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Periscope by Niall O'Dowd

Obama answers the 3.a.m phone call and may have won the White House again

Posted on Monday, May 02, 2011 at 09:14 PM

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This was

Obama’s

3am phone call moment - when he put to bed the questions about his foreign policy credentials once and for all.

It is a huge triumph and a massive personal boost for

the President

.

It is a real coup for his presidency even in the way the mission played out. It was high risk, but crucially, there were no American casualties.

There were real questions over his leadership on foreign policy issues in light of events in Libya and Afghanistan.

After this nobody can ask those questions now - and nobody will be able to ask them during the election, even if it will likely revolve much more around economic issues.

I’d expect him to rise 10-15 points in the polls after this - and you can be sure the pollsters are out polling.

Even the way he delivered the speech was impressive - there was no triumphalism, he was very straightforward, very matter of fact.

He made it clear the US was not taking on the Muslim world. There was no ‘Mission Accomplished’ banner - or the ‘Dead or Alive’ nonsense ex-President Bush came out with.

From a personal perspective, the mood of New Yorkers is one of great happiness - mixed with a sense of relief. that a person who perpetrated such a dreadful atrocity no longer walks the earth.

He killed thousands of innocent people - and the horrific event led to some terrible policies in response. It was a dreadful moment in world history.

So when I first heard that there was to be a Sunday evening statement, I knew it was Bin Laden.

There just was nothing bigger that it could have been.

Watching the announcement I had tears in my eyes.

I remembered the horrible day, the fear we felt watching the news, I remembered all the people I knew who were killed, all the friends who were lost.

It is definitely a very emotional moment for anybody who lived in New York through 9/11.

For New Yorkers, he came to symbolise all that was evil in the world.

Today there is a real sense of closure, but more than that, a real sense of justice.

Bin Laden is gone, the world is a better place.

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Read more:

Read more: Obama’s Irish advisers were key to Bin Laden plan

Read more: Bin Laden death brings justice to still grieving Irish families -- Closure for those who lost loved ones on 9/11

Read more: Bin Laden shot through left eye, DNA matched sister's brain tissues - buried in Arabian Sea

Read more: Obama answers the 3.a.m phone call and may have won the White House again

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105 comments

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paddyRanger | May 06, 2011, 09:31 AM EDT

McNamara, I am fully aware of what the drones are doing now with Obama, he is actually not doing anything ANY president would be doing in office, he is being advised to do exactly that, as for the "The day for solving problems, and wars, with "B...lls" as you stated, died with the dinosaurs. Today's military and defense communities know it takes intelligence of the two varieties." Where did I exactly state that.....Having a background as a S2, I know more about Mil Intelligence than you ever will

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paddyRanger | May 06, 2011, 09:27 AM EDT

Bullocks, that is a no then paddy .you cant justify what your government has done ans is doing around the world..........there is nothing to address, the treatment the prisoners get in Gitmo is appropriate for who and what they are, your bleeding liberal BS does not make it a point, as for the dead civilians from drone attacks......the majority being taken out of drones are NOT civilian, on the other hand, more pakistani's civilians are being killed by Taliban/Al Q than us, you are a hypocrite of the first degree

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joanxis | May 05, 2011, 08:39 PM EDT

You know, I'm beginning to think that 2b is either not a real person or he makes up all of his rhetoric to see just how much he can p88s us off. No one could hate that much or spout so much garage. Yup, I think 2b is a fake.

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EphraimKibbey | May 05, 2011, 06:22 PM EDT

From ALL the REAL Americans I know, THANK YOU to the REAL AMERICAN who did this: Seals, Delta Force, CIA staff, Cabinet members and President Obama. Congratulations for a job well done. It has been a long 9 years, 7 months and 20 days between 9/11 and Bin Laden's Night of Justice and I had been led to believe by the previous administration that "We do not know where he is and he is just not that important anymore" as they left Afganistan to attack Iraq. It is gratifying to know that Justice is still important to the current administration.

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bullocks | May 05, 2011, 05:17 PM EDT

paddyRanger- that is a no then paddy .you cant justify what your government has done ans is doing around the world.

