Donilon: Obama Ordered Bin Laden Raid Based On ‘50-50 Chance’
Appearing on State of the Union, National Security Adviser Tom Donilon said that President Obama ordered the raid on Osama bin Laden’s compound based on “what was probably a 50-50 chance that Osama bin Laden was there.” Donilon also added: “It was a circumstantial case … But what he had 100 percent confidence in was the ability of our special forces to execute the mission.”
Kerry: ‘Shut Up And Move On’ About Circumstances Of Bin Laden Killing
Appearing on Face The Nation, Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) rebutted those who might question the decision of the Navy Seals to shoot an unarmed Osama bin Laden, rather then capture him. “They had no idea whether Osama bin Laden was lunging for a button that would blow up the entire building. There were weapons in the room. He was reaching for them. What we do know is he was not surrendering. It was the dead of night,” said Kerry. He also added: “We need to shut up and move on about, you know, the realities of what happened in that building.”
Donilon: Seized Bin Laden Files Are Largest Terror Intelligence Find Ever
Appearing on Fox News Sunday, National Security Adviser To Donilon said that the files seized from Osama bin Laden’s compound are “the size of a small college library.” “It’s the largest cache of intelligence information from a senior terrorist that we know of,” said Donilon. He also added: “Osama bin Laden was not just a symbolic leader of Al Qaeda. In fact, he had operational and strategic roles that he was playing.”
Donilon: ‘This Is Not The End Of The Effort Against Al-Qaeda’
Appearing on Meet The Press, National Security Adviser Tom Donilon was asked how worried he was about retaliation for the killing of Osama bin Laden. “The president said, when he announced the action to the nation last Sunday night—and this is a significant achievement in terms of our ability to defeat the al-Qaeda organization, which is a principle counterterrorism goal of the United States,” said Donilon. “But as the president said the other night, this is not the end of the effort against al-Qaeda, and we fully expect the threat to continue, and we’ll continue to press our efforts. Indeed, after the raid and the killing of Osama bin Laden last Sunday night, we’ll continue to press very hard and take every opportunity we have as this organization tries to survive.”
Lugar: ‘Very Logical’ That People In Pakistan Knew About Bin Laden
Appearing on State of the Union, Sen. Richard Lugar said: “It appears to me very logical that if Osama bin Laden was in that home for six years of time, in a group of people that were connected with the military, then a lot of people in Pakistan knew about his whereabouts.”
Pakistani Ambassador: ‘Heads Will Roll’ Over Bin Laden Investigation
Appearing on This Week, Pakistani Ambassador to the United States Hussain Haqqani promised a thorough investigation into Osama bin Laden’s presence in a compound in his country. “Heads will roll once the investigation has been completed,” Haqqani said. “Now if those heads are rolled on account of incompetence, we will share that information with you, and if, God forbid, somebody’s complicity is discovered, there will be zero tolerance for that as well.”
Cheney: Enhanced Interrogators ‘Deserve To Be Decorated’
Appearing on Fox News Sunday, former Vice President Dick Cheney said that the use of interrogation techniques such as waterboarding probably “contributed” to the finding of Osama bin Laden, and criticized the Justice Department’s investigation of the techniques. “It’s unfortunate,” Cheney said. “These men deserve to be decorated. They don’t deserve to be prosecuted.”
Eric Kleefeld
Eric Kleefeld joined TPM as an intern for the final months of the 2006 midterm elections, and then kept showing up for work. His other interests include guitars, old comic books and the politics of various English-speaking countries.
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