Barack Obama

Obama Appeals To 'Hope' Not 'Hate' In Unveiling Shift In Middle East Policy

Susan Crabtree | May 19, 2011, 2:10PM

President Barack Obama

President Obama attempted to reset relations with the Arab world Thursday in a comprehensive speech that positioned the United States and its values squarely behind the democratic uprisings sweeping the Middle East and North Africa and promised aid to help promote economic growth and stability across the region.

"Across the region, those rights that we take for granted are being claimed with joy by those who are prying loose the grip of an iron fist," Obama said during a 45-minute speech at the State Department.

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Pakistan

Kerry: Pakistan And U.S. Are At A Critical Crossroads

Susan Crabtree | May 17, 2011, 1:35PM

Sen. John Kerry (D-MA)

Sen. John Kerry (D-MA), fresh from a trip to Pakistan aimed at repairing deeply frayed relations with the United States, said Tuesday the two nations are at a critical crossroads and cautioned against either side taking precipitous action.

Kerry spent the weekend meeting with Pakistani officials and trying to determine steps that would assuage the deep distrust between the two nations after the discovery of Osama bin Laden inside Pakistan and his subsequent killing in a covert operation by a Navy SEALs team.

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Osama Bin Laden

U.S. Officials Interviewed OBL's Wives, White House Confirms

Susan Crabtree | May 13, 2011, 2:45PM

Osama Bin Laden

The White House confirmed Friday that Pakistan has allowed U.S. officials to interview three of Osama bin Laden's wives, all of whom were living with him at his Abbottabad compound before a Navy SEAL team stormed it and killed bin Laden nearly two weeks ago.

In the aftermath of the U.S. raid on the hideaway, U.S. lawmakers and officials have accused at least some elements of the Pakistani government of helping harbor bin Laden and have been watching Pakistan's reaction to his killing closely. The wives, one of whom was injured during the raid, were taken into custody by Pakistani security forces after the SEALs left the compound.

White House spokesman Jay Carney was tight-lipped about the interrogation aside from confirming that it had occurred. He would not say who questioned the women or whether they cooperated.

"I can't characterize the interaction except to say that we have had access," Carney said, "And we obviously appreciate the cooperation we've received from the Pakistani government."

The White House and the Pentagon have not said exactly when this week U.S. officials questioned the wives. The Pakistani Taliban on Friday took credit for twin suicide bombings that killed at least 80 people outside a paramilitary training center in Shabqadar, Pakistan earlier in the day. A Taliban spokesman said the explosions were in retaliation for the killing of bin Laden.

Carney said the U.S. government remains in a "state of high vigilance" since the raid.

"We take very seriously the fact that while al Qaeda is weakened, it is not dead," Carney said.

President Obama plans to deliver a major speech on the events in the Middle East and North Africa and U.S. Policy in the region Thursday at the State Department.

From Carney's descriptions, the speech will be "fairly sweeping and comprehensive" focused on the democratic uprisings in the region that have taken place since January and how the U.S. has responded to the upheaval.

"[The President] has always viewed the future of the region through the prism of democratization and the yearning of the people...in the region for greater political freedom, participation in their government, desire for responsive governments that address their grievances," Carney said. "I'm sure he will call as he has in the past on the governments in the region to respond to those demands through peaceful political dialogue."

Obama plans to focus on the irony he sees in some leaders' violent crackdowns in the name of stability when those brutal actions are only leading to great instability in the country and the region, Carney told reporters.

At one point during the press briefing, Carney was asked whether he had information about Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi's whereabouts and reports that he was no longer in Tripoli and is likely injured.

"Nothing I can share," Carney replied.

John McCain

McCain Denounces Torture: 'The Very Idea Of America' Is At Stake (VIDEO)

Jillian Rayfield | May 12, 2011, 11:39AM

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) took to the Senate floor Thursday to condemn waterboarding and other torture techniques, saying that the debate over these techniques is ultimately "about morality. What is at stake here it the very idea of America."

"The America," he continued, "whose values have inspired the world and instilled in the hearts of its citizens the certainty that no matter how hard we fight, no matter how dangerous our adversary, in the course of vanquishing our enemies we do not compromise our deepest vlaues."

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War On Terror

Congress Poised To Give President Power To Continue GWOT Indefinitely

Brian Beutler | May 11, 2011, 1:23PM

House progressives are trying to draw attention to language Republicans have included in an annual must-pass defense bill, which they say will dramatically expand Presidential power in the war on terrorism. The pushback comes just over a week after U.S. forces killed al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, and reignites one of the most controversial disputes the country's faced over the past decade. At stake is the question of whether Congress will allow the war on terrorism to continue indefinitely, or let it slowly dissipate as the years since September 11, 2001 pass.

The origin of the language in the defense bill dates back to March, when President Obama signed an executive order -- derided by some of his closest allies -- that effectively formalized an indefinite detention system at Guantanamo.

In response, House Armed Services Committee Chairman Buck McKeon (R-CA) and his colleagues unveiled legislation intended to codify the intent of that executive order, and update the 2001 Authorization for the Use of Military Force -- the legal underpinning off the war on terrorism.

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Pakistan

Feinstein Wants Answers About What Pakistani Officials Knew About OBL

Susan Crabtree | May 10, 2011, 4:00PM

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) isn't relying on U.S. intelligence officials alone to find out whether the Pakistani government was helping harbor Osama bin Laden.

Feinstein, who chairs the Senate intelligence committee, told TPM she has "her own people looking into it" and will hold closed-door classified hearings on the increasingly frayed relationship between the U.S. and Pakistan soon.

Despite her deep concerns about what the Pakistani government knew about bin Laden's compound before a U.S. assault team raided it and killed the notorious al Qaeda leader, Feinstein tempered remarks Monday in which she questioned continuing to send billions of dollars in humanitarian and military aid to the country and said the relationship between the U.S. and Pakistan "makes less and less sense."

