The Commentariat -- May 3

I've opened a comments page for David Brooks' & Joe Nocera's columns on the Off Times Square page. They both write about the killing of Osama bin Laden. Links to their columns are on Off Times Square, too. Comments on yesterday's Open Thread & Krugman's column were excellent. Thank you. ...

     ... Update: Karen Garcia & I have both commented on Brooks & Nocera, & her comments are real winners. (For reasons beyond me, the Times appears to have dumped both of Garcia's comments, so this is the place to read them.) Plus Valerie Long Tweedie comments on the now-or-way-later opportunity the demise of bin Laden presents. -- CW

At last night's Congressional dinner, President Obama discusses the death of Osama bin Laden:

... The Washington Post has a pretty handy interactive feature that lets you click on various stories & graphcs that relate to the killing of Osama bin Laden.

... Mark Mazzetti, et al., of the New York Times have a good story on the intelligence that led up to the raid on Osama bin Laden's compound. The initial tip came from Pakistanis working for the CIA. ...

... Marc Ambinder of the National Journal gets into the nitty-gritty of the team effort (yes, our federal agencies can work as a team) that took out bin Laden. ...

... Adam Goldman & Matt Apuzzo of the AP: "When one of Osama bin Laden's most trusted aides picked up the phone last year, he unknowingly led U.S. pursuers to the doorstep of his boss, the world's most wanted terrorist. That monitored phone call, recounted Monday by a U.S. official, ended a years-long search for bin Laden's personal courier, the key break in a worldwide manhunt. The courier, in turn, led U.S. intelligence to a walled compound in northeast Pakistan, where a team of Navy SEALs shot bin Laden to death." ...

... CW: Finding the location of Osama bin Laden had many fathers. See also link to Jane Mayer's New Yorker post below. ...

... Mike Allen of Politico: "The assault force of Navy SEALs snatched a trove of computer drives and disks during their weekend raid on Osama bin Laden’s compound, yielding what a U.S. official called 'the mother lode of intelligence.' The special operations forces grabbed personal computers, thumb drives and electronic equipment during the lightning raid that killed bin Laden, officials told Politico." ...

... In a Washington Post op-ed Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari argues that Pakistan did its part in "eliminating" Osama bin Laden and takes "some satisfaction that our early assistance in identifying an al-Qaeda courier ultimately led to this day."

... Former FBI interrogator Ali Soufan, in a New York Times op-ed: "To the Qaeda members I interrogated at Guantánamo Bay and elsewhere in the aftermath of 9/11, Osama bin Laden was never just the founder and leader of the group, but also an idea. He embodied the belief that their version of Islam was correct, that terrorism was the right weapon, and that they would ultimately be victorious. Bin Laden’s death did not kill that idea, but did deal it a mortal blow.... Our greatest tool, we must remember, is America itself.... Effectively conveying [our idea] will bury the Bin Laden idea with him." ...

... ** BUT. Ezra Klein on how & why Osama bin Laden contributed to crippling the economy of two great nations. Commenter Neel Kumar (#11) makes the same point in response to Brooks' column. (In case you didn't notice, the comments to Brooks' column are often more informative than the column.)

... Fred Kaplan in Slate: "The killing of Osama Bin Laden is no mere act of symbolism. Besides finally disposing of the world's No. 1 terrorist target and idol, the deed opens up some opportunities for a broader breakthrough in the war against al-Qaida—and, potentially, for a settlement of the war in Afghanistan." But it won't be easy, & there are many variables. ...

... Dexter Filkins of the New Yorker: "At least on the surface, relations between the United States and Pakistan are the worst they have been in years, largely because American officials are running out of patience with the double game" wherein they help both the U.S. (in exchange for billions of dollars in aid) & the most extremist elements of the Taliban. ...

... Tweeting the Killing of Osama bin Laden -- Without Knowing It. This is pretty fascinating. Sohaib Athar, an English-speaking coffeeshop owner in Abbottabad, hears the goings-on at the bin Laden compound, and tweets his impressions. Cursor down to the first (lowest) May 1 entry. Via Ben Smith. Update: actually, it's easier to get to Athar's relevant posts in this Washington Post report. ...

