memeorandum: Press Briefing by Senior Administration Officials on the Killing of Osama bin Laden (The White House)

7:05 PM ET, May 2, 2011

Top Items:

The Secret Team That Killed bin Laden — From Ghazi Air Base in Pakistan, the modified MH-60 helicopters made their way to the garrison suburb of Abbottabad, about 30 miles from the center of Islamabad. Aboard were Navy SEALs, flown across the border from Afghanistan, along with tactical signals …

TPMDC:

White House: Osama Bin Laden Used Wife As Human Shield — The President and his national security team spent Sunday afternoon and evening huddling in the West Wing of the White House filled with anxiety while they followed in real time the covert operations of an elite team …

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Washington Post and Little Green Footballs

New York Times:

Detective Work on Courier Led to Breakthrough on Bin Laden — WASHINGTON — After years of dead ends and promising leads gone cold, the big break came last August. — A trusted courier of Osama bin Laden's whom American spies had been hunting for years was finally located in a compound 35 miles north …

Tim Ross / Telegraph:

WikiLeaks: Osama bin Laden ‘protected’ by Pakistani security — Pakistani security forces allegedly helped Osama bin Laden evade American troops for almost 10 years, according to secret US government files. — American diplomats were told that one of the key reasons why they had failed …

Discussion: Christian Science Monitor, The Daily Beast, Hot Air, Sky Dancing and Pajamas Media

Adam Goldman / Minneapolis Star Tribune:

Officials: CIA interrogators at secret prisons developed first strands that led to bin Laden — WASHINGTON - Officials say CIA interrogators in secret overseas prisons developed the first strands of information that ultimately led to the killing of Osama bin Laden.

Discussion: Firedoglake, The Foundry, The Gateway Pundit, Power Line, Daily Kos, Emptywheel, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, National Review and Politics

Jon Bershad / Mediaite:

Limbaugh: ‘We Need To Open The Program Today By Congratulating President Obama’ — Amidst all the revelry on Twitter last night, tons of people were voicing their concerns that the death of Osama bin Laden would inevitably be twisted for political gain, that some person would force …

Discussion: Media Matters for America, Political Punch, Don Surber, Brilliant at Breakfast and New York Magazine, more at Mediagazer »

Glenn Greenwald / Salon:

Killing of bin Laden: What are the consequences? — The killing of Osama bin Laden is one of those events which, especially in the immediate aftermath, is not susceptible to reasoned discussion. It's already a Litmus Test event: all Decent People — by definition — express unadulterated ecstacy …

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, News Desk, The Moderate Voice, Nicholas D. Kristof, Politics, Guardian, Weasel Zippers and No More Mister Nice Blog, more at Mediagazer »

Jake Tapper / Political Punch:

White House Officials Debate Releasing Photographs of Bin Laden's Corpse — The Obama administration has photographs of Osama bin Laden's dead body and officials are debating what to do with them and whether they should be released to the public, officials tell ABC News.

Discussion: Associated Press, Fox News, NewsBusters.org, Agence France Presse, ABCNEWS, Runnin' Scared, Pajamas Media, Mediaite, Hot Air, New York Magazine and Weasel Zippers

Judd Legum / ThinkProgress:

Meet The Deathers: Andrew Brietbart Website Pushing Conspiracy Theory That Osama Might Not Be Dead — Mere hours after President Obama announced the death of Osama bin Laden, supported by incontrovertible DNA evidence, the conspiracy theorists are hard at work.

Discussion: Alex Jones' Infowars, Big Peace, Little Green Footballs, Foreign Policy, Daily Kos, The Political Carnival and msnbc.com

Tanya Somanader / ThinkProgress:

Joe Scarborough: Obama's Base Didn't Want Him To Catch Bin Laden — With the announcement of Osama Bin Laden's death last night, President Obama secured a decade-long goal in eliminating a mass murderer and global terrorist. While his leadership behind the accomplishment has spurred …

Discussion: slate.com?id=2292673, Crooks and Liars, Huck PAC, New York Times, Fabius Maximus, The Foundry, The Other McCain, The Moderate Voice and Agence France Presse

Steve Coll / News Desk:

Notes on the Death of Osama bin Laden — No doubt there will be time to reflect more deeply about the news announced by President Obama last night. For now, I thought it might be useful to annotate some of the initial headlines. — On where he was found:

