No real clarity yet on OBL termination - except that many people feel deeply offended by my suggestion that the special op weren't so special maybe and there's significant hype going on for Obama boosting purposes. I'm not saying that's definitely the reality here - I'm just wondering about possibility given that people are making a lot of clear assertions about something that remains quite murky.
Still, fact is I have no idea if US has the ability to penetrate that far into heavily protected Pakistani airspace with slow moving helos, fight a heated battle for about an hour, and then leave without Pakistani air defense apparently having the slightest clue that something was amiss. It seems far fetched - but the US has a lot of radar blocking/masking/decoying tech that only experts understand well enough to discuss - and so far I haven't heard any expert offering an opinion as to how this was possible - so I remain a bit sceptical.
I have read two different opinions, both which sounded credible, about whether the remaining tail section of the downed chopper looks to be from an American MH-60 or from a Pakistani Huey - looks like an MH-60 to me, but really I haven't foggiest. Pakistan, after some indecision, has come out to firmly deny playing a part in the raid or of having foreknowledge of it - but then of course they're gonna say that - why the confusion then? - leads me to think that if they were unsure of what story to tell that probably means they didn't know or participate.
So, could be a brilliantly executed covert op then for which Obama probably deserves some credit, reluctant as I am to give it to him - still, there's a lot of unanswered questions here.
One thing people seem to be increasingly in agreement on is the unlikelihood that the ISI or the Pakistani military didn't know Osama was there or were not complicit in some way with protecting him - as one analyst said, there's only two conclusions to draw here: one, the ISI is not nearly as capable as we thought; or two, somebody's lying.
Or there's a third option - some element of Pakistani security services was protecting him and decided to give him up now either because the CIA was finally closing in or because a deal was made regarding something Pakistan wanted badly - or both - this is the part of the story that one expects to slowly be exposed if true.
Two curious developments though - WH has changed story on how OBL was killed - originally said shot while armed and returning fire - now saying he wasn't armed, which has the effect of emphasizing the cold blooded assassination nature of the op - not sure why they'd want to to that - other curious thing is that WH now refusing to talk about types of helicopters used in the operation - had originally said an MH-60 and a Chinook were involved [although most assume more assets than that present - including possibly the MQ-170 jet powered stealth drone, which the air force has been very secretive about] - no explanation as to why they no longer want to talk about helicopters used - I would guess, if there indeed is more to this op than meets the eye, it has something to do with that photo that has turned up of the tail section of the downed bird.
update: more 'experts' offering opinions on picture of downed helo - consensus seems to be it is indeed tail of an MH-60, but modified - a stealth helicopter? Certainly possible to retrofit these helos with stealthy elements - not sure though why JSOC would keep this capability a secret - although I guess surprise of OBL take down would be very good reason. Also lots of talk about the RQ-170's advanced and very secret radar defeating capabilities - these two things may indeed explain how an undetected insertion into heavily defended Pakistani air space was possible [and remember a helo doesn't need to be as stealthy as a plane because of its ability to hug the ground] - yet, sure, I may be able to buy possibility of infiltration, but how the hell did they manage to get out too? And where or how exactly did they refuel, since I'm pretty sure a refueling would have been necessary? And did they exit to Afghanistan, India, directly to the USS Carl Vinson in the Arabian Sea? I don't know what to think - but having read some statements by Pakistani officials the sense of embarrassment and confusion on their part does seem sincere and therefore may indicate this op went down much as described.
Some are beginning to ask though, if the 'embarrassment' for the Pakistanis of this brazen incursion through their defenses results in a backlash that destabilizes the gov't or pushes Pakistan more completely into the Chinese orbit, will it have been worth it? I mean, you've put a bullet into the face of an aging and increasingly marginalized radical who was probably dying of kidney failure - not sure what that accomplishes outside of the visceral satisfaction of it - after all, Osama was more of a symptom of the threatening disease rather than its cause. Then again, no way any American president would pass on opportunity to kill Osama - hell, Pelosi could've been president and jumped at the opportunity - shit, Nader even - well, maybe not Nader - still, why all the praise being thrown Obama's way kind of annoys - sure, if it went down as they say, it was a ballsy decision - but can one think of any potential president who wouldn't have made the exact same decision?
Related to attempts to burnish Obama with the reflected 'glory' of this successful raid [which was my original point] - facts leaking out of how 'enhanced interrogation techniques' and intel picked up in Iraq led us to Osama seem to be making liberals uneasy - not to mention Obama now having to praise the courage and expertise of an 'assassination squad' that was once used to defame Cheney by lefites everywhere and the fact the JSOC that pulled this off was was significantly ungraded and re-missioned for this type of targeted kill by none other than the reviled General McChrystal who was shamed and forced to retire by inflammatory Rolling Stone article that made him look like a blood thirsty killer - the irony of all this is something to enjoy - although my original point, for which I was pilloried, was this exactly - the press is determined to make Obama the hero here by short changing Bush, Cheney, McChrystal et al.
