By Calvin Hill
Someone needs to explain to Alabama Senator, Tommy Tuberville, what it took to extinguish Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. Before a Navy Seal shot and killed the September 11th terrorist in self-defense, a lot of work by a lot of military brains went into getting to that point. A man who has coached college football in the state of Alabama should be knowledgeable enough to know that the use of Xs and Os on a chalkboard can extend past the preparation for an athletic contest.
The Senator’s intransigent stands on jeopardizing America’s military readiness indicates a total lack of understanding of how major military operations, overt and covert, get decided and implemented.
After years of intelligence concerning the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden, including false information, near misses and mere speculation, President Barack Obama received, at that time, the most reliable intelligence information as to the location of the Al Qaeda leader. A considerable period was taken to insure that the information was solid and that the appearance of the target was accurate. At that point, high-level security meetings were held on what should follow. Pres. Obama tasked the members of the military brass to come up with a plan to achieve the desired goal. Those planners are the members of the military that Sen. Tuberville is preventing from being those we depend upon to formulate sometimes dangerous missions with, hopefully, no loss of American lives; knowing the latter cannot be guaranteed. All this must be done in utmost secrecy with no leaks that may cause the target to change locations and/or increase his security.
Months later, the White House was given a proposal. To insure the best chance of success, Pres. Obama wanted the project tested. When he felt assured of the possibility that the plan could work, the President polled certain members involved for their opinion on the mission – go or no go. Some felt it was too dangerous. It entailed going into a sovereign nation without their knowledge and not knowing if that government protected that target or would retaliate.
In the final analysis, it was Obama’s decision and he gave the go. The mission did not go perfectly as planned. One of the two helicopters was lost as it descended on the compound in Pakistan. The Seals proceeded as called for in the action. They quickly dispatched bin Laden’s bodyguards and, eventually, bin Laden. The Seals were able to escape with the body of the terrorist target, much of the electronic devices and other information at the location, and they suffered no loss of lives.
Later that evening, the President walked to the lectern of the Press Room and announced to the American people that Osama bin Laden had been located and killed in a successful US operation. Still later, we saw the faces of the principles and decision makers in the Situation Room as they watched, in real time, the life and death mission of some of America’s military elite.
If Tommy Tuberville takes time to check his ego and shamelessness at the Senate door, he will realize that without the well-trained military brass, whose promotions and appointments he blocks, Barack Obama never gets to make that announcement and Osama bin Laden would remain at large. Tuberville is blocking those who could be the next wave of officers we may need to count on to plan a life and death mission to keep America safe from a terrorist catastrophe or worse. It is way past time for Coach Tuberville to be a US Senator, stop the madness, congratulate them for their achievement(s), and thank them for their service.
The Op-Ed Alternative 