From Osama Bin Laden Raid! — ADDED! Reuters Updates With Report and Photos!

It won't be long until we see Osama Bin Laden's bloody corpse.

HERE'S A PICTURE OF AN UNIDENTIFIED BODY.

And see iOWNTHEWORLD, "Reuters releases photo of unidentified victim of America’s raid on bin Laden’s compound":

WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES IT MAKE, IN TERMS OF INFLAMING MUSLIMS, IF THEY RELEASE ‘OTHER’ VICTIMS OF THE RAID?

Also, "Warning: These photos might be too graphic if you’re a progressive pussy."

Amazingly, I'm scooping Left Coast Rebel on this!

But check Ironic Surrealism. Turns out the Reuters' page has been taken down [now restored at the update].

ADDED: At Yeshiva World News, "Reuters Releases Graphic Images From Bin Laden Compound After Raid." Following the link takes us to a Yahoo page featuring a Reuters icon:

The unidentified body of a man is seen after a raid by U.S. Navy SEAL commandos on the compound where al Qaeda leader bin Laden was killed in Abbottabad...

More, at Bungalow Bill's, "The Reuters Images of the Attack Against Osama Bin Laden That Were Removed From Reuters Web Site," via Left Coast Rebel, who updates, "(PHOTOS) Reuters Releases, then Pulls, Graphic PHOTOS from Osama Bin Laden Raid (GRAPHIC WARNING"

UPDATE 3:21pm PST: At Reuters just now, "Photos show three dead men at bin Laden raid house":

(Reuters) - Photographs acquired by Reuters and taken about an hour after the U.S. assault on Osama bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad in Pakistan show three dead men lying in pools of blood, but no weapons.

The photos, [see sidebar at left] taken by a Pakistani security official who entered the compound after the early morning raid on Monday, show two men dressed in traditional Pakistani garb and one in a t-shirt, with blood streaming from their ears, noses and mouths.

The official, who wished to remain anonymous, sold the pictures to Reuters.

And the sidebar report: "Photos from the Bin Laden Compound."

Also, at Jawa Report, "Photo: Dead Man at bin Laden Compound Had ... WATER GUN???" (via Memeorandum).

U.S. Safer From Terrorism After Death of Bin Laden

For years analysts have argued that al Qaeda had matured into a many-tentacled global multinational actor, with offshoots, copycats, and official subsidiaries all vying for attention from the national security bureaucracies in the West. Killing Osama Bin Laden is most importantly a signal of American endurance, perseverance, and military effectiveness. His death brings a turning point and closure to the war of retribution that followed September 11. We are now in a much more complicated, developed competition with the forces of religious extremism around the world, with the United States and Israel in the crosshairs of totalitarian Islamist jihad. I don't believe we are necessarily safer. But I'm confident we're capable of defending our interest against our foes.

In any case, at Gallup, "Majority in U.S. Say Bin Laden's Death Makes America Safer":

Americans express mixed views on how Osama bin Laden's demise will affect U.S. national security, according to a Monday night USA Today/Gallup poll. A slight majority (54%) believe bin Laden's death will make the U.S. safer from terrorism, nearly double the 28% who fear it will make it less safe ...

Bottom Line

While fearful that a retaliatory attack could be imminent, Americans are guardedly optimistic about the longer-term national security ramifications of the dramatic U.S. military operation that killed al Qaeda leader bin Laden at his residence in Pakistan.

Americans are twice as likely to consider the United States safer rather than less safe as a result. However, they continue to believe the U.S. military presence in Afghanistan -- initiated in October 2001 to destroy al Qaeda terrorist training camps -- is needed. And they have fairly modest views about what the U.S. military's success at locating and killing bin Laden means for the war on terrorism more generally. Although three-quarters say their confidence that the U.S. will win that war is at least somewhat higher as a result, fewer than half, 39%, say it makes them a lot more confident. Similarly, not quite a third of Americans, 32%, say bin Laden's death gives them a lot more confidence in Obama as commander in chief.

RTWT (via Memeorandum and Los Angeles Times).

Military Families Reassess After Death of Bin Laden

This was a front-page report at yesterday's Los Angeles Times, "For friends and family of fallen troops, celebration and reassessment at news of Bin Laden's death":

Margot Stengel went to bed Sunday on the early side, with a heavy heart, as she had ever since her son died during his tour in Afghanistan. She was surprised when the phone rang a little before 10, and even more surprised to hear the voice of her grandson.

