Osama bin Laden's death sparks questions about Afghanistan war

Opponents of the war in Afghanistan are saying today that Osama bin Laden's death marks a turning point that should spur President Obama to bring the troops home.
Mr. Obama, as well as most other political leaders, have acknowledged that bin Laden's death marks a significant victory in the fight against al Qaeda -- but they insist the fight is not over. It remains to be seen how the administration will change course in Afghanistan, where troop reductions were slated to start in July. Public skepticism of the war was already growing, polls have shown, but the latest developments could amplify the debate.
"President Obama's announcement has ended the rationale for the continuation of a 10-year war," Robert Greenwald of the liberal group Brave New Foundation said in a statement. "The reason as understood by Americans for going into Afghanistan was to get Bin Laden and stop al Qaeda. With al-Qaeda driven from the country and Bin Laden dead, Americans won't tolerate spending $2 billion a week on this war any longer."
Greenwald's organization started the initiative "Rethink Afghanistan," which is now hosting a petition on its website to bring troops home now that bin Laden is dead.
Rick Reyes, a cofounder of Brave New Foundation's Veterans for Rethinking Afghanistan, said that as part of the first Marines to set boots on the ground in Afghanistan, his sole mission was capturing bin Laden. "Our mission is accomplished," he said.
Richard Dreyfuss, a contributor to the liberal publication The Nation, wrote in an op-ed republished on CBSNews.com today that "The war in Afghanistan, which long ago lost any sane rationale, no longer has even a pretext."
Indeed, as some interviews with soldiers and military families illustrate, bin Laden's capture was considered a significant reason for the ongoing war.
"That's the reason my son was over there. This is just huge," Del Warren of Long Beach, Calif., whose 28-year-old son was killed in Afghanistan, told the Los Angeles Times in response to bin Laden's death.
New calls for bringing troops out of Afghanistan could build on what appeared to be growing public skepticism about the war. A Washington Post/ ABC News poll released in March showed that 64 percent of Americans said the Afghanistan war is not worth fighting, including about half of Republicans.
Early Monday morning, former Republican Sen. Judd Gregg of New Hampshire published an op-ed in the Hill entitled, "Move on from Afghanistan, focus on Pakistan." The op-ed makes no mention of bin Laden but nevertheless says, "It is time to depart Afghanistan. Nine years is enough."
"We have made the point that we can deliver power there in a manner that should cause any succeeding ruling group to think at some length about whether there is a net benefit to tolerating terrorists who wish to attack America," Gregg wrote. "Now is the time to move on. We have other concerns in the world that should weigh much more heavily in favor of our involvement."
Hillary Clinton: Killing shows "you cannot defeat us"
Bush: Bin Laden's death a "victory for America"
Dems, GOP celebrate bin Laden's death
Meanwhile, some Afghanistan officials also say the death of Osama bin Laden gives the U.S. new reason to move on from Afghanistan.

"This incidence helps the realization that the war on terror is not in Afghan villages and houses -- it has to be conducted where it's most effective," said Waheed Omer, a spokesperson for Afghan President Hamid Karzai, said in an interview with CBS News.
That said, Omer pointed out that there is a plan in place that calls for most NATO combat troops to leave the country by the end of 2014. "I don't see any reason why this is going to impact that in a drastic way," he said.
Not all Afghanistan officials feel that way, however.
"This shouldn't be seen as mission accomplished," said former Afghanistan interior minister Hanif Atmar, reports the Wall Street Journal. "This much bigger than just one man. It's extremely important for the U.S., NATO and Afghanistan to continue to stay the course."
Some conservative analysts in the U.S. are also taking this position: "The death of bin Laden should also not be taken as an excuse or an opportunity to wind down American involvement in Afghanistan," writes Reza Jan, a Critical Threats Project analyst for the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank. "Doing so would display dangerous ignorance of al Qaeda's staying power."
Jan continues, "Leaving Afghanistan to the Taliban on the pretext that Osama bin Laden, the 'primary target' of U.S. efforts in the region, has been eliminated, would provide al Qaeda the second wind and breathing space it would need to truly reconstitute itself and regain or exceed the ability to threaten the world it possessed on 9/11."
Statement by the NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen released a statement saying that "NATO Allies and partners will continue their mission to ensure that Afghanistan never again becomes a safe haven for extremism, but develops in peace and security."
Similarly, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said today that the U.S. should take the opportunity opened up by bin Laden's death "to renew our resolve and redouble our efforts."
"We are supporting an Afghan-led political process that seeks to isolate al Qaeda and end the insurgency," she said.

