60 Minutes Discussion

[Mr. J.]

After viewing the 60 Minutes interview with President Barack Obama on
Sunday night, please respond to the following discussion questions.
Thanks.

1. What two questions during the interview did you find most
intriguing and why?
2. How did the President explain/justify Osama Bin Laden's burial at
sea? Explain whether you agree or disagree with the administration’s
decision.
3. One of the most controversial topics since the assassination of
Osama bin Laden has been the decision not to release the graphic
photos of Osama Bin Laden because as President Obama stated on Sunday
night, he didn't want to "spike the football" and further threaten US
interests throughout the world. Do you agree or disagree with
decision regarding the photos? Explain your position.
4. Another controversy surrounding the death and aftermath of Osama
Bin Laden has been the location of the compound he was living in,
which as we know wasn't far from Pakistani military facilities. In
fact, many have said that Abbottabad was the perfect hideout for Osama
Bin Laden. With this knowledge, do you think the Pakistani government
should be held accountable for allowing this to transpire or do you
believe they had no idea he was hiding out there? Explain your
response and be sure to mention the billions of dollars in aid we
discussed during our current events unit, which the US gives to
Pakistan to fight terrorism and track down criminals like Osama Bin
Laden.

[Julia Bryck]

1. One question I found particularly intriguing during the interview
was when President Obama was asked if this was the first time he had
ordered someone to be killed. First off, that’s sort of an unusual
question and asking the president if he has wanted anyone else
assassinated is rather risky. Obama's response was that every time he
sends troops into battle or signs off on the production of weapons he
knows that people are going to die. As he said it, you could really
sense that he understood the gravity of those sorts of decisions.
Another question I found interesting was the one that questioned how
Obama had come to the conclusion that the benefits outweighed the
risks of the operation. While it is not the most unusual, I thought it
was a particularly good question because it's not quite so obvious and
delved into the president's personal thought process. His response,
that any opportunity to get Bin Laden was one he had to take, was
equally interesting.

2. The president justified the burial at sea by saying that it was
necessary to be respectful to the body as well as respectful to
Islamic law and religious practice. I completely agree with this
decision because it was the safest course of action. Keeping the body
or any sort of remains on land would create a place for worship by his
followers. We do not want to create such a haven where his memory can
be preserved in such a way. Cremating the body might be disrespectful
to the religion, inciting more violence from people who felt their
faith was insulted. A burial at sea does not disobey any religious
practices, eliminates the possibility of the body being visited, and
overall avoids most conflict associated with the body.

3. I also agree that it was best to not release the photos of Bin
Laden. There is no need to confirm that it is truly him or that he is
truly dead - that fact has plenty of confirmation. Moreover, releasing
the photos would just be like the US taking a victory lap and showing
off our accomplishment. Gloating about his death could be seen as
cause for retaliation by his followers in the Middle East. It is best
to follow a course of action that will result in as little anger from
terrorist groups as absolutely possible. Releasing the photos has far
more risks than benefits.

4. I do find it a little hard to believe that the Pakistani government
had absolutely no idea where Osama Bin Laden was hiding. If we are
funding the government to track down terrorists and they had the most
infamous one planted right near their military, one would think they
wouldn't be too hard to find. If they can't find a terrorist in their
own backyard, nay, sitting on their front steps, it's possible that
the funding is not going where we intend it to go. Keeping this in
mind, I'm not sure it's safe to say that we can hold the Pakistani
government completely responsible. Before we start making such heavy
accusation, research needs to be done to see if there was any
investigation and why Bin Laden was overlooked. My hunch is that
Pakistan was not totally in the dark, but let's not point fingers just
yet.

[Alison Mosier-Mills]

1. During this interview, I was most intrigued by Kroft’s questions,
“Was the decision to launch this attack the most difficult decision
you’ve made as Commander-in-Chief?” and “After you made the decision
to go ahead, you had an incredible weekend where you surveyed the
tornado damage in Alabama, and you took your family to the shuttle
launch and you attended the White House Association dinner where there
was a commencement address. And as all this was going on, was this on
your mind?”

I thought that Mr. Obama’s response to the first question was very
interesting. He said that while this was an extremely difficult
decision, it was also important to remember that whenever he sends
soldiers out on a mission that could potentially harm or kill them, it
is always a tough decision. Obviously, this situation had incredibly
high stakes, because if Bin Laden escaped, then the US would be
involved in an unsuccessful and embarrassing attempt to kill the
elusive terrorist. However, I thought that Obama’s response -- that
decisions regarding the military are ALWAYS difficult to make -- was a
good one. I liked the second quote because it truly displayed how
complex the role of president must be: Obama knew about this high-
risk, top-secret security operation all weekend, yet he also had to be
involved in domestic affairs, such dealing with as tornado damage and
attending space launches. I was amazed that he didn’t even tell his
family and many of his closest allies about this plan for fear that it
would leak out. This question reminded me that, in order to be an
effective president, one must also be an excellent multi-tasker,
because there are so many issues, both overseas and at home, that need
to be dealt with.

2. President Obama explained Bin Laden’s burial at sea by saying that
the government had consulted an expert in Islamic tradition in order
to ensure that the body was buried respectfully. Although a part of me
feels that a mass-murderer of innocent people doesn’t deserve this
courtesy after his death, I appreciated Obama’s comment that although
Bin Laden clearly hadn’t given then same respect for the 3,000 people
he killed on 9/11, our decision is something that “makes us
different”. Therefore, I agree with the administration’s decision,
because I think it emphasizes that fact that the US is different from
Bin Laden and his terrorist organization in that we have a respect for
human life.

3. I agree with Obama’s position regarding the photos. Because Bin
Laden was shot in the head, the photos are obviously very graphic, and
if they are released they could be used as anti-US propaganda tools
for al-Qaeda to convince people that the US really is a horrible place
that deserves destruction. Therefore, the pictures could spark
attempts at retaliation for Bin Laden’s assassination. Furthermore, we
would not want Bin Laden to become a martyr for the terrorist cause,
which is likely to happen if these gruesome pictures are released. I
also agreed with Obama when he said that we don’t “trot out this stuff
as trophies”. This comment represents another difference between the
US and terrorist groups -- now that Bin Laden is dead, we are ready to
move on and continue in our fight against terrorism; we don’t want to
see like al-Qaeda, which often flaunts images of its victims with
pride.

4. I think it’s obvious that Bin Laden was receiving some sort of aid
from members of the Pakistani government. From the close proximity of
his hideout to the Pakistani military facilities, and the fact that
his extremely suspicious-looking walled compound was never
investigated, both point to the fact that he was being protected by
Pakistan. I think it was extremely wise that Obama did not share any
information regarding this mission with the Pakistani government,
because it probably would have leaked and Bin Laden would have been
able to escape. Now that he has been assassinated, this puts the US in
a very difficult position: while we want to continue to send aid to
Pakistan on the chance that some of it really is being used to fight
terrorism, it now appears likely that much of the billions of dollars
that we give is winding up in the wrong hands. While we don’t want to
make an enemy of Pakistan, I do think that the government should be
held accountable for allowing this to transpire. After having given
Pakistan so much money to locate Bin Laden and then finally
discovering the terrorist in Abbottabad, right under the Pakistani
military’s noses, I think that the US now has serious doubts about
Pakistan’s true alliances. I think that a serious investigation into
the government’s ties to terrorism, as well as corruption within the
government, needs to occur.

On May 9, 12:53 pm, "Mr. J." <glen.jaskelew...@rtsd.org> wrote:

[Hannah]

1) The question that I found most interesting was the question where
the interviewer asked Obama if he had ever ordered someone to be
killed before, because he didn't really the answer the question. He
tried to skirt around the question by saying that every time he sent
more troops to a war zone or fired a missile he knew people were going
to be killed, but by not answering the question it became blatantly
obvious that he had ordered people to be killed before, but he didn't
want to tell that to the public. Another question that I found
interesting was the question that asked how many people knew about the
operation as it was going on.I found Obama's response was even more
interesting because he didn't even tell his wife what was going on and
she found out what was going on after bin Laden was dead.

2) Obama justified bin Laden's burial at sea by saying that he wanted
to be respectful to the Muslim culture, so they followed all of the
Muslim rituals and traditions. However, he also said that he didn't
want to be too respectful, because bin Laden did not respect the 3,000
people killed in 9/11. The best way to balance respect and disrespect
was to throw his body in the ocean because it was following the Muslim
culture so they wouldn't upset terrorists any more than they already
have, while discreetly adding some disrespect into the mix. I think
that burying him at sea was the best option, because cremation would
not have followed Muslim traditions and burying him in a grave would
be giving him too much respect.

3)I agree with Obama's decision to not release the photo's of bin
Laden. First of all, that would be gross and nobody really needs to
see that. Secondly, it would not have been a very diplomatic thing to
do because it's rubbing it in al-Qaeda's faces. I mean, we already
killed bin Laden, which is bad enough for the terrorists. Releasing
the photos would be paying a bit too much disrespect to bin Laden, and
it also may have angered the terrorists and caused them to retaliate.

4) During the interview, Obama said that there had to have been a
support network for bin Laden, whether it was the whole government or
just a few people. I agree with this statement because the government
could not possibly have been so dense as to not notice any strange
activity within the compound, or the lack of any activity at all. The
whole government may not have been in on this little scheme, but there
definitely had to have been people in influential positions that
covered for bin Laden and helped him. Bin Laden was most likely paying
people to keep him safe, but they didn't want the US to wage war on
them for harboring terrorists knowingly, so they pretended as if they
were using US aid to "find" bin Laden, when in fact it was probably
going into their already deep pockets.