... PLUS. Paul Fahri of the Washington Post: twenty minutes before the first news network reported on the killing of Osama bin Laden, Keith Urbahn, the chief of staff to former defense secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, tweeted, "So I’m told by a reputable person, they have killed Osama bin Laden. Hot damn." Although Urbahn got his info from someone in the media, news organization held back till they had more confirmation.

Right Wing World *

... Thank you, intelligence community; thank you, Navy SEALS, & thank you, President Bush. Oh, and you, too, President, er, Obama:

... I commend President Obama who has followed the vigilance of President Bush in bringing Bin Laden to justice. -- Eric Cantor, House Majority Leader ...

... ** If you have a single Republic friend who believes and/or spouts Cantor's line of bull, which is apparently the party line, you must read Steve Benen, who tears the newest Republican myth into little bitty shreds. Even President Bush said he wasn't chasing bin Laden -- multiple times. ...

... On that same note, Jane Mayer in the New Yorker: "It may have taken nearly a decade to find and kill Osama bin Laden, but it took less than twenty-four hours for torture apologists to claim credit for his downfall. Keep America Safe, an organization run by former Vice President Dick Cheney’s daughter Liz Cheney and Bill Kristol, released a victory statement today that entirely failed to mention President Obama, but lavishly credited 'the men and women of America’s intelligence services who, through their interrogation of high-value detainees, developed the information that apparently led us to bin Laden." Mayer details the timeline of CIA/torturer control of detainees to disprove Cheney & Kristol's claim. ...

... More on that same note from David Rittgers of the right-wing Cato Institute, in a Washington Examiner op-ed: "The brilliant success of this operation demonstrates the marked improvement in our human intelligence capabilities over the last decade." Rittgers never mentions President Obama (he does, reluctantly once mention the Obama administration.)

... To be fair, I have to add this from Jeff Zeleny & Jim Rutenberg of the New York Times: "President Obama drew praise from unlikely quarters on Monday for pursuing a risky and clandestine mission to kill Osama bin Laden, a successful operation that interrupted the withering Republican criticism about his foreign policy, world view and his grasp of the office." The congratulatory remarks came from some of the meanest thugs on the right: Dick Cheney, Rudy Giuliani & Donald Trump. ...

...Update: But look at this pile of Santorum coming out of the right-wing media & collected by Media Matters. As I've been arguing, Right Wing World is truly an alternate world that is reality-free.

* Where facts never intrude.

Then there's Conspiracy World, which has inhabitants on the left and the right:

     Bin Laden Lives! Ben Smith & Byron Tau of Politico: conspiracy theories have already arisen. ...

     Matea Gold, et al., of the Los Angeles Times: "Conspiracy theorists on both the left and right were quick to insist that Bin Laden was either still alive or had been dead for years, pouncing on the government's decision to slide the body of the world's most wanted man off a board into the Arabian Sea."

     Out There. Karen Garcia answers the conspiracy theorists. Good luck with that. Garcia has just IDed herself as a tool of the administration! She's been brainwashed. Or she's a CIA operative. Or something.

     Meanwhile, Helene Cooper of the New York Times reports that the White House is still weighing whether or not to release a photo of bin Laden, obviously dead with a visible bullet hole in his head. CW: Conspiracy Theory Editon: they're just really slow Photoshoppers.

Not bin Laden News

One example of why even a conservative-leaning Democrat is better to have in the White House than an avowed Republican. Robert Pear of the New York Times: "In a new effort to increase access to health care for poor people, the Obama administration is proposing a rule that would make it much more difficult for states to cut Medicaid payments to doctors and hospitals. The rule could also put pressure on some states to increase Medicaid payment rates, which are typically lower than what Medicare and commercial insurance pay. Federal officials said Monday that the rule was needed to fulfill the promise of federal law, which says Medicaid recipients should have access to health care at least to the same extent as the general population."