Rush Limbaugh Said These Words Today: ‘Thank God for President Obama’

A sign that the post-Osama haze of unity has taken hold of American society (if only fleetingly): Rush Limbaugh opened his radio show today with effusive praise for President Obama. True, much of the praise was directed at Obama merely for continuing some of the anti-terror policies of George W. Bush. But Limbaugh also went out of his way to laud the prescience of Obama's decision to go with a surgical special-ops strike that could recover proof of Bin Laden's death, as opposed to bombing the hell out of the place and hoping the world takes our word for it. "Thank God for president Obama," Limbaugh said. "If he had not been there, who knows what would have happened. It was only Obama who understood the need to get DNA, to prove that was Bin laden that we had assassinated." Cherish this moment.**** After viewing the video a second time (thanks, commenter hicountryho), we think he might actually just be using a ton of sarcasm here. But if Limbaugh is mocking the idea that Obama alone, against the wishes of all his military and intelligence advisers, came up with the plan that killed Bin Laden, he's attacking a straw man. Nobody has suggested that Obama alone is responsible for killing Bin Laden. Far from demonstrating that post-Osama unity has arrived, Limbaugh's opening remarks — assuming they are, in fact, sarcastic — prove the exact opposite: Some people will always be too small and bitter to give the opposition credit for anything.

Obama Approval Rating: Going Up After Osama Bin Laden Dead News?

So what is going to happen with the Obama approval rating after Osama Bin Laden has been killed on his command. There is no doubt that this will not be a negative factor from this finding so I wouldn’t be surprised if his rating went up. Foreign affairs is about the only bright spot that Obama has had in his ratings. Many people think that he has done this just to bring it up for the upcoming electionIn a recent polling foreign affairs rating was at 54 percent. Health care was at 41 percent and 39 percent for the economy. This was according to a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation national survey that was conducted in January. Either way I do not think this hail Mary pass is going to allow the Obama approval rating to be high enough that he will win the next election. What are your thoughts on the matter?
Navy Seals: Team 6 Kills Osama Bin Lader
Even the Republications agree that there is going to be at least a temporary boost for the president. “In the short-term, yes. Yesterday was a great day for the nation and we are all rightly celebrating and politics isn’t, and shouldn’t, be a part of the equation,” Doug Heye, a GOP strategist and former communications Director for the Republican National Committee, tells CNN. We are just not sure how long this bounce will last.
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The Drudge Report: Relevant News Or Garbage

Mr. Trump has already begun trying to find other ways to lure the media, including a discussion of Mr. Obama’s academic background and whether he deserved to be admitted to Columbia and Harvard. But it’s unclear whether the media will continue to bite the way it did on the birth certificate story. And Mr. Trump is increasingly facing questions about his own history. But he told the Post, “The fact that it was a settled issue did not keep it from becoming a major part of the political discussion in this town for the last several weeks here. So there’s absolutely no question that what the president released in 2008 was his birth certificate and answered that question, and many of your organizations have done excellent reporting which proved that to be the case. But it continued; the president thought it was a sideshow and chose to take this step today.”

If Tiki Barber succeeded on NBC's 'Today' show he likely wouldn't be looking to make NFL comeback

Since Tuesday, when he announced his desire to return to football, Tiki Barber has had little to say. There is plenty of irony here. During the 2006 season, when he prematurely announced his retirement from the Giants, he couldn't keep his mouth shut.
And for good reason. His mouth was going to make him a television star. A star so bright he would shine not only as a "regular" on NBC's "Today" show but also as a featured player on "Football Night In America."
See, if Tiki Barber had made it in TV, made it so big NBC would have added years and dollars when his three-year, $6 million contract expired in 2009, there would be no need to put the pads back on and be reduced to a one-word punch line.
Barber's comeback motives are being questioned. Is it born out of passion for the game or does he simply need the money? Ironically, his ultimate broadcasting agenda led to his TV demise. It's an ending built on Barber and NBC's unrealistic evaluation of his talent.
After Barber told Fox's Jay Glazer he wanted to play football again, the analysis began. Those moments when Tiki was critical of the Giants, whether it be Tom Coughlin or Eli Manning, were rehashed. The calendar pages were turned back to August 2007, when many who pay attention to such matters believe Barber's TV career started tanking. That's when he debuted on NBC's "Football Night In America" during halftime of a Giants-Ravens exhibition game.
In an instant (one minute, 15 seconds, to be exact) Barber created controversy. He questioned Manning's ability to lead, punctuating his measured analysis with what he thought was a throwaway line: "Sometimes it was almost comical the way he (Manning) would say things." Those words turned into headlines. Manning shot back a few days later, giving the story legs.
Barber was branded an ingrate by the Giants organization. Fans, who already perceived him as a phony, were further angered. NBC Sports suits were ecstatic. If Barber had tarnished his Giants legacy it was of no consequence to them. Barber was doing exactly what he was paid to do, offer a strong opinion. All the better that it generated controversy.
This was Barber's first, last and only great on-camera moment. His TV career was already headed down the tubes when he insisted on emphasizing his commitment to "Today" and setting his sights on becoming the next Matt which amounted to science fiction.
Still, Barber, in nearly every interview, expressed his goal. From the outside looking in this reinforced the notion his lucrative NBC contract was being driven by the network's news/entertainment division, not sports. The sports component was only used to justify his $2 million per year salary.

