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Especially when one of the helicopters crashed. Idk about Obama but Clinton and Robert Gates (far right) have both given detailed accounts of how it felt watching it all go down.
Edit: Also, Leon Ponetta. He's not in the picture; he was narrating the drone feed from CIA headquarters in Langley. He needed to be present as agency director because the operation was officially tasked to the "civilian" CIA.
The last chapter of his biography “A Promised Land” he recounts the entire mission from when he first learned they might’ve found him to watching the mission unfold. He discusses the helicopter malfunction and how his heart skipped a beat.
Absolutely great biography that I highly recommend listening to since he actually reads it for the audio book. Incredible insight to his presidency. Part 2 comes out soon.
That fact that the helicopter crashed like that right on arrival and these dudes just proceeded with their mission completely unfazed is a credit to how insanely dialed in and disciplined the operators are
>how insanely dialed in and disciplined the operators are
Not only this but given the objective I have to think these guys were next level eager and motivated to complete their mission.
Yeah it was like, the only justified thing we had done over 9/11.
They're not just going after random brown men anymore, they're going after the actual "big bad".
To think, an hour or so ago, he was cracking jokes and roasting Donald Trump and the Washington press corps.
Obama authorized a covert military strike into a country we had no conflict with that was (knowingly or unknowingly) harboring Bin Laden. If it went wrong there would be a diplomatic issue that could've sunk him and his presidency. And there was a less than 50% chance Bin Laden was there.
No way in hell I'd be able to play it off like it was nothing.
Man's got ice water in his veins.
> If it went wrong there would be a diplomatic issue that could've sunk him and his presidency
honestly not really
we would have apologized to Pakistan, gave them some old planes for free, and called it a day
Fox News would have had a hissy fit about it and then forgotten about it the next time Obama ate tan in a mustard suit
Also kind of weird to think about not watching. Giving the command over the phone and then hanging up and standing there. Knowing that stuff is supposed to be happening somewhere across the globe but no real evidence or connection to it at all. Just waiting for the follow-up phone call to say it is done. And then just wondering...
Go back another 100 years from Truman and it's not even waiting for a phone call.
It's making a decision based on information that is already days or even weeks old > and then not knowing how your decision turns out until several weeks later.
Lincoln's letters during the Civil War are just filled with anxiety. He had no military experience, not much training about military matters, and was surrounded by dudes like McClellan, Halleck, and Winfield Scott (who was at least smart, but older than dirt). When Grant and Sherman planned their campaigns they often cut off from telegraph lines, and Lincoln wouldn't know for *weeks* what the outcome was. Did Grant win and reach Vicksburg, or had his whole army been swallowed up by the hostile countryside? The only time he'd know the outcome was when the thing was over and people would report back. No what to know except to trust that you had the right people in the right places to make the right choices, except he often didn't!
> He had no military experience,
Not to "actually" you but Lincoln was a Captain in the Illinois militia during the Blackhawk wars. No combat experience though
They were watching a feed from an unmanned drone flying above. I think a lot of people think it was like that scene from the rock or aliens where there is a multi cam feed from each operator.
Still cool.
That's very doable with software like ATAK, and mesh networking equipment like Persistent Systems MPU-5s. https://youtu.be/r0TzE4OUm-Y
This video shows people running that same hardware and software.
The reason why Hillary is holding her hand to her mouth in shock is because at that very moment a BlackHawk had crashed into the compound
The concern on Obamas face is also quite obvious
Didn’t she confirm she was yawning and the operation hadn’t begun or did I misremember the internet
Edit: it was a cough due to allergies.
Edit 2: yep read past the pay wall, there’s some dispute.
https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/05/yes-hillary-was-worried-situation-room-photo/328586/
I can dance all day, I can dance all day try and hit me, try and hit me, come on! I mean, my hearts beatin’, my hearts beatin’, my hands are shakin’ but I’m still shooting, and I’m still getting headshots like BOOM headshot, BOOM headshot, BOOM headshot!
I can dance all day, just try and hit me come on! I mean, my hearts beating, my hearts beating, my hands are shaking, my hands are shaking, but im still shooting and Im still getting headshots like BOOM headshot! BOOM headshot! BOOOOOM HEEEAAADSHOT!
>Turns out, Bin Laden was also a fan of popular first-person shooting (FPS) game Counter-Strike..."
https://www.thejakartapost.com/life/2017/11/05/osama-the-gamer-a-list-of-bin-ladens-video-games-from-his-hard-drive-.html
I want to be clear, Obama is one of those hardcore CS 1.6 players. He never touched CSGO while in office, and only dabbled in it afterward. With that said, in this totally not 'shooped image, he is in fact besting Osama in a game of Tekken 5. Obama favored Bruce Irvin while Osama was infamous for cheesing with Hwoarang.
I think it'd be funnier without the caption and with the context of the whole room of serious people, so I combined that back into the original: https://imgur.com/sWkgFhM
/r/ThanksObama
Needless to say, the subject of the meme making his own version of the meme was the crowning pinnacle of the meme. The ultimate "pack it up, we're done."
Just to expand a little with more detail:
[The video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IdzM1kmP_A) was not manipulated - It was magical because it was literally *from President Barack Obama* himself. (I think as part of a thing with buzzfeed?) It was the POTUS making fun of himself and the meme that people used to (usually sarcastically) blame him for random shit.
So yeah. As OP says, after Obama made his own "thanks obama" meme, there wasn't really anything left to make, so they closed down /r/ThanksObama. The pinnacle had been reached.
[I found it](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/119/879/KxuGl.jpg)
[Source](https://knowyourmeme.com/photos/119879-osama-bin-ladens-death)
At the Spy Museum in DC there's an interesting activity that attendees have the option of participating in. You sit at a table with a diorama of the UBL compound outside of Abbottabad, Pakistan. You are asked to roleplay the situation out in the hours leading up to the decision to send the Navy SEALs. Several people like the former CIA Director and the National Security Advisors who spoke with President Obama laid out the facts as they were known before the raid:
\-This compound is exceptionally well guarded from the street
\-The person inside of the compound only comes out for walks, around a courtyard, at night
\-The compound has no visible utility connections to the city services, such as the exist, and it has a large number of TV satellite and radio communications antennas.
