Tag: terrorism
(blog admin’s note: Photo released by the White House, U.S President Barack Obama and his national security team monitor the 40 minutes of gunfight between U.S. Navy Seals and Osama bin Laden and his guards. The photo looks genuine, i think the facial expressions are real, only the room was managed a little, i think, with the computer screens facing the camera, blank and some of the documents turned down… but other than that, this is a good documentation. At least… they weren’t sleeping or in a daze… like some officials are… during a crisis or strategic operation…)
“TIME. TIMESwampland. Exclusives
“After Uncertainty, a Moment of Triumph in the Situation Room: ‘We’ve IDed Geronimo’
By MICHAEL SCHERER Monday, May 2, 2011
Read more: http://swampland.time.com/2011/05/02/inside-the-situation-room-weve-idd-geronimo/#ixzz1LEXU0ZOc
“The people who gathered Sunday in the Situation Room know all about high-pressure situations. But this was something else. For 40 minutes, the President and his senior aides could do nothing but watch the video screens and listen to the operation and ensuing firefight on the other side of the world. At Barack Obama’s orders, special operations teams were invading the airspace of a foreign country, targeting a compound with unknown occupants, and hoping to get out unscathed. The target was America’s No. 1 enemy, Osama bin Laden. But no one knew for sure if he was even there.
(blog admin’s note: Originally, Barack Obama was seated at the head of the table behind the presidential seal: see photo above, still semi-relaxed:
then he transferred to the other end of the room (see full photo, first photo above), maybe to look at the screen better, maybe to sit next to the military general for quick huddles. Zoomed-in photo: mouth contracted, eyes piercing, facial muscles, tight.)
“The President sat stone-faced through much of the events. Several of his aides, however, were pacing. For long periods of time, nobody said a thing, as everyone waited for the next update. In the modern age, Presidents can experience their own military actions like a video game, except that they have no control over the events. They cannot, and would not, intervene to contact the commanders running the operation. So when word came that a helicopter had been grounded, a sign that the plan was already off course, the tension increased.
“Minutes later, more word came over the transom. “We’ve IDed Geronimo,” said a disembodied voice, using the agreed-upon code name for America’s most wanted enemy, Osama bin Laden. Word then came that Geronimo had been killed. Only when the last helicopter lifted off some minutes later did the President know that his forces had sustained no casualties.
“The decision to attack had been made days earlier by the
(blog admin’s note: based on CNN reports, one of the women was grabbed and used as a human shield to protect bin Laden. She was shot. In a situation like that, perhaps all of those protecting and aiding bin Laden, except minors if any, could be considered combatants. Maybe letting the situation drag would result in the Seal unit getting massacred as well. I expect civilian officials to look this concerned — see photo of Hillary — when lives are on the line)
President. He gathered his senior intelligence, military and diplomatic team together in the Situation Room on Thursday afternoon to hear his options. There were already concerns about operational security. At that point, hundreds of people had already been read into the potential whereabouts of bin Laden. Any leak would have ruined the entire mission.
“The intelligence professionals said they did not know for sure that bin Laden was in the compound. The case was good, but circumstantial. The likelihood, officials told the President, was between 50% and 80%. No slam dunk. Obama went around the table asking everyone to state their opinion. He quizzed his staff about worst case scenarios–the possibility of civilian casualties, a hostage situation, a diplomatic blow-up with Pakistan, a downed helicopter. He was presented with three options: Wait to gather more intelligence, attack with targeted bombs from the air, or go in on the ground with troops. The room was divided about 50-50, said a person in the room. John Brennan, the President’s senior counter-terrorism adviser, supported a ground strike, as did the operational people, including Leon Panetta at the CIA. Others called for more time. In the end, about half of the senior aides supported a helicopter assault. The other half said either wait, or strike from above.
“Obama left the meeting without signaling his intent.
He wanted to sleep on it. At about 8:00 a.m. on Friday, just before he boarded a helicopter that would take him to tour tornado damage in Alabama, Obama called his senior aides into the Diplomatic Room. He told them his decision: A helicopter assault. At that point, the operation was taken out of his hands. He was trusting the fate of his presidency to luck.”
Read more: http://swampland.time.com/2011/05/02/inside-the-situation-room-weve-idd-geronimo/#ixzz1LEX2zgvF
Because the relatives have not been informed, DZMM of ABS-CBN exercised full restraint and did not just blurt out the names of the fatalities.
Instead, their reporters and anchors reported how many had been declared dead and how many injured; the names of the hospitals in which the casualties had been brought and the phone numbers of the hospitals so that the families could confirm or verify. It (DZMM) also released the names of the injured who had been cleared by the hospital as “out-of-danger” so that their relatives could attend to them. Reporters of the news organization also covered the bombing not just from the crime scene or not just by interviewing policemen but went to the hospital so they could confirm their facts first-hand instead of relying on statements of the police. The anchors also did not just report body count but provided context by giving some historical background of the bombings in the city, but restrained from speculating. Stand by for developments.
xxx
Update: After the relatives had been informed by the police, DZMM released the names of the fatalities; that was a few seconds ago.