Ben Pershing of the Washington Post: "The news of Osama bin Laden’s death may have consumed Capitol Hill Monday, but it didn’t alter House Republicans’ plans to continue their months-long quest to defund President Obama’s health-care plan. Unable to decapitate last year’s Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the GOP has decided instead to administer death by 1,000 cuts — with two more cuts coming this week."

John McKinnon of the Wall Street Journal: Republicans: Look, look! Rich people do pay more taxes than they used to. And 51 percent of the people are deadbeats. Democrats: Duh! because they're way richer than they used to be. Plus, they pay in a higher share of income in Social Security & Medicare taxes than rich people do. CW: I'd add that the poor & lower middle-class still pay a higher share of their income than do the rich in total taxes, when you figure in state & local taxes & usage taxes like oil & gas taxes.

Andrew Ross Sorkin of the New York Times: "While [Warren] Buffett praised [David] Sokol in the statement announcing the resignation..., the day he issued the release, Berkshire called the Securities and Exchange Commission and briefed them on Mr. Sokol’s trades, which Mr. Buffett described to me as 'pretty damning evidence.' ... The S.E.C. is now investigating the matter.... In a statement after the Berkshire meeting, a lawyer for Mr. Sokol issued a statement, saying the stock trades did not violate the law or Berkshire policy."

News Ledes

** Washington Post: "The Obama administration is seeking to use the killing of Osama bin Laden to accelerate a negotiated settlement with the Taliban and hasten the end of the Afghanistan war, according to U.S. officials involved in war policy."

New York Times: "There have been no known specific or credible threats received since American troops killed Osama bin Laden this week, but on Tuesday security at public spaces — including mosques, synagogues, train stations and basketball arenas — remained at elevated levels. Although the Department of Homeland Security has not issued an alert, the agency remains at what the homeland security secretary, Janet Napolitano, has called a 'heightened state of vigilance.' The State Department, on the other hand, has issued a worldwide travel alert to Americans.

President Obama met with members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus this afternoon.

NBC News: "Osama bin Laden was not armed when a U.S. Navy SEAL raiding party confronted him during an assault on his compound in Pakistan, the White House said Tuesday." Update: New York Times story here.

Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner notifies Congress that he has begun to take "extraordinary measures" to circumvent exceeding the debt limit.

New York Times: the Army Corps of Engineers blew up part of the Mississippi River levee in Missouri to prevent flooding elsewhere.

Osama bin Laden Killed

Scroll down for John Brennan's press briefing.

Here's the President's speech, announcing that U.S. forces had killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan. The speech was delivered at about 11:45 pm ET:

You can read the text of the President's full remarks here on the White House site.

Secretary Hillary Clinton makes a statement:

The hideout of Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden is pictured after his death. Getty image. This ABC News video is a gruesome tour of the bin Laden compound taken after the U.S. raid. I hesitated to post it. More video here:

White House press briefing. National secruity advisor John Brennan conducted most of the press briefing, and he was really interesting & quasi-informative. I suspect John Brennan is a son-of-a-bitch, and if I had to get stuck someplace scary with one other person, I would like that person to be John Brennan, as long as Brennan was on my side:

40 Minutes in Abbottabad. James Oliphant of the Chicago Tribune: "After landing by helicopter at the Pakistani compound housing Osama bin Laden early Monday, local time, the U.S. special operations team tasked with capturing or killing the Al Qaeda leader found itself in an almost continuous gun battle. For the next 40 minutes, the team cleared the two buildings within the fortified compound in Abbottabad, north of Islamabad, trying to reach Bin Laden and his family, who lived on the second and third floors of the largest structure, senior Defense Department and intelligence officials said Monday. 'Throughout most of the 40 minutes, they were engaged in a firefight,' said a senior Pentagon official...."

Follow the Messenger. Mark Mazetti & Helene Cooper of the New York Times: "A trusted courier of Osama bin Laden’s whom American spies had been hunting for years was finally located in a compound 35 miles north of the Pakistani capital, close to one of the hubs of American counterterrorism operations. The property was so secure, so large, that American officials guessed it was built to hide someone far more important than a mere courier. What followed was eight months of painstaking intelligence work, culminating in a helicopter assault by American military and intelligence operatives that ended in the death of Bin Laden on Sunday and concluded one of history’s most extensive and frustrating manhunts."