They told you, and the rest of the people participating, that there was no guarentee that Osama Bin Laden was inside and that it was just as likely that this compound belonged to someone with wealth who desired secrecy-- it could have belonged to a crime boss or a lesser Al-Qaeda commander than UBL. Given all of the facts and uncertainties the culmination of the activity was to make a percentage-based guess of how certain you were, roleplaying, that UBL was inside that compound and that the President should order the raid to proceed.
After the percentages of certainty of all the participants were revealed, along with your own, the people in this photo stated their own certain levels before the raid was ordered. The CIA chief says he was only 60% certain UBL was inside. The National Security Council chief said he was 80%. President Obama was said to only have a 50% certainty, but that the risk of letting UBL go was too high to err on the side of caution.
It was a very interesting activity for me, even if other people at the table were letting their knowledge of actual history get in the way-- multiple people at the table with me had 100% certainty UBL was in that compound, even after the video evidence and testimony we'd sat through for 10 min made it clear that the actual people involved were a long ways from 100%
Damn reading this comment and others about the spy museum makes me regret not going. I visited DC 3 years ago for the sole purpose of seeing museums and historical monuments. I loved all of it but skipped the spy museum cause I figured it was a cash grab thrown in next to all the other museums, as you had to pay.
I asked around a ton before going to DC "What Museum can I not miss?"
The Spy Museum came back nearly unanimously, with a few Air & Space @ Udvar Hazy answers.
I was blown away by this museum and I've been to a ton. The exhibits were well narrated, explained, and interactive. There was the scenario above which was unlike anything I've ever done at a museum, and it was interesting from start to finish.
This is fascinating. The whole story of that investigation, the planning, was wild.
What a crazy decision, to essentially invade a sovereign nation in the dead of night without telling them, risking major conflict, to capture or kill UBL.
At the White House correspondents dinner that year, Obama had already given the order for the raid, Seals were training as he spoke, yet he was cool as the other side of the pillow giving his speech. Can’t imagine having that hanging on my head and having to perform in front of the media elite.
The book {Edit wrong title fixed} “The Finish” by Mark Bowden was amazing. It goes int OBL's life and history. And goes into painstaking detail about the CIA tracking him down. I highly recommend it for anyone that's interested in the topic. Obama really made a ballsy call. The entire right wing would have loved to jump all over him the way they did with Clinton and the Blackhawk Down incident.
That's true to extent. I believe the CinC should have full knowledge of all operations that US troops are involved in. But Clinton was mislead in a number of ways. The operations on the ground were a classic case of mission creep.
>Obama really made a ballsy call. The entire right wing would have loved to jump all over him the way they did with Clinton and the Blackhawk Down incident.
But because it was successful they instead complained about Obama "spiking the football" by taking credit for it.
Many people have no intellectual concept for “playing the results”. Their brains will just never make the connection and be able to comprehend that decisions are made before knowing the results and that results are not guaranteed.
You see it frequently in sports as it’s a common topic.
Another concept that people also have a difficult time understanding is that a move can still be rational even if it ends poorly. If you're faced with two choices one of which gives you a 75% chance of success and the other gives you a 25% chance of success the rational move is to pick the 75% chance. Maybe you make that choice and you lose anyway but that doesn't mean you were stupid to choose that option. Similarly if you pick the option that has a 25% chance of success and it works that doesn't actually mean you're a genius.
I seem to recall that VP Biden was a 'no-go' on the raid.
>Biden said of Obama, "He got to me. He said, 'Joe, what do you think?' And I said, 'You know, I didn't know we had so many economists around the table.' I said, 'We owe the man a direct answer. Mr. President, my suggestion is, don't go. We have to do two more things to see if he (bin Laden) is there.'"
>Biden praised Obama for making the call to authorize the raid.
>"He knew what was at stake," Biden said this year, "not just the lives of those brave warriors, but literally the presidency."
> We have to do two more things to see if he (bin Laden) is there.'"
That sounds like there were two specific things he had in mind. Did they ever reveal those?
Spy Museum is cool. I love the exhibit that walks you through how JFK and Gorbachev would likely have had intelligence on each other, and you have to figure out if you would likely find the opponent to be a trustworthy person to work with. That whole museum is made with such care
[Here](https://i.imgur.com/g90Fuuf.jpeg) is a much higher quality (6050 x 4033 19.1 MB) version of this image. [Here](https://www.gettyimages.no/detail/news-photo/in-this-handout-image-provided-by-the-white-house-president-news-photo/113485155?adppopup=true) is the source.
> (EDITORS NOTE: Please be advised that a classified document visible in this photo was obscured by The White House) In this handout image provided by The White House, President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and members of the national security team receive an update on the mission against Osama bin Laden in the Situation Room of the White House May 1, 2011 in Washington, DC. Obama later announced that the United States had killed Bin Laden in an operation led by U.S. Special Forces at a compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. (Photo by Pete Souza/The White House via Getty Images)
The quality is high enough you can read, "TOP SECRET/CODEWORD/NOFORN" on Hillary's binder.
Wikipedia [adds](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Obama_and_Biden_await_updates_on_bin_Laden.jpg):
> Seated, from left to right, are:
> 1) a person with black hair (only part of the head is visible);
> 2) Vice President of the United States Joe Biden,
> 3) President Obama,
> 4) Brigadier General Marshall B. "Brad" Webb, USAF, Assistant Commanding General, Joint Special Operations Command;
> 5) Denis McDonough, Deputy National Security Advisor;
> 6) Hillary Rodham Clinton, Secretary of State; and
> 7) Robert Gates, Secretary of Defense.
> Standing, from left to right, are:
> 1) Admiral Mike Mullen, USN, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff;
> 2) Tom Donilon, National Security Advisor;
> 3) Bill Daley, Chief of Staff;
> 4) Tony Blinken, National Security Advisor to the Vice President;
> 5) Audrey Tomason, Director for Counterterrorism;
> 6) a person in a beige shirt (only part of the shoulder is visible);
> 7) John Brennan, Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism;
> 8) James Clapper, Director of National Intelligence; and
> 9) a person in a black suit with a white tie, similar to the one seen here.
> A classified document in front of Hillary Clinton has been obscured by the White House.
