Obama Gets No Credit for Courage

[babylonsister]

http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/obama_gets_no_credit_for_courage_20110518/

Obama Gets No Credit for Courage

Posted on May 18, 2011

By Bill Boyarsky


Whether you approve of the Osama bin Laden killing, as I do, or are queasy about the act, it’s hard to argue that the president who authorized this risky mission lacked guts. It was a dramatic example of Barack Obama’s courage, but not the only one.

snip//

In many respects, as Lizza described it, the debate within the administration over health care resembled the later discussion on how to handle the Arab Spring. On health care, the advocates of a public option or even Medicare for all fought those who argued such approaches would never pass Congress—the idealists against the realists. As popular uprisings flourished in the Middle East and North Africa, Obama wrote a five-page memorandum to Vice President Joseph Biden, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and other members of his foreign policy team in which he was a realist and an idealist. He wrote, “… our regional and international credibility will be undermined if we are seen to be backing repressive regimes and ignoring the rights and aspirations of citizens.”

In the end, Obama, alienating Israel and Saudi Arabia, said Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak should step down immediately. “An orderly transition must be meaningful, it must be peaceful and it must begin now,” Obama said. Then, as Gadhafi began to slaughter his people, Obama had his United Nations representative, Susan Rice, introduce a resolution authorizing member states “to take all necessary measures to protect civilians under threat of attack” by the Libyan leader’s armed forces. It was passed 10-0 by the U.N. Security Council.

These were tough actions, and Obama had pursued them vigorously.

During his presidential campaign, Obama had pledged to get bin Laden. “I had said that if I ever get a shot at bin Laden we’re gonna take it,” he told Steve Kroft on “60 Minutes.” He knew the risks. “I mean you think about ‘Black Hawk Down,’ ” he said. “You think about what happened with the Iranian rescue. And it, you know, I am very sympathetic to the situation for other presidents where you make a decision, you’re making your best call, your best shot, and something goes wrong—because these are tough, complicated operations. ... The day before I was thinkin’ about this quite a bit.”

Afterward, he had no regrets. “As nervous as I was about this whole process, the one thing I didn’t lose sleep over was the possibility of taking bin Laden out,” he said. “Justice was done. And I think that anyone who would question that the perpetrator of mass murder on American soil didn’t deserve what he got needs to have their head examined.”

And those who think Obama is a wimp ought to have their heads examined.

[opihimoimoi]

1. K&R yup...all he gets is crits and nits from the far right....amazing.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

8. ...and many here on DU who suffer from Obama Derangement Syndrome. The man can't do anything right!

[opihimoimoi]

9. Its the GOPer mission of denigration division & distraction......

Its not working as well as in the past

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

14. If only DU progressives understood that. They block everything the House tried to do

in the Senate. And yet progressives blamed Obama.

Why is it that progressives/Democrats are so quick to blame other Democrats/progressives, not the ones who done it to them?

It's just like the Teabaggers: Their anger is warranted, even justified. But they are angry at the WRONG people!

Yes, be angry at Obama and Democrats when they make the wrong decisions. No, don't blame them for everything that is NOT their fault but the fault of institutional rules and the blatant disregard and/or exploitation of those rules by the Republicans. The Republican modus operandi to create division and disdain for government, such that we shift the blame away from them and to Democrats. Can't we see that it's what they want us to do? Blame Obama so that we sit at home? Meanwhile, Republicans are ushered back into power, and what do we do? We don't blame Republicans, we blame the Democrats. It makes no sense and it is self-defeating.

[opihimoimoi]

15. Yup....but remember some of the Dems are Dinos.....Reality tells us the GOPers are on the run

Their over reach has turned off the masses

[Vinca]

2. Re taking out Osama -

IMHO, that was one of the most courageous decisions ever made by a POTUS. It made me look at Obama differently.

[Enrique]

3. Obama got lots of credit for courage

From Paul Wolfowitz and about a zillion other neocons:

http://www.newsweek.com/2011/05/05/the-value-of-boldness.html

President Obama’s decision to order the strike on bin Laden also required courage; not the bravery of the battlefield but the courage to live with the consequences of a risky decision. Since the mission went well, he is being justly praised, and his political standing has risen. But there can never be a guarantee that a mission of this kind will not go tragically wrong. We are all the beneficiaries of Obama’s decision, but in the end the buck stops at one man’s desk.