Discussion: 1 The Long War Journal, ABCNEWS, Guardian, Battleland, Weasel Zippers, Bloomberg, The Politico, Hullabaloo and Hendrik Hertzberg

David Frum / FrumForum:

Can We Stop Questioning Obama's Legitimacy Now? — So much to say about the long-awaited visiting of justice upon Osama bin Laden. — But there's one effect on US domestic politics that deserves a thought: — Here's hoping that we have at last seen the end of this ugly insinuation …

Discussion: CNN, Jack & Jill Politics and Outside the Beltway

Patrick Gavin / The Politico:

KEITH URBAHN'S TWEET HEARD AROUND THE WORLD — 'I don't credit myself with the story. I credit Twitter,' Keith Urbahn said. POLITICO Screengrab — Keith Urbahn, chief of staff for former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, is being credited with first reporting, via Twitter Sunday night …

Discussion: The Blaze

Dan Wheat / The Daily Astorian:
Teacher who vowed not to shave until bin Laden was caught or killed finally shaves

Discussion: Mediaite and Runnin' Scared

Radley Balko / The Agitator:
He Won — In The Looming Tower, the Pulitzer-winning history …

Discussion: Democracy in America and Outside the Beltway

Jennifer Epstein / The Politico:
Muslim world reaction mixed

Discussion: Pew Global Attitudes Project, The Note, News Desk, New York Times, The Huffington Post, Ben Smith's Blog, Hot Air, ibnlive.in.com, The Numbers and theblogprof

Christopher Hitchens / Slate:
What Obama does next will help define the legacy of Osama Bin Laden.

Discussion: Yglesias, ThinkProgress, Firedoglake, TPMDC and Little Green Footballs, more at Mediagazer »

David Sirota / Salon:
“USA! USA!” is the wrong response

Discussion: Washington Post, National Review, Opinion L.A. and Firedoglake

Brian Ross / ABCNEWS:
40 Minutes That Changed the World: Inside the Operation That Brought Bin Laden Down

Discussion: Reuters, Atlas Shrugs, Big Peace, Mediaite, UNCOVERAGE.net, Fox News, Fox Nation and Oliver Willis

Jonathan Karl / ABCNEWS:
Dick Cheney Says ‘Obama Deserves Credit’ for Osama Bin Laden's Death

Discussion: Des Moines Register, Top of the Ticket, Power Line, TPMDC, Runnin' Scared, Bark Bark Woof Woof and Swampland

Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:
Yes, Bin Laden's Death Will Help Obama, but for How Long?

Elizabeth Flock / Reuters:
Navy SEALs who killed Osama bin Laden are from the elite ‘Team 6’

Discussion: Wonk Room and melissaclouthier's Diary

Matthew Yglesias / Yglesias:
Osama Bin Laden's Death Could Be a Great Time To Declare Victory In The “War On Terror”

Discussion: Reuters, Hullabaloo, New York Times, Moonbattery, theblogprof and The Huffington Post

David Brody / The Brody File:
Obama's Bin Laden Speech Misses Mark

Discussion: NationalJournal.com, Washington Monthly, AMERICAblog News and Reuters

Robert W. Johnson / Politics:
Meet The ‘Seal Team 6’, The Bad-Asses Who Killed Osama Bin Laden

Discussion: Reuters, Aljazeera, Telegraph, Clusterstock and AmSpecBlog

Elizabeth Flock / Washington Post:
Bin Laden's wife used as human shield

Discussion: Outside the Beltway

The Atlantic Online:
A Defense of Pakistan — I'm receiving a good deal of mail …

Discussion: Swampland and Ben Smith's Blog

Hillel Fendel / Arutz Sheva: Arabs Riot in Jerusalem Over Bin Laden's Demise, Hamas Angry

Ashfaq Ahmed / Gulf News:
World | Other World Stories — Compound in Pakistan was once a safe house

Discussion: Pajamas Media, 1 The Long War Journal, Weasel Zippers, Hit & Run and The Gateway Pundit

Tim Lister / CNN:
Abbottabad — The military town where bin Laden hid in plain sight