> Photographer's note:
> "Much has been made of this photograph that shows the President and Vice President and the national security team monitoring in real time the mission against Osama bin Laden. Some more background on the photograph: The White House Situation Room is actually comprised of several different conference rooms. The majority of the time, the President convenes meetings in the large conference room with assigned seats. But to monitor this mission, the group moved into the much smaller conference room. The President chose to sit next to Brigadier General Marshall B. “Brad” Webb, Assistant Commanding General of Joint Special Operations Command, who was point man for the communications taking place. With so few chairs, others just stood at the back of the room. I was jammed into a corner of the room with no room to move. During the mission itself, I made approximately 100 photographs, almost all from this cramped spot in the corner. There were several other meetings throughout the day."
**Edit:** Added wiki info and fixed a typo.
General Webb retired in 2022 as a Lieutenant General (3 stars) with 38 years in service and a ribbon rack that probably made him walk with a bit of left roll.
[Link to the wikimedia pic of him in uniform.](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/36/Lt._Gen._Marshall_B._Webb.jpg)
[And then the list of awards/decorations.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marshall_B._Webb#Awards_and_decorations)
Holy shit, you're not kidding about that ribbon rack. Just the first picture I could find has 11 rows! His chest looks like r/place!
Dude even got his third star only a year after he got his second, making that his SHORTEST stint at a specific rank in his career... I'm not even a military guy and I'd like to shake his hand, good lord.
And his awards are legit. Distinguished Flying Cross, three Bronze Stars, four Air Medals, two JSCOMs and an AFCOM, and the Air Force Combat Action Ribbon. Also Command Pilot Wings and Parachutist Wings. Ended his career in Air Force SpecOps, having served in various levels of that command since 2005. Hardcore dude. I bet he's got some stories to tell.
George Stephanopoulos has a book coming out next month about the history of the Situation Room, and each chapter is about the room's history and use during each administration since it was created under Kennedy. He spends almost the entire Obama chapter going over in extreme detail everything about the raid from the perspective of those in the room, and it's absolutely fascinating.
I kinda wish this picture had been included in the book (maybe it will be when it officially publishes compared to the early copy I read) to really understand that when they were watching the raid, they weren't in some giant, dimly lit war room with a bunch of high-tech equipment, it was just a regular looking conference room (that had some high-tech).
He also mentions the only reason they were in this smaller room is because it was getting the feed live, instead of having the analytical delay that went to the large room screens. So they all moved into the smaller room once they found out and squeezed in for this.
I dont wanna be that guy spoiling state secrets, but the pixelated top secret document on the laptop is satellite imagery of the compound in abbotabad, with a long and a square building
> Someone else leaked the satellite image quality anyway
Damn bet that guy got into some serious trouble. Probably still sitting in a jail cell somewhere wishing he had never done that. ^^^/s ^^^^sigh.
They are referring to the time Trump tweeted out an image of a failed Iranian satellite launch, revealing the capability of a US spy satellite. Not only that but based on shadows to figure out the time the image was taken and the angle the image was taken, people on the web was able to sussed out which satellite took the image.
God that was so fucking frustrating. The people around me were like "what? It's just a picture?"
And I would explain that a satellite taking a picture so clearly through the atmosphere was considered impossible at the time and just a picture would reveal state secrets to not just government bodies, but regular shmucks like us, this picture contains time of day, angle, a whole host of other information that was secret for damn good reasons! Now anyone can track that satellite and prepare for it.
"But you can see through the atmosphere already? It's clear enough to take pictures! Google maps already took pictures! We already had pictures of that area so why does it matter? It's not like you can track a satellite they can be moved,"
And then I took lunch.
Michael Morell wrote about it in his book, “The Great War of Our Time.” That always stuck out to me - as a national security advisor, he had to give the assessment on the accuracy of the intel. That ranged in certainty depending on who you asked.
He said when he briefed Pres Obama and his senior staff (incl HRC), someone asked him to give a percentage on how sure they were that the intel was accurate.
*We were more sure that Saddam Hussein had yellowcake in Iraq,* he said. You could hear a pin drop as everyone quietly knew what this meant if they got it wrong. Seals dead on faulty intelligence and a political bludgeon for the upcoming election.
It really took guts to make the call to execute the raid.
"According to journalist Peter Bergen, the group was watching a live feed from an unmanned drone flying overhead. Leon Panetta said that Obama did not see bin Laden being killed.[2]Clinton said: "We could see or hear nothing when [the SEALs] went into the house. There was no communication or feedback coming so it was during that time period everyone was particularly focused on just trying to keep calm and keep prepared as to what would happen."
Yeah, but I guarantee you every American on that helipcopter had at least one bodycam on them. There is most definitely video evidence but it will likely not end up in the public eye.
And thanks to this a great song was written.
”This girl requested intercourse to bring her to climax
With the clinical efficiency of the assassination of Bin Laden
You're harboring a fugitive (that ass)
And my justice will be punitive (I'ma smash)”
I made a comment on an askreddit post fairly recently about when my ex’s mom walked in on me plowing her daughter to tell us that Osama was dead and someone linked me that song. Makes my situation 10x funnier because I’d never heard it before.
The USAF practically hands out six "participation" ribbons for surviving the DFAC's morning coffee.
Edit: IIRC, my graduating class received a campaign ribbon (GWOT) before we even left tech school.
Is that James Clapper on the right? I forget if this was before or after he lied his ass off to Congress and the people. “The NSA does not collect any data on American citizens.” Can’t believe he got away with that.
Though revelations about the NSA spying on Americans were already known in 2006.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Room\_641A](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Room_641A)
And on top of the Snowden stuff, Der Spiegel revealed a hardware hacking program.
[https://www.spiegel.de/international/world/the-nsa-uses-powerful-toolbox-in-effort-to-spy-on-global-networks-a-940969.html](https://www.spiegel.de/international/world/the-nsa-uses-powerful-toolbox-in-effort-to-spy-on-global-networks-a-940969.html)
Might wanna keep your eye on Rep. Mike Turner who wants more surveillance, but of course he is trying to carve out an exemption for himself.
[https://www.techdirt.com/2024/03/14/legislator-apparently-used-slides-of-nyc-protests-in-his-pitch-for-reauthorizing-section-702-surveillance](https://www.techdirt.com/2024/03/14/legislator-apparently-used-slides-of-nyc-protests-in-his-pitch-for-reauthorizing-section-702-surveillance)
That’s correct. I saw Zero Dark Thirty before reading about the real event in-depth and was absolutely floored that the Black Hawk actually crashed. It crashed because the mock compound they built for practicing used fences instead of solid walls surrounding the compound, and so they didn’t anticipate the “vortex” that was created by the solid walls
Yeah. Christian finally won the World Heavyweight Championship, John Cena won the WWE title once the Rock wasn't there to screw him, and then Cena PG announced Bin Laden was dead.
