May 1, 2011...

On Monday morning, I woke up to two text messages: "Bin Laden is dead."

I feared that they had found a grave, or reports of a death several years ago due to kidney failure. I fired up the computer, but it was slow, so I turned on the TV. I saw young Americans holding American flags, dancing and yelling...IN FRONT OF THE WHITE HOUSE! My heart stopped. My brain did not process that scene. I'm not sure it has yet. The bottom of the screen read something like, "US Navy SEALs shot Bin Laden."


Many lives were changed on September 11, 2001. It set my life on a different path. In a way, I'm just like most people, I'm a spectator in the War on Terror. But...I have season tickets, an occasional locker-room pass, and on a few occasions I have been able to suit up for the practice squad.

These are interesting times...

The coverage of Bin Laden's killing has been very telling. The 'news' has gotten it wrong, corrected their mistakes...with other mistakes. It still amazes me, it is really like there are no editors, no producers - arguing for restraint, arguing against the finality and definitiveness of statements made on live TV...

"Osama was armed and fired back...", "Osama used his wife for a shield...", and most recently, "The intel came from waterboarding done at Guantanamo..."

Nobody was ever waterboarded ...at Guantanamo.

I am not a news outlet. I am not a journalist. I am a blogger, with 3 to 5 loyal readers. Okay, closer to 3.

Here is my 2 cents:

In August 2001, Mohammed al-Kahtani, was stopped in an airport trying to enter the United States. He was supposed to meet Mohamed Atta. He was supposed to be one of the 9/11 hijackers. In December 2001 (three months after 9/11), al-Kahtani was captured entering Pakistan, while fleeing the United States military in Tora Bora. Kahtani denied everything, including ever going to the United States. Once he was identified (with fingerprints taken upon his entry into the United States), his interrogation was handed over to the FBI. The Special Agent in charge of his interrogation...got nothing. He was placed in isolation - FBI involvement then ended. After two months, he admitted his name, and was able to name all of the 19 9/11 hijackers. After that, he again gave nothing. He was then submitted to 'enhanced interrogation techniques' approved at the time. He was not waterboarded. Included in the information he gave, was the nickname of a trusted 'courier' used by Osama Bin Laden...

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was captured in Pakistan on March 3, 2003. Many regarded him as the Number 3 in the al-Qaeda 'hierarchy.' (He may be lower than al-Zawahiri - but if I could have only one captured - it would'a been KSM). KSM said nothing, until he was introduced to enhanced interrogation techniques, including waterboarding. KSM then gave it up, including still-in-the-works active operations. KSM also confirmed the existence and nickname of a trusted 'courier' used by Osama Bin Laden.

On May 2, 2005, KSM's successor in al-Qaeda, Abu Faraj al-Libbi, was captured in Pakistan. (Again, he may have been below al-Zawahiri on some deck of cards...but I would'a traded Ayman for this guy any day). On May 10, 2005, the Department of Justice issued two memos that stated enhanced interrogation techniques used by the CIA were in full compliance with existing laws. It is not fully clear to me what al-Libbi was subjected to, but he started talking at the same time the DOJ was CYA'ing.  However, his interrogations were cut short, in part due to actions taken by Senator John McCain. Before he stopped talking - Abu Faraj revealed that he communicated with Osama Bin Laden...through a trusted courier.
 
 
The press is in a frenzy right now.  They are not getting it right, and they can't be trusted to.  It needs to be the mantra of those opposed to another four years of Obama.  He wanted the interrogations stopped.  He ran on it, and so did Attorney General Eric Holder.
 
See the link above to watch liberal Christopher Hitchens get waterboarded...for a few seconds.  He determines that it is torture - because he FELT like he was drowning.  But as you can see, he was quite fine.
 
For a complete tutorial on the subject, read Courting Disaster by Marc Thiessen.  Or, if you won't commit the time to reading the book... WATCH THIS.
 
Many politicians and pundits, leading up to the election in 2008, asked the question - 'If you believed a captured terrorist had information, and getting that information would save lives today, would you waterboard the terrorist?'
 
The information possessed by any one of the three above was not enough by itself, was not given up until they were subjected to enhanced interrogation techniques...and it took over NINE YEARS from the capture of al-Kahtani to put it all together.
 
[Blogger spell cheque is not working...and I'm not editing, sory]

7:22AM Update...

Michelle Malkin's blog has an interesting and short article HERE.  They (Obama, Holder, Panetta) are afraid to say the truth, if it gets in the way of their pretend world-view. Brennan is already on record (though that doesn't change anything with this administration) as saying that enhanced interrogation SAVED LIVES (while he worked for Tenet under Bush).