On May 9, 12:53 pm, "Mr. J." <glen.jaskelew...@rtsd.org> wrote:

[Leah Coppage-Gross]

1. All of the questions asked during the interview were very
intriguing but one I found particularly interesting was when he asked
whether or not Obama trusted the Pakistani government because he
didn’t alert them to the plan. This interested me because I can see
how that would look from the Pakistani government’s perspective. They
probably felt snubbed that they were not in on the plan, and the
interviewer certainly put the president on the spot by asking him
directly if he trusted them. The other question that interested me
was when he asked if this was the first time the president had ordered
anyone to be killed. I believe that Bin Laden deserved the justice he
was served, but it is interesting to think that basically, the
president was ordering the death of another human being.
2. To justify Osama Bin Laden’s burial at sea, Obama stated that his
team did a bunch of research in order to figure out the best way to
dispose of the body. They even consulted experts on the Muslim
religion in order to figure out which form of burial would be best.
All of Osama’s previous crimes were taken into account during this
process, and through Islam , he was given the proper burial. I agree
with the administration’s decision in this case because if they did
research on the subject, there is obviously substantial reason to have
him buried at sea. Also, I think it would cause lots of controversy
if Bin Laden were to have received a ceremony and buried in the ground
because many people around the world probably think he didn’t deserve
that.
3. I agree with Obama’s decision in regards to the photo. What he
said is what I believe to be true. If you displayed such graphic
photos for the whole world to see, it would be just like rubbing it in
Al-Qaeda’s face that their leader is dead. I don’t really understand
people’s need to have the photos. He is dead and it has been
confirmed. Showing the photos would probably just incite more
violence because, seeing the violence of Bin Laden’s death, terrorists
would probably want to fight back even harder.
4. I find it very hard to choose a side on this particular issue
because there are so many factors that could have played into it. I
would have to say that, with the US giving billions of dollars to
Pakistan to fight terrorism, it would seem that there was a lapse in
the system if they could not discover Bin Laden. It was estimated
that he was there for at least 5-6 years, and that is a fairly long
time to be able to remain hidden in one location. It would seem that
they had no idea he was hiding out there, and I don’t think they
should be accused of allowing him to stay there. I just think that
awareness could have been a little higher seeing as the compound was
right in Abbottabad. I don’t think the blame can be put on their
shoulders, but after so many years, I do think that more could have
been done to sniff him out.

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[Lindsay Korzekwa]

1) I thought that the question about how much of Obama's decision to
go through with the raid was based on instinct was very interesting.
After all, there was a relatively large chance that the occupant of
the compound was not, in fact Osama, in which case he would have been
criticized by Pakistan and the US alike. I also thought that the
question about whether this was the first time he had ordered anyone
killed was interesting, both because of the thought that the question
itself provokes and the fact that he did not actually answer it.

2) The president justified Osama's burial at sea by saying it would
eliminate the possibility of turning his grave into a shrine, and that
Islamic tradition should be followed. I agree with these reasons,
because already Osama has been declared a martyr of the radical
Islamic cause, with followers giving him the title "sheik". Even
though some question whether he deserves the use of Islamic tradition,
for he clearly had no such concerns when he killed thousands on 9-11,
I believe that it was the best way of ensuring that people are not
unnecessarily angered. I think it would be better to give up that
piece of revenge in return for a better chance that such a tragedy
will not happen again.

3) I understand why there has been such controversy surrounding the
White House's decision to not release the photos, after all we have
been looking for him for so long that it is hard to believe he is
really dead. However, giving the photos public access would do little
to convince those who are unwilling to believe it is really him, as we
saw with the release of Obama's birth certificate. After all, a
picture is not much proof when someone can just as easily photoshop it
to seem as if it was Osama. Also, seeing graphic pictures of Al
Qaeda's leader would do nothing to help their dislike of us. Honestly,
if there is one terrorist who does not believe we killed his leader, I
am perfectly fine with that.

4) Personally, I find it impossible to believe that Bin Laden did not
have a significant amount of help from the government and military to
keep his cover. After all, he was not living in a cave, like many
believed, but in a million dollar mansion in an affluent community of
retired military personnel. The town itself was right outside of
Islamabad, and only a half mile away from the Pakistani version of
West Point. Apparently, he was not at all inconspicuous either,
burning trash rather than leaving it out for collection, and living
behind a concrete wall with barbed wire. I am willing to believe that
Zardari did not know, but to say that the government had no idea is,
in my opinion, ridiculous. With regards to the billion dollars of aid
we give to Pakistan, it is obvious that not all of it is going where
we would like. However, we cannot just sit here and do nothing to help
the one of the most dangerous countries on earth. I am obviously not
an expert, but maybe some sort of agreement could be made to make the
possibility of corruption lower, or send money through organizations
such as the red cross.

On May 9, 12:53 pm, "Mr. J." <glen.jaskelew...@rtsd.org> wrote:

[Claire]

1. One question that I found very intriguing was the one where Steve
Kroft asked the president if he ever had the urge to talk to other
people about the secret mission, apart from the few who were already
involved. Kroft asked Obama if he ever wanted to tell his family about
the operation, and if he ever did tell Michelle, even though the
success of the mission depended on secrecy. This question interested
me because I wondered if Obama actually ever DID have the urge to tell
his family. Would he have wanted to let the First Lady know? Did he
want to protect her by leaving her ignorant? When does something
become so highly classified that you cannot even tell your most
trusted companion about it? I was disappointed by Obama's answer,
however, as he seemed to skip around the question and just said that
numerous people were unaware about the mission and that the mission
could be compromised if any leak got out; he failed to answer the
question directly. Another question that I found intriguing was the
one where Kroft asked Obama whether this decision to carry out the
operation was the hardest that he had to make as president. Did Obama
have qualms about sending operatives out on a mission that could fail
in so many ways, endangering their lives? How does Obama compare this
decision with other decisions he has had to make concerning war?
Again, I was disappointed with his answer, as he skirted around the
question, saying that the decision was only one of the hardest as it
is always a tough decision to "send young men and women out into a war
theatre", and he neglected to address the battle of conscience that
must have come with this weighty decision.

2. The president justified Osama Bin Laden's burial at sea by saying
that it was the most respectful way to dispose of the body, keeping in
mind Bin Laden's religious customs. I agree with with the government's
decision for an at-sea burial, as it is the most appropriate body
disposal that respects nations and Islamic practice. Since no country
would want to be known as the "Resting Land of Osama Bin Laden--
World's Most Wanted Man", it was most logical to dump the body in
international waters, where country borders are not clearly outlined
and no country can claim responsibility of the body. Additionally, the
burial was coordinated with Bin Laden's religion taken into account,
and it was tactful of the government to make sure that the body was
not desecrated in any way. It was furthermore a noble act that
promoted the government's image, considering that they at least showed
respect to the body of a wanted man who killed 3000 people without a
second thought.

3. I do agree with the decision to not release the photos of the dead
Bin Laden. It is highly unnecessary to pollute the media any more with
graphic images of a dead terrorist, which the media (especially in
Pakistan) can manipulate the image to stir anti-American sentiment or
suggest that the American government is cruel, heartless, and violent.
Also, I do not believe that releasing a picture will do anything, and
would only serve to satisfy people's bloodthirsty desires to see gore
befall upon the world's (former) most wanted man. With the magical
wand of photoshop in the present day, even a picture would fail to
quell the disbelievers saying that Bin Laden is still alive. Releasing
the photo would only put another disgusting image into the internet
search database, and would threaten U.S. relations around the world,
particularly with terrorist-group supporters in the Middle East,
possibly inciting a new wave of retaliation against America.

4. It is extremely hard to believe that the Pakistani government had
no idea where Bin Laden was, considering that his hideout was in very
close proximity to the military base and, as Obama said in the
interview, the compound seemed to be custom built for him. How could
the Pakistani government not notice a commission for a highly
fortified, walled compound with windows that you can't see into from
the outside? This very suspicious-looking building was a few dozen
miles from a base controlled by the government; either the government
is blind, or they knew that some illicit activity was going on in that
house. I find it very doubtful that the government had not sent out
people to investigate either, considering the billions of dollars in
aid that the U.S. is dispensing to Pakistan so that the government can
fight terrorism and track down criminals, like, say, the Most Wanted
Man on Earth. Looking at the situation however, one questions, is the
money even going towards fighting terrorism? Perhaps the money is
going into the wrong hands; perhaps some money even went into building
that fancy pad that Bin Laden was hiding in. That being said, I do
believe that the Pakistani government should be held accountable for
allowing Bin Laden's hideout. If they didn't know about the hideout,
then where is all the U.S. aid money going to? And if they did know
about the hideout, why didn't they tell anyone? Either way, the
Pakistani government loses; one way or another they were being
dishonest, and so they should be held responsible, at least to some
degree, for this situation.

On May 9, 12:53 pm, "Mr. J." <glen.jaskelew...@rtsd.org> wrote:

[Dan Maxwell]

1. One of the questions that I found very intriguing during the
interview was the question about the difficulty of the decision to
launch the attack on Bin Laden. Obama said that everytime he sends
people into a war zone, there is a big risk, and this mission was no
different. He said that it posed enormous risk, because they didn't
have conclusive evidence. However, Obama had so much confidence in his
men that he was willing to send them in there, and, clearly, the
decision paid off.

A second intriguing question was the question asking Obama if he was
surprised when he was alerted to the possible compound that Bin Laden
was hiding in. Obama said that he was surprised, but he had heard
rumors that some other Al Qaeda operatives hid in plain sight to blend
in with the crowd. I was surprised to hear that the compound had been
there for 5 or 6 years in the middle of a military area in Pakistan.
Also, it seemed as if the compound was built for him to hide secretly.
This fact that his hideout remained unknown for 5 years, in plain
sight, really intrigued me and made me ask myself how did Pakistan not
know? Where they helping Bin Laden hide? This question was also
answered later.
.
2. Obama said that the decision to bury Bin Laden at sea was made to
pay respect to Muslim culture. I agree with this decision because of
two reasons. The first reason is because Bin Laden did not deserve a
completely proper burial, because of all the damage he had done.
However, if his burial disrespected Muslim culture, it would ignite
much violence. I think that the burial at sea was a good compromise
that can satisfy both Muslim culture and US citizens.

3. I also agree with the US's decision to not publicize the photos of
the dead Bin Laden. America treads a very fine line in the middle east
world, and one slip up might cause mass protest causing us to lost all
our influence and what we have fought for. Therefore, the pictures
were not displayed publicly because, I think, America did not want to
seem like they were gloating about their killing. Obviously, Bin Laden
was a very important person in the Middle East, and to disrespect him
like that would have been crossing the line. Once there was concrete
evidence that he had been killed, it would do us no good to publicize
the pictures of Bin Laden other than to make many many Muslims
angry(er).

