memeorandum: Waterboarding, Which Obama Campaigned Against, Led to Bin Laden Kill (Bcook/Fox Nation)

3:55 PM ET, May 3, 2011

Top Items:

Josh Gerstein / The Politico:

White House modifies Osama bin Laden account — The White House backed away Monday evening from key details in its narrative about the raid that killed Osama bin Laden, including claims by senior U.S. officials that the Al Qaeda leader had a weapon and may have fired it during a gun battle with U.S. forces.

Discussion: Little Green Footballs, Los Angeles Times, Breitbart.tv, Yahoo! News Canada, NationalJournal.com, Hot Air, AMERICAblog News, Michelle Malkin, Reuters, The Other McCain, Pajamas Media, New York Magazine, Political Byline, Sweetness & Light, The Daily Beast, Vox Popoli, Maggie's Notebook and The Powers That Be

Sara Reardon / ScienceInsider:

Geographers Had Predicted Osama's Possible Whereabouts — Could Osama bin Laden have been found faster if the CIA had followed the advice of ecosystem geographers from the University of California, Los Angeles? Probably not, but the predictions of UCLA geographer Thomas Gillespie, who …

Discussion: Yglesias, Outside the Beltway, GOOD and L.A. NOW

Drudge Report:

WHITE HOUSE TO RELEASE BIN LADEN DEATH PHOTO — President Obama decided Tuesday morning to release at least one photo showing Osama Bin Laden's death, a top source claims. — The images, being described as ‘graphic’, are bound to stir emotions in the east and the west …

Discussion: Guardian, TPMDC, MyFox Orlando, Weasel Zippers, Outside the Beltway, Pajamas Media and Right Wing Watch

Taegan Goddard's Political Wire:

Students Predicted Bin Laden's Location Two Years Ago — A UCLA geography class predicted in 2009 that there was an 88.9% chance that Osama bin Laden was hiding out in Abbottabad, Pakistan, where he was killed on Sunday, Science Insider reports. — “Based on information from satellites …

Washington Post:

Osama bin Laden killing gives Obama quick but limited ratings boost — In the immediate aftermath of the targeted killing of Osama bin Laden, President Obama's approval rating has jumped higher, with big increases in the number of Americans giving him high marks on dealing with terrorism and the situation in Afghanistan.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Salon, New York Magazine, Liberal Values, Public Opinion Strategies, TPMDC, Outside the Beltway, Prairie Weather, Daily Kos, Gawker and National Review

New York Times:

Behind the Hunt for Bin Laden — President Obama and members of his national security team receiving an update on Sunday. A classified document in front of Hillary Rodham Clinton was blurred before this photo was released. More Photos » — WASHINGTON — For years …

Martha Raddatz / ABCNEWS:

Osama Bin Laden's Death Picture Readied for Release — President Obama and national security officials are considering releasing a photo of Osama bin Laden's corpse today, a source told ABC News. — Obama will head to Ground Zero Thursday to meet with 9/11 families.

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blog, CNN, Poynter, UNCOVERAGE.net, UrbanGrounds, Politics, TalkLeft and The Big Picture

Massimo Calabresi / Swampland:

CIA Chief Breaks Silence: Pakistan Would Have Jeopardized bin Laden Raid, ‘Impressive’ Intel Captured — In his first interview since commanding the mission to kill Osama bin Laden, CIA chief Leon Panetta tells TIME that U.S. officials feared that Pakistan could have undermined the operation by leaking word to its targets.

Discussion: The Hill, The Hill, Politics, ABCNEWS, Mediaite, The Page, Time, Mother Jones and Taegan Goddard's …

Telegraph:

WikiLeaks: Bin Laden's courier ‘trained 9/11 hijack team’ — The courier who led American special forces to Osama bin Laden's hideout was an al-Qaeda computer expert who helped train the 9/11 hijack team, according to leaked US government files. — A section on the file …

Discussion: The Jawa Report, Emptywheel, Pajamas Media, RedState, The Gateway Pundit, TalkLeft, American Power and POWIP

Pew Research Center for the People and the Press:

Public “Relieved” By bin Laden's Death, Obama's Job Approval Rises — OVERVIEW — The public is reacting to the killing of Osama bin Laden with relief, happiness and pride. And Americans overwhelmingly credit the U.S. military and the CIA for the success of the operation.