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Texas

TX Teacher Who Accused Girl Of Grieving Over Bin Laden Not Returning To Work

Evan McMorris-Santoro and Melissa Jeltsen | May 9, 2011, 4:17PM

The Texas high school teacher who allegedly told a Muslim girl in his ninth grade algebra class that "I bet that you're grieving" over the death of Osama bin Laden will not be returning to work, a school spokesperson tells TPM.

The teacher was suspended last week after the girl complained about his comments to her, which came the day after bin Laden was killed by American forces in Pakistan. The girl's name has been kept out of reporting on the case, and a spokesperson for the Clear Creek Independent School District would not immediately release the name of the teacher to TPM.

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Pakistan

White House to Pakistan: 'No Apologies' for OBL Raid

Susan Crabtree | May 9, 2011, 3:10PM

White House spokesman Jay Carney said President Obama stands by his decision to order a covert assault-team raid to cross into a Pakistani city and kill Osama bin Laden without telling Pakistani officials.

"We obviously take statements and concerns of the Pakistani government very seriously," Carney told reporters at a briefing. "We also do not apologize for the actions that we took. [The President] said back in the [2008] campaign...if this is the only way we can do it, to do it unilaterally, he would take that chance and we did it. It is beyond a doubt in his mind, that he had the right and the imperative to do it."

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Afghanistan

Bipartisan Group Urges Obama To Use OBL Raid As Example And End War In Afghanistan

Susan Crabtree | May 9, 2011, 12:51PM

A bipartisan group of eight members of Congress are calling on the Obama administration to abandon the nation-building effort in Afghanistan in favor of a scaled-down mission focused primarily on quashing al Qaeda in the wake of the targeted special forces raid that killed Osama bin Laden.

Reps. Peter Welch (D-VT) and Jason Chaffetz (R-UT), who chairs the Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on National Security, Homeland Defense and Foreign Operations, want the Obama administration to view the successful mission against bin Laden as a model for U.S. counter-terrorism strategy as a whole. Welch, Chaffetz and a group of three Democrats and three Republicans sent Obama a letter calling for the end of the war in Afghanistan and a shift to more surgical, strategic operations to combat worldwide terrorism.

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60 Minutes

Obama: Bin Laden Had A 'Support Network' Inside Pakistan (VIDEO)

Jon Terbush | May 9, 2011, 9:07AM

Osama bin Laden had assistance from a support network established within Pakistan, President Obama said in an in-depth interview with CBS 60 Minutes on Sunday raising questions about the trustworthiness of one of America's key anti-terror allies in the region.

In a more than 30 minute interview, Obama said the conspicuousness of bin Laden's Pakistan safe house raised questions about how much was known, and by whom, within Pakistan. And, Obama said, both the U.S. and Pakistan had some investigating to do to root out the source.

"We think that there had to be some sort of support network for bin Laden inside of Pakistan," Obama said. "But we don't know who or what that support network was."

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Osama Bin Laden

Bush Aide: Obama Has 'Pounded His Chest' Over Bin Laden

Jon Terbush | May 7, 2011, 3:32PM

President Obama has 'pounded his chest' too much and taken too much pride in the success of the mission to take out Osama bin Laden, according to, of all people, George W. Bush's former Chief of Staff, Andrew Card.

In an interview with German newspaper Der Spiegel, Card said that Obama has "pounded his chest" too much over the death of Osama bin Laden, particularly by going to Ground Zero earlier this week, the site of the 9/11 attacks.

"I think he has pounded his chest a little too much," Card said. "He can take pride in it, but he does not need to show it so much."

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Osama Bin Laden

Osama At Home: Pentagon Releases Video Seized At Bin Laden Compound

Evan McMorris-Santoro | May 7, 2011, 1:46PM

Osama bin Laden

Osama bin Laden colored his beard black before he made the video tapes broadcast across the world that became his trademark. He also liked to watch himself on TV.

Those are two takeaways from a series of bin Laden "home movies" seized by intelligence officials during the May 1 raid that left the terrorist leader dead at the hands of a Navy SEAL team. The Pentagon released copies of the videos to the public on Saturday, following a closed briefing to reporters.

In the tapes, bin Laden is seen with a dark beard recording the kind of one man testimonials that were a mainstay of his time at the head of Al Qaeda. One fascinating tape shows the terrorist leader gray-bearded and sitting on the floor of his Abbottabad compound, watching himself on satellite TV.

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Osama Bin Laden

Obama Thanks SEAL Team Who Killed OBL For 'Job Well Done'

Susan Crabtree | May 6, 2011, 4:02PM

President Barack Obama at Fort Campbell, Ky.

President Obama flew to Fort Campbell, Ky., Friday to personally congratulate the special operations team responsible for the killing of Osama bin Laden, telling them and the rest of the troops on the base "job well done."

Vice President Joe Biden joined Obama in privately thanking the Navy SEAL team just hours after bin Laden's terror network al Qaeda confirmed the death of their leader and vowed to avenge it and retaliate against Americans.

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Osama Bin Laden

John Yoo: Obama Afraid To Capture Bin Laden (VIDEO)

Evan McMorris-Santoro | May 6, 2011, 1:17PM

John Yoo

John Yoo says President Obama is too afraid of the politics of Guantanamo Bay to capture and interrogate terrorists.

The former George W. Bush administration lawyer, Yoo wrote the infamous torture memos used to justify the "enhanced interrogation techniques" that were a central legacy of Bush's Global War On Terror. He now says that the killing of Osama bin Laden will go down in history as one of President Obama's biggest national security fails.

Yoo told CNN on Thursday night that the special forces team sent to kill bin Laden should have instead taken him alive and kept him as a source of future intelligence. Failing to do that, Yoo says, cost the U.S. a valuable asset. That was a mistake, Yoo says.

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Barack Obama

Obama Will Meet With Troops Responsible For OBL Raid

Susan Crabtree | May 6, 2011, 12:07PM

President Barack Obama will meet Friday afternoon with several members of the military assault team responsible for conducting the raid on the Abbottabad compound and killing Osama bin Laden.