An often taciturn teenager, Jessee had a lot on his mind. Osama bin Laden, he told her, was dead. And it had come too late for his father, who died in December saddled with doubt about his slog through a dangerous pocket of Afghanistan, near the Pakistani border.

It had seemed a confounding mission, both to California Army National Guard Staff Sgt. Vincent W. Ashlock and to his family back home, with an objective as concrete as a handful of water. But here was a moment, Stengel told her grandson, of clarity — finally, mercifully.

"Your father," she told her grandson, "is tap-dancing in heaven."

Since 2001, more than 1,500 Americans have died supporting the war in Afghanistan, including 161 Californians, according to military databases. For the friends and relatives of those troops, the announcement that U.S. special forces had killed Bin Laden was cause for celebration. It was also an opportunity to reassess sacrifices, to wrest a historic and tangible result, at long last, from a murky war.

"He is a part of this," Stengel said of her son. "Every step he took over there was one step toward freedom. I believe that. I'll spend the rest of my life missing him. But his circle, his goal, is complete."

More at the link.

RELATED: "Osama bin Laden killing may shift Afghan strategy."

And that's Debra Burlingame above, who shares her thoughts and emotions on the death of Bin Laden.

U.S. Should Release 'Gruesome' Photo of Osama Bin Laden

Jay Carney, at today's press conference, described the photo of Osama Bin Laden's corpse "gruesome." He discussed the tremendous "sensitivities" surrounding the possible release, but they'd better get a move on, because the administration f**ked up with the burial at sea, big time, which is likely to fuel conspiracy theories. Not only is a speedy release politically necessary, but people won't get full closure until they see Osama's obliterated remains.

War on Terror Goes On

At ABC News:

Osama bin Laden's death puts an end to a chapter that has cost the United States thousands of lives, billions of dollars and countless resources. But it's unlikely to end the U.S. war against terrorism or reduce the resources spent on such missions, though how they are allocated will likely change.

U.S. Navy SEALs killed -- in the words of President Bill Clinton -- "public enemy number one" in a top-secret, risky operation in Abbotabad, Pakistan Sunday night.

The mission itself was unlikely to have cost the U.S. military a substantial amount, experts say. It was conducted by 40 SEALs in the dead of night with four helicopters and lasted about 40 minutes. Any costs associated with the mission would come from the Department of Defense's overall operations and maintenance budget.

It's the hunt leading up to the raid that experts believe was more costly. It likely included aerial predators, unmanned surveillance aircraft, satellite imagery and other high-tech means to pin down bin Laden's location.

U.S. intelligence officials for years had been looking for a messenger close to the al Qaeda leader. They were able to track down his name in 2007 and finally spotted him in 2009. In August, they received a crucial tip that bin Laden was hiding in a mansion in Abbottabad, a city near Pakistan's capital, Islamabad.

The mission that killed bin Laden was only a part of a wider effort, lasting more than a decade, to take out the man who declared in 1998 that it was every person's duty to "kill Americans wherever they are found."

More at the link.

And related, from Andrew McCarthy, "A Different Kind of Justice."

Camp Pendleton Memorial for Fallen Marines

At Los Angeles Times, "Tribute is paid to 25 'Dark Horse' troops who died and more than 200 others who were wounded while routing the Taliban from the Sangin district of Afghanistan's Helmand province":

"These Marines did what Marines always do," Lt. Col. Jason Morris, the battalion commander, told the gathering. "They took the fight to the enemy and they won."

When the Marines of the 3/5 arrived in the Sangin district of Helmand province in late September, Taliban flags flew boldly throughout the region, the schools were closed by Taliban order and the marketplace was virtually abandoned.

Seven months later, after hundreds of firefights and the discovery of hundreds of roadside bombs, Sangin is a different place. The Taliban flags are gone; the schools, including those for girls, are open; and the marketplace is flourishing.

The long-term future of Sangin, indeed all of Afghanistan, is yet to be determined, but for the moment, the Afghan government has a chance to establish itself in a region that has long been a stronghold of the Taliban, the narcotics cartel and their allies in neighboring Pakistan.

In those seven months, 25 Marines from the 3/5 were killed in combat and more than 200 were wounded — more dead and wounded than from any Marine battalion in the 10-year war in Afghanistan.