4. I believe that the Pakistani government must have played a part in
hiding Bin Laden. As stated in question 1, the hideout was said to
have been the perfect place for Bin Laden to stay, and also, the
hideout was in the middle of a Pakistani military base in plain sight.
For these reasons, I believe that some Pakistanis must have been
helping Bin Laden stay hidden. However, since there is no concrete
evidence, we cannot place blame on Pakistan completely. We also cannot
make Pakistan an enemy. The US needs to have as many allies in the
Middle East as it can, because this region is the most influencial
region in the world. The billions of dollars sent to Pakistan in
foreign aid needs to be thought over again, and an investigation needs
to take place as to where this money goes. Until we have concrete
evidence of either of these things, we cannot place blame on Pakistan.

On May 9, 12:53 pm, "Mr. J." <glen.jaskelew...@rtsd.org> wrote:

[dalton morris]

1. I thought the questions throughout the interview were very scripted
and expected. In my opinion, most of the questions were basic
questions that avoided conflict and "sketchy" territory. There were a
few questions and answers that were thought provoking and interesting
though. First, I thought the question about how long they had thought
Osama had been at the compound was interesting. This seems like an
ordinary simple question but this question led me to think about some
things. First, is it possible that the Pakistani government knew of
the whereabouts of Bin Laden but chose to keep them secret? Is it
possible the U.S government knew about the location even before
August? To me it seems like somebody, a neighbor or something, would
have to know who was living in that house after 5 or 6 years. A second
question that I found to be interesting was the question of gut
instinct. Although gut instinct is a very powerful thing, Obama even
admitted that there was a relatively good chance of failure on this
mission. If Obama would have failed and told the press he reacted on
"gut-instinct" he would have been laughed at.
2. I respect the president's decision in regards to the burial at sea,
President Obama explained this burial by saying that the body and the
religion of Osama Bin Laden must be respected. If the body was buried
then that would create a place for Bin Laden to be visited and for his
dream's and goals to live on. A burial at sea respects his religion
and also minimized the risk of conflicts.
3. The decision to keep the photos of Osama Bin Laden confidential is
a very controversial decision. I can see where Obama is coming from
and how if the photos were released, there could be potentially be
some conflicts and people could get upset. Personally, I would like to
see some real, tangible, proof that Bin Laden is dead. Although I
don't necessarily believe this, the thought has crossed my mind that
the whole situation is a conspiracy to boost Obama's approval rating.
4. Another controversial matter, should the Pakistani government be at
any fault for not seeing this earlier? Did they know about it? Do they
even care? The first question I have when this topic is discussed is,
do we know what our billions of dollars are going to in Pakistan
specifically? Is there any chance that our billions of dollars are
secretly funding something else? say maybe a nuclear program...?
Personally, I think that the Pakistani government must have had some
clue that Bin Laden had been hiding there. Whether they have know for
years or not or whether they were certain? I'm not sure but I do
believe that they had some knowledge of his whereabouts.

On May 9, 12:53 pm, "Mr. J." <glen.jaskelew...@rtsd.org> wrote:

[Joelle Khouri]

1. I liked a lot of the questions and thought that Obama gave off an
open and truthful vibe while answering them. I was particularly
intrigued by the question about whether this was the first time Obama
had ordered someone killed. I thought his answer was somewhat
thoughtful but it also somewhat evaded the question (which he did
often, in my opinion). Obama answered in a roundabout way, saying that
any time he makes a decision to launch a missile or deploy troops he
is indirectly causing a lot of deaths. I thought this was an
interesting take on the matter; from this standpoint, Obama has been
responsible for many deaths indeed.

I thought another interesting set of questions was about the Pakistani
government. Kroft talks about how Obama didn’t tell anyone in the
Pakistani government about the plan and asks several times if this was
because Obama didn’t trust them. To me, Kroft was making it obvious
that he in no way trusted Pakistan, and he seemed to be willing to
blame them. Of course, Obama had to be diplomatic in his reply and
answered by saying that, if he wasn’t going to tell some of his
closest aides, he sure as heck wasn’t going to tell some people in
Pakistan he didn’t even know. This makes sense to me, but it could
also prove complicate relations even further.

2. Obama explained Bin Laden’s burial by saying that they had decided
to respect his body, and give him a burial respectful of his religion.
They buried him at sea because they didn’t want a shrine around his
body to be made, which would just fuel the flames. I think this was a
smart and safe plan, because it was still respectful of his body, yet
it did not give the possibility for his supporters to retain any
physical part of Osama Bin Laden.

3. I do agree with Obama’s decision about the photos. I don’t see what
good would come of releasing them. If it’s a matter of proof, the
doubters would just say the photos are fabricated. The point is, if
someone wants to believe Bin Laden is not dead, seeing photos will not
change anything. Furthermore, any gruesome photos would probably
incite violence in Bin Laden’s allies and supporters. Why risk causing
violence that can easily be avoided?

4. I suppose it is possible for Bin Laden to have been hiding close to
Pakistani military facilities without the Pakistani government’s
knowledge, but I do think it is highly unlikely. But I also think it
would be potentially complicated to hold Pakistan accountable without
proof – and it’s not as if we can just ask for a refund for the
billions of dollars we gave them to fight terrorism. This incident
clearly has serious repercussions for the relationship between the two
countries. We will obviously have to carefully consider giving any
more aid, and closely evaluate our prior decisions, along with the
Pakistani government’s actions.

On May 9, 12:53 pm, "Mr. J." <glen.jaskelew...@rtsd.org> wrote:

[Andrew Lin]

1. Perhaps my favorite question during President Obama’s half-hour
post-Osama interview on 60 Minutes was regarding the difficulty
inherent in the decision to send troops out to hunt and kill Osama bin
Laden. This question was unusual not only in its subject matter, but
also in how often Obama returned to it. Obama repeatedly reaffirmed
his trepidation in sending Americans into danger; in doing this, he
reminded the American people how hard it is to have to sign each and
every letter to the loved ones of a casualty – and to know that are
many more on the way. The question really humanized our beleaguered
43rd President, capping off what has been one of the best public
relations moments for Obama in 2011 so far.
The most intriguing inquiry to me was the question which tried to
clarify whether or not Obama had ordered killings before. This was
interesting, to say the least, primarily because of the answer Obama
provided, which was not entirely related to the original question. By
only stating that ordering people into battle was difficult (a
sentiment he had expressed at least twice before), Obama deliberately
(in my mind) managed to avoid the question, not discussing whether he
had been behind any “kill” orders previously. Whether he has something
to hide or simply misinterpreted the question is up for debate; I
think that it is the former.

2. Obama’s justification of the decision to bury Bin Laden at sea was
an eloquently pragmatic explanation with which I readily agreed.
Denying Bin Laden a single resting place ensured that Osama bin
Laden’s grave would not become a site of pilgrimage for Islamic
extremists. After all, diving down some 50 or so meters into the
Arabian Sea is not the typical veneration provided by most devotees to
cults of personality. A burial at sea does not disrespect Islamic
tradition in any way as well, therefore defusing possible criticisms
from the Muslim world at the handling of Osama’s body.

3. Considering the sensationalistic victory displays of yore, I
believe that Obama’s decision not to release the photographs was a
careful, measured, and pragmatic response to what could have been a
very contentious issue in the Muslim world. Broadcasting a gory
picture of a disfigured Osama would have been roughly akin to the
Roman practice of spearing barbarian leaders’ heads on poles for
public display – tasteless and potentially dangerous. If Obama had
decided to display bloody photos of a dead Osama, Muslim extremists
could have staged a field day decrying the violation of Muslim
practices that would have entailed. Not displaying the photos was a
respectful decision which helped to reverse the world’s perception of
the United States as a culturally-insensitive bumbler in world
affairs. Besides (for all those conspiracy theorist naysayers out
there), aren’t a DNA test, a facial-recognition program’s results, and
verbal testimony from one of Bin Laden’s wives more than enough to
prove to us that he is definitively dead?

4. The town of Abbottabad, a sleepy retiring ground for military
officials just three hours from Islamabad, is a town associated very
heavily with the military. Given recent news regarding Pakistani
actions against US influence in Afghanistan, it is very conceivable
that Osama bin Laden had an extensive support network in Pakistan.
Osama was right under the Pakistani military’s nose, barely a few
miles away from a Pakistani military academy. Cooperation of some sort
or kind must have come from Pakistanis in the government; whether or
not the upper echelons of the Pakistani government knew about this,
however, is still debatable. It is very probable that bin Laden had
assistance from the ISI, the Pakistani intelligence agency, and that
the ISI deliberately hid this information from other wings of the
Government. Considering Pakistan’s recent animosity towards the United
States, that Pakistan might have harbored Osama bin Laden while
ostensibly keeping up the search is, sadly, plausible. Indeed, it is
possible that Pakistan might have been pocketing aid dollars for
itself that were supposed to go towards searching out Osama bin Laden.
Taxpayer dollars could be, at this very moment, lining the pockets of
Pakistani fat-cats in the military and diplomatic corps. In light of
these possibilities, the United States needs to seriously reconsider
its foreign policy with regards to Pakistan, a volatile state which is
not to be trusted under any circumstances. With an ineffectual
president and a corrupt military, Pakistan is already one of the most
troublesome “allies” of the United States. With nuclear weapons,
strategic placement in the Middle East, and longstanding tensions with
India, Pakistan is destined to stay a thorn in every US president’s
side for years to come.

On May 9, 12:53 pm, "Mr. J." <glen.jaskelew...@rtsd.org> wrote:

[Christine]

1.
One question I found intriguing during the interview was the simple
question of, "How much though was gut instinct?" This question I found
intriguing because there was much at risk- lives were at risk and
regardless of the fact that there wasn't substantial evidence that Bin
Laden was where he was predicted to be located, President Obama was
able have so much confidence in the capture of Bin Laden. Another
question I found intriguing was when the interviewer "did you have to
surpress the urge to tell someone? Did you want to tell someone? Did
you want to tell Michelle?" It was interesting that Obama did not even
tell his wife about his plans to capture Bin Laden; there was so much
secrecy around this capture.