White House press secretary Jay Carney confirmed Friday morning that the President plans to spend some time this afternoon with "special operators" involved in the operation.

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Pakistan

Sen. Carl Levin: Pakistan Had To Know Osama Bin Laden Was There

Benjy Sarlin | May 6, 2011, 11:17AM

Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI)

Politicians across the political spectrum have been taking digs at Pakistan in the wake of Osama bin Laden's death in that country, but Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI) offered up perhaps the toughest assessment yet from a senior lawmaker on Thursday.

In an interview with ABC News, Levin, the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said he was opening up an investigation into whether elements of Pakistan's government had foreknowledge of bin Laden's location.

"I think at high levels, high levels being the intelligence service, at high levels they knew it," Levin said. "I can't prove it. I just think it's counterintuitive not to."

The Senator tied the issue to a review of billions of dollar in economic and military aid to Pakistan.

"Some of it is in our interest. Some of it seems to be, is not clearly in our interest, and that's why the questions that we are asking the Pakistan government to answer need to be answered," Levin said.

Tim Pawlenty

2012 GOP Rivals Slam Obama In First Debate

Susan Crabtree | May 6, 2011, 9:01AM

The biggest boon for the five Republican presidential candidates who showed up in South Carolina for the first debate of the GOP 2012 race Thursday night may have been simply allowing viewers to put a name to a face.

The GOP field is still shaking out, and the debate was perhaps less notable for who was in attendance -- Tim Pawlenty, Rick Santorum, Herman Cain, Gary Johnson, and Ron Paul -- than for who wasn't -- Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Sarah Palin, Donald Trump, and Mike Huckabee.

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Canada

Left-Wing Canadian Politician Questions Osama Bin Laden Photos, Party Backs Off

Eric Kleefeld | May 5, 2011, 2:14PM

Thomas Mulcair, Deputy Leader of Canada's New Democratic Party

In a peculiar epilogue to TPM's coverage of the Canadian election this week -- in which Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Conservative Party won his first outright majority of seats, and the left-wing New Democratic Party overtook the more moderate Liberal Party to become the main left-leaning party for the first time ever -- the NDP has gotten off to a rough start as an opposition party, in its handling of the killing of Osama bin Laden.

The party's Deputy Leader, Thomas Mulcair, publicly expressed doubt that photos of bin Laden's body actually exist, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reports. "I don't think, from what I've heard, that those pictures exist and if they do I'll leave that up to the American military," Mulcair said in an interview. "If they've got pictures of a cadaver then there's probably more going on than we suspect in what happened there."

As the CBC's report points out, Mulcair also questioned the legality of the killing:

Mulcair also said the killing requires "a full analysis" on whether it was self-defence or a direct killing because "that has to do with American law and international law as well."

"I think that if the Americans have taken pictures in that circumstance, it won't be able to prove very much as to whether Mr. [bin Laden] was holding a weapon," he said.

The NDP quickly distanced itself from Mulcair's comments, with the party's parliamentary Foreign Affairs critic Paul Dewar -- the person who would become Foreign Minister if the party were to win an election -- releasing a statement. "We have no reason to doubt the veracity of President Obama's statement," said Dewar. "As (NDP leader) Jack Layton said the other day, we are happy the U.S. tracked down Osama bin Laden."

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Osama Bin Laden

Senators Fall For Fake Bin Laden Death Photo

Susan Crabtree and Eric Lach | May 4, 2011, 6:40PM

Sens. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) and Scott Brown (R-MA)

Once President Obama announced that Osama bin Laden had been killed by U.S. forces on Sunday, it didn't take long for fake photographs of the terrorist leader's corpse to start circulating. Websites and newspapers fell for them. And so did, apparently, U.S. senators.

Three senators who claimed to have seen a photograph of bin Laden's post-mortem are now backtracking, or flat out admitting they were duped.

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Barack Obama

White House: We Won't Release Any More Operational Details About OBL Killing

Susan Crabtree | May 4, 2011, 4:55PM

After two days of administration officials offering up conflicting details and accounts of the intense U.S. assault-team raid on Osama bin Laden's compound and his subsequent killing, the White House has completely shut down press attempts to get a full accounting of what transpired.

White House spokesman Jay Carney Wednesday referred all questions about operational aspects of the mission to the Defense Department, even refusing to say who, if anyone, was shooting back at the Navy Seals during the "firefight" that Carney and other administration officials earlier in the week has said took place during the 40-minute raid Sunday night.

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Sarah Palin

Palin: Obama 'Pussy-Footing' By Not Releasing Photo Of Dead Bin Laden

Brian Beutler | May 4, 2011, 2:47PM

Sarah Palin

Just three days after the world learned President Obama ordered a daring special operations mission resulting in the death of Osama bin Laden, Sarah Palin has come around to claim he's "pussy-footing around" -- specifically by not immediately releasing photos of the deceased al Qaeda leader. To underscore the irony, Palin claims the pictures should be released "as warning to others seeking America's destruction" -- one day after numerous reports had her moving in a more pragmatic direction on foreign policy.

Palin took to Twitter, one of her go-to modes of communications, moments after news broke that Obama would not release the bin Laden photos.

"Show photo as warning to others seeking America's destruction. No pussy-footing around, no politicking, no drama;it's part of the mission," she said.

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Navy Seals

Sen. Ayotte: I've Seen A Photo Of Slain Bin Laden

Susan Crabtree | May 4, 2011, 2:16PM

US Senator Kelly Ayotte (R-NH)

Update at 3:47 p.m.: Sen. Saxby Chambliss' office says he didn't show Ayotte the photo and he has not seen it himself.

Amid reports that the White House will not release a photo of a slain Osama bin Laden, a photo of bin Laden is circulating among some senators.

Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) tells TPM another senator showed her a photo of a deceased bin Laden with the understanding that it was an authentic photo the Navy Seals took of him after he was killed.

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Osama Bin Laden

House Intelligence Chair Mike Rogers: Releasing Bin Laden Photo Is A Dangerously Bad Idea

Benjy Sarlin | May 4, 2011, 12:48PM

Osama bin Laden

A key Republican lawmaker has come out strongly against releasing photos of Osama BIn Laden's bullet-riddled corpse, adding an influential voice to the mix as the White House formulates its plan on the issue.

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-MI) warned in a statement that releasing the gruesome images of Bin Laden would not only fail to quell conspiracy theories about whether the Al Qaeda leader is still alive, but was antithetical to American values and could lead to blowback in the Muslim world.

"I don't want to make the job of our troops serving in places like Iraq and Afghanistan any harder than it already is," Rogers said. "The risks of release outweigh the benefits. Conspiracy theorists around the world will just claim the photos are doctored anyway, and there is a real risk that releasing the photos will only serve to inflame public opinion in the Middle East. "

Rogers also worried that the grotesque display would reflect poorly on America's honor.

"Imagine how the American people would react if Al Qaida killed one of our troops or military leaders, and put photos of the body on the internet," he said. "Osama bin Laden is not a trophy - he is dead and let's now focus on continuing the fight until Al Qaida has been eliminated."

Osama Bin Laden

TX Teacher Suspended After Telling Muslim Student 'I Bet You're Grieving'

Evan McMorris-Santoro | May 4, 2011, 10:58AM

A Texas high school teacher has been placed on administrative leave following an incident where he allegedly told a 9th grade Muslim girl in his algebra class "I bet that you're grieving" on Monday following the death of Osama bin Laden.

According to one parent at Clear Brook High School in Houston who spoke about the incident to a local ABC affiliate, the teacher also said, "I heard about your uncle's death."

The parent said the student "understood that he was referring about Osama bin Laden being killed and was racially profiling her."

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Leon Panetta

Panetta: We 'Were Never Really Certain' Bin Laden Was In The Compound

Jillian Rayfield | May 4, 2011, 10:33AM

Leon Panetta

CIA Director Leon Panetta sat down with PBS Newshour's Jim Lehrer, and described how before the successful mission to take out Osama bin Laden, they "were never really certain about whether or not bin Laden was there."

"We were never able to verify that in fact it was him," Panetta said. "But when you put all these pieces together, the security precautions, the nature of the compound, some of the additional information that we had gotten, we had the best intelligence case that we ever had on bin Laden since Tora Bora."

I think it was that information that required that we had an obligation to act. That's why the President took his steps, the steps that he did," he said.

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Osama Bin Laden

With Pakistan Under Fire Over Bin Laden Hideout, Officials Urge Patience

Benjy Sarlin | May 4, 2011, 10:03AM

As elite opinion rapidly sours on Pakistani's government following the revelation that Osama bin Laden was hiding in an elaborate compound outside a major city there, key officials and regional experts are counseling patience with what they admit is a tense and difficult alliance.

While lawmakers on the relevant House and Senate committees acknowledged that bin Laden's discovery raised new questions about whether elements of Pakistan's government and military are tied to terrorism, many also warned that there are few alternative options when it comes to engaging the government. In doing so, they pushed back against growing calls from some lawmakers to review America's aid and ties to the country.

"Pakistan," Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said at a press briefing Tuesday. "You can't trust them and you can't abandon them."

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Osama Bin Laden

CIA Chief: Public Will Ultimately See Photo Of Dead Osama Bin Laden

Ryan J. Reilly | May 3, 2011, 6:20PM

The public will ultimately see a photo of a dead Osama bin Laden, CIA Chief Leon Panetta told NBC's Brian Williams in an interview.

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Osama Bin Laden

FLASHBACK 2008: McCain, Clinton Slam Obama For Saying He'd Go Get Bin Laden In Pakistan (VIDEO)

Jillian Rayfield | May 3, 2011, 5:55PM

Remember back during the 2008 election when John McCain -- and Hillary Clinton -- pummeled Barack Obama for saying he would go into Pakistan to get Osama bin Laden if the Pakistani government wouldn't?

We do...

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Pres '12

Pawlenty: Killing Bin Laden 'Not The Full Scope' Of Our National Defense

Eric Kleefeld | May 3, 2011, 4:54PM

Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-MN) and President Barack Obama

Former Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-MN), who is exploring a run for president, is among the first Republican candidates to confront a key problem: How does a Republican presidential hopeful criticize President Obama on national security, in the wake of the killing of Osama bin Laden?

The Des Moines Register's Kathie Obradovich reports:

I asked Pawlenty whether it's difficult to criticize the president right now, in light of this week's major military success.

"President Obama should be congratulated for his commitment and decision-making in the capture of bin Laden," Pawlenty said. "But that's not the full scope of our foreign policy or our national defense posture and there will still be a robust debate about what he has done so far and what he will do in the future."

That answer, which didn't criticize the president, suggests it is tough to do right now. But Pawlenty did eventually sharpen his rhetoric. During the Ames event, he accused Obama of "breaking his promise" to fix health care in a bipartisan fashion and focus on cost containment.

'Obama's Wars'

White House Further Revises Narrative On OBL Killing

Susan Crabtree | May 3, 2011, 4:18PM

The White House has further corrected details of the intense, Sunday-night raid on Osama bin Laden's compound and subsequent killing in an attempt to clear up several misstatements from administration officials about what transpired inside the compound walls during the 40-minute covert mission.

President Obama's press secretary Jay Carney Tuesday afternoon read a Pentagon-prepared statement to reporters describing the events that took place inside the compound Sunday night.

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Osama Bin Laden

Oregon Muslims Cancel Bin Laden Death Rally After Maine Vandalism

Evan McMorris-Santoro | May 3, 2011, 3:55PM

A group of men gather in prayer during the first day of Ramadan at the Masjid An-Noor Mosque.