Discussion: Battleland and Guardian

The Hill:
White House: ‘Inconceivable’ bin Laden had no Pakistani support

Discussion: Firedoglake, Talking Points Memo, USA Today and TPMDC

Travis Waldron / ThinkProgress:
Santorum's Response To Bin Laden's Death Is To Accuse Obama Of Not Defending American Freedom

Discussion: Elliott Abrams, Yglesias and Los Angeles Times

David Ignatius / Washington Post:
How the U.S. found and finished Bin Laden

Discussion: The Smoking Gun

Mike Allen / The Politico:
Getting Osama bin Laden: How the mission went down

Discussion: Orange County Register, The Hill, Gothamist, The Daily Caller, JustOneMinute, The Note, Reuters, presstv.ir and CNN

The White House:
Press Briefing by Senior Administration Officials on the Killing of Osama bin Laden

Discussion: Weekly Standard, NationalJournal.com, White House.gov Blog, National Review, Associated Press, Wall Street Journal, Firedoglake, Foreign Policy, The Atlantic Online, Outside the Beltway, GayPatriot, New Atlanticist, Danger Room and Washington Post

Jordan Fabian / The Hill:
Graham questions decision to dispose of bin Laden's body

Discussion: The Hill, Telegraph, Ballot Box, Runnin' Scared and NO QUARTER

Ktvtphil / CBS Dallas:
Bush Home Buzzing After Bin Laden Killing

Discussion: The Daily Beast

MEMRI:
Indian Media Reports on Osama bin Laden's Killing: ‘Osama was Killed in an ISI Safehouse’; …

Discussion: Pajamas Media, Israel Matzav and Questions and Observations

Matt Schneider / Mediaite:
Counter Terrorism Chief Brennan Explains Rationale Behind Sea Burial Of Bin Laden

Discussion: NewsBusters.org, Fox Nation and The Daily Caller

Matt Negrin / The Politico:
Corpse handled in ‘Islamic practice’

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, The Note, Media Decoder, theblogprof, Associated Press, CNN, FOK News Channel, This Just In, Mediaite, Runnin' Scared and ABCNEWS, more at Mediagazer »

Roger Simon / The Politico:
Obama is now Warrior in Chief

Discussion: ABCNEWS and Weasel Zippers

Mike Butcher / TechCrunch Europe:
Here's the guy who unwittingly live-tweeted the raid on Bin Laden

Discussion: India Real Time, Reuters, Mediaite, Guardian and The Huffington Post, more at Mediagazer »

Associated Press:
US official: New tape may be last from bin Laden

Discussion: Weasel Zippers

First Read / msnbc.com:
First Thoughts: A game-changer — Osama bin Laden's death …

Discussion: Bloomberg, NationalJournal.com, The Moderate Voice, Media Matters for America, Washington Post, ABC News, Connecting.the.Dots, National Review, Foreign Policy and Pajamas Media

Jennifer Epstein / The Politico:

Rush Limbaugh: ‘Thank God for President Obama’ — You heard that right: “Thank God for President Obama,” Rush Limbaugh said on his radio show Monday afternoon. — “Ladies and gentlemen, we need to open the program today by congratulating President Obama,” Limbaugh said Monday afternoon at the start of his show.

Discussion: Washington Monthly and The Page

Daniel Strauss / The Hill:
Limbaugh commends Obama, sort of

Discussion: New York Times, The Note and CNN

Glen Johnson / Boston Globe:

Brown heading for Afghanistan — UPDATED — Senator Scott Brown issued a statement this morning saying he has requested to conduct his annual National Guard training in Afghanistan. … Brown has been in the Guard since 1979, but he has never been deployed to a war zone.

Discussion: The Politico

Jim Romenesko / Poynter:

Claim: Krugman is top prognosticator; Cal Thomas is the worst — Romenesko Misc. — A Hamilton College class and their public policy professor analyzed the predicts of 26 pundits — including Sunday morning TV talkers — and used a scale of 1 to 5 to rate their accuracy.

Jim Geraghty / National Review:

Cindy Sheehan: 'If you believe the newest death of OBL, you're stupid.' — Maureen Dowd, back in August 2005: … Cindy Sheehan, today: … I have a hard time bearing much ill will toward Sheehan, no matter how nonsensical or inane her utterances get; who knows what the depths of grief can do to a parent's mind?

Discussion: Weasel Zippers