I’m torn between basic human curiosity, journalistic voyeurism…and my better angels, which tell me that any death photos of Osama bin Laden will make life more dangerous for the thousands of American soldiers and diplomats, as well as untold numbers of private citizens, both businesspeople and tourists, who spend time in iffy places overseas.
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Bush’s Torture Lawyer Claims Credit for bin Laden’s Death, Criticizes Seals
More Bush administration officials associated with the program of compliance-inducing “enhanced interrogation techniques” are coming out of the woodwork to claim a measure of credit for Osama bin Laden’s death.
Ex-CIA Counterterror Chief: ‘Enhanced Interrogation’ Led U.S. to bin Laden
A former head of counterterrorism at the CIA, who was investigated last year by the Justice Department for the destruction of videos showing senior al-Qaeda officials being interrogated, says the harsh questioning of terrorism …
Obama Pushed for ‘Fight Your Way Out’ Option in bin Laden Raid
A senior U.S. military official Monday credited President Obama for having a prominent role in pushing and shaping the plan to get Osama bin Laden. “In the final weeks and really months of this, his personal interest and …
White House: Debate Over “Enhanced Interrogation Techniques” Is Moot
The chain of clues that led to the Abbottabad compound where Osama bin Laden was killed by U.S. special forces early Monday began with human intelligence. Senior administration officials have said key members of bin Laden’s inner-circle were flagged by post-9/11 detainees under interrogation, and that has raised an inescapable question: …
If bin Laden Was Unarmed, Why Was He Shot?
Updated 3:02 p.m.
A major question lingers unanswered at the center of this story: Why was bin Laden killed? Michael Scherer has reported that the Navy Seals who landed at Osama bin Laden’s safehouse were not given orders specifically to kill, but were on a “kill or capture” mission. That implies they were prepared to accept bin …
CIA Chief: Pakistan Would Have Jeopardized bin Laden Operation
In his first interview since commanding the mission to kill Osama bin Laden, CIA chief Leon Panetta tells TIME that U.S. officials feared that Pakistan could have undermined the operation by leaking word to its targets. Long …
The CIA Gets a Rare Public Victory
As the news of Osama bin Laden’s death moves from exhilarating novelty to accepted reality, one group in the U.S. government will emerge as key to the win: the Central Intelligence Agency. From the earliest identification of a …
Osama Bin Laden Killed, Obama Hails Moment of ‘Justice’
Updated at 2:30 a.m.
Nearly 10 years after he launched the deadliest domestic attack in U.S. history, al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden has been killed by American forces. Late Sunday evening, President Barack Obama addressed …
After Gates: Obama’s New Security Team
It was never going to be easy for Obama to watch Robert Gates walk out of the Pentagon and back into private life. Over two and a half years, Gates has provided impenetrable political air cover for a series of extremely difficult national security decisions, from the surge in Afghanistan to repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. Gates’ …
Obama Releases Long Form Birth Certificate
Fed up with the birther circus, the White House says it sought an exemption from Hawaii law that forbids copying or releasing this version of the document.
The Republican Crackup
Ezra Klein–this is boring, but it’s almost always the case–has yet another smart piece today in which he posits Barack Obama as a moderate Republican from the early 1990s. I don’t know about the label, but the substance is …
On Health Care and Deficit, Obama Punts (Mostly) and Invites a GOP Fight
In his Wednesday speech on deficit reduction – and even in fact sheets distributed ahead of time – the President wasn’t big on specifics. On health care spending, a primary driver of long-term deficits, he was downright vague. In a briefing with reporters, two “senior administration officials” armed with talking points repeatedly …