The New York Times has an obituary of bin Laden.

AP: "The State Department early Monday put U.S. embassies on alert and warned of the heightened possibility for anti-American violence after the killing of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden by American forces in Pakistan. In a worldwide travel alert released shortly after President Barack Obama late Sunday announced bin Laden’s death in a U.S. military operation, the department said there was an 'enhanced potential for anti-American violence given recent counterterrorism activity in Pakistan.'”

Greg Miller & Joby Warrick of the Washington Post: "... al-Qaeda has metastasized in the decade since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, expanding its reach and adapting its tactics in ways that make the organization likely to remain the most significant security threat to the United States despite its leader’s demise."

Alissa Rubin of the New York Times: "In Afghanistan>, where Osama bin Laden was based for many years and where Al Qaeda helped to train and pay insurgents, there was relief and uncertainty about how his death would play out in the fraught regional power politics now shaping the war. While senior political figures welcomed the news of his death, they cautioned that it did not necessarily translate into an immediate military victory over the Taliban, and urged the United States and NATO not to use it as a reason to withdraw."

Brian Stelter of the New York Times on "how the bin Laden announcement leaked out."

"A Moment of National Unity." Dan Balz of the Washington Post: "Obama’s announcement, which came just before midnight, was grounds for celebration for a country still scarred by the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, producing a rare moment of national unity at a time of deep divisions on many domestic and foreign policy issues."

Los Angeles Times Editors: "Sunday night's announcement should remind the nation that the presidency is not just an office to be contested and that American values are not merely empty words to be used as political rhetoric. Obama ordered the seizure of America's most vile enemy, who resisted and was shot down. The world is better and safer for his death."

Paul West of the Los Angeles Times: "A foreign policy novice when he came to office, President Obama can now claim a national security victory that eluded his predecessor for almost eight years.... The caliber of his leadership, often the target of withering attacks by the Republican opposition, has now been bolstered in a very tangible way.... This may not be the turning point many Obama supporters would like it to be -- but the immediate result will almost certainly be a rise in his sagging popularity."

Jeff Zeleny of the New York Times: "President Obama’s announcement late Sunday that Osama bin Laden had been killed delivered not only a long-awaited prize to the United States, but also a significant victory for Mr. Obama, whose foreign policy has been the subject of persistent criticism by his rivals.

Mike McPhate of the Washington Post on Abbottabad, the town where Osama was killed.

Glenn Greenwald: "... what, if anything, is going to change as a result of the two bullets in Osama bin Laden's head? Are we going to fight fewer wars or end the ones we've started? Are we going to see a restoration of some of the civil liberties which have been eroded at the alter of this scary Villain Mastermind? Is the War on Terror over? Are we Safer now? Those are rhetorical questions. None of those things will happen."

I stand with MLK, who said 'I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy.' -- David Sirota, Tweet

David Sirota, in Salon, on U.S. public reaction to bin Laden's killing: "... an America that once carefully refrained from flaunting gruesome pictures of our victims for fear of engaging in ugly death euphoria now ogles pictures of Uday and Qusay’s corpses, rejoices over images of Saddam Hussein’s hanging and throws a party at news that bin Laden was shot in the head. This is bin Laden’s lamentable victory -- he has changed America’s psyche from one that saw violence as a regrettable-if-sometimes-necessary act into one that finds orgasmic euphoria in news of bloodshed."

Karen Garcia: "Cynic that I am, I have to wonder about that massive compound surrounded by razor wire, practically right next door to Pakistan's version of West Point, going unnoticed all these years. Doesn't the CIA have Google Earth Didn't they talk to the neighbors, who have noticed for a long time that the occupants of the compound never brought out any freaking garbage?"

A personal note from Greg Sargent, which I highly recommend.

Eight years ago Sunday:

George Bush, May 1, 2003.