2.
President Obama had justified Bin Laden's burial at sea, saying that
he wanted to be respectful of Islamic laws and rituals. He had asked
experts in the Islamic laws and rituals on what to do and had given
the topic of Bin Laden's burial much contemplation. In burying Bin
Laden at sea, Obama said it would be "respectful to the body" in
accordance with the Muslim culture. I mostly agree with the manner in
which Bin Laden's body was disposed. In a burial at sea, there was
pretty good balance between giving the Muslims respect and still
satisfying the American disrespect for Bin Laden. A normal burial in
the ground would have been giving Bin Laden too much respect and
probably would have caused much controversy.

3.
I agree with the decision to not release the photos of Bin Laden. For
one, these pictures were of course very gory and would have been
really uncomfortable to see. I also believe that releasing the
pictures would have caused more resentment from Al Qaeda towards the
U.S. The pictures could have angered the Al Qaeda, reminding them of
their hatred towards the U.S. and the missions of Bin Laden and the
message he had spread.

4.
I find it impossible that there could not have any possible way that
people of the Pakistani government did not know that Bin Laden was
hiding out in their country. The fact that he had been hiding in this
million dollar mansion for five years makes it hard to believe that no
member of the Pakistani government was aware of his residency.
Moreover, I believe that Bin Laden had to have received aid in order
to keep his presence in the city a secret. The ability to hide from
the outside world for five years must have required some form of help.
In giving money to Pakistan to help fight terrorism, the U.S. must
consider the sincerity of the Pakistani government. I believe that
this money could fallen into the wrong hands. The fact that we have
been giving money to Pakistan to fight people like Bin Laden and then
to now find Bin Laden in Pakistan, calls into question now more than
ever of the sincerity of the Pakistani government and their
relationship with the U.S.

[Allie Ziegler]

1. The 60 Minutes interview with President Obama was very intriguing
and fascinating because I believe that Obama answered many of Steve
Kroft's thought-provoking questions as fully as possible without
divulging any classified information. In my opinion, the most
interesting question that Kroft asked the president was, "Was this the
first time you have ordered someone killed?" I believe that this is
one of the most interesting questions in the entire interview because
of its technical simplicity but two-fold nature. President Obama
answered the question as diplomatically as possible and managed to
avoid a sticky topic flawlessly, something he tends to do often. He
said, "Well, keep in mind that every time I make a decision about
launching a missile, every time I make a decision about sending troops
into battle, I understand that this will result in people being
killed." In my opinion, he avoided a very controversial topic that had
the possiblity to anger many people or groups of people. I believe
that it was better he left this question answered in a more diplomatic
and open-ended manner.
The second question or more series of questions that I found
extremely interesting were those that described the Pakistani role in
the war on terrorism, yet the safe-haven that they have seemingly
provided for terrorists like Osama Bin Laden. Steve Kroft seemed to
imply that President Obama overtly did not trust Pakistan, however I
believe that he just has doubts about Pakistan. I believe that Obama
did the absolute right thing in this situation by failing to
communicate information about the raid to Pakistani officials. If he
had informed the Pakistani government or military about the operation
it could have jeopardized the entire project and potentially caused
harm to the brave men who conducted this raid. Like Obama said, "If
I'm not revealing to some of my closest aides what we're doing, then I
sure as heck am not going to be revealing it to folks who I don't
know."

2. President Obama justified the sea burial by saying that US
consulted with experts of Islamic law and ritual to find some sort of
disposal that was appropriate and respectful to the body. In my
opinion, Osama Bin Laden is lucky that he got the respectful burial
that he was given. Osama Bin Laden is the man responsible for planning
and plotting the murder of three thousand civilians on American soil.
I believe that it was a good idea to bury Bin Laden at sea not because
of any respectful measures for the body, but to avoid any further
reprocussions of his death. If Osama Bin Laden was not properly
"disposed of" his body could have become a place of worship for al
Queda followers or a shrine of some sort. I agree with President Obama
that frankly the US took more care for his body than he did for the
victims of September 11, but due to the circumstances the burial at
sea was certainly the best way for him to go.

3. Once again, I completely agree with President Obamas decision not
to release the photos to the public. If anyone in this world needs
further clarification that Osama Bin Laden is dead, then I think that
they need to find that some other way. DNA testing was conducted on
Bin Laden to confirm that the body was indeed his and the photos were
taken as governmental evidence. I believe that if the photos were
released to the general public via the internet it would cause
unnecessary conflicts. There is no doubt that someone in this world
would find some believed discrepency in the photo and therefore deem
that the body is not actually Osama Bin Laden. Additionally, in my
opinion photos of a man who was shot in the head is not web-browsing
material and should not be released to anyone. Finally, I heard on the
news the other day that a Philadelphian man believes there should be
organized viewings of the photos for those involved in September 11.
In my opinion this is a terrible idea because every person in this
country was involved someway or another in the terrible events of
9/11. There would be such difficulty distinguishing the boundary
between "involved" and "not involved" that it would cause greater
chaos and conflict than it would solve.

4. There is major controversy surrounding the location of the compound
that Osama Bin LAden was living in. Abbottabad is located just about
forty miles from the capital of Islamabad and it is in close proximity
to a military institution. I do not believe that the Pakistani

government should be held accountable for allowing this to transpire

however I do believe that somewhere in the ranks of the Pakistani
government there was a person or group of people assisting Osama Bin
Laden. In my opinion, there is absolutely no way that Bin Laden was
able to live in a luxurious compound for six years without being
recognized once by the Pakistani government. However, in saying this I
do not believe that the main Pakistani officials should be held
accountable for the location of Bin Laden's compound, yet. I believe
that somewhere within the ranks of the government there is a leak who
was assisting Osama and al Queada in one way or another but there is
no way as of now to pin-point that leak. The US gives Pakistan
billions of dollars to fight terrorism and track down criminals which
they have done a handful of times over the last ten years. However,
the Afghan-Pakistan border is a safe-haven for terrorists and I
believe that the amount of US aid delivered to Pakistan needs to be
readdressed and reevaluated immediately.

[Emily Lu]

1. I thought one interesting statement Kroft made was, "You ran as
somebody who was gonna come to Washington and change it. And in the
end, as some of your predecessors, it ended up changing you." This was
interesting to me because it helped me to understand what Obama has
gone through and how it has affected him. Another question that was
intriguing was "Is this the first time that you've ordered someone
killed?" This questioned was more personal and seemed to get into
ethical issues. It also placed the president into the spotlight, as he
had to figure out a way to maneuver around directly answering yes or
no. He swerved around the question by saying that every time he orders
troops into battle, he knows someone will die.
2. President Obama explained Bin Laden's burial at sea by saying it
was an appropriate burial that was respectful of the body, in a way
that Osama never respected the 3000 people he killed. I agree with the
administration's decision because the alternatives, burying the body
or cremating him, should not be done. If he was buried, it is likely
that his supporters would make his burial grounds a Holy site and make
him a martyr for that cause. It is possible that they might want to
dig up his body. Also, Muslims do not believe in cremation, because
they think that fire is the Punishment of Allah. Therefore, a burial
at sea is a respectful, safe way to dispose of the body.
3. I completely stand by this decision to keep the photos from the
public. It has already been confirmed that the man who was shot in the
head in these photos was indeed Osama Bin Laden, so what need is there
for the photos? Why does the public need to see the pictures of the
deaths that America inflicted? Putting these pictures out there would
simply result in rebellions from select Muslims as well as Bin Laden's
supporters. It simply comes down to the fact that a death is a death,
and there is no need to parade the pictures around and gloat about a
man's death.
4 I agree with President Obama that Bin Laden must have had some form
of "support network" within the Pakistani government. If the millions
of dollars that we give to the Pakistani government to aid them in
their fight against terrorism were not enough, then either the Bin
Laden's hideout was indeed very secure, or the money was not being
used properly. It is possible to rule out one of those choices, the
first, because his custom built hideout was located not far from a
Pakistani military academy. This leaves the other reason that Bin
Laden's obvious hideout was not discovered, which was that the money
which was intended to fund the searches for criminals like Osama Bin
Laden was not used the way in the way it was meant. Obama's decision
to keep the mission top-secret was definitely the right choice. If he
had alerted the government of Pakistan, I believe it is very probable
that Bin Laden would have been notified and the mission would have
failed.

Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/11/07/60minutes/main7032276.shtml#ixzz1LtzMBWH7

On May 9, 12:53 pm, "Mr. J." <glen.jaskelew...@rtsd.org> wrote:

[Sarah]

1. One question I found interesting was when Kroft asked why Obama had
chosen not to inform the Pakistani government about the raid and
suggested that Obama didn't trust them. Obama was quick to avoid
giving this answer and instead responded that if he had not told
senior officials in the White House, there was no way he was telling
"people I don't even know". This is a rather unfair answer because
clearly the White House has close, if difficult, relations with
Pakistan, and Obama is likely in contact with multiple political and
military leaders. He had an ample supply of people he knew, if not as
well as his senior officials, to choose from if he wanted to tell them
he was carrying out an operation on their soil, and this does indicate
a (entirely understandable) lack of trust. However, Obama did not want
to give this answer. The other question I found interesting was Kroft
asking whether the operation was in the back of Obama's mind the
entire weekend as he conducted other presidential duties. On one hand,
I think Obama's answer - that he thought about it often, but that a
president has to do a lot of things at once - made perfect sense. On
the other hand, however, president is a pretty large job. An operation
on Osama Bin Laden's compound is definitely a big moment for Obama and
the United States, but it is not the only important thing he is
dealing with. In his job, he doesn't deal with much of the little
stuff. So while I believe that saying he was not thinking about it
would have made him seem careless and uninvolved, it is possible that
he was thinking about it somewhat less than he indicated. With the
Alabama tornados and other assorted events, he had a lot of things to
think about, and deal with.

