Obama White House has Trouble with Facts on Bin Laden Mission

Does anyone believe what the Obama White House has to say any more? They seem to be all about photo ops and nothing more.

Bin Laden raid: Obama plagued by more exposure
May 5th, 2011 7:13 am ET
By Jim Kouri

In his interview with PBS, Mr Panetta said, "Once those teams went into the compound I can tell you that there was a time period of almost 20 or 25 minutes where we really didn't know just exactly what was going on. And there were some very tense moments as we were waiting for information."

Panetta also told PBS that the U.S. Navy Seals made the final decision to kill bin Laden rather than the president.

A dramatic photograph showing Obama and his team watching special forces soldiers attack Osama bin Laden's Pakistani hideout on a TV monitor may be just another political photo op to prop up a failing president, according to White House critics. The TV screen was blank during the entire operation, according to Panetta.

With Leon Panetta almost certain to become the next Secretary of Defense in the Obama cabinet, yesterday some wondered if he'll continue to be the real Maverick in the current Administration and speak his mind, or will he adhere to the administration's agenda.

While President Barack Obama's national security team are fully equipped each day with their White House "talking points," Panetta appears to value clarity and accuracy in his statements.

For example, Panetta admitted yesterday that there was no live video footage of the raid on Osama bin Laden's compound as further doubts emerged about the U.S. version of events.

Excerpt: Read More at the Washington Examiner

We first find out that the photo of Obama speaking to the American people on Sunday night was staged -- photojournalist were kept out of the room until he made his speech and then let back in to reenact the scene. One small problem arose when the photo journalists sent out the photo of Obama speaking but didn't bother to alert the papers it wasn't a live shot. We might not know if Reuters and a few others hadn't spilled the story.  That was the first staged photo op story released but it gets worse.

Now we learn that photo the White House released where Obama and others of his Administration were watching the live take down of Obama is a fake also. There was no video available after the SEALS entered Bin Laden's residence for 20-25 minutes so there was no way Obama and the others saw Bin Laden shot.  Hillary now says her hands on her mouth was because of a cough.  Yeah right!

The idea that CIA Director Panetta ordered the mission is making more sense by the hour as the White House has had more different versions out then you can keep track of since the mission. One of the most outlandish lies was the one that Bin Laden's wife was shielding him when it turned out not only to be false but the people in that room didn't see the video to identify the wife. That didn't stop the counterintelligence head Brennan from saying that Bin Laden hid behind his wife which turned out not to be true. The fact that Brennan works in counterintelligence makes you wonder at the obvious mistruths (lies) he told as he tried to bolster up Obama. He failed miserably.

The worst WH press secretary we can remember, Jay Carney, calls it a 'Fog of War' which makes no sense. This was one mission and if Obama hadn't been so quick to want to take credit for something he didn't do and have his staff try to convince everyone he still walked on water, the mistakes would not have happened. This was the worst example of spin from the White House we may have witnessed in years. Several times I was writing an article and had to change it because the WH storyline changed. Felt like a movie script instead of reality.

The Obama Administration sent out invites to 50 'specially chosen' 9/11 families with emails addressed to 'Dear 9/11 Family Member' -- no wonder he didn't give a speech. What was he going to say since he was part of the Blame America crowd back when he was an IL State Senator? A reminder of some of his remarks:

"We must also engage, however, in the more difficult task of understanding the sources of such madness. The essence of this tragedy, it seems to me, derives from a fundamental absence of empathy on the part of the attackers: an inability to imagine, or connect with, the humanity or suffering of others. Such a failure of empathy, such numbness to the pain of a child or the desperation of a parent is not innate; nor, history tells us, is it unique to a particular culture, religion or ethnicity. It may find expression in a particular brand of violence, it may be channeled by particular demagogues or fanatics.

"Most often, though, it grows out a climate of poverty and ignorance, helplessness and despair.

"We will have to make sure, despite our rage, that any U.S. military action takes into account the lives of innocent civilians abroad. We will have to be unwavering in opposing bigotry or discrimination directed against neighbors and friends of Middle-Eastern descent. Finally, we will have to devote far more attention to the monumental task of raising the hopes and prospects of embittered children across the globe – children not just in the Middle East, but also in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe and within our own shores."

Remember the first time I read the above remarks during the 2000 campaign and these particular words jumped out at me:

"Most often, though, it grows out a climate of poverty and ignorance, helplessness and despair.

All I could think of was that Bin Laden came from a family of privilege in Saudi Arabia not even close to poverty. Likewise other terrorists also came from families of wealth but here was Obama trying to make this about poverty and the poor downtrodden as he lectured this Country eight days after 9/11. He has never refuted those words to our knowledge and would bet he believes the same today after ordering a 50-minute Muslim burial ceremony within 24 hours for Bin Laden at sea on the USS Carl Vinson. Did Obama have a gun salute as well as some sites have alleged? Found that whole burial episode completely distasteful.

Now we have Obama and his mouthpieces spinning like crazy on this mission and finally he said no more comments from the White House and today didn't give a speech at Ground Zero. Why not? This is the same man who released those pictures from the Iraqi prison to incite the people in the Middle East that says he doesn't want to release the photos of Bin Laden. Obama put the photos of Bin Laden off limits after Panetta said they would be released. Guess this time he doesn't have a Republican to blame unless it is Secretary of Defense Gates who just wants OUT of this Administration. Obama is also the person who said it was okay to film caskets of American soldiers.

This Administration makes you dizzy with all the spinning!