Navy SEAL Blowin' Stuff Up!

You know what would be really awesome? A person who doesn't think destruction is awesome. Destruction and people who like it are too common-place to be called awe-some.

You know what would really, really be awesome? If people understood the peril these men and women put themselves in for us all, even the ones that think protecting home and country is "destructive."

I'd like to meet the SEALS who took out Bin Laden and ask them if they think his death will really mark the end of such a nebulous concept as terrorism. Navy SEALS have access to massive weapons of destruction. Just look at this SEAL blowing stuff up on the battlefield with a giant gun. Some people will say that it is impressive, but for me it is another depressing chronicle of war. This SEAL was testing some new night-vision system, and the photo was snapped way back in 2004, which probably means that America has already sold the tech to another country thus continuing the cycle of war. It really makes you scared to think of what new instruments of murder they are developing and using now and the people who blindly support their efforts, doesn't it?

You know what would be really, really, REALLY awesome? If people could avoid the knee-jerk leap to self-righteous moralization whenever a popular controversy is broached. Then we could have level-headed, meaningful discussions about issues that require serious consideration. Like, you know, ones where innocent lives are at stake on both sides.

...our tax dollars at work. We spend (officially) 689 BILLION dollars per year on the military. A lot more if you count the CIA, NSA, and the stuff that gets hidden.
Why? Has anyone tried to invade our country? No. How could they...unless we are afraid of Mexico or Canada invading us.

Of course some fringe wackos hijacked some planes on 9-11 and attacked and killed 3,000, and it was a bad thing....but we kill lots more of civilians in other countries for our own economic interests. For instance: In Vietnam and more recently to protect our OIL supply during the Iraq war(s).

If there was no oil in the Middle East, we would ignore it like we ignore the evil dictators in Africa.
Tell me I'm wrong....

Bill

I heart Shaun and Limbo.

@ Kaiser Tia - FTR - Night vision is not an instrument of murder.

@ Shaun - that image is going right into the folder that I have with the beautiful tracer pattern put down by an AC-130.

There sure are alot of ignorant f@gs commenting in here.

Go seals!

"I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy. Returning hate for? hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that."
-Martin Luther King, Jr

I do however believe that the jobs that Canadians and American forces do are incredibly brave.

Yea, I guess its not really about the weapon. I mean if this was in the hands of 'terrorists' you wouldn't think it was that awesome. If the news was the Muslim Brotherhood acquired a third-generation tritium suit-case bomb you wouldn't think it was awesome, you'd probably think it was aweful. So maybe the only acceptable thing to say is "America, fuck yeah!"

Nick...funny, but that's what I thought when I was reading your post....by the way it's "a lot", not alot.

Those "Awesome goodies that they play with" are created for one purpose; to kill people. As Kaiser Tia mentions, these weapons are sold to dictators all around the world who use them to blow up their citizens. As just one example, this year alone, the U.S. was hoping to sell Libya an additional $77 million dollars of those awesome goodies (higher than the previous record of $46 million from the U.S. in 2008) Gadhafi is using all those horrible weapons against his people right now, just because they want democracy. The list of other clients for these weapons is long and just as, if not more despotic. How awesome is that?

@Frau - To be honest, I was referring to both Ryan AND Shane. All I wanted to say was "Hey, we can discuss these ideas without attacking the character of others." And, incidentally, since yours is one of the few comments to do just that, I heart you too :)

@Tori - I'm with you on both counts.

The wording of this article seems a little out of place by the standards of this website, and its not fair to accuse the first commenter of lacking empathy for marines since they didn't do that at all. The language you chose seems obsequious toward military personnel, maybe because you only have a couple of paragraphs to cover the thing, maybe you meant it that way to be provocative. Either way many people, including those not fundamentally opposed to the military, find this kind of talk disturbing when overt enthusiasm is applied to lethal weapons. They're not to be treated like toys, are they?
And Tori, you might wanna double check that (mis)quote.

@Limbo

You are right! Though, I had no intention of attacking anyone. I partially reacted to the idea that this is awesome when it is just a weapon. I would like to discuss the issue, but unfortunately, I think that the issue has its roots in attitudes held by us all, some which are considered patriotic in America.

I do not think gloating over superior weaponry or the destruction of the enemy is productive toward any goal but increased hostility and lust for war. Just as my reacting to the original post produced a high probability of future hostilities. This conversation was in some way a microchosm of the problem I perceive affecting us through war and the reason pride and gloating over war perpetuate it.