2. Obama explains bin Laden's burial at sea by saying that the
administration wanted to do something that was appropriate in the
Islamic religion, and something that would make them seem more
careful, and caring, than bin Laden. I agree with the decision because
if he was buried in a cemetary, it would become holy ground for some
people. It would cause disputes, likely turn into a shrine. There
would be a lot of uproar with people who both respected and hated him.
It was easier, as long as it was appropriate for Islam, to bury him at
sea. Also, though it sounds selfish, I think it is useful for the US
to be able to say, look, when bin Laden killed everyone at 9/11 he
didn't care. He just wanted them dead. But we've killed one person and
we've gone through the effort of burying him right and treating his
body with respect, even though we certainly don't want to respect him.

3. I agree with Obama's decision not to release the photos of Osama
bin Laden. Although I don't think the presence or absence of the
photos will make much of a difference in possible attempts at revenge
from Al Qaeda, it is possible that they would, and therefore an
entirely sensible precaution not to release them. Besides, the bloody,
possibly blurry photos would likely provide little proof of his death.
They would simply incite rude, racist comments by Americans and anger
in Al Qaeda, neither of which are necessary.

4. I believe that until we have concrete proof that the Pakistani
government was protecting Osama bin Laden while he lived in
Abbottabad, we have no reason to persecute them. As it is, after our
surpise operation to kill bin Laden, relations are strained to the
limit. While the government likely deserves chastising (if not severe
punishment) for their possible protection of bin Laden, it doesn't
seem worth it to ruin our now-improved hopes of eliminating Al Qaeda
by making the Pakistani government any more angry than it is. The fact
is, right now there are no perfect allies. Pakistan is the best we
have, and we don't want to lose that relationship now. However, an
investigation into their role in his hiding-out place is definitely
called for. Once we have definitive proof (hopefully this will take
long enough that relations will have stabilized somewhat) we do need
to confront the Pakistani government and tell them that some amount of
the aid will be revoked if they are not committed whole-heartedly to
the war against terror. For now, however, there is nothing we can do.
At the end of the 60 Minutes episode, Obama said that we have a chance
to defeat Al Qaeda in the mountainous border area now that bin Laden
is dead. We don't want to lose that chance by screwing up our
relations with Pakistan.

On May 9, 12:53 pm, "Mr. J." <glen.jaskelew...@rtsd.org> wrote:

[k.Borkovitz]

1. A question I found quite intriguing was when President Obama was
asked about his personal experiences on the days leading up to the
planned attack on Osama bin Laden. This question stood out to me
because it wasn't simply a question one might find the answer to in a
history book - it reveals how Obama handles himself in high-tension
situations such as this. Another question I found interesting was when
Obama was asked if he trusted Pakistani officials that he would
ordinarily contact if he were to invade this territory in any other
situation. I found this question fairly controversial - obviously,
Obama isn't going to badmouth another country on national television,
but I respected his answer when he stated that he didn't even tell his
own family - how is he expected to tell people he doesn't know?
2. President Obama justified Osama bin Laden's burial at sea by
stating that he had inquired about the most respectful methods of
burial in regards to Islamic tradition. I agree with the
administration's decision - I don't personally know if this is truly
the most respectful way that they could have buried him, but I agree
with the notion of being as culturally sensitive as possible
considering the fact that they did not notify Pakistan of the planned
events prior to the attack.
3. I agree with the decision regarding the photos not being released
to the public. This is because though bin Laden's death is clearly
justified by his past actions, humanizing him (when he was commonly
demonized in the public eye) could stir up some controversy in the
public. Additionally, since the photos were quite graphic, it does not
seem appropriate to release the photos to the public. Additionally,
there is a definite possibility that the photos could offend people
throughout the Middle East and around the world that were Bin Laden
supporters.
4. I don't necessarily think that the Pakistani government should be
held accountable. I believe that, since the compound was embedded in
military territory, that there were some high-level officials that
were aware of Bin Laden's whereabouts. I don't, however, think that
the government as a whole should be held responsible. I do, however,
think they should have found him before we did. Considering the fact
that we provide them with billions of dollars every year for tracking
down terrorists, and that Bin Laden was on Pakistani soil, they should
have been the first to have knowledge of his whereabouts.

On May 9, 12:53 pm, "Mr. J." <glen.jaskelew...@rtsd.org> wrote:

[Adam]

1. One question that interested me was when Obama was asked if he knew
how long bin Laden's had been living in his compound. Since it wasn't
far from Pakistani military facilities, I would reason that either bin
Laden hadn't been living in the compound for a long time, but Obama
said that he knew that bin Laden had been living in the compound for
five years. That answer amazes and shocks me. The other question that
interested me was when Obama was asked if this was the first time that
he had ordered anyone to be killed. It is an interesting question
because the assassination of Osama bin Laden is the taking of a life
of a human being. No matter how terrible he was, when you get down to
it, Obama is ordering for his troops to kill a specific person.
Although I believe that he got what he deserved, it is something that
isn't seen much. It is rare for a modern leader of the US to order the
death of a specific person.
2. The president justified the burial at sea by saying that it was
necessary to be respectful to the body and towards Islamic law and
religious practices. I agree with the decision because it is a very
safe decision. He isn't provoking any violence by disobeying religious
laws or practices, and he is making it so there isn't a specific
burial place for bin Laden. If there was a specific burial place, it
could cause people to gather there and worship him and preserve his
ideas. In the end, the administration's decision was probably one of
the safest ones.
3. I agree with Obama's decision to withhold the picture of Osama bin
Laden. As said in the question, the photos are graphic and it is
possible that it would be gross to release the photos. Also, releasing
the photos would kind of be like gloating to other terrorist
organizations around the world. It is like the US showing the world
that they killed Osama bin Laden, and that they are proud to show
everyone their achievement. DNA tests have proven that Osama bin Laden
was killed, and those facts should be enough to convince the public of
what happened.
4. I do think that it is possible that the Pakistani government either
didn't participate enough in the finding/capturing of Osama bin Laden
or that bin Laden had a man on the inside of the Pakistani government
assisting his attempt to keep his compound hidden. Even though, I
don't think that the Pakistani government should be held accountable
for allowing this to transpire until the US has proof of it. It is
possible that the billion dollars of aid weren't going to the
organizations that the US thought it was going to or that bin Laden
had a man on the inside who foiled all attempts to find bin Laden. I
think that Pakistan should have played a bigger role in the capturing
of bin Laden, but I don't think that they can be held accountable for
allowing his compound to not be found.

On May 9, 12:53 pm, "Mr. J." <glen.jaskelew...@rtsd.org> wrote:

[Saad Imran]

1. One question I found interesting was when 60 minutes asked
president Obama what awards he has in mind for the Navy Seals and the
helicopter pilots that carried out the operation. I found this
interesting as this did not come into my mind. I additionally was not
concerned with this question until the interviewer brought it up.
Another question i found interesting was when in the last few minutes
the interviewer asked President Obama whether this is the first time
he has killed someone. Additionally, In that same question I found it
interesting when President Obama said that whoever believes that
justice was not served should "get their head examined". I found this
statement rather comical as I would not expect a President to say
that. Additionally, I found it interesting that he did not properly
respond to the question.

2. He justified it by saying the he consulted with Islamic law and
culture, and he consulted with experts in Islamic law and ritual. He
stated that he did not want to be disrespectful of the Islamic
religion. He also justified by saying that he took more care in this
that Bin Laden when he killed 3000 people. On this Obama said that
this was one way that makes America different compared to other
nations across the world. Lastly, he said the burial at sea said that
it ensured that no person would visit the dead corpse.

3. I agree with the decision regarding the photos as I do believe it
further threatened U.S interests throughout the world. I believe that
if for some unfortunate reason the photos got out, the photos could be
used against the United States. One way that they could be used
against the United States is that terrorists throughout the world can
use them as negative propaganda towards the United States.
Additionally, as Osama's shooting was in the head the pictures would
be rather graphic and might not be suitable for the general public and
the world to see. Lastly, I believe that it might provoke terrorists
even further and they might claim that releasing the photos would be
"disrespectful to Islam" which is totally false.

4. I believe there are 2 complete ends to the spectrum when
discussing whether Pakistan was justified in not knowing that Osama
Bin Laden was hiding in the army base city of Abbotabad. The
Pakistanis are justifying themselves as they said this is the last
place that they would expect the biggest terrorist in the world to be
hiding. They also justify themselves in saying although they did not
capture the figurehead terrorist Osama Bin Laden, they killed
thousands of important terrorists and are using America's billions of
dollars in aid wisely. Additionally, I do agree that Osama hiding in
Abbotabad was a smart decision on his behalf but obviously not smart
enough. The other end of the spectrum is that Pakistan is not using
their resources wisely, and they should spend more of the investing
money on the ISI or intelligence capabilites. I personally believe
that ONE death no matter how important it may be, should not blur the
other key Al-Qaeda operatives that the ISI has captured.

On May 9, 12:53 pm, "Mr. J." <glen.jaskelew...@rtsd.org> wrote:

[Emerson Congleton]

1) I was glad that the interviewer inquired about the burial, however
I wish that a bit more information had been given out as to why they
chose a burial at sea. I found this particular question very
intriguing because it is a rather dicey situation, these terrorists
base their reasoning for mass murder off of religion and if the body
of bin Laden had been disposed of in a fashion contrary to Muslim
beliefs then it would have served as fuel to the terrorists war. If he
was buried on land though it runs the risk of his grave being made
into a shrine or a place where those still faithful to him could
congregate. The second question I found interesting was when the
interviewer asked about the room and the tensions of the room during
the actual execution of the attack. I think that it put Obama into a
difficult place because he could not divulge too much information but
a tense atmosphere is something that would be understandable. I feel
that this "windowless room, in the basement of the white house" is
going to become known as a symbol to represent the death of Osama bin
Laden.
2) I mentioned bin Laden's burial in my response to question one, but
I feel that a burial at sea was the wisest choice. I agree with the
administration/s decision because a land burial becomes too tricky for
there is the question of which country to bury him in, what will his
gravesite be like, and several others. We do not want another place
for terrorist sympathizers to gather and cause more mayhem.
3) I am unsure of my position regarding the photographs. If the
photographs are released then it would further solidify the reality
that bin Laden is truly dead, with out the concrete evidence there
will always be those who are convinced that he is still alive. The
video of the execution of Saddam Hussein was released does that mean
that the pictures of bin Laden should be released? However, it may be
seen as disrespectful. His body was treated in a respectful and Muslim
way. By just doing that we are different than the terrorists who
murdered thousands and destroyed them to such an extent that their
bodies could not be recovered or even found. For the time being I
think it wise to not release the photographs.
4)It is definitely possible that some members of the government knew
or were aware about bin Laden's presence in their country however it
is also possible that the majority of the government had not idea. The
Pakistani government should have stepped up and helped to remove more
leaders of terrorism instead of letting the US come in and do it for
them. Our government basically paid the Pakistani government billions
in aid to help us capture terrorists when an American team ended up
taking out the biggest leader themselves. We basically paid their
government to let us do all the heavy lifting work. The Pakistani
government needs to continue removing terrorists from within its
borders even after the United States leaves the Middle East (which
will hopefully be soon).