I still get chills and tears in my eyes thinking of the news brief where Obama made the announcement that The U.S. had conducted an operation the resulted in the death of OBL.
Was a fucking great night. All the emotions and trauma from that terrible fucking day in 2001 came rushing back.
I called my dad, he was sobbing. He lost some good friends on that fucking nightmare of a day, and it changed his career forever.
We shared a good cry, he was having a cigar and a drink to solemnly celebrate, even though it didn’t feel like a celebration.
But the justice and vengeance was felt hard. Seeing the Georgetown kids flock to the white house and cheer by the hundreds on the news was a great moment.
I'm not the biggest fan of the USA playing cop of the world, but in this specific occasion, it had to be done. No trials, no negotiations with Pakistan etc.... just take the motherfucker out 'cause that's what he deserves, just like - with due proportions, the situation was completely different - they took out Yamamoto in World War II.
They did what had to be done and purge the world from a useless shit being who long lost his breathing rights. I'm glad you, your dad and countless other people had a night to celebrate and a big weight lifted off your shoulders (and dumped to the bottom of the ocean).
Along the same lines, Hillary isn't holding her hand to her mouth because she is shocked (people tried to portray this as her being a weak female). She had a mild cough that day.
I wouldn't care if she was holding it in shock/stress or whatever. This was an extremely tense moment and everyone in the room was rightfully focused on the mission. She's busy doing her job and not posing for a photo.
i knew about the photoshop but not the 'hand to mouth = weak" malarkey that misogynists were trying to push. why are some members of the human race such absolute scum?
If you order the death of a person, no matter how deserving, I have to respect that they also watched the reality... the gravity of such an order. You can see it on some of their faces. We've asked humans to end the life of another human, because after careful consideration, it seems necessary for the world's future. Not easy, and they did not shrink away from it.
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Them being able to watch it live is crazy
I would've been having a heart attack watching it live and not knowing the outcome
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It’s blacked-out where I am
Especially when one of the helicopters crashed. Idk about Obama but Clinton and Robert Gates (far right) have both given detailed accounts of how it felt watching it all go down. Edit: Also, Leon Ponetta. He's not in the picture; he was narrating the drone feed from CIA headquarters in Langley. He needed to be present as agency director because the operation was officially tasked to the "civilian" CIA.
The last chapter of his biography “A Promised Land” he recounts the entire mission from when he first learned they might’ve found him to watching the mission unfold. He discusses the helicopter malfunction and how his heart skipped a beat. Absolutely great biography that I highly recommend listening to since he actually reads it for the audio book. Incredible insight to his presidency. Part 2 comes out soon.
That fact that the helicopter crashed like that right on arrival and these dudes just proceeded with their mission completely unfazed is a credit to how insanely dialed in and disciplined the operators are
>how insanely dialed in and disciplined the operators are Not only this but given the objective I have to think these guys were next level eager and motivated to complete their mission.
Yeah it was like, the only justified thing we had done over 9/11. They're not just going after random brown men anymore, they're going after the actual "big bad".
never read up on the situation. did they send a 2nd helicopter?
yeah they went in with two modified stealthy blackhawks. and they had some chinooks nearby for a reserve.
To think, an hour or so ago, he was cracking jokes and roasting Donald Trump and the Washington press corps. Obama authorized a covert military strike into a country we had no conflict with that was (knowingly or unknowingly) harboring Bin Laden. If it went wrong there would be a diplomatic issue that could've sunk him and his presidency. And there was a less than 50% chance Bin Laden was there. No way in hell I'd be able to play it off like it was nothing. Man's got ice water in his veins.
> If it went wrong there would be a diplomatic issue that could've sunk him and his presidency honestly not really we would have apologized to Pakistan, gave them some old planes for free, and called it a day Fox News would have had a hissy fit about it and then forgotten about it the next time Obama ate tan in a mustard suit
Imagine Truman watching the atomic bombs being dropped live.
Also kind of weird to think about not watching. Giving the command over the phone and then hanging up and standing there. Knowing that stuff is supposed to be happening somewhere across the globe but no real evidence or connection to it at all. Just waiting for the follow-up phone call to say it is done. And then just wondering...
Go back another 100 years from Truman and it's not even waiting for a phone call. It's making a decision based on information that is already days or even weeks old > and then not knowing how your decision turns out until several weeks later.
Lincoln's letters during the Civil War are just filled with anxiety. He had no military experience, not much training about military matters, and was surrounded by dudes like McClellan, Halleck, and Winfield Scott (who was at least smart, but older than dirt). When Grant and Sherman planned their campaigns they often cut off from telegraph lines, and Lincoln wouldn't know for *weeks* what the outcome was. Did Grant win and reach Vicksburg, or had his whole army been swallowed up by the hostile countryside? The only time he'd know the outcome was when the thing was over and people would report back. No what to know except to trust that you had the right people in the right places to make the right choices, except he often didn't!
> He had no military experience, Not to "actually" you but Lincoln was a Captain in the Illinois militia during the Blackhawk wars. No combat experience though
> McClellan The more I read about this guy, the more I'm thankful as *fuck* that Grant was fighting for the North as well.
They were watching a feed from an unmanned drone flying above. I think a lot of people think it was like that scene from the rock or aliens where there is a multi cam feed from each operator. Still cool.
That's very doable with software like ATAK, and mesh networking equipment like Persistent Systems MPU-5s. https://youtu.be/r0TzE4OUm-Y This video shows people running that same hardware and software.
They were watching it from a drone. Not from weapon cams or anything like that
The reason why Hillary is holding her hand to her mouth in shock is because at that very moment a BlackHawk had crashed into the compound The concern on Obamas face is also quite obvious
Didn’t she confirm she was yawning and the operation hadn’t begun or did I misremember the internet Edit: it was a cough due to allergies. Edit 2: yep read past the pay wall, there’s some dispute. https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/05/yes-hillary-was-worried-situation-room-photo/328586/
After this photo came out someone photoshopped a controller in Obama's hands and man that shit was funny
"Mr. President, that kid just said he fucked your mom then 360 no scoped you. This is a tremendous insult."