In Portland, Oregon, Muslims planned to hold a downtown rally Monday to celebrate the death of terrorist leader Osama bin Laden and "call for unity and peace." But they called it off after concerns over reprisals.

It's at least the second small incident since bin Laden was killed that suggests not everyone is ready to move on now that the villain behind the attacks of 9/11 is finally no longer with us. Yesterday, police in Portland, Maine opened up a hate crime investigation after a mosque there was spray-painted with the phrase "Osama today, Islam tomorow [sic]."

In Oregon, there wasn't a direct threat like there was in Maine. But organizers of the unity rally were fearful enough that something bad might go down at the rally that they canceled it.

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John Kerry

Kerry Cautions Colleagues About Cutting Off Pakistan After Osama Bin Laden Capture

Ryan J. Reilly | May 3, 2011, 3:20PM

Sen. John Kerry (D-MA)

Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) cautioned his fellow senators to take a deep breath before they go calling on the United States to cut off aide to Pakistan in the wake of the discovery of Osama bin Laden in the country.

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Osama Bin Laden

Lindsey Graham: Obama Made "Bold And Right Decision" On Bin Laden Raid

Benjy Sarlin | May 3, 2011, 1:10PM

Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-SC)

Lindsey Graham (R-SC) offered one of the most gracious Republican assessments of President Obama's role in overseeing the killing of Osama Bin Laden, telling reporters on Tuesday that he made a "bold and right decision" to send in a special forces team.

"The president made the correct decision to send boots on the ground," he said at a pen and pad briefing with the Senate press. "His concern was that an airstrike, while it may accomplish the job, you could never prove that we got Bin Laden. He had three options and I want to compliment the President for making what I thought a bold and right decision. Candidate Obama said in 2008 if we find Bin Laden in Pakistan and we believe the Pakistanis are unreliable or can't help I reserve unto myself as President the ability to go after this guy. He made the correct decision."

TPM SLIDESHOW: Osama Bin Laden: 9/11 Mastermind, Longtime U.S. Enemy Killed In Pakistan

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Torture

Senate Intel Chair: Torture Did Not Lead To Bin Laden In Any Way

Brian Beutler | May 3, 2011, 12:59PM

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)

More and more evidence suggests a key piece of intelligence -- the first link in the chain of information that led U.S. intelligence officials to Osama bin Laden -- wasn't tortured out of its source. And, indeed, that torture actually failed to produce it.

"To the best of our knowledge, based on a look, none of it came as a result of harsh interrogation practices," said Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee in a wide-ranging press conference.

Moreover, Feinstein added, nothing about the sequence of events that culminated in Sunday's raid vindicates the Bush-era techniques, nor their use of black sites -- secret prisons, operated by the CIA.

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Barack Obama

Poll: Obama's Approval Rating Jumps Nine Points After Bin Laden's Death

Jon Terbush | May 3, 2011, 12:48PM

President Barack Obama

Immediately following the announcement that American forces had killed Osama bin Laden, President Obama's approval rating leapt to its highest level since 2009 in a Washington Post/Pew poll.

In the poll, which was conducted on Monday, 56% of Americans said they approved of Obama's job performance, compared to 38% who said the disapproved. That's a marked turnaround from one month ago, when 47% of Americans gave Obama positive marks on his job performance, while 45% said otherwise.

TPM SLIDESHOW: Osama Bin Laden Killed: The Nation Reacts

It also marks the highest approval rating the President has enjoyed since June 2009, when 61% of Americans approved of his job performance, and 30% disapproved.

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Afghanistan

Poll: After Bin Laden's Death, Americans More Positive On Afghan War

Jon Terbush | May 3, 2011, 12:02PM

Following President Obama's announcement that Osama bin Laden had been killed, Americans' attitudes toward the Afghan war -- and the war on terror in general -- have undergone a sharp turnaround, according to a new poll.

In a Survey USA poll conducted on Monday, a plurality of Americans now say the Afghan war has been worth fighting. That reverses months of rising opposition to the war, when polls showed that record-low levels of Americans thought the war had not been worth it in the long run. The new survey also found that, with bin Laden's death, six in ten Americans now think America is winning the broader war on terror.

TPM SLIDESHOW: Osama Bin Laden Killed: The Nation Reacts

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Osama Bin Laden

White House Considering Releasing Bin Laden Death Photo

Evan McMorris-Santoro | May 3, 2011, 11:14AM

Osama bin Laden

A White House source confirms to TPM that the Obama administration is considering releasing a photo of a deceased Osama bin Laden taken after the terrorist leader was shot dead by American forces. No decision has yet been made on releasing the photo, the source said, but confirmed other reports that a decision could come as soon as Tuesday.

White House counterterrorism adviser John Brennan told ABC News Tuesday morning that photos of a dead bin Laden as well as videos taken by special forces' helmet cameras during the raid are under consideration for release. But no final call has been made.

TPM SLIDESHOW: Osama Bin Laden: 9/11 Mastermind, Longtime U.S. Enemy Killed In Pakistan

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Osama Bin Laden

Pakistan Under Harsh Scrutiny In Wake Of Raid On Bin Laden Compound

Benjy Sarlin | May 3, 2011, 10:12AM

A successful attack on Osama Bin Laden may mark a satisfying end to one chapter of America's War on Terror, but the circumstances of the operation raise disturbing new questions about the nation's already troubled relationship with Pakistan. On Monday, high-ranking lawmakers and officials openly aired their suspicions that forces within the crucial ally's government deliberately withheld information on the terrorist leader's location.

"They've got a lot of explaining to do," Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI), chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, told reporters Monday.

TPM SLIDESHOW: Osama Bin Laden: 9/11 Mastermind, Longtime U.S. Enemy Killed In Pakistan

Intelligence officials have long suspected that Pakistan's weak and fractured government may be host to rogue elements either disinterested in catching -- or actively sympathetic to -- anti-Western terrorists. But the presence of Bin Laden's heavily fortified compound in a garrison town near Islamabad magnified concerns that Al Qaeda had help from the inside in concealing its leader's location.