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McNamara31 | May 05, 2011, 04:28 PM EDT

paddyRanger... One last thing... The day for solving problems, and wars, with "B...lls" as you stated, died with the dinosaurs. Today's military and defense communities know it takes intelligence of the two varieties.

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McNamara31 | May 05, 2011, 04:18 PM EDT

paddyRanger "and you seem to forget I can throw the same thing back at you do you give Bush any credit for his accomplishments" Bush's can take credit for two wars on credit cards and a deregulated financial system, that brought our country to the brink of collapse. I guess Bush chose to walk around declaring "mission accomplished" when it wasn’t. Obama quietly went to work drastically increasing drone activity in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and if you care to research, you could see the drones have been killing off al Qaeda leadership for the past two years. Then he sent is the Navy Seals who brilliantly finished the job. Obama works smart, with less, and doesn't have a need to name his missions “shock and awe”. He knows the results will speak for themselves.

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paddyRanger | May 05, 2011, 03:21 PM EDT

McNamara "Hannah1879, joanxis...You know, I also agree. Obama will never please some of the posters below no matter how great his accomplishments"............what accomplishments, he gave the order to take out OBL, which he would not have been able to do without BUSH, and bear in mind he would not have been able to do if he, Obama had his policies in place before Bush, No I am not saying he gets NO credit, I am saying he only gets the credit he deserves 25%......the rest goes to BUSH for increasing the Navy Seals, their budget, equipment and size, for having the B...lls to get the info out of captured terrorists..........and you seem to forget I can throw the same thing back at you do you give Bush any credit for his accomplishments (and this is one of them)

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bullocks | May 05, 2011, 03:09 PM EDT

paddyRanger so you would rather not address my points about the inhuman treatment in Guantanamo of the killing of civilians in Pakistan. just think ,keep up the drone attacks for another two years and you will have killed the same amount of civilians that sadly died in the attack on the the twin towers.

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paddyRanger | May 05, 2011, 02:52 PM EDT

Bullocks "USA hasn't been in existence for 1000 years.don't you ever ask yourself why they hate you?" I never said it had Bullocks, I already told you why they hate us, we and I mean the West (not just USA, USA is carrying the torch for Europe) have been more succesful than Islam, from Islam not wishing to use a clock........and being backward and not as successful as the west, they hate us for THAT, they hate us being we have been the dominant force and not them, it is pretty simple when you boil it down, even you should be able to figure it out, it is pure and simple jealousy, they are jealous because Islam has not been the dominant force.......I can not say it any clear than that to you, start reading,

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McNamara31 | May 05, 2011, 08:52 AM EDT

Hannah1879, joanxis...You know, I also agree. Obama will never please some of the posters below no matter how great his accomplishments.

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joanxis | May 05, 2011, 12:08 AM EDT

Hannah1879, I agree totally with you.

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clancy4unc | May 04, 2011, 10:31 PM EDT

Yep, this is the ONLY reason we Americans vote for a president. Who cares if he's a socialist, he killed Osama with his bare hands. Wow, he's just smashing! Make him president for life, I say. He could change his name to Barack Stalin Obamer. You liberals, you kill me, you're so ...........silly.

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Skibberrean | May 04, 2011, 06:33 PM EDT

There is NO REASON WHATSOEVER to be proud of obama. He is a fraud and nothing but a Chicago thug that bought his way into OUR WHITE HOUSE with lies, no experience at all, and corrupt friends. His speeches nauseate me when he starts ranting with his accent like he is in the puplit. Go ahead all you liberals, vote for his inexperienced butt again. Wait, just wait and see what he does next. OBL getting taken out, the plans were in the works way before Barry arrived.

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Hannah1879 | May 04, 2011, 05:35 PM EDT

I don't know whether I made myself clear in the last message..but here it is...I am proud of President Obama, our brave military and the operation performed to kill Osama Bin Laden. If someone wants to differ that's fine with me but I really am proud of Pres.Obama...and the funny thing is there are so many who do not want him to get ANY credit for this. I don't understand the thinking of some people but everyone has a right to think what they will. Good article Niall.

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