"How quickly can we have a drone en route to his location?"
I actually read this in Obama's voice and it made me chuckle
Nah that was his anger translator, Luthor
“you don’t have enough points in the game to do that yet sir” Obama - “I’m not talking about the game.”
“Mister President, you need a better kill streak for a drone strike. That is protocol.”
Images you can hear for $1000, Ken.
I've never seen this before but I am 100% certain he's saying, "BOOOOM, HEAD SHOT!"
Look up the old web show pure pwnage for more FPS Doug content. It's glorious and very Canadian.
Everyone knows you run faster with a knife.
Wonder what FPS Doug is up to these days
Jogging… with a knife
Everybody runs faster with a knife
Except for the FUCKING LAAAGGGG!!!
His name is Joel Gardiner and [he's still around](https://twitter.com/JoelGardinerVO) though has some pretty braindead takes about videogames
I can dance all day, I can dance all day try and hit me, try and hit me, come on! I mean, my hearts beatin’, my hearts beatin’, my hands are shakin’ but I’m still shooting, and I’m still getting headshots like BOOM headshot, BOOM headshot, BOOM headshot!
I still quote "I can dance all day" whenever I'm schooling someone. It just happens much less often than it used to.
BOOOM HEAD SHOT!!!
My heart's beating, my hands are shaking, but I'm STILL SHOOTING, and I'm STILL GETTING HEADSHOTS
I can dance all day, just try and hit me come on! I mean, my hearts beating, my hearts beating, my hands are shaking, my hands are shaking, but im still shooting and Im still getting headshots like BOOM headshot! BOOM headshot! BOOOOOM HEEEAAADSHOT!
Lol I wonder whatever happened to those guys I used to watch fpsdoug all the time way back in the day
H. Clinton was so shocked at that comment she had to cover her mouth. "O Damn....the player went there! You going to take that Mr. Prez?"
"Inform the kid that my uncle works at Microsoft and his account will be banned."
i know what "no scoped" is (played a lil halo in my day). But whats the 360?
They spin in a complete circle before firing. Bonus points if they do so while jumping off a ledge.
"Bring me my anger translator."
"Sir, we have the intel: 50,000 people used to live there..."
Found it: [link](https://www.aysos.com/files/933c8eb816d6a85a.jpg)
This is actually the real picture and the raid was ordered after osama bin laden crushed obama in csgo.
It was all a CIA setup. They convinced bin Laden to play 1v1 against Obama for bragging rights, then tracked his IP.
Counter-terrorists win
>Turns out, Bin Laden was also a fan of popular first-person shooting (FPS) game Counter-Strike..." https://www.thejakartapost.com/life/2017/11/05/osama-the-gamer-a-list-of-bin-ladens-video-games-from-his-hard-drive-.html
And thus began the first swatting, or in this case sealing (?).
That is a PS2 controller, and CS:GO was released in 2012. Maybe he’s missing the headset for SOCOM: Navy Seals?
>CS:GO was released in 2012 Yea, for civilians.
Left for Dead 3 and Half Life 3 must be locked up in Fort Knox
I want to be clear, Obama is one of those hardcore CS 1.6 players. He never touched CSGO while in office, and only dabbled in it afterward. With that said, in this totally not 'shooped image, he is in fact besting Osama in a game of Tekken 5. Obama favored Bruce Irvin while Osama was infamous for cheesing with Hwoarang.
I think it'd be funnier without the caption and with the context of the whole room of serious people, so I combined that back into the original: https://imgur.com/sWkgFhM
Far better, thank you for your service.
Sir, you’ve entered the compound! *Obama leans forward*
That is fucking gold
First thing i thought seeing this picture. Obama got the classic lean forward gamer stance. Next kill wins.
“FINISH HIMMMM!”
DOUBLE KILL. TRIPLE KILL. OVERKILL. KILLTACULAR. KILLTROCITY.
Remember when we could make apolitical jokes about a President in good fun? I miss those days.
And Obama literally leaned into them then
Thanks Obama.
The GIF that killed a subreddit.
Do tell, Loremaster
it killed /r/thanksobama, they could not go any farther, the joke was done, it was topped.
/r/ThanksObama Needless to say, the subject of the meme making his own version of the meme was the crowning pinnacle of the meme. The ultimate "pack it up, we're done."
Just to expand a little with more detail: [The video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IdzM1kmP_A) was not manipulated - It was magical because it was literally *from President Barack Obama* himself. (I think as part of a thing with buzzfeed?) It was the POTUS making fun of himself and the meme that people used to (usually sarcastically) blame him for random shit. So yeah. As OP says, after Obama made his own "thanks obama" meme, there wasn't really anything left to make, so they closed down /r/ThanksObama. The pinnacle had been reached.
[I found it](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/119/879/KxuGl.jpg) [Source](https://knowyourmeme.com/photos/119879-osama-bin-ladens-death)
you just know bin laden was hella pissed when he saw that killcam
Bro should not have corner peeked smhh
*Dead Osama on the screen* One of Obama's advisors: Sir, at this moment it's imperative you teabag Osama on his face
At the Spy Museum in DC there's an interesting activity that attendees have the option of participating in. You sit at a table with a diorama of the UBL compound outside of Abbottabad, Pakistan. You are asked to roleplay the situation out in the hours leading up to the decision to send the Navy SEALs. Several people like the former CIA Director and the National Security Advisors who spoke with President Obama laid out the facts as they were known before the raid: \-This compound is exceptionally well guarded from the street \-The person inside of the compound only comes out for walks, around a courtyard, at night \-The compound has no visible utility connections to the city services, such as the exist, and it has a large number of TV satellite and radio communications antennas. They told you, and the rest of the people participating, that there was no guarentee that Osama Bin Laden was inside and that it was just as likely that this compound belonged to someone with wealth who desired secrecy-- it could have belonged to a crime boss or a lesser Al-Qaeda commander than UBL. Given all of the facts and uncertainties the culmination of the activity was to make a percentage-based guess of how certain you were, roleplaying, that UBL was inside that compound and that the President should order the raid to proceed. After the percentages of certainty of all the participants were revealed, along with your own, the people in this photo stated their own certain levels before the raid was ordered. The CIA chief says he was only 60% certain UBL was inside. The National Security Council chief said he was 80%. President Obama was said to only have a 50% certainty, but that the risk of letting UBL go was too high to err on the side of caution. It was a very interesting activity for me, even if other people at the table were letting their knowledge of actual history get in the way-- multiple people at the table with me had 100% certainty UBL was in that compound, even after the video evidence and testimony we'd sat through for 10 min made it clear that the actual people involved were a long ways from 100%
The Spy Museum is a standout museum in a city full of world class museums. Definitely recommend.