"It's very difficult for me to understand how this huge compound could be built in a city just an hour north of the capital of Pakistan in a city that contained military installations, including the Pakistani military academy, and that it did not arouse tremendous suspicion," Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), ranking member of the Homeland Security Committee, said at a press conference on Monday.

"It was not like a normal house in New Jersey, I can tell you that," Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), who has called for a new review of military and economic aid to Pakistan in light of the Bin Laden raid, told TPM.

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Andy Card

GOP's Tortured Logic: How We Got Osama Bin Laden

Brian Beutler | May 3, 2011, 8:42AM

Former Vice President Dick Cheney and Former President George W. Bush.

Like so many memes that persist in politics, this one started on the Internet. The morning after President Obama announced that Osama bin Laden had been killed in Pakistan, conservatives started crowing that credit should be given to President George W. Bush -- specifically, for having the foresight and courage to torture the people who provided the initial scraps of intel that ultimately led the CIA to a giant compound just north of Islamabad.

The most prominent of these conservatives was Rep. Steve King (R-IA), who took to Twitter to ask sardonically, "Wonder what President Obama thinks of water boarding now?

About two hours later, the Associated Press published a brief story claiming that the CIA obtained the initial intelligence it needed to find bin Laden from Khalid Sheikh Mohammed -- the so-called mastermind of 9/11 -- and his successor, Abu Faraj al-Libi at CIA black sites in Poland and Romania.

Those secret prisons, which the Obama administration contends to have abandoned, were the facilities where Mohammed and al-Libi were waterboarded. There, the detainees supposedly identified by nom de guerre a courier who would years later be located by American intelligence officials, and lead them to bin Laden's compound.

"The news is sure to reignite debate over whether the now-closed interrogation and detention program was successful," the AP wrote. "Former president George W. Bush authorized the CIA to use the harshest interrogation tactics in U.S. history. President Barack Obama closed the prison system."

There's just one problem. The key bit of intel wasn't acquired via torture, according to a more fleshed out version of the same report.

But the myth provided a brief opening. Thus have Republicans constructed a version of events by which they -- and Bush in particular -- deserve some of credit for bin Laden's death. Not all of it. Indeed they have by and large acknowledged Obama's role, and congratulated him on it. And most have not been as brazen as King or the Tea Party Express in attributing the success of the mission to Bush's interrogation policies. But Bush, they argue, played a big part as well, akin to the husband who loosens the lid to a Mason jar only to watch his wife open it effortlessly.

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Osama Bin Laden

Obama At White House Dinner: Bin Laden's Death Offers Chance To Come Together

Eric Lach | May 2, 2011, 8:54PM

President Barack Obama

Speaking at a White House dinner before House and Senate members from both parties and administration officials, President Obama received a standing ovation at the mention of the operation that killed terrorist leader Osama bin Laden.

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Maine

Portland, Maine Mosque Vandalized In Suspected Hate Crime Following Bin Laden Death

Evan McMorris-Santoro | May 2, 2011, 4:58PM

On Monday in Portland, ME the walls of the largest mosque in town were spray-painted with "Osama today, Islam tomorow [sic]" and other phrases, sometime following morning prayers on the day after American forces killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan.

The police chief is calling the incident at the Maine Muslims Community Center a hate crime.

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Pres '12

Trump: 'I Want To Personally Congratulate President Obama' On The Bin Laden Killing

Eric Kleefeld | May 2, 2011, 4:12PM

Donald Trump and President Barack Obama

So far, it appears that the most effusive praise of President Obama's job performance in the killing of Osama bin Laden from a potential Republican presidential candidate, is coming from an unexpected place: New York businessman Donald Trump, who has made his name over the last couple months questioning whether Obama was even born in this country and eligible to be president at all.

"I want to personally congratulate President Obama and the men and women of the Armed Forces for a job well done," Trump said in a statement, NewsMax reports. "I am so proud to see Americans standing shoulder to shoulder, waving the American flag in celebration of this great victory.

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Osama Bin Laden

Bloomberg At Ground Zero: 'The Forces Of Freedom And Justice' Have Prevailed

Jillian Rayfield | May 2, 2011, 3:55PM

Michael Bloomberg

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg spoke at a press conference Monday afternoon at Ground Zero, in response to the news that Osama bin Laden had been killed. In his remarks, Bloomberg congratulated President Obama and proclaimed that bin Laden's death shows that "the forces of freedom and justice have once again prevailed over those who use terror to pursue tyranny."

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Afghanistan

Levin: Bin Laden's Death Paves Way For Swifter Troop Drawdown In Afghanistan

Brian Beutler | May 2, 2011, 3:31PM

Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI)

Given that President Obama's not going to bring the war in Afghanistan to an early end as the result of Osama bin Laden's death, a key question is whether his administration will green light a robust troop drawdown starting in July, or whether the withdrawal will happen more slowly, as some in his administration would like.

That's the pivot, and there will be increasing pressure on Obama from Democrats to use bin Laden's death in Pakistan to make the case for a swifter reduction.

TPM SLIDESHOW: Osama Bin Laden: 9/11 Mastermind, Longtime U.S. Enemy Killed In Pakistan

"I think there's going to be a lot of strong feeling on the part of most Democrats and many, I think many independents, and even some Republicans that the decision of the President to reduce the number of troops in Afghanistan should be a robust reduction," Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin (D-MI) told reporters on a conference call with reporters Monday afternoon. "I don't think that's going to change, and I don't expect the decision of the President -- his instinct to have a reduction, and I believe a robust reduction following conversations with him -- that that instinct would be reinforced."

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Osama Bin Laden

'Minutes Passed Like Days' As WH Watched Osama Bin Laden Operation Unfold

Susan Crabtree and Ryan J. Reilly | May 2, 2011, 2:25PM

[Late Update: The White House has backed off some of the details of John Brennan's account. More here.]