[Yuichiro Iwamoto]

1. One question that intrigued me was whether Obama was tempted to
tell anyone about the plan to kill Bin-Ladin. It provided a more
personal insight into the matter in the eyes of the president. He
described the weekend during the plan as a very busy weekend, making
speeches, and visiting tornado damage sites. He claimed that
presidency did not allow one thing to be tackled at once, and that
US's secretive approach to the plan made it the effective successful
plan. He really made it obvious that the plan was always on his mind,
but footages during the weekend depicted Obama as a calm, controlled
individual, and no one would have guessed what was about to go
down.This question portrayed the president's perspective towards the
plan fully. Another intriguing question was "Was this the first time
you have ordered a killing of a person?". The question was intriguing
because it really showed Obama's approach towards his job as
president. When he described the ordered killing as a part of his job,
there seemed to be an unwavering commitment in his voice. Obama took
the seat as president knowing fully, what was expected of him.
2. Obama said that it was a joint decision, incorporating the opinions
of Islamic experts so the body will be respectfully treated. He
compared his treatment of the body to the treatment of the American
bodies created by Bin-Ladin, describing the American respect for the
symbol of terrorism as the difference between America and terrorist
groups. I agree whole-heartedly because it shows America's maturity
and integrity to the whole word. Treating the most hated-individual in
the country well undoubtfully boosted American image, and will likely
increase international support of America.
3. Obama said that no photograph or photograph, there were solid
evidences proving the death of Bin-Ladin. He described that the DNA
among other things had matched up, and the gory bloody pictures would
do no good other than unnecessary commotion within the World. I agree
with his decision because I see no real benefit in releasing the
pictures. Even without the truth, most of the press and media
companies seem to regard the killing as the truth, so additional proof
seems unneeded. In the case of Saddam Hussain's hanging footage, only
hype on the Internet was created.
4. The Pakistani government should be held partially responsible for
the death of Bin-Ladin because they received military funds from the
United States, obviously to ensure national and international
security. If Abbottabad was seen as a suspected place, the Pakistani
military should have at least investigated the city in detail, so that
they might catch Bin-Ladin. However, I do not think Pakistan must send
troops in to directly assault the compound of Bin-Ladin because he was
not posing direct threat to the Pakistani government, and they have
other factors to be concerned of such as other terrorist groups.
(Taliban, remaining members of Al Qaeda).

On May 9, 12:53 pm, "Mr. J." <glen.jaskelew...@rtsd.org> wrote:

[Preeya D&#39;mello]

1. The first question that I found most interesting was the question
about why Obama didn’t inform the Pakistani government of this attack,
and if it was because he didn’t trust them. First of all I think that
Obama answered the question very well. He stated that it wasn’t that
he didn’t trust the Pakistani government, but the success of the
operation depended on its secrecy and most people in the White House
weren’t aware that the operation was taking place. This shows that if
President Obama didn’t tell the top officials in his own country, he
surely wouldn’t tell another country.
The second question that I found very interesting as the question
concerning Obama’s feelings the day of the operation. This was a more
personal question and it allowed the audience to really get an idea of
what must have been running through the president’s head as he
prepared to watch the attack take place.

2. President Obama said that he and his team looked at the more
respected types of burials in the Islamic tradition. In the end they
felt that burying bin Laden at sea would be the most appropriate way
to dispose of the body. Personally, I agree with their decision.
Although bin Laden didn’t show even the smallest bit of respect toward
the thousands of Americans that were killed on September 11th, the
fact that America was able to respect Islamic tradition when dealing
with bin Laden’s death shows how America is different and how America
is tolerant of other religions and cultures. I think by taking the
extra step to show respect it makes America the bigger and better
person in this situation.

3. I agree with Obama’s decision to not release the photos. Extensive
evidence shows that it was in fact bin Laden who was killed and I
don’t think that graphic pictures need to be released to prove it. As
Obama said, there will always be people who refuse to accept bin
Laden’s death, and even if the pictures were to be released these
people would claim that they may have been photo shopped. In addition
to this, the pictures were said to be very graphic and such images
should definitely not be floating around the internet. Also, these
pictures being released could stir up some trouble with bin Laden
supporters and this could be harmful to the United States.

4. Personally I find it strange to think that the Pakistani government
didn’t know anything about Osama bin Laden’s whereabouts within their
country. In addition to this, I do feel that it was Pakistan’s
responsibility to find Osama bin Laden, especially considering that
the United States gives them billions of dollars in aid to fight
terrorism and capture Osama bin Laden. The fact that the Pakistani
government was getting a lot of money to find someone who was then
tracked down by an international force, makes you wonder what the
money was being used for. However, I don’t feel that just because
America found bin Laden first, the Pakistani government should be
blamed. Although I don’t think that it is right to hold the entire
government accountable for bin Laden hiding out in their country, I do
think the United States might have to reanalyze the money that we are
giving to Pakistan.

[Matt Ming]

1. I thought that the questions about Barack Obama’s indecision about
commencing the operation were interesting. Because I only ever hear
of plans after they are carried out, I never really thought about
people in charge, like the president, having reservations about a
plan. I always just assumed that they knew what was best for the
country. However, these questions reminded me that even presidents
can make mistakes, and so they too must carefully consider their
options before continuing or approving. Another question that I found
intriguing was the question about the possibility of the house having
been built for bin Laden. I had heard many discussions of what
finding bin Laden in Pakistan meant for the Pakistani government.
Many accused the Pakistani government of knowing that Osama was in
hiding in their country. However, I found it interesting that some
people thought that they not only knew he was there, but also that
they created special housing for him. Barack Obama’s response was
also interesting in my opinion, as he stated that the windows
definitely seemed designed to prevent the public from seeing inside,
even from neighboring buildings.
2. Osama said that they still wanted to bury Osama in proper Islamic
tradition. According to other articles, this includes burying the
dead within twenty-four hours of death. However, also according to
outside articles, Obama and his team did not want Osama’s burial site
to become a shrine to his followers, so decided to bury him at sea. I
agree with this decision, because I feel that we should still honor
tradition and carry out proper burial. Not only is this respectful,
but frankly it would keep Muslim extremists from arguing and
attacking. Also, by providing a proper burial, we ensure that we do
not simply stoop to Osama’s level by killing people without any care
about what happens to them. I feel that we would want to show that we
adhere to our beliefs on courtesy, even in victory over our number one
enemy.
3. I feel that not releasing the photos was the right decision. For
one thing, from a superficial standpoint, the photos were apparently
very graphic, and people would probably not wanted to see the gore in
the pictures. Obama also stated that showing these photos would also
only serve to anger Osama supporters, possibly by seeming to show that
we are displaying his head like a trophy. I feel that displaying
these photos would have upset a lot of people, least of all Osama’s
followers. I agree with Obama that we do not need to anger these
supporters any further and incite possible retaliation. Finally, many
people have felt that visual confirmation was needed, but I feel that
verbal confirmation from the president should be enough evidence to
show that Osama is dead.
4. I felt at first that the Pakistani government did not know Osama’s
whereabouts. Bin Laden has been notorious for eluding the United
States for almost a decade, so I thought that the idea that other
government not being able to track him was feasible. However, I later
started to think that Pakistan must have known something. Osama, the
most wanted man in the world, was camping out so close to one of their
military compounds, and so close to the capital, that the government
must have at least sensed that something was going on. Also, the fact
that we are giving them billions of dollars in aid to fight terrorism,
one would think that they would be on the lookout for one of the
world’s worst terrorist leaders. I think that this possibly shows
that money is not necessarily going where we think it’s going.
However, this does not mean that the government was directly involved
in hiding Osama. It is possible that they simply weren’t looking
because the money wasn’t going to looking for him. I feel that more
evidence is needed to support the theory that the Pakistani government
is hiding him, but I also think that it’s clear that not all of the
aid money is going where it needs to go.

On May 9, 12:53 pm, "Mr. J." <glen.jaskelew...@rtsd.org> wrote:

[Becky Maz]

1.) The first question that I thought was interesting during this
interview was if President Obama had ever ordered somebody to be
killed. I think that it is not so important whether or not it was the
first time, but more so whether or not he knows what it means to give
the go ahead to take a life. Of course, I do not think that any
decision like this one would be taken lightly, and it should not be.
In this case, I do feel that Obama's decision was justified by all
means, the next question is, does that one life justify the rest of
them? My answer to that question would be 'no', because, no matter how
good revenge may make us feel, there were still 3000 people killed on
September 11th, 2001, and there were still thousands of others killed
before and after that. The second question that I thought was
interesting was about whether or not Obama wanted to tell his family
about this mission. Although his response was rather vague, I would
assume that he did not tell anybody except for those who he felt
absolutely needed to be involved.

2.) Obama justified bin Laden's burial at sea as an act out of both
respect for Islam and its customs, however, it has been said on
several news stations that he thought it would be the best way to
dispose of the body without causing any real violence or fuel for the
fire. I think that it all seems a little bit odd that they would just
dump the body at sea in a box. They haven't even released a real
picture of that yet. They've only had cartoonish demonstrations of
what happened, and although I do agree that this was probably the best
way to please everybody, I continue to wonder if his body was actually
just dumped into the ocean.