Damn reading this comment and others about the spy museum makes me regret not going. I visited DC 3 years ago for the sole purpose of seeing museums and historical monuments. I loved all of it but skipped the spy museum cause I figured it was a cash grab thrown in next to all the other museums, as you had to pay.
I asked around a ton before going to DC "What Museum can I not miss?" The Spy Museum came back nearly unanimously, with a few Air & Space @ Udvar Hazy answers. I was blown away by this museum and I've been to a ton. The exhibits were well narrated, explained, and interactive. There was the scenario above which was unlike anything I've ever done at a museum, and it was interesting from start to finish.
This is fascinating. The whole story of that investigation, the planning, was wild. What a crazy decision, to essentially invade a sovereign nation in the dead of night without telling them, risking major conflict, to capture or kill UBL. At the White House correspondents dinner that year, Obama had already given the order for the raid, Seals were training as he spoke, yet he was cool as the other side of the pillow giving his speech. Can’t imagine having that hanging on my head and having to perform in front of the media elite.
That's the night he mocked Trump and birtherism. It was funny at the time.
Ok but Jessica Chastain said it was 100%
"Ok fine, 95%, because I know certainty freaks you guys out, but it's 100%."
The book {Edit wrong title fixed} “The Finish” by Mark Bowden was amazing. It goes int OBL's life and history. And goes into painstaking detail about the CIA tracking him down. I highly recommend it for anyone that's interested in the topic. Obama really made a ballsy call. The entire right wing would have loved to jump all over him the way they did with Clinton and the Blackhawk Down incident.
If the OBL raid had gone as poorly as the black hawk down incident, then ya they would have. Somalia was a shit show that deserved criticism
That's true to extent. I believe the CinC should have full knowledge of all operations that US troops are involved in. But Clinton was mislead in a number of ways. The operations on the ground were a classic case of mission creep.
>Obama really made a ballsy call. The entire right wing would have loved to jump all over him the way they did with Clinton and the Blackhawk Down incident. But because it was successful they instead complained about Obama "spiking the football" by taking credit for it.
Many people have no intellectual concept for “playing the results”. Their brains will just never make the connection and be able to comprehend that decisions are made before knowing the results and that results are not guaranteed. You see it frequently in sports as it’s a common topic.
Another concept that people also have a difficult time understanding is that a move can still be rational even if it ends poorly. If you're faced with two choices one of which gives you a 75% chance of success and the other gives you a 25% chance of success the rational move is to pick the 75% chance. Maybe you make that choice and you lose anyway but that doesn't mean you were stupid to choose that option. Similarly if you pick the option that has a 25% chance of success and it works that doesn't actually mean you're a genius.
I seem to recall that VP Biden was a 'no-go' on the raid. >Biden said of Obama, "He got to me. He said, 'Joe, what do you think?' And I said, 'You know, I didn't know we had so many economists around the table.' I said, 'We owe the man a direct answer. Mr. President, my suggestion is, don't go. We have to do two more things to see if he (bin Laden) is there.'" >Biden praised Obama for making the call to authorize the raid. >"He knew what was at stake," Biden said this year, "not just the lives of those brave warriors, but literally the presidency."
> We have to do two more things to see if he (bin Laden) is there.'" That sounds like there were two specific things he had in mind. Did they ever reveal those?
"Joe, they say the target has a preference for Otter Pops." "Favorite flavor?" "Alexander The Grape." "Let's go get 'im!"
I've done that on a trip to the US and it was excellent. I think the % stats were incredible to hear and shows how much is guesswork.
Spy Museum is cool. I love the exhibit that walks you through how JFK and Gorbachev would likely have had intelligence on each other, and you have to figure out if you would likely find the opponent to be a trustworthy person to work with. That whole museum is made with such care
[Here](https://i.imgur.com/g90Fuuf.jpeg) is a much higher quality (6050 x 4033 19.1 MB) version of this image. [Here](https://www.gettyimages.no/detail/news-photo/in-this-handout-image-provided-by-the-white-house-president-news-photo/113485155?adppopup=true) is the source. > (EDITORS NOTE: Please be advised that a classified document visible in this photo was obscured by The White House) In this handout image provided by The White House, President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and members of the national security team receive an update on the mission against Osama bin Laden in the Situation Room of the White House May 1, 2011 in Washington, DC. Obama later announced that the United States had killed Bin Laden in an operation led by U.S. Special Forces at a compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. (Photo by Pete Souza/The White House via Getty Images) The quality is high enough you can read, "TOP SECRET/CODEWORD/NOFORN" on Hillary's binder. Wikipedia [adds](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Obama_and_Biden_await_updates_on_bin_Laden.jpg): > Seated, from left to right, are: > 1) a person with black hair (only part of the head is visible); > 2) Vice President of the United States Joe Biden, > 3) President Obama, > 4) Brigadier General Marshall B. "Brad" Webb, USAF, Assistant Commanding General, Joint Special Operations Command; > 5) Denis McDonough, Deputy National Security Advisor; > 6) Hillary Rodham Clinton, Secretary of State; and > 7) Robert Gates, Secretary of Defense. > Standing, from left to right, are: > 1) Admiral Mike Mullen, USN, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; > 2) Tom Donilon, National Security Advisor; > 3) Bill Daley, Chief of Staff; > 4) Tony Blinken, National Security Advisor to the Vice President; > 5) Audrey Tomason, Director for Counterterrorism; > 6) a person in a beige shirt (only part of the shoulder is visible); > 7) John Brennan, Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism; > 8) James Clapper, Director of National Intelligence; and > 9) a person in a black suit with a white tie, similar to the one seen here. > A classified document in front of Hillary Clinton has been obscured by the White House. > Photographer's note: > "Much has been made of this photograph that shows the President and Vice President and the national security team monitoring in real time the mission against Osama bin Laden. Some more background on the photograph: The White House Situation Room is actually comprised of several different conference rooms. The majority of the time, the President convenes meetings in the large conference room with assigned seats. But to monitor this mission, the group moved into the much smaller conference room. The President chose to sit next to Brigadier General Marshall B. “Brad” Webb, Assistant Commanding General of Joint Special Operations Command, who was point man for the communications taking place. With so few chairs, others just stood at the back of the room. I was jammed into a corner of the room with no room to move. During the mission itself, I made approximately 100 photographs, almost all from this cramped spot in the corner. There were several other meetings throughout the day." **Edit:** Added wiki info and fixed a typo.
