Ordering the bin Laden raid: Was it really a tough call?
Republicans insist that Obama shouldn't brag about launching a covert assault to get the al Qaeda leader because any president would have done the same
The raid that killed Osama bin Laden has become quite the political football this election season. Obama's campaign brought it up, suggesting in an ad that ordering the raid deep inside Pakistan was a bold and risky move that GOP challenger Mitt Romney would not have made. Romney countered by saying that any president, "even Jimmy Carter," would have done the same thing Obama did. Donald Rumsfeld, Defense secretary under George W. Bush, backed up Romney this week, saying that ordering the raid wasn't a "tough call." Was it really an easy decision to send in the SEALs?
It took guts: No leader takes the decision to send U.S. troops into covert combat lightly, say Sahil Kapur and Eric Lach at Talking Points Memo. Rumsfeld knows that — after all, he called off a mission in 2005 targeting Ayman al-Zawahiri, the man who has since replaced bin Laden as al Qaeda's leader, because it risked too many American lives and might have angered Pakistan. The fact that Rumsfeld held back shows "how difficult such a decision is to make."
"The hunt for Bin Laden: What exactly did Obama do?"
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
It was an easy call: "It is unseemly to talk about the president's 'courage,'" says The Washington Times in an editorial, when it was the special operations forces who really showed bravery during this raid. Obama risked nothing, as the mission "would have been just another of the many secret government operations kept under wraps" if it had failed. With no personal downside, the decision to approve the raid really was "a no-brainer" for Obama.
Even if it was easy, Obama deserves credit: Rumsfeld isn't necessarily being hypocritical, says Michael Crowley at TIME. The Bush administration had a policy of "largely outsourcing the hunt for al Qaeda in Pakistan to" Pervez Musharraf's army, so Rumsfeld couldn't risk angering Islamabad. But if it was easy for Obama to send the SEALs where Rumsfeld wouldn't, it was only because he had abandoned George W. Bush's "failed approach," and vowed to do the dirty work ourselves instead of counting on an unreliable ally.
"Was the bin Laden raid really 'not a tough decision'?"
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Today's political cartoons - April 27, 2024
Cartoons Saturday's cartoons - natural gas, fundraising with Ted Cruz, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Aid to Ukraine: too little, too late?
Talking Point House of Representatives finally 'met the moment' but some say it came too late
By The Week UK Published
-
5 generously funny cartoons on the $60 billion foreign aid package
Cartoons Artists take on Republican opposition, aid to Ukraine, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Arizona court reinstates 1864 abortion ban
Speed Read The law makes all abortions illegal in the state except to save the mother's life
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump, billions richer, is selling Bibles
Speed Read The former president is hawking a $60 "God Bless the USA Bible"
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The debate about Biden's age and mental fitness
In Depth Some critics argue Biden is too old to run again. Does the argument have merit?
By Grayson Quay Published
-
How would a second Trump presidency affect Britain?
Today's Big Question Re-election of Republican frontrunner could threaten UK security, warns former head of secret service
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
'Rwanda plan is less a deterrent and more a bluff'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By The Week UK Published
-
Henry Kissinger dies aged 100: a complicated legacy?
Talking Point Top US diplomat and Nobel Peace Prize winner remembered as both foreign policy genius and war criminal
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Last updated
-
Trump’s rhetoric: a shift to 'straight-up Nazi talk'
Why everyone's talking about Would-be president's sinister language is backed by an incendiary policy agenda, say commentators
By The Week UK Published
-
More covfefe: is the world ready for a second Donald Trump presidency?
Today's Big Question Republican's re-election would be a 'nightmare' scenario for Europe, Ukraine and the West
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published