3.) I understand that the celebration over bin Laden's dead photos may
have sparked a flame in Al Quaeda's headquarters, but if they're
looking for revenge against celebration, the terrorists have already
got it. I feel as if the government would want to release those
pictures as soon as possible if they really had them. It's leading to
all sorts of conspiracy theories, and it's causing a lot of problems.
Honestly, I have not seen conclusive evidence that would lead me to
believe that Osama bin Laden was truly killed last friday. Obama's
gotta do better than that.

4.) There is no doubt in my mind that the Pakistani government was
aware of Osama bin Laden's location... then again, back to my previous
statement... if he truly was there at that specific time. Assuming
that bin Laden was living just a few hundred yards away from these
military facilities, they most certainly knew about it, and perhaps
were even using him as a way to continue US funding to Pakistan. I
hope that this is not the case, but the entire thing seems fishy. I'm
starting to develop some theories of my own about bin Laden's death.

On May 9, 12:53 pm, "Mr. J." <glen.jaskelew...@rtsd.org> wrote:

[jblr...@aim.com]

Kelly Colton

1. I think one of the most difficult and interesting questions was
when Steve Kroft asked President Obama why he didn’t tell anyone in
the Pakistani government or military about the mission and whether
this was because we don’t trust Pakistan. Our relationship with
Pakistan is vital in terms of fighting terrorism and also as a
launching pad into Afghanistan. As per the New York Times article
recently posted, the Pakistani Army Chief has said they would not
permit another violation of their sovereignty with future raids
completed without their knowledge. Tensions are very high between the
United States and Pakistan and so it was intriguing to hear the
President answer this question carefully because in fact we don’t
completely trust Pakistan. I am sure there were concerns that Bin
Laden might have been advised if our intelligence was known.
President Obama side stepped the issue and was able to provide a fair
enough answer that did not insult the Pakistani government. The
second most interesting question was how much did some of the past
failures, like the Iran hostage rescue attempt, weigh on the
President? This question was interesting because it brings up the
fears that the President and everyone in the operation must have had
that there was a good risk that it could fail. It is one thing to
make the decision to put your own life on the line and another to put
other young men’s lives at risk. The risk of failure here was fairly
significant as this was only a 55/45% operation. Those are not great
odds and therefore the possibility of a failure being reported to the
world was a significant and not one to be taken lightly. However, if
past failures held this decision back then there was no chance of
success and Bin Laden would still be alive.

2. The President justified Osama Bin Laden’s burial at sea by saying
that they consulted with experts in Islamic law and ritual to treat
the body respectfully. The burial decision was made a head of time
and clearly planned out. I agree fully with the President’s decision
here. It demonstrates a respect that bin Laden did not show the 3,000
people that died in New York, but as he said that is what makes us
different. We do things the right way. Burial at sea also takes the
body out of the picture as a source of contention and perhaps even a
target for terrorists to try and retrieve. Bin Laden is likely to be
a martyr for terrorist organizations and the handling of his body
could have been a significant issue. It was a good thing that burial
at sea is accepted with Islamic law as it was a practical solution
under these circumstances.

3. I strongly agree with the President’s decision not to release the
graphic photos of Osama Bin Laden. The United States wants to model
humane behavior in a very violent world. I remember seeing pictures
of captured men from the U.S. or Europe leaning over to have their
heads chopped off by terrorists. We do not want to be the same as
those groups and to show the graphic realities of killing throughout
the world. We also do not want to give terrorists in the Middle East
any additional ammunition to make them upset and incite violence.
There are very few instances where I think people should make the
decision to take someone else’s life, but I agree that killing of Bin
Laden was justified but it did not need to be flaunted. Finally the
United States government did DNA testing and was completely sure that
Obama was killed. I do not need to see a graphic picture to convince
me that he is dead.

4. The question of whether the Pakistani government knew where Osama
Bin Laden was hiding is a serious issue as it affects our relationship
with this important country. We provide Pakistan with billions of
dollars in aid in the hopes that they are focusing on fighting
terrorist groups. There have been reports that the Pakistani
government looks the other way when it comes to al Qaeda. However,
President Obama said last night that Pakistan has been a strong
counterterrorism partner since 9/11 and that we have killed more
terrorists there than anywhere else in world. I believe that some
individuals in the Pakistani government knew or suspected where Bin
Laden was and looked the other way, but I don’t think the knowledge
reached the upper levels of the government (who would have been more
likely to understand the benefits of turning over Bin Laden). Leon
Panetta said the Pakistani authorities “were involved or incompetent”
but I do not think these authorities were at the highest level of
government. I also do not believe the government should be held
responsible for allowing this to transpire and that instead we should
concentrate on moving forward to repair our relationship with Pakistan
and to really ramp up the fight against terrorism while al Qaeda is in
a weakened position. Just today Pakistan’s intelligence service was
suspected of leaking the name of our CIA chief in Islamabad in
retaliation for the Bin Laden raid. We need to stop this infighting
and to focus on our goal of eliminating al Qaeda instead. We do have
the right to carefully monitor Pakistan’s terrorism work in exchange
for our money and to question the pulling out of CIA officials given
that $3 billion in aid has been slated for 2012.

On May 9, 12:53 pm, "Mr. J." <glen.jaskelew...@rtsd.org> wrote:

[Irina Ahn]

1. The two question I thought were asked were when Obama was asked if
he had ever killed anyone else before. Obama's answer seemed vague,
for good reason because the question could have been a bit risky if he
answered to rashly. Also, another question I thought was interesting
was when Obama was asked about the cultural sensitivity about Osama's
burial. Obama seemed to handle the question well with great cultural
sensitivity. And he also defended his country by saying that while
they are respecting the religions of Pakistan, bin Laden would never
have thought of having a respectful burial of the men he killed, but
instead didn't care at all.
2. As I stated in the previous question, Obama saw it as a respectful
burial towards the Pakistani because it was culturally sensitive and
respectful to the Pakistanis religion. He also said, it was planned
out before how Osama would be buried, so it wouldn't be a burden to
other people and also, with the thought in mind that Osama would never
have done this sort of respectful act for the men he killed on
American soil.
3. I agree with Obama's position on the controversy with the pictures.
One because most people wouldn't want to see a picture of a man
getting shot in the head. Two, because if the pictures were released,
then it could cause some turmoil with the Pakistani and it wouldn't be
very culturally sensitive, causing conflict. Also, the pictures do not
need to be used as proof, especially when the DNA samples match and
theres also no need to gloat, which could be taken the wrong way by
bin Laden followers and could trigger a retaliation on their part.
4. I believe that it is quite reasonable to hold the Pakistani
government accountable for allowing Osama to hide away. Considering
how his compound was pretty much the next door neighbor from
Pakistan's military base, its a bit odd to say that the government had
no idea. Plus bin Laden wasn't trying to hide in a cave; he was living
in a million dollar compound in plain sight. It is also reasonable to
say that if they couldn't find Osama in plain sight with the millions
of dollars that we give to them for aid and to track down terrorists,
that they are abusing the aid and the money is ended up elsewhere.
THis just made it even easier for Osama to stay in the open for the
past five to six years.

On May 9, 12:53 pm, "Mr. J." <glen.jaskelew...@rtsd.org> wrote:

[Alex Kim]

1. The first question I found very interesting was the question as to
whether the President told his wife about the attack. I had been
wondering it myself and it is amazing to think that some of these
plans are so fragile that telling one person, even whom you trust with
all your heart, could lead to its downfall. Also, I don't exactly
remember the question, but it had to do with those people who say that
the killing of Osama Bin Laden was unneeded or that he deserved a
trial. I thought President Obama's response was both extremely bold,
but probably also the correct response. He replied by saying that no
one should be able to argue that Osama Bin Laden did not deserve to
die, and arguing that those he did not receive justice should have
their head examined. His response was very bold, but I think it made
much sense. As the president, he must support his decisions and his
government's decisions, even when they are unpopular with some.

2. President Obama justified Osama Bin Laden's burial by explaining
that when Osama Bin Laden killed thousands of americans, he did not
care about their burials or their lives. However, Mr. Obama said that
the fact that we gave Osama Bin Laden a proper burial makes us
different from him, and although he did not explicitly say it, the
implication was that it also makes us better.

3. I agree with the decision to not release the photos. As Mr. Obama
said, the photos would not prove anything that the government has not
already assured the public, that the man killed was most definitely
Osama Bin Laden. (Someone could photoshop a picture of Osama Bin Laden
with bullet holes in him and it would probably look pretty darn real.)
However, we do not need pictures of a man with bullet holes in his
head circulating the internet, causing further problems, as the
President said.

4. I believe that those high in the Pakistani government probably did
not know that the most wanted terrorist in the world was hiding right
under their noses. However, I truly do find it hard to believe that
Osama Bin Laden lived for a whole five years in that compound without
someone in the Pakistani government knowing something about it. If the
U.S. government can discover that Osama Bin Laden is living there, why
wouldn't the Pakistani people know, when he was right under their
noses. I do not, however, believe the Pakistani government should be
held responsible because there is no way of proving that they knew,
and even though they may not be very helpful in the fight, they are
our largest ally in the fight against terrorism in the Middle East. I
think the U.S. may have to reconsider how much aid we give to Pakistan
to fight terrorism, considering they have not seemed to help much in
the fight. On the other hand, if we stop giving them aid, who is to
say that they weren't to catch the next most wanted terrorist in the
world, helping us in the fight so much. It is a fine line, but I think
Pakistan cannot be held responsible, and we still need their help in
the fight against terrorism.

[ds]

1. I was intrigued by the question about how past failures influenced
President Obama's decision to act. I wasn't really aware of many past
military mission failures and so I looked up some of the examples
President Obama mentioned like Black Hawk Down. These examples helped
me to understand why President Obama's decision was such a difficult
one. I was also intrigued by Kroft's question about how Obama reacted
when he heard that bin Laden had been killed because that's part of
the mission that you don't really think about--you think about how it
proceeded and what went wrong but you never really think about how the
people running it react emotionally. Additionally, I found that the
interviewer was sort of unlikable because he asked a couple questions
that were sort of unnecessary. For instance, when Mr. Obama said that
the raid was constantly on the "back of his mind," and then Kroft
said, "just the back?", I couldn't tell if he was trying to be funny
or if he was trying to get a better news story by implying that Mr.
Obama didn't care about the raid. Also, it was apparent that Kroft was
trying to get a better news story when he repeatedly asked whether or
not Obama trusted the Pakistani government. Clearly, he wasn't
spreading the news around about the mission, and also, the Pakistani
government is full of corruption. Telling Pakistan about the mission
would have been irresponsible, and it was just a ridiculous question
there to create more controversy. President Obama answered somewhat
curtly, saying that if he wasn't telling his most senior trusted
advisors, he "sure as heck" wasn't going to tell people he didn't
know.