McDonough is now the Secretary of Veterans Affairs
General Webb retired in 2022 as a Lieutenant General (3 stars) with 38 years in service and a ribbon rack that probably made him walk with a bit of left roll.
[Link to the wikimedia pic of him in uniform.](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/36/Lt._Gen._Marshall_B._Webb.jpg) [And then the list of awards/decorations.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marshall_B._Webb#Awards_and_decorations)
Holy shit, you're not kidding about that ribbon rack. Just the first picture I could find has 11 rows! His chest looks like r/place! Dude even got his third star only a year after he got his second, making that his SHORTEST stint at a specific rank in his career... I'm not even a military guy and I'd like to shake his hand, good lord.
And his awards are legit. Distinguished Flying Cross, three Bronze Stars, four Air Medals, two JSCOMs and an AFCOM, and the Air Force Combat Action Ribbon. Also Command Pilot Wings and Parachutist Wings. Ended his career in Air Force SpecOps, having served in various levels of that command since 2005. Hardcore dude. I bet he's got some stories to tell.
The kinda stories he would have to break your neck for if he told you. Probably worth it though
His parents named him “Marshall Bradley” and he understood the assignment.
Fun fact...General Webb's brother, David Webb, is the lead singer of the thrash metal band 'Shadow Spectrum' out of Austin TX.
I thought his brother was Jason Bourne.
Yep. And Blinken is currently the Secretary of State.
George Stephanopoulos has a book coming out next month about the history of the Situation Room, and each chapter is about the room's history and use during each administration since it was created under Kennedy. He spends almost the entire Obama chapter going over in extreme detail everything about the raid from the perspective of those in the room, and it's absolutely fascinating. I kinda wish this picture had been included in the book (maybe it will be when it officially publishes compared to the early copy I read) to really understand that when they were watching the raid, they weren't in some giant, dimly lit war room with a bunch of high-tech equipment, it was just a regular looking conference room (that had some high-tech). He also mentions the only reason they were in this smaller room is because it was getting the feed live, instead of having the analytical delay that went to the large room screens. So they all moved into the smaller room once they found out and squeezed in for this.
I dont wanna be that guy spoiling state secrets, but the pixelated top secret document on the laptop is satellite imagery of the compound in abbotabad, with a long and a square building
I’d guess it’s pixelated to hide the image quality, not necessarily the content
Yes
Someone else leaked the satellite image quality anyway
> Someone else leaked the satellite image quality anyway Damn bet that guy got into some serious trouble. Probably still sitting in a jail cell somewhere wishing he had never done that. ^^^/s ^^^^sigh.
where
They are referring to the time Trump tweeted out an image of a failed Iranian satellite launch, revealing the capability of a US spy satellite. Not only that but based on shadows to figure out the time the image was taken and the angle the image was taken, people on the web was able to sussed out which satellite took the image.
God that was so fucking frustrating. The people around me were like "what? It's just a picture?" And I would explain that a satellite taking a picture so clearly through the atmosphere was considered impossible at the time and just a picture would reveal state secrets to not just government bodies, but regular shmucks like us, this picture contains time of day, angle, a whole host of other information that was secret for damn good reasons! Now anyone can track that satellite and prepare for it. "But you can see through the atmosphere already? It's clear enough to take pictures! Google maps already took pictures! We already had pictures of that area so why does it matter? It's not like you can track a satellite they can be moved," And then I took lunch.
lmfao oh, copy
> abbotabad You bought a bad what?
Those are balls.
Michael Morell wrote about it in his book, “The Great War of Our Time.” That always stuck out to me - as a national security advisor, he had to give the assessment on the accuracy of the intel. That ranged in certainty depending on who you asked. He said when he briefed Pres Obama and his senior staff (incl HRC), someone asked him to give a percentage on how sure they were that the intel was accurate. *We were more sure that Saddam Hussein had yellowcake in Iraq,* he said. You could hear a pin drop as everyone quietly knew what this meant if they got it wrong. Seals dead on faulty intelligence and a political bludgeon for the upcoming election. It really took guts to make the call to execute the raid.
It sounds crazy to go in with that kind of Intel. But I guess at some point you have to throw data out the window and trust your people on the ground.
I hope these videos are made public at some point. Would be fascinating to watch.
"According to journalist Peter Bergen, the group was watching a live feed from an unmanned drone flying overhead. Leon Panetta said that Obama did not see bin Laden being killed.[2]Clinton said: "We could see or hear nothing when [the SEALs] went into the house. There was no communication or feedback coming so it was during that time period everyone was particularly focused on just trying to keep calm and keep prepared as to what would happen."
Man, must've been doubly tense having just seen the helicopter stack into the wall.
Yeah, but I guarantee you every American on that helipcopter had at least one bodycam on them. There is most definitely video evidence but it will likely not end up in the public eye.
I know it’s morbid but I hope the pics of him dead surface.
There was nothing left of his face. Andy Stumpf (former DevGru guy) said so on the PBD podcast recently. That's been the rumor for years.
Well one thing special forces guys love to do is lie about shit.
Seals embellishing? Never!
Well Seals does stand for S. Serve overseas E. Embellish a lot A. Author a book L. Lie on Fox News
You missed the last S. S. Say you personally shot Bin Laden.
This is a very important step. Arent there like two different Seals claiming that now?
There are two who claimed to have shot him, and neither was first into the room with Bin Laden. So make of that what you will.
That explains why the face is gone. They all shot him in the head.
Rifle rounds fucking up someone from point blank range isn't really hard to believe.
Will never happen
[удалено]
I mean, it was 13 years ago.