The Commentariat -- May 2

Sen. Mark Warner brings a buzzer to meetings of the 'Gang of Six' senators who are working to craft a grand deficit-cutting deal. If talks get too tense, Mr. Warner, a Virginia Democrat, hits the button, which intones: 'Bullshit detected. Take precautions.' -- Wall Street Journal ...

... The paragraph above opens a disconcerting WSJ article by Naftali Bendavid & Damian Paletta, which informs us that the Gang of Six is still working on what is surely to be a horrible budget compromise. I hope there's enough bullshit being spewed to break up that old gang of special interest advocates. The budget they should be working from is the Congressional Progressive Caucus proposal. But, needless to say, they aren't.

Paul Krugman: Republicans ran hard against the bank bailout -- pretending it was Obama's idea, not Henry Paulson's -- and now they're planning to dismantle all the regulations that might prevent another crisis -- and another bailout. I've put up a comments page for Krugman on Off Times Square and have posted my comment on his column. Update: Karen Garcia has posted her comment also.

Robert Reich: "That’s the proposal emerging in the Senate from Republican Bob Corker of Tennessee and also Democrat Claire McCaskill of Missouri. It would get the deficit down not by raising taxes on the rich but by capping federal spending.... According to an analysis by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, the McCaskill/Corker plan would require $800 billion of cuts in 2022 alone. That’s the equivalent of eliminating Medicare entirely, or the entire Department of Defense." It's still a pig.

E. J. Dionne of the Washington Post: "Those who would use the debt limit as a way of reducing spending risk increasing the deficit by forcing our debt-service costs upward. Moreover, conservatives show little actual interest in decreasing the deficit.... What they really care about is reducing government outlays and keeping tax rates on the wealthy low."

Ezra Klein: "Sen. Al Franken introduced the Pay for War Resolution. 'Iraq and Afghanistan have cost us well over a trillion dollars,' he said in a floor speech.... My one qualm with Franken’s approach to this issue is that he frames it almost entirely in terms of fiscal responsibility.... The importance of paying for war — of paying, really, for anything — is that it forces you to make decisions about what is and isn’t worth doing.... But all in all, this is a very worthwhile piece of legislation from a man who has turned out to be a very serious and thoughtful senator."

Rory Carroll of Reuters: "California is putting its reputation as a pioneering environmental heavyweight on the line as it prepares to launch a carbon market in eight months' time.... The idea of capping greenhouse gas emissions and providing cleaner companies with the potential to profit off their success in doing so is not new, but it has never been tried in the United States on this scale."

Robert Parry in TruthOut: "... the 'birther' case became a stand-in for those who saw political benefit in undermining Obama's legitimacy with the American people. By drawing attention to his ethnicity, 'birtherism' became as much a code word for racism as was the states' rights excuse used by white segregationists in the South a half century ago. While some on the American Left seem to have forgotten how extraordinary it was for the United States to elect a talented black politician as president, it does not appear that the right has been so colorblind."

Right Wing World *

Consistency is the Hobgoblin of Little Minds. Neera Tanden of The New Republic: "While Republicans initially manufactured lies about [healthcare reform] — anyone remember death panels? — they eventually focused on one provision in the bill that was focused on cutting costs: the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB).... Now, more than a year after health care reform passed, Paul Ryan, facing stiff opposition to his plan to end Medicare as we know it, has taken to attacking the IPAB as a way to rebut his critics.... What’s fascinating about the posture of these cosponsors is that it runs into direct conflict to the vote the House took mere days ago on the overall Ryan budget.... So, after all of their complaining about how the IPAB moved too far away from public accountability, they’ve just proposed eliminating all such accountability, insisting instead that private insurance companies know best."

Local News

Wisconsin Gov. Walker's "Starvation Scheme." TruthOut Buzzflash: Gov. Scott Walker wants to "allow a for profit corporation to decide who gets food and who doesn’t. On top of this 20 million dollars will be taken away from Wisconsin in Federal aid for help." Apparently Walker also doesn't care that his proposed plan has a lousy track record. According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, privatization of the food stamp program failed in Texas & Ohio; Ohio is still locked in a suit with the private provider who didn't provide. Here's the Journal Sentinel article by Jason Stein. ...