Tsunami Reaches California After Soaking Hawaii

A tsunami wave reached the West Coast of the U.S. this morning with threats of waves as tall as nine feet that could strike from California to Alaska. Residents along the northern California and Oregon coasts reported seeing the tell-tale sign of an impending tsunami -- the waterline quickly withdrawing from the beach prior to large incoming waves.
The tsunami, which has claimed hundreds of lives in Japan, triggered warning sirens across the Pacific and led to evacuations as far away as Hawaii and Oregon.
By the time the tsunami reached California around 7:45 a.m. PST, it had soaked Hawaii's beaches but done little lasting damage there.
Officials were cautiously optimistic that the West Coast would fare similarly, but warned of waves as high as 9 feet, and banned boaters and surfers in California from entering the water.
Warning sirens began blaring in some Oregon coastal communities in the small hours of the morning, and residents were urged to seek higher ground.
Orgeon officials said highways were congested with residents evacuating low lying ares near Florence.
Sam McAlmond, a resident of Gold Beach, Ore., chose not to evacuate, but is prepared to leave his home if it becomes necesary.
"This doesn't happen too often. We liked to see it if and when anything happens," he said of the tsunami. "We have all of our necessary equipment -- fresh water and food. Filled up the tank with gas and there is an escape route."
McAlmond said he had not seen any significant waves from his beach front home.
In California, the city of San Francisco activated it's emergency operations response team and closed its coastal highway. All coastal access to San Francisco area beaches have been closed.
The 8.9 magnitude earthquake hit Japan Friday afternoon local time, triggering a tsunami that is speeding across the Pacific Ocean at speeds of 500 mph, as fast as a jet airplane.

GOP confident of chances in Florida Senate race

The National Republican Senatorial Committee says a newspaper story that the GOP is trying to recruit MSNBC's Joe Scarborough for a Senate bid in Florida is incorrect.
Brian Walsh, communications director of the community, said NRSC chairman John Cornyn had a "casual conversation" during the 2010 election cycle with Scarborough about the ex-congressman possibly running for a Senate seat -- but in New York.
This morning, we linked to a story in The Hill, a newspaper that covers Congress, that said Cornyn had talked to Scarborough about being a candidate in the Florida Senate race.
Florida will be a factor in the 2012 election cycle, as the GOP targets Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson, who is running for a third term. Republicans need a net gain of four seats to win majority control in the Senate.
"We already have plenty of great candidates looking at the Florida Senate race and we're confident any one of them can beat Bill Nelson in 2012," Walsh said
Scarborough, who served in the U.S. House from 1995 to 2001, has been talked about as a potential candidate and recently told PARADE magazine that he "may feel the need to run for office again" at some point

Relativity to sell DVDs, Blu-ray discs through Fox

Relativity Media LLC, the privately held movie studio backed by hedge fund Elliott Associates, said Thursday that it will sell DVDs and Blu-ray discs of some of its movies through News Corp.'s Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment.
The multiyear deal gives Relativity a way to tap into the U.S. home video market and market its self-financed and self-distributed films. It expects to put out about 12 to 15 films per year under the Rogue Pictures and Relativity labels.
Other films that Relativity co-finances with Sony Corp.'s Sony Pictures or Comcast Corp.'s Universal Pictures are sold domestically by those studios' home video divisions. Internationally, Relativity sells distribution rights to partners abroad.
One of the movies to fall into the new deal, a thriller starring Bradley Cooper titled "Limitless," comes out in theaters next week.