Discussion: Politics, TPMDC, Hotline On Call, Daily Kos and The Raw Story

Gschwarzcnn / CNN:

CNN Poll: Bin Laden killing gives Obama boost on terrorism & Afghanistan approval — Washington (CNN) - President Barack Obama is seeing a boost in his poll numbers on how he's handling terrorism and the situation in Afghanistan, thanks to his Sunday announcement that Osama bin Laden has been killed, according to a new national survey.

Discussion: The Hill, The Politico, USA Today and Reaganite Republican

Jake Tapper / Political Punch:

Source: White House Discussing Release of OBL Photograph Today — A top source tells ABC News that President Obama and White House officials are discussing the possibility of releasing a photograph of Osama bin Laden's corpse today. — The photograph, according to sources who have seen it …

Discussion: The Note, News Desk, Washington Post, ABCNEWS, Weasel Zippers, Guardian, Nice Deb, Runnin' Scared, National Review, Proof Positive and Left Coast Rebel

Asif Ali Zardari / Washington Post:

Pakistan did its part — Pakistan, perhaps the world's greatest victim of terrorism, joins the other targets of al-Qaeda — the people of the United States, Britain, Spain, Indonesia, Afghanistan, Turkey, Yemen, Kenya, Tanzania, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Algeria — in our satisfaction …

Discussion: New York Times, Salon, The Politico, AmSpecBlog, Reuters, Politics, Guardian, ABCNEWS, Wall Street Journal, Informed Comment, TPMDC, New York Magazine, Danger Room, Firedoglake, Gawker, Sweetness & Light and FrumForum

CBS News:

Bin Laden skull blown apart, official says — Infamous al Qaeda leader shot above left eye in U.S. raid, blowing away part of his skull — WASHINGTON - Osama bin Laden was shot above his left eye and the bullet blew away part of his skull, a U.S. official says. He was also shot in the chest.

Discussion: Associated Press, ABCNEWS, The Nation, The Gateway Pundit, Left Coast Rebel, CANNONFIRE, LewRockwell.com Blog, UrbanGrounds and CBS News

Brian Beutler / TPMDC:
GOP's Tortured Logic: How We Got Osama Bin Laden

Discussion: Facebook, tpmmuckraker …, Guardian, Weigel, NewsMax.com, Indecision Forever, Swampland, Sky Dancing, Big Peace, The Daily Dish, Associated Press, Shakesville, Talking Points Memo and Washington Monthly

Mike Allen / The Politico:
Osama bin Laden raid yields trove of computer data

Discussion: CNN, Pajamas Media, Next Media Animation, Washington Post, Danger Room, Reaganite Republican, Outside the Beltway, The Huffington Post, Maggie's Notebook, AmSpecBlog, Don Surber, Scared Monkeys, iOwnTheWorld.com and The Daily Beast, more at Techmeme »

David Morgan / Reuters:
U.S. believes it can now destroy al Qaeda

Discussion: Simply Left BehindThe … and The Page

Kyle Glazier / Denver Post:
In Colorado, Sarah Palin hails bin Laden's death, praises troops

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Mediaite, Datechguy's Blog and Mother Jones

Mona Eltahawy / Guardian:
No dignity at Ground Zero | Mona Eltahawy

Discussion: Maggie's Notebook and The Other McCain

Mj Lee / The Politico:
Was killing bin Laden legal?

