Mark Bowden, is a national correspondent for “The Atlantic” and author of the new book, “The Finish: The Killing Of Osama Bin Laden.” According to Bowden, Vice President Joe Biden opposed the president's authorization to attack Osama Bin Laden’s hideout in Abbottabad, Pakistan, because if the mission failed for any reason, President Barack Obama [and Biden] would lose their chance at re-election.
According to Mark Bowden, Vice President Joseph Biden was the very last hold-out in opposition to the mission to get Osama Bin Laden. In an article that appeared in “The Guardian” on 10-12-12 Mark Bowden wrote that, in the end, “The only major dissenters were Joe Biden and defense secretary Robert Gates, and, by the next morning, Gates had changed his mind. Everyone else favored sending in the Seals.” His book actually goes a little further and states that Vice President Biden’s reason for opposing the raid was political. Last night, when Greta Van Suteren read that portion from his book, Bowden acknowledged that Vice President Biden’s reason for being the last member of the inner circle to oppose the raid was almost entirely based upon his fear of the political repercussions of a failed operation, and he advised the President to wait until there was better intelligence about the target.
During the debate last week between Vice President Joseph Biden and the GOP Vice Presidential Candidate Paul Ryan, Vice President Biden’s description of his presence at the time it had been decide to go after OBL certainly made it seem like Biden was an unequivocal and absolute supporter of the decision to launch the raid. After author Mark Bowden’s appearance on the Fox News program “On the Record” with Greta Van Susteren, that part of the Vice Preisdent’s “performance” during the debate now looks like it was a moment of personal hypocrisy. [...://gretawire.foxnewsinsider.com/video/author-mark-bowden-on-the-record/...].
After mentioning Mark Bowden’s new book, Greta Van Susteren went into the Bowden segment by showing a video clip from the Vice Presidential debate where Joe Biden talked about the raid that killed Osama Bin Laden. Then Van Susteren said, “...Vice President Joe Biden became the biggest cheerleader of the raid that killed Osama Bin Laden, but here’s something you didn’t know. The Vice President actually opposed the mission. In fact, he was the only advisor who told President Obama not to go ahead with the plan. So why did he tell the President not to do it? ....” The rest of her interview with Mark Bowden indicated that Biden’s main reason was the fear of political consequences.
Greta Van Susteren read from Bowden’s book: “He [Biden] believed that if the president decided to choose either the air or the ground option, and if the effort failed in any of the many ways it could, Obama would lose his chance for a second term.”
Bowden added this in response to Ms. Van Susteren's reading: “...In a way, Biden of all the people in the room would be the one to speak to the political consequences of the raid going wrong.... he weighed in for more caution. He said, ‘I think we should have more information that Osama Bin Laden is there.’ His advice was not heeded ....”
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