President Obama announced late last night that he had authorized a military mission to kill the world’s most wanted terrorist. “Last week, I determined that we had enough intelligence to take action, and authorized an operation to get Osama bin Laden and bring him to justice.” In response, conservative leaders and pundits rushed to heap praise on the president — President Bush, that is:
— Majority Whip Eric Cantor: “I commend President Obama who has followed the vigilance of President Bush in bringing Bin Laden to justice.” [Link]
— Former Bush Chief of Staff Andy Card: “[Bush] made sure everything was in place so that President Obama could have an opportunity to get Osama bin Laden.” [Link]
Other conservatives used the opportunity to advance their national security agendas, claiming the mission vindicated controversial Bush policies on everything from unilateralism to torture:
— Rep. Steve King (R-IA) tweeted, “Wonder what President Obama thinks of water boarding now?” — an allusion to the fact that the nickname of the courier who served bin Laden may have been elicited under tortured interrogation. [Link]
— Former Bush adviser Karl Rove said on Fox & Friends this morning: “I think the tools that President Bush put into place –- GITMO, rendition, enhanced interrogation, the vast effort to collect and collate this information — obviously served his successor quite well.”
— Former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld noted that the critical intelligence that led to bin Laden’s death “very well could have been partly a result of the interviews that took place at Guantanamo.” [Link]
— Heritage Foundation President Edwin Feulner, wrote in a blog post, “Bin Laden’s elimination vindicates U.S. strategy in the region, started under President George W. Bush.” [Link]
— John Yoo, Bush legal adviser who wrote “torture memos”: “Without the tough decisions taken by President Bush and his national security team, the United States could not have found and killed bin Laden. It is the continuity of policies in the war on terror that has brought success, not the misguided effort of the last two years to disavow them.” [Link]
Meanwhile, some pundits went even further, criticizing President Obama for not giving his predecessor enough credit:
— Conservative blogger Michelle Malkin tweeted, “U know who Obama forgot 2 thank? Bush-era interrogators&detention staff who dvlped intel re couriers.” [Link]
— Conservative radio host Laura Ingraham tweeted, “BHO turning this into a campaign speech. He should have thanked GWB, not reminded us OB escaped.” She was also suspicious of the timing of the announcement, asking, “Did Obama WH wait to announce on anniv of Bush ‘Mission Accomplished’?!” [Link, link]
— Tea Party Nation head Judson Phillips “said that the death of Osama bin Laden happened in spite of President Obama and criticized the President for announcing the breaking news during Donald Trump’s ‘Celebrity Apprentice.’” [Link]
As for real estate mogul Donald Trump, he had more important things to tweet about this morning: “Don’t forget to watch Donald J. Trump’s Fabulous World of Golf — -tonight at 9 pm, Golf Channel.”
Update:
Former Bush Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said, “I congratulate President Obama and his team for this significant accomplishment. I also congratulate President Bush who carried the War on Terror to our enemies and adopted the legal framework for that effort that continues today.”