... Gov. Scott Walker is a genuine high school graduate, but he doesn't think much of libraries. Mark Karlin of TruthOut Buzzflash: Walker is planning to cut Wisconsin library funding by $18.5 million in 2012 alone. The cuts come at a particularly bad time, according to Rhonda Putney, President of the state Library Association: "It's not just books and story times and computer access. We're helping people look for jobs and learn computer skills, so they can apply for jobs. That's been a really big focus."

News Ledes

New York Times: "Senator Scott P. Brown of Massachusetts announced Monday that he had asked to conduct his annual training as a member of the state’s Army National Guard this summer in Afghanistan." CW: Scott Brown may have begun his Senate career as an uninformed, gaffe-prone doofus, but he is turning into a darned smart Senator & politician.

AP: "President Barack Obama plans to visit New York City on Thursday to mark the death of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden. The White House says Obama will visit ground zero, the site of al-Qaida's attack on the World Trade Center, and meet with the families of those killed nearly 10 years ago."

President & Mrs. Obama hosted a dinner for bipartisan leaders & their spouses. Politico: "President Obama was congratulated by dozens of lawmakers Monday night for authorizing an attack that killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan. The members of Congress, who were eating dinner at the White House, interrupted Obama’s opening remarks with sustained applause as he said, 'Last night, as Americans learned the United States had carried out an operation that resulted in the capture and the death of Osama bin Laden —.” Update: see video under May 3 Commentariat above.

Las Vegas Sun: "Sen. John Ensign apologized Monday to an all but empty Senate chamber for his extramarital affair with a former aide and hoped aloud that his legislative record would speak for him.... Ensign's farewell speech was notable as much for who was not there as for what he said. Not a single colleague came to hear him speak or to pay tribute to his service. The gallery was empty of family members and staffers who often pack its seats for such occasions."

Las Vegas Sun: "Saying the decision on who to elect should rest with the people and not “politically elite' powerbrokers,' Secretary of State Ross Miller announced today that the special election ballot for the 2nd Congressional District will be open to all candidates and not just nominees selected by the state’s political party.... The special election will be Sept. 13 to replace U.S. Rep. Dean Heller, R-Nev., who will be appointed to the U.S. Senate next month following Sen. John Ensign’s resignation." CW: this means Sharron Angle is in the mix.

AP: The Obama "administration used DNA testing to help confirm that American forces in Pakistan had in fact killed bin Laden, as U.S. officials sought to erase all doubt." ...

... Reuters: "Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Monday cooperation with Pakistan helped lead the United States to the Pakistani compound where Osama bin Laden was found and killed by U.S. special forces." That's about all there is to this article (at 1:20 pm ET), tho it might be fleshed out later.

** New York Times: "Osama bin Laden, the mastermind of the most devastating attack on American soil in modern times and the most hunted man in the world, was killed in a firefight with United States forces in Pakistan on Sunday, President Obama announced." Here's the AP story. The Washington Post's lead story is here. A new, updated New York Times story includes related WikiLeaks info.

     ... The New York Times' The Lede is following reactions to the killing.

     ... Here's the Al Jazeera story, with video report. Al Jazeera also has a liveblog of developments related to Osama's killing.

Chicago Tribune: "The Boston University center that studies brain injuries to professional athletes says former NFL player Dave Duerson had brain damage when he committed suicide in February. The Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy at the B.U. School of Medicine announced on Monday its findings on its examination of Duerson's brain. The safety who began his NFL career with the Chicago Bears was 50 when he shot himself in the chest." New York Times story here.

Washington Post: "The U.S., British and Italian embassies were attacked and burnt by mobs in the Libyan capital Sunday, hours after a NATO airstrike was reported to have killed one of Moammar Gaddafi’s sons and three of his grandchildren. Britain responded to the attack on its embassy and ambassador’s residence, which were gutted by fire, by expelling Libya’s ambassador to London. The United Nations announced that it had temporarily withdrawn its 12 international staff members from Tripoli and sent them to neighboring Tunisia after a mob entered its compound."