The President and his national security team spent Sunday afternoon and evening huddling in the West Wing of the White House filled with anxiety while they followed in real time the covert operations of an elite team of Navy Seals penetrating Osama bin Laden's compound in Pakistan and killing him with shots to the head.

"It was probably the most anxiety-filled periods of times," John Brennan, a chief counterterrorism adviser to President Obama, told reporters Monday in a White House briefing. "The minutes passed like days, and the President was very concerned about the security of our personnel."

TPM SLIDESHOW: Behind The Scenes As Operation Against Bin Laden Unfolded

"It was clearly very tense with a lot of people holding their breath," Brennan recalled, obviously still soaking in the full weight of the raid and the impact of bin Laden's death on the global war on terror. "There was a great degree of silence as we would get the updates. We were finally informed, and there was a tremendous sigh of relief -- that what we believed about the compound and who we believed was in the compound" were in fact true.

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Pres '12

Gingrich: I Commend Both Bush And Obama For Bin Laden Killing

Eric Kleefeld | May 2, 2011, 2:22PM

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA)

Former Speaker Newt Gingrich, who is exploring a run for president, released a statement this afternoon on the killing of Osama bin Laden, calling it a "significant victory in the long struggle between radical Islamists and modern civilization."

"I commend both President George W. Bush who led the campaign against our enemies through seven long years and President Obama who continued and intensified the campaign in both Afghanistan and Pakistan," said Gingrich. "We should remember to thank those who made this possible. Without the courage and professionalism of our men and women in uniform and in the intelligence services, this victory would not have been achieved."

Gingrich also added, however, that the battle against terrorism is not over: "As long as there are schools teaching children to hate; as long as there are state-supported terrorist systems; as long as several countries actively recruit children to be suicide bombers; this war will continue."

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Rick Santorum

Rick Santorum On Osama Bin Laden Killing: M'eh

Evan McMorris-Santoro | May 2, 2011, 1:52PM

Former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA)

Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum -- who's been running hard lately as the foreign policy guy in the prospective 2012 Republican presidential field -- told a reporter in Iowa today that when you really think about it, taking out Osama Bin Laden's not really that big a deal in the scheme of things.

"Congratulations, well done, well orchestrated," Santorum told the Des Moines Register before an event with voters. "That's one isolated area as opposed to the president's foreign policy and how it's affecting our security. The president's foreign policy with respect to our security is to make our allies less confident in us and has resulted in them in distancing themselves from us."

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Homeland Security

Joe Lieberman: Be On The Lookout For Homegrown Terrorists -- Even In Your Own Family

Benjy Sarlin | May 2, 2011, 1:47PM

Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-CT)

Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT), who chairs the Senate's Homeland Security Committee, warned Americans on Monday to be vigilant against homegrown radicals who may improvise attacks in response to Osama Bin Laden's death.

"My own great concern in the days ahead is that a so-called 'lone wolf,' a single individual who has been radicalized, will now mobilize himself or herself to take action here at home against the American people," he said at a press conference with Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) to discuss the Bin Laden raid.

While the threat level has not been raised as there is no specific evidence of any credible threats, Lieberman said that he was concerned Bin Laden's demise could inspire an attack along the lines of the Ft. Hood massacre, in which a radicalized individual soldier killed 13 people. He urged Americans to be especially vigilant in reporting any leads to authorities in the coming days.

"This is a classic 'If you see something, say something' moment," he said. "If you see suspicious behavior, call the police immediately -- and that includes if you see suspicious behavior by someone who is a friend or family member."

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Congressional Medal of Honor

Obama Credits Military Sacrifice And Bravery In OBL's Killing

Susan Crabtree | May 2, 2011, 12:50PM

President Barack Obama

President Obama, at an awards ceremony for two posthumous Congressional Medal of Honor recipients from the Korean War Monday, took the opportunity to thank the U.S. military and their families, saying Sunday's killing of Osama bin Laden couldn't have been accomplished without their bravery, leadership and sacrifice.

The President specifically hailed the leadership of Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who were on hand for the awards ceremony.

"I think we can all agree this is a good day for America," Obama said. "Our country has kept its commitment to see that justice is done. The world is safer and it is a better place because of the death of Osama bin Laden."

"Today we are reminded that as a nation, there's nothing we can't do, if we put our shoulders to the wheel, to work together .. to remember the sense of the unity that defines Americans," he continued.

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Osama Bin Laden

Levin: Pakistani Intel and Military Have 'A Lot Of Explaining To Do' For Sheltering Bin Laden

Brian Beutler | May 2, 2011, 12:35PM

Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI)

The Democrats' top armed services expert on Capitol Hill says Pakistan's military and intelligence have grave questions to answer after Osama Bin Laden was killed in an elaborate compound, deep inside Pakistan, near a top Pakistani military facility.

"I think that the Pakistani army and intelligence have a lot of questions to answer, given the location, the length of time, and the apparent fact that this facility was built for bin Laden, and its closeness to the central location to the Pakistani army," said Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI), who chairs the Senate Armed Services committee, in a Capitol briefing with reporters Monday morning.

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Afghanistan

Reid: Obama Has No Plans To Change Afghanistan Strategy In Wake Of Bin Laden Killing

Brian Beutler | May 2, 2011, 12:00PM

Harry Reid (D-NV)

President Obama has communicated to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid that he plans to stick with the current timetable for withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan -- this despite the fact that Osama bin Laden was found and killed in Pakistan, and that Afghan leaders view this as proof that allied actions in their country are misguided.

"The President has a timetable to begin withdrawal of Afghanistan," Reid told reporters in a Capitol briefing Monday morning. "He's indicated he's going to stick with that. I think that's appropriate."

Though lawmakers and administration officials have consistently said that bin Laden's death doesn't indicate an end to hostilities in the Global War on Terror, some experts and advocates have argued that the Obama administration should use Sunday night's development to pivot toward a hastier resolution of hostilities in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Doesn't look like that's in the works, though.

