White House Photo, Not Watching Bin Laden

Ladies and gentlemen, what you thought was a photo of Obama and his national security team watching as the mission to kill Osama bin Laden played out was not.

The American public was led to believe that we saw a snapshot of a specific historic moment.

We didn't. We were misled.



From the Telegraph:

Leon Panetta, director of the CIA, revealed there was a 25 minute blackout during which the live feed from cameras mounted on the helmets of the US special forces was cut off.

A photograph released by the White House appeared to show the President and his aides in the situation room watching the action as it unfolded. In fact they had little knowledge of what was happening in the compound.

In an interview with PBS, Mr Panetta said: "Once those teams went into the compound I can tell you that there was a time period of almost 20 or 25 minutes where we really didn't know just exactly what was going on. And there were some very tense moments as we were waiting for information.

"We had some observation of the approach there, but we did not have direct flow of information as to the actual conduct of the operation itself as they were going through the compound."

Mr Panetta also told the network that the US Navy Seals made the final decision to kill bin Laden rather than the president.

Well, well.

I was under the impression I was looking at Obama and Hillary and Biden watching as the raid took place.

This photo told the story - the tension, the anxiety - of watching the mission to kill bin Laden.

When that photo was being plastered everywhere, the public was being misled.

Obama and company weren't doing what we were told they were doing.

So much of the information about bin Laden's death we've received since Sunday night has been wrong.

I'm amazed at the level of confusion and the extent of the misinformation coming from the Obama administration.

What is the truth?

Obama has given the public so much to doubt. It's been such a mess. So many different stories, so many retractions and clarifications.

Even the reality of this photo from the White House Situation Room was screwed up.

I just want the truth.

I wonder which "facts" about the bin Laden raid will change today.
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UPDATE: Clinton: allergy, not anguish in my bin Laden photo

Reuters continues to report (May 5, 2011) that the photo is of senior officials watching the raid LIVE.

I guess, as Bill Clinton, "It depends on what the meaning of the word 'is' is."

An allergy and not anguish may explain why Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had her hand to her mouth while watching the commando operation to kill Osama bin Laden, she said on Thursday.

A photo of Clinton, President Barack Obama and other senior officials watching the operation live from the White House situation room has become one of the most striking images of the raid that killed the al Qaeda leader.

The photo shows Clinton with her hand to her mouth in what looks like a gesture of anxiety over the outcome of the operation.

"Those were 38 of the most intense minutes. I have no idea what any of us were looking at that particular millisecond when the picture was taken," she said on Thursday when asked about the photo during a visit to Rome.

"I am somewhat sheepishly concerned that it was my preventing one of my early spring allergic coughs. So it may have no great meaning whatsoever," Clinton added.

I commend Hillary for her honesty.

So much has been said about the look on her face, expressing the tension of the moment. Turns out it might just be an attempt to stifle a cough.