Bin Laden operation: Military success, PR fiasco?

[Geee]

Daily Caller:

The administration’s clashing desires to celebrate the successful killing of America’s enemy but also to mollify jihad-sympathizers has caused repeated media flubs in the days after the Osama bin Laden raid, say PR experts and Islamic-modernizers.

The fumbles are exemplified by the two-day debate over whether to release photographs of bin Laden’s “gruesome” facial wounds. Officials simultaneously argued that any disrespect shown toward bin Laden’s body would spur violence in Muslim countries, but also that bin Laden was not a leader of Muslims.

On Sunday, President Barack Obama seemingly gave a green-light to the release of photographs when he said that “Bin Laden was not a Muslim leader; he was a mass murderer of Muslims…So his demise should be welcomed by all who believe in peace and human dignity.” On Wednesday, Obama backtracked and formally overruled CIA chief Leon Panetta’s push to release the photos. “It is important for us to make sure that very graphic photos of someone shot in the head are not floating around as incitement to additional violence,” Obama said.

The core conflict is the White House’s “desire to kill bin Laden but also to have the world think we did so respectfully and politely,” said Eric Dezenhall, founder of Dezenhall Resources, a PR firm. “I’m in the PR business, and I don’t think guys like me have the alchemy to persuade the public that something is the opposite of what it is,” he said, adding, “spin only gets you so far.”

The photographs of bin Laden exemplify the dilemma because they show him both clearly dead and gruesomely disfigured. On Wednesday, after White House spokesman Jay Carney said the photographs show that bin Laden was shot in the face, he quickly backtracked, saying “he was shot above the neck. Let’s say that.”

“Several days of discussions have shown the administration is not in as much control of the story as they should be,” said Scott Stanzel, a deputy press secretary for President George W. Bush, who also painted bin Laden as an unpopular Muslim extremist. Obama’s deputies had plenty of time to make a decision prior to the raid, but their media-related disputes have now blurred their military success, he said.

[Pepper]

Geee!

 

Killing OBL:

A-OK. Muslims will remain calm.

 

Showing photos:

Not OK Muslims will become incensed.

 

Proving that OBL is Dead:

Believe me, he's dead. But-but we don't need to spike the football. - Obama

 

Abu Ghraib underwear photos:

 

May 30, 2009: President Barack Obama has asked a top court to block the releaseof another 2,000 images of abuse at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.

 

Saturday April 25 2009: The Pentagon plans to release the latest photos by May 28. Gibbs declined to say whether Obama would support releasing the photos even if he were not pressed by a court case.

Translation:

 

Blame Bush. Show 2,000! Who cares if Muslims will become incensed??

[SrWoodchuck]

This is the result of the "Gang That Can't Shoot Straight" having special operators that can.

 

How many versions & mistakes in 'facts' about this operation have been put out by the Obama team? In just 5 days!

 

The latest version disgusts me.......blame for killing OBL now on a SEAL team decision......so Obama can preen & pimp the result from a fair distance......and any flak can be used to throw the operators under the bus.

 

Not that you'll hear anything from the SEAL team.....they have honor.....and they will do as they're ordered.

 

Barack Milquetoast Obama. Mmmm-mmm-mmm!