White House

Crowd Sings National Anthem At White House After News Of Bin Laden's Death (VIDEO)

Benjy Sarlin | May 2, 2011, 10:39AM

This video, shot by TPM last night, gives a pretty representative slice of the energy at the wild party outside the White House that broke out as President Obama officially announced Osama Bin Laden had been killed. Here a large group of mostly young revelers spontaneously broke into a rendition of the national anthem.

The vid:

And in case you missed it, here's our previous video of the early morning celebration.

Osama Bin Laden

WH Says Bombing Of OBL Compound Considered, But Never Authorized

Susan Crabtree | May 2, 2011, 9:55AM

President Barack Obama

More than a month before U.S. military forces launched a deadly raid on Osama bin Laden's compound Sunday, President Obama ordered the development of multiple military plans aimed at killing or capturing the notorious fugitive leader of al Qaeda.

Obama's national security team began drawing up several different options back in March, including plans to bomb the Abbottabad compound located 35 miles north of Islamabad, Pakistan's capital, according to administration officials.

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Mike Huckabee

Mike Huckabee: 'Welcome To Hell', Bin Laden

Evan McMorris-Santoro | May 2, 2011, 9:46AM

Former Gov. Mike Huckabee (R-AR)

Mike Huckabee took a page from a tabloid headline writer's book this morning when he put together his statement on the death of Osama bin Laden at the hands of American forces Sunday.

"Welcome to hell, bin Laden," Huckabee said. "Let us all hope that his demise will serve notice to Islamic radicals the world over that the United States will be relentless is tracking down and terminating those who would inflict terror, mayhem and death on any of our citizens."

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Afghanistan

Karzai: Bin Laden Death In Pakistan Proves Attacks On Afghanistan Are Wrong

Brian Beutler | May 2, 2011, 9:02AM

Afghan President Hamid Karzai

Osama bin Laden's death in Pakistan is already causing significant disruptions to the United States' foreign policy status quo. Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai reacted to the news by claiming bin Laden's sanctuary near Islamabad vindicates his critique of allied actions inside Afghanistan.

"Again and again, for years and every day we have said that the war on terror is not in Afghan villages, not in Afghan houses of the poor and oppressed," Mr Karzai said. "The war against terrorism is in its sources, in its financial sources, its sanctuaries, in its training bases, not in Afghanistan," Karzai said, according to The Daily Telegraph. "The war against terrorism is in its sources, in its financial sources, its sanctuaries, in its training bases, not in Afghanistan.... It was proved that we were right."

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Osama Bin Laden

Hundreds Gather In Celebration At Ground Zero

Jillian Rayfield | May 2, 2011, 3:20AM

Hundreds of joyful New Yorkers gathered at Ground Zero in downtown Manhattan early Monday morning to celebrate the news that Osama Bin Laden had been killed.

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White House

Jubilant Crowds Gather At White House To Celebrate Bin Laden's Death

Benjy Sarlin | May 2, 2011, 2:28AM

News of Osama Bin Laden's demise at American hands sent crowds pouring onto the grounds outside the White House, where hundreds instinctively flocked to the site of the president's address for a raucous celebration.

The crowd was overwhelmingly young, many of them students from DC's nearby universities who were in grade school on 9/11, creating a frat-like atmosphere as participants chanted "USA!" "Yes We Did!" and sang the national anthem. Many carried American flags or dressed in red, white and blue. The air was pungent with tobacco smoke in places as revelers giddily lit up victory cigars. Some took turns climbing lampposts, drawing huge cheers with each successful attempt.

[See TPM's Slideshow of the Celebration in DC and New York City]

"Well, Osama would hate that," one onlooker cracked as a young woman flashed her breasts.

For many, the news of Bin Laden's death was simply too intense to enjoy alone.

"I didn't think we'd ever find him," one misty-eyed defense contractor told TPM as he carried a giant flag. "I saw the news flash and just wanted to join Americans in celebration."

"Better late than never, right?" Mike Martinez, an Iraq veteran who came with another member of his unit, Josh Carnes.

"We got him," Carnes said. "This is awesome!"

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Pres '12

2012 GOPers React To Bin Laden's Killing

Eric Kleefeld | May 2, 2011, 12:51AM

Former Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-MN) and former Gov. Mitt Romney (R-MA)

On the night that President Obama announced the killing of Osama bin Laden, several Republicans exploring presidential campaigns were quick to put out statements about the news.

Mitt Romney released this statement:

This is a great victory for lovers of freedom and justice everywhere. Congratulations to our intelligence community, our military and the president. My thoughts are with the families of Osama bin Laden's many thousands of victims, and the brave servicemen and women who have laid down their lives in pursuit of this murderous terrorist.

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Osama Bin Laden

U.S. Authorities Homed In On Osama For Last Nine Months

Susan Crabtree and Ryan J. Reilly | May 2, 2011, 12:02AM

Osama bin Laden

It was the best kept and most closely guarded secret for the last nine months: a select handful of U.S. national security and administration officials tracked a high-value courier for Osama bin Laden to a dusty dirt road leading to a compound 35 miles north of Islamabad, Pakistan's capital.

After months of intelligence gathering and meetings at the highest levels of the U.S. government, a small team of Navy Seals Sunday raided the compound, engaged in a firefight and ultimately killed bin Laden, the notorious leader of al Qaeda who had evaded capture and death since masterminding the 9/11 attacks that killed almost 3,000 people.

TPM SLIDESHOW: Osama Bin Laden: 9/11 Mastermind, Longtime U.S. Enemy Killed In Pakistan

The CIA pinpointed the compound in August and first informed President Obama about the intelligence in September of last year. As evidence mounted in mid-February that bin Laden and his family were living in the compound, the President and the National Security Council began holding a series of "intensive" meetings about a covert military strike aimed at killing him, according to administration officials.

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