Obama's Profile in Courage
http://www.newsmax.com/Ruddy/obama-bin-laden-kennedy/2011/05/09/id/395751


Rudy Giuliani praised President Obama's "courage" for the risky method he chose to take down Osama bin Laden, adding his death is a "significant step" in the war on terror - but saying the tones of jubilation feel strange to him.
Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0511/54089.html#ixzz1MnwIszrF

http://www.progressivenewsdaily.com/?p=15403
McCain said President Obama showed “courage” in his decision on Sunday’s attack that resulted in bin Laden’s death.


http://m.independentmail.com/news/2011/may/02/mcchrystal-praises-courage-bin-laden-mission/
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — The raid on Osama bin Laden's compound in Pakistan took extraordinary courage not only from the service members who carried it out, but from the "decision makers" behind the operation, the former top U.S. commander in Afghanistan said Monday.


http://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/Peter-Fenn/2011/05/02/obamas-big-bin-laden-gamble
If, as Ernest Hemingway described it, courage is “grace under pressure,” this is precisely what Barack Obama displayed.

http://www.newsweek.com/2011/05/05/the-value-of-boldness.html
President Obama’s decision to order the strike on bin Laden also required courage; not the bravery of the battlefield but the courage to live with the consequences of a risky decision. Since the mission went well, he is being justly praised, and his political standing has risen. But there can never be a guarantee that a mission of this kind will not go tragically wrong. We are all the beneficiaries of Obama’s decision, but in the end the buck stops at one man’s desk.


(...)

[FrankinMO]

4. It was a gutsy call.

If things would have went wrong, say a chopper crashing and killing a lot of soldiers, he would have been torn to shreds in the media. I am sure he knew the risks, but knew the window of opportunity was closing.

Making the tough choice even though it might not be a popular one if it goes wrong is a good sign of courage.

And yes, not letting Pakistan know what was going down was another courageous move. Something tells me if he let them know before hand, Osama would have been long gone. I have no proof the Pakistan government was helping OBL, but I could imagine some on the inside were.

[GSLevel9]

5. On the other hand...

If any US president took a pass on taking out ubl, his career would be over. Obama made the only decision possible.

[killbotfactory]

10. Oh, like Bush?

When OBL was in Tora Bora?

[Name removed]

6. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Keith Bee]

7. K&R

[ClarkUSA]

11. Yep, PUMAs and various other right/left Obama critics "ought to have their heads examined."

It's an obsession with some folks to diss whatever Pres. Obama does. It's sport to them.

Fuck 'em all! President Obama doesn't give a shit about them and neither do I or the majority of Americans who approve of the job he's doing.

[TheKentuckian]

18. My inbox tells a different tale, apparently my money, work, and votes are still desired

[jeanpalmer]

12. Ordering the killing of bin Laden wasn't an act of courage

imo. What choice did he have? Once bin Laden's whereabouts became known, Obama would have destroyed himself politically if he had failed to try for the kill, and the word of that had gotten out. It was an act of poltical survival. Also, how much courage does it take to send in a SWAT team to kill some guy watching tv in his nighties? There were risks in going in, but much more political risk in not going in. It's like saying the 100-man army that went after Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid showed a lot of courage.

Trying to pass bin Laden off as a big security threat is a huge exaggeration. The real threat to our country is being created by Obama himself with his war and assassination policies. It's what keeps the terrorism threat going. And Obama knows it. But he continues to do them for political advantage.

[mountainlion55]

13. Obama is not the answer

Has Mr.Obama used his veto power at all in support of progressives? Has anyone responsible for the worst economic times since the depression been frog marched in front of the camera's so the world can see them? What about his non-use of the his war power to stop three evil wars. The only courage I've seen out of Mr.Obama is corporate courage! IMO he is just a DLC mouthpiece:smoke:

[Pirate Smile]

16. Yes, he has vetoed a bill in support of progressives: "Obama vetoes bill easing foreclosures"

Obama vetoes bill easing foreclosures

WASHINGTON, Oct. 8 (UPI) -- U.S. President Barack Obama Friday vetoed a bill that would have made it easier for banks to foreclose properties across state lines.

Read more: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2010/10/08/Obama-vetoes-bill-easing-foreclosures/UPI-75581286562394/#ixzz1MzXlFRhb

[TheKentuckian]

17. I see no courage in opposing the TeaPubliKlans, in reigning in monied interests, controlling the MIC

or in leashing the various blue dog and/or Turd Way types.

That said, I don't think he is a wimp with powerful interest but rather is complicit with them and dedicated to maintaining the status quo of power and profit centers and furthering globalization.

[Avant Guardian]

19. Does blind loyalty = credit?

[Safetykitten]

20. He is not a wimp. Just exceeding bad at certain things. HCR, War ending, you know the little thing