The presently-accepted record demonstrates you are incorrect in saying Obama "was just president in an ongoing operation" to get bin Laden. First, it has been

The presently-accepted record demonstrates you are incorrect in saying Obama "was just president in an ongoing operation" to get bin Laden. First, it has been reported over and over that locating bin Laden was a priority of the Obama administration. Obama announced this in presidential debates, and redirected intelligence resources to this end after he was elected (directing DCI Panetta on June 2 2009 to find a detailed operational plan for locating bin Laden, among other things). I think this priority shift is rather well established, see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Osama_bin_Laden#Background https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Osama_bin_Laden#Backg... Second: Obama personally accepted responsibility for conducting the raid. We all know how well that went for Jimmy Carter, so that was a real risk. Third, and perhaps more controversial: It was reported at the time of the raid that Obama's concerns about getting the team out resulted in changing the plan in a key way (e.g., http://swampland.time.com/2011/05/03/obama-pushed-for-fight-your-way-out-option-in-bin-laden-raid/ http://swampland.time.com/2011/05/03/obama-pushed-for-fight-...). This is what we have been told, but only time will tell.