Discussion: ABCNEWS, Oliver Willis and Salon

Ryan J. Reilly / tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com:
Administration Backs Off Tale Of Osama Bin Laden Using Wife As Human Shield

Discussion: Salon, ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/* and Weasel Zippers

Ariel Zirulnick / Christian Science Monitor:
Osama bin Laden's burial at sea: critics range from 9/11 families to militants.

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Gothamist, National Review, Simply Left BehindThe …, Sky Dancing and Mother Jones

BBC:
Pakistan admits Bin Laden intelligence failure

Discussion: The Daily Beast, ProPublica, Mediaite, Sweetness & Light, Emptywheel, Guardian, Foreign Policy and Reuters, more at Mediagazer »

Michael O'Brien / The Hill:
Obama's poll numbers get bounce following bin Laden's killing

Discussion: CNN, Ballot Box and FrumForum

Emptywheel:
The Osama bin Laden Trail Shows Waterboarding Didn't Work

Discussion: CNN, JustOneMinute, Daily Kos, Danger Room, The Politico, Crooks and Liars, Opinio Juris, Washington Post, The Foundry, News Hounds, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Agence France Presse and Booman Tribune

CNN:
Computers, disks seized from bin Laden compound

Discussion: Washington Post

Kevin Bogardus / The Hill:
Pakistan looks to lobbyists for help on bin Laden fallout

Discussion: The Politico

John / Power Line:
Compare and Contrast — Nancy Pelosi, press conference, September 7, 2006:

Discussion: Weasel Zippers and iOwnTheWorld.com

iowahawk:
American Pride is Back Out of the Closet!

Discussion: RealClearPolitics Video Log, Hit & Run and Pajamas Media

Tanya Somanader / ThinkProgress:
Rep. Peter King: We Should Still Use Waterboarding Because That's How We Captured Bin Laden

Discussion: TPMDC, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Mediaite, Mother Jones, Crooks and Liars, The Raw Story and The Hill

Bcook / Fox Nation:
Waterboarding, Which Obama Campaigned Against, Led to Bin Laden Kill

Discussion: Big Journalism, Fox News, CNBC, Raw Replay, Daily Kos and Right Wing News

Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:

Palin splits with neocon advisers — Sarah Palin has parted ways with the neoconservative foreign policy advisers who had been writing speeches and advising her on policy since she joined the McCain campaign. — An aide to Palin, Tim Crawford, confirmed that Orion Strategies' Randy Scheunemann …

Discussion: The Politico, The Note, Eunomia, Israpundit, Taylor Marsh, The Washington Note, Conservatives4Palin, TBogg and GOP 12

Tony Romm / The Politico:

Private White House tweets, emails, Facebook posts targeted — House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) stressed Tuesday that he remains concerned that White House officials' personal emails, text messages, Facebook posts and tweets are not being archived in the spirit of federal law.

Discussion: The Note

Philip Klein / Washington Examiner:
BELTWAY CONFIDENTIAL — Obama White House doesn't show …

Discussion: The Other McCain and AmSpecBlog

Jonathan Martin / The Politico:

2012 Republican race gets wake-up call — Donald Trump and birtherism won't disappear. There will still be talk about the creeping threat of Sharia law. — But the dramatic killing of terrorist leader Osama bin Laden by American commandos will immediately reorder a Republican presidential contest …

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog, msnbc.com and Radio Iowa

Michael O'Brien / The Hill:

GOP could allow ‘clean’ vote on raising $14.3T national debt ceiling — A clean bill would not include corresponding spending cuts, and it could be risky for members to vote for it. — House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) suggested Tuesday that Republicans may allow a clean vote …

Discussion: Capital Gains and Games blogs and The Politico

CBS News:

Scott Pelley named anchor of “CBS Evening News” — Award-winning “60 Minutes” correspondent to fill anchor chair vacated by Katie Couric — Scott Pelley, one the most experienced reporters in broadcast journalism, has been named anchor and managing editor of the “CBS Evening News,” …

more at Mediagazer »