Osama Bin Laden is dead - USA has body!

[Cerek]

That's part of the original point I was making, Felix. Here is the other part.

CIA Gets a Rare Public Victory

The efforts to track and find OBL have been going on for years and this was the culmination of those efforts.

Obama may have helped choose the final option and (of course) gave the authorization for it, but the bulk of the work making those actions possible occurred long before he ever ran for the White House.

[Timber Loftis]

I would never suggest that glory for their service and actions do not or should not go to servicemen and women, most especially those that conducted the raid on the compound. They know what they did, and as the great Americans they are, I suppose most all of them will accordingly keep their acts secret and continue to do more.

I was just personally surprised to see that Obama had a heavy hand in deciding how the action was carried out, and I do want to credit him for that.

And for anyone who thinks I am on the Obama crazy-train of supporters, I do want to know more specifics about this incident, I do think he's signed on to a bit too much secrecy in government that he said he would not, and I have many other questions about his "rule" (or his "Presidency" if you don't like me equating the American Presidency to what it has become).

But I do think credit is due where it's due.

And, again, I do agree with the argument that from a broad perspective, this victory is Phyrric.

Felix, I believe it was our House, and not our President, that was debating on whether or not to pay the men in question for the excellent service. Minor point, but worth noting.

[Memnoch]

Originally Posted by Felix The Assassin In a nutshell. They are all similar, use similar equipment, and have similar yet different missions. Green Berets have moved deeper into A&A units, and there are more B-Teams involved in that than A-Teams. Sea Air Land = SEALS. In your face death. USAF Para-rescue those cool commercials? Yea, that's what they do. Marines formed MARSOC recently, I have no intel on their missions. Formerly could go SEAL, or Marine Recon which hosted the Marine sniper school. All the rest are operational units to include the 3 Ranger Batts, however, the 75th is a USASOC unit, but still a unit within rank and file lineage. Here is a link for you. It might give you a security warning. http://www.socom.mil/SOCOMHome/Pages/default.aspx

Thanks for the explanation Felix. What is A&A?

So to summarise, SEALs are top of the tree, followed by the Green Berets, followed by the Rangers?

[Timber Loftis]

Felix can of course provide more poignant info, but it seems to me that it all boils down to who gets the nod. Each branch of the military has its elite -- Navy SEALs, Army Rangers, and I don't know wtf for Marines (what are their hard-to-get-in elite?) and Air Force (aren't their elite airborne?). But, in this case the SEALs got it.

[johnny]

Originally Posted by Hivetyrant This analogy is my favourite. I agree, and Johnny, excellent summary

Yes brilliant analogy, but i would prolly be quite excited about obtaining that mount, it is after all still a rare drop. Osama on the other hand isn't that special at all (anymore).

[Cerek]

Originally Posted by Timber Loftis I would never suggest that glory for their service and actions do not or should not go to servicemen and women, most especially those that conducted the raid on the compound. They know what they did, and as the great Americans they are, I suppose most all of them will accordingly keep their acts secret and continue to do more. I was just personally surprised to see that Obama had a heavy hand in deciding how the action was carried out, and I do want to credit him for that. And for anyone who thinks I am on the Obama crazy-train of supporters, I do want to know more specifics about this incident, I do think he's signed on to a bit too much secrecy in government that he said he would not, and I have many other questions about his "rule" (or his "Presidency" if you don't like me equating the American Presidency to what it has become). But I do think credit is due where it's due.

That's fair enough and I'm willing to give him credit for the part he did play in this situation. At first, I assumed his role was pretty much the standard for any POTUS; meet with advisers, listen to the options suggested and give his approval for the one the military leaders suggest is the best. He is not an expert on military tactics, so it would make sense for him to defer to the military leaders and advisers based on their experience and expertise.

However, as more information has come to light, it sounds like Obama did take a more active role in the process of weighing the available options and deciding which would provide the best possible outcome overall. Even though it meant considerably more risk, Obama was intelligent enough to realize the world would demand proof - which meant they would have to at least provide photos of a recognizable body. Bombing the compound to rubble would be the safest option for our personnel, but it sounds like Obama realized that wouldn't provide the proof the world would demand.

So I do give him credit for taking a more active role in the process.

[Felix The Assassin]

Originally Posted by Memnoch Thanks for the explanation Felix. What is A&A? So to summarise, SEALs are top of the tree, followed by the Green Berets, followed by the Rangers?

A&A = Advise and assist.

Delta Force is actually the top of the pillar. They are AKA 1st SOFOD-D. However, they are ubber secretive, and work in missions other than media release.

Rangers are "NOT" SOCOM they are USASOC (US Army Special Operations), they infiltrate before the Army hits the ground. SOCOM units will already be in place.

[SpiritWarrior]

Originally Posted by Felix The Assassin Saw this on face book: Just a reality check!

Quasi-reality.

[Timber Loftis]

Originally Posted by Felix The Assassin Delta Force is actually the top of the pillar.

But of course. I mean, with Chuck Norris at their helm of course they are the best of the best -- duh!

[johnny]

On a sidenote...it's time for all the worldleaders to review their relationship with Pakistan, coz only in a c rated movie would it be possible that they were not aware of Bin Laden's whereabouts. Maybe put them on top of the list of rogue states? Who needs enemies with friends like Pakistan?