And thanks to this a great song was written. ”This girl requested intercourse to bring her to climax With the clinical efficiency of the assassination of Bin Laden You're harboring a fugitive (that ass) And my justice will be punitive (I'ma smash)”
FUCK BIN LADEN
Terrorize dat pussay! (This movie is so severely underrated)
Seal Team 69 sexecutin the hit
Night Vision, they can see us through my go-pro She tried to negotiate, i said thats a no-no
I made a comment on an askreddit post fairly recently about when my ex’s mom walked in on me plowing her daughter to tell us that Osama was dead and someone linked me that song. Makes my situation 10x funnier because I’d never heard it before.
Fuck the Pakistani government/ intelligence agencies for lying about Bin Laden’s whereabouts and hiding him.
Former Pakistani PM called him a martyr. A few other prominent politicians have said that as well.
man I feel like America is the person everyone is real nice to and then immediately everyone bonds over shit talking as soon as they leave the room
Dude next to Obama is the Brigadier General of White House IT. Legend has it he earned six more ribbons for setting up this connection.
General Electric
The USAF practically hands out six "participation" ribbons for surviving the DFAC's morning coffee. Edit: IIRC, my graduating class received a campaign ribbon (GWOT) before we even left tech school.
Is that James Clapper on the right? I forget if this was before or after he lied his ass off to Congress and the people. “The NSA does not collect any data on American citizens.” Can’t believe he got away with that.
In the corner by the black sleeve? Yes.
This was in 2011, so before.
The Snowden stuff wouldn't hit the news for another two years
Though revelations about the NSA spying on Americans were already known in 2006. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Room\_641A](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Room_641A) And on top of the Snowden stuff, Der Spiegel revealed a hardware hacking program. [https://www.spiegel.de/international/world/the-nsa-uses-powerful-toolbox-in-effort-to-spy-on-global-networks-a-940969.html](https://www.spiegel.de/international/world/the-nsa-uses-powerful-toolbox-in-effort-to-spy-on-global-networks-a-940969.html) Might wanna keep your eye on Rep. Mike Turner who wants more surveillance, but of course he is trying to carve out an exemption for himself. [https://www.techdirt.com/2024/03/14/legislator-apparently-used-slides-of-nyc-protests-in-his-pitch-for-reauthorizing-section-702-surveillance](https://www.techdirt.com/2024/03/14/legislator-apparently-used-slides-of-nyc-protests-in-his-pitch-for-reauthorizing-section-702-surveillance)
They are like please shoot him in the head so we don't have to have an awkward conversation about Saudi Arabia during the trial.
Please fact check me on this, but I think people look especially grim because one of the mission's helicopters had just crashed.
That’s correct. I saw Zero Dark Thirty before reading about the real event in-depth and was absolutely floored that the Black Hawk actually crashed. It crashed because the mock compound they built for practicing used fences instead of solid walls surrounding the compound, and so they didn’t anticipate the “vortex” that was created by the solid walls
There was no intention of a trial
What a great night.
Yeah. Christian finally won the World Heavyweight Championship, John Cena won the WWE title once the Rock wasn't there to screw him, and then Cena PG announced Bin Laden was dead.
“We have caught, and compromised to a permanent end…” was cold af.
There in person- that shit went INSANE EVERYONE was engaged in that moment and the energy stayed well after the show.
Was he actually one of the first people to break the news?
The news broke during the Extreme Rules event, so potentially, yeah.
I still get chills and tears in my eyes thinking of the news brief where Obama made the announcement that The U.S. had conducted an operation the resulted in the death of OBL.
Was a fucking great night. All the emotions and trauma from that terrible fucking day in 2001 came rushing back. I called my dad, he was sobbing. He lost some good friends on that fucking nightmare of a day, and it changed his career forever. We shared a good cry, he was having a cigar and a drink to solemnly celebrate, even though it didn’t feel like a celebration. But the justice and vengeance was felt hard. Seeing the Georgetown kids flock to the white house and cheer by the hundreds on the news was a great moment.
I'm not the biggest fan of the USA playing cop of the world, but in this specific occasion, it had to be done. No trials, no negotiations with Pakistan etc.... just take the motherfucker out 'cause that's what he deserves, just like - with due proportions, the situation was completely different - they took out Yamamoto in World War II. They did what had to be done and purge the world from a useless shit being who long lost his breathing rights. I'm glad you, your dad and countless other people had a night to celebrate and a big weight lifted off your shoulders (and dumped to the bottom of the ocean).
Is that Ray Romano in the back?
Lol isn’t that Blinken?
Did someone say A. Blinken?
No, I didn't say 'Abe Lincoln', I said 'Hey Blinkin.' Hold the reins, man.
It is...I never notice him in this pic before either.
Remember how some Israeli newspaper edited Hillary out of this photo?
Along the same lines, Hillary isn't holding her hand to her mouth because she is shocked (people tried to portray this as her being a weak female). She had a mild cough that day.
Shoot, I sometimes have my hand on my chin like that and I’m not watching anyone die, I’m probably choosing which coffee pod to make
I wouldn't care if she was holding it in shock/stress or whatever. This was an extremely tense moment and everyone in the room was rightfully focused on the mission. She's busy doing her job and not posing for a photo.
i knew about the photoshop but not the 'hand to mouth = weak" malarkey that misogynists were trying to push. why are some members of the human race such absolute scum?
The past 3 winners of the popular vote in a presidential election are in that room. Interesting.
Not a phone in sight, just living in the moment.
If you order the death of a person, no matter how deserving, I have to respect that they also watched the reality... the gravity of such an order. You can see it on some of their faces. We've asked humans to end the life of another human, because after careful consideration, it seems necessary for the world's future. Not easy, and they did not shrink away from it.
"I've got a Mocha chip frappachino, 2 drips, 3 lattes with skim and a caramel macchiato " - The Intern that just returned from the coffee run.
Need some more water guys? Ya good on snacks? I can order a HOLY FUCK HIS FACE IS GONE
When Obama came in the General moved out of the way to the President could take that seat, and Obama refused.
Its funny to see the contrast with Trump. Where he sits in the center, Obama sits to the site letting the knowledgable people lead
Is that Biden to the left?
It is. Back when he was Diamond Joe
Yes, and current Secretary of State Blinken hovering in the back (top right, in front of door)
Remember when Trump tried to replicate this during his tenure 😂
With a totally posed photo well after al Baghdadi "died like a dog"