2. I agree with the administration's decision to bury bin Laden at sea
and within 24 hours in accordance with Islamic practice. Many people
in the world would say that bin Laden didn't deserve a respectful
burial, but Obama's point that respect made us different from the
terrorists was a good explanation of why they didn't completely
disregard Islamic beliefs. Such disregard would also cause controversy
amongst Islamic communities and fuel more terrorist efforts, and a
burial on land would create the opportunity for there to be a shrine
or place of worship for followers of bin Laden's cause, and a
congregation point for Al Qaeda would obviously be counterproductive
to the U.S.'s wellbeing.

3. Maybe it's just patriotism, but once again I agree with the
president's reasoning. Conspiracy theorists who say that bin Laden is
still alive will not be appeased by photos. Also, Mr. Obama said that
the photos were extremely graphic, and if a sympathizer with Al Qaeda
were to view graphic photos of a leader of their cause, they might be
more tempted to join Al Qaeda because they would see the U.S. as a
symbol of violence and brutality. Perhaps when the topic has cooled
down, the photos can be released, but until then, I think the decision
to keep the photos secret is a good one.

4. I do find it somewhat suspicious that Osama bin Laden's compound
was located within walking distance from a Pakistani military base. I
wonder where the billions of dollars in aid from the U.S. are going,
if Pakistani military efforts to locate bin Laden cannot locate him
living within a close radius of a military base? Obviously, there is a
lot of corruption in the Pakistani government and the presence of bin
Laden in the country is an embarrassment to them. I think that
Pakistan should be held responsible for how long it took to take bin
Laden down. There are two alternative reasons why: the first being
that bin Laden's presence was known about by at least some portion of
the corrupt government and the second being the fact that if they
genuinely had no idea that bin Laden was there, there are some serious
flaws in their system of finding terrorists.

[sean young]

1. One question that especially stood out to me personally was when
they asked Obama if he'd ever given the order to have someone killed.
I found this question intriguing mainly because I think that the
answer was clearly known before the question was asked- yes, he is the
president, and most likely has a say in every C.I.A decision. What I
kind of don't understand is why the interviewer would want Obama to
admit it aloud. Did he want Obama to look like a killer in the eyes of
America? Secondly, Obama was asked about how his weekend was like
after he made the go-ahead decision. I liked this question because it
kind of let the nation know that Obama is one of us, and has a family,
and problems with his life (like withholding information about
assassinating Osama Bin-Laden from his family).

2. Obama justified the burying of Osama at sea because he said that it
followed traditional Muslim rules, and that it avoided the opportunity
of a pilgrimage site to be erected over his tomb (since other
terrorists think he is a martyr), which if that tomb were erected,
then I personally think that it would be a rally cry to the terrorists
following him. I agree with Obama's decision, but I sort of wish that
the burial could've been televised so that the families of the 9/11
victims could watch the murderer "sleep with the fishes".

3. I believe that Obama's decision to withhold the photo's of Osama's
bloody corpse was a good idea in a "covering your ass" standpoint,
mainly because it prevented outcries from other countries about how
inhumane it is to let those photos circulate. Personally, I wish that
I could see them because I'm kind of wondering how much damage could
get done to a head after getting shot twice, but that's just my
opinion.

4. This is definitely the most controversial topic in my opinion,
because I really can't understand how Osama could have just been
hanging out in his relatively large compound for about ten years now
without someone getting word about him. On the other hand, I'm kind of
thinking that if a terrorist were hiding out in OUR country, and if he
went and hid in some rural state like arkansas or something, then I
don't know how easy it would be for us to find him. But really, ten
years is a long time to remain on the world's number one wanted list
as well as to be hiding in the same place (and even in a country that
is out looking for you). So this gets me thinking: what did the
billions of dollars in U.S aid to Pakistan to track him down go? Since
they CLEARLY weren't using the money for what it was meant to be used
for. I mean I'm pretty sure that if the Pakistani CIA just google
earthed every location in the world for the guy that they would have
finished well within ten years.

[Grace]

1. I thought the question about previous president’s failures on
missions was interesting. It showed that Obama was also afraid of
failure, like many previous presidents had been before making a risky
decision. It also showed how he appreciated that he may have gotten a
little lucky that the mission was successful. He recognized that very
easily the mission could have failed and he too, would have been
another president who seemingly made the wrong decision. This was
interesting because it showed the very thin line between failure and
success and how Obama was recognizing the potential for both. A
second question I found intriguing was when the interviewer asked how
Obama felt after Bin Laden’s death had been confirmed. I thought it
was interesting that he thought about a young girl who had emailed him
about her father’s death in the world trade center. A letter from an
person that he had never met was what he continued to think about
among all of the different things going on around him. I wondered why
this one letter stood out. Maybe he felt that he had done her some
justice. Maybe he felt that this email put a face to the impact that
Osama’s death would have on the US.
2. President Obama explained Osama Bin Laden’s burial at sea by saying
that it was extremely thought out. He claimed to have consulted many
Islam experts on the most respectful way to dispose of the body.
Claiming that the thought that the U.S took when disposing of the body
was far greater than anything Bin Laden did when he killed thousands
of people on 9/11. Obama went on to say that, “that’s what makes us
different.” I fully agree with this statement. I think that this was
the most respectful and logical way of disposing of the body. By
putting his body in the ocean no burial ground for the murderer would
have to be established. No country would have to have his body lying
in their soil to be either worshiped or despised. On the other hand
his body was not dismembered or destroyed, actions that would likely
anger many Muslims. While many believe that Osama does not deserve
any respect, alive or dead, I believe that this is not really about
respect for him, it’s about limiting retaliation. Dispite the
thousands of deaths that Osama is responsible for Obama chose to take
the higher ground, going along with the idea that “an eye for an eye
makes the whole world blind” and for his obvious maturity and
restraint I respect Obama’s decision.
3. I agree with Obama’s decision not to release
photographs of the deceased Osama Bin Laden. I think that this is a
wise decision because of the eminent risk of retaliation that the US
is currently subject to. Pro Osama groups are already angered by
death. Obviously they blame the US for his death and some want
revenge. Releasing the photos would only anger these groups and
individuals further, driving some to a point of violence. Without the
pictures the act of killing Osama seems more civil, but the pictures
may portray a more graphic side to his death, making it seem violent
and disrespectful on the US’s part and warranting unwanted
retaliation. Satisfying the needs of some to see a murderer dead in a
photo is not worth risking the lives of innocent US citizens to Muslim
retaliation.
4. Despite claims that the compound where Osama was hiding
was the “perfect hideout” I don’t think that the Pakistani military
forces can be held accountable for allowing this to transpire.
Regardless of whether or not they were aware that he was hiding out
there (I don’t think the y knew) there is no way to prove that they
did or did not have this knowledge. Therefore the Pakistani military
cannot be held responsible for not discovering the compound. With
regards to the billions of dollars in aid that are given to Pakistan
to fight terrorism each year the fact that Pakistani military did not
find Osama can only show the U.S that they must monitor where this
money goes to more carefully. If the US expects to see greater
results from Pakistani military they must ensure that the money is
being spent more carefully and that the military is subjected to more
rigorous training.

[mclax...@aol.com]

1. The interview between 60 Minutes' Steve Kroft and President Obama
addressed some interesting and serious topics. One intriguing question
Kroft asked if Obama what was going on in his mind during his busy
weekend with events such as the Correspondents Dinner and visiting the
tornado-struck South. Remembering the dinner, Obama seemed very
relaxed and funny. His acting skills were superb and I would never
have guessed that planning to kill the most wanted figure in the world
was on his mind. Realizing this after the question was asked, my
respect for Obama and other presidents increased because to be
president top secret, stressful information is on your mind 24/7 while
they still have to go throughout their day making appearances at
special ceremonies or visit disaster struck areas. The second question
that intrigued me asked Obama if he had anyone ordered killed before.
I thought it was interesting because obviously Obama can't give a
completely open and truthful answer to this question. He did say that
when he sends troops to certain areas, he's ordering people killed
which I think was a smart move for Obama to not address any killings
that he might've directly ordered which the public does not know
about.
2. Obama justified Bin Laden's burial at sea by being respectful to
Bin Laden's Muslim beliefs, but also not being too respectful in
giving him a proper Islamic burial. Also, no countries in the area
agreed to have Bin Laden buried on their land for security reasons. I
think that if he was buried on land, there would problems and
contreversy on where he is buried and how he is buried. I agree with
the administration's decision because it was the most reasonable to
not cause problems in the muslim world and anger people who believe he
deserves no respect in his burial.
3. I agree with President Obama's decision to not "spike the football"
in releasing the gruesome photos of Bin Laden dead. This is very
riskfull in not only angering other Al Queda members and muslim
extremists but people in the Middle East and other areas who will
think its disrespectful and a form of propaganda. This propaganda
saying "don't mess with us or this is what will happen to you," is
unnecessary and will only cause further problems. I think eventually,
however when this hot topic cools down, the pictures should be
released discretely.
4. The fact that Bin Laden was hiding in this million dollar compound,
down the street from a Pakistani military base not only raises my
suspicions, but makes me extremely angry. After all the aid we've
supplied them to "fight terrorism," and they seem to have no clue he
was hiding in their back yard for an estimated 5 years. I don't
understand how we can be tracking this one compound down and
constantly monitoring it while they didn't have a clue of its
existence. This makes me wonder, what were they doing with that aid?
And if they were attempting to track down Bin Laden, what were there
methods and ideas? In my opinion, people in the neighborhood and in
the government had to have known Bin Laden was hiding here, for him to
stay hidden for so long.