You know what would be awesome?

A comment stream without libtards who are such sanctimonious douchebags they can't set even a pinky toe out of their ivory towers and muster an iota of team spirit, much less THANKS after the actions of the most elite special forces took out the most dangerous guy in the world.

You people and your type absolutely boggle the mind.
I am honestly not sure who is worse sometimes; terrorists who are crazy or liberals who should know better and Choose to be wankers of the highest order.

Go ahead and move to Canada, please.

I would be remiss if I didn't include the entirely appropriate citation:

"We sleep soundly in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm."

I don't really see the need to kill Ben Laden. Why didn't they just bring him to justice? Wouldn't that be fairer to the victims?
The USA shouldn't act as the sheriff of the county, hanging wrongdoers in the first tree they find.
And when you think of sept. 11, remember the foreign policy of the USA in the last 100 years or soo, and you'll gain some perspective...

@Piotra

Killing him outright has created enough of a media storm, can you imagine what would happen if they had taken him alive back to the US, presumably on camera?
Given what they have already done, they have, as best as possible, reduced the extent of martyrdom by dealing with the problem in in the shortest possible span of time, and dealing with the body in the least inflammatory way.

I am a Canadian, and I have no less concern for what the Canadian government has done to support military efforts around the globe.

I honestly don't consider myself liberal. I have conservative and liberal elements, wherever such a habit is actually virtuous. My philosophy of sin and crime probably sounds more conservative than liberal and I look upon popular issues like abortion and homosexual marriage as essentially non-dichotomous.

Martyrdom is probably not the primary issue. It is more than likely an egotistical defense against a loss. If you can manage to see a friend die and accept that it was entirely in vain then perhaps you are wise enough to judge them. But chances are you would claim your loss was not in vain and manifest some heroic reason for their death which would further fuel your conviction that you are right and they are wrong and action must be taken to correct the world.

Honestly, I think 100% of war is caused by our inability to see ourselves as the villain. And by us I mean the whole human race. We are too busy protecting a good self-image. It sounds stupid, and that makes it easier for us to disregard it, how can we be that stupid? I'm not that stupid! Furthermore, as long as our perceived enemy continues to retaliate with violence we are pressured by fear to believe that there is real justice in violence against that enemy. It is much harder to resort to violence when our opponent is not using it themselves. Because ego, we are perfect, shiney beings, we do Gods work or we are righeously Godless. Whatever, we are best, aren't we? Whatever we are, each and every one of us thinks they are best, and if they think not its only because it looks bad to think highly of oneself, and that is the same damn thing! Flies in the vasoline we are!

These "awesome goodies" are what kill funding for education. Endless war is why our schools are falling apart. Each generation becoming dumber and more gullible to accepting that war is cool, and that the "toys" of death are awesome.
I for one would feel safer with an educated, enlightened, peaceful populace.
I'm grateful for and wholeheartedly respect the sacrifice these men and women make. Just please don't glorify the act of war or the tools of murder.

Grief, such fawning over people who are trained killers.

Hi Neato,

do you just post these things to get the comments up?

There are lots of really good things to post about that everyone (or most) would agree is 'neat' without creating some chance of bullshit division.

I mean I come here to get away from the day to day 'manufactured controversy'.

Also, where are the head shots of OBL? Two pop's to the head and half a skull blown off the number one terrorist, while under stress and time limits in a foreign country. Now that is neat.

Wow, so much to comment on.

What's wrong with Canada? We have military people here, too, and people who go overboard with their gun-lust - just not as much as other places.

Also, the word "f@gs" is offensive and should have been deleted, but for the fact that it gives a shocking indication of your own maturity and mental state. There are a lot of gay people in your own military.

Also yes, the condescending anti-military are annoying, too.

The original post itself does read more like something out of Guns N Ammo than Neatorama.

And yes, I think it's good that they got him, and I would certainly say congratulations to them, but you will likely never know exactly who did the deed.

He was blowing up an unruly kitten. Neat.

I get what a lot of you are saying, but you have to remember the SEALs are people and they just did somthing incredibly hard. I know former SEALs and Special Forces guys and they are some awesome guys. Very smart and funny as heck, and lets face it some of these weapons we once saw in a book are now reality. I feel that was more what this post was aiming for.

Even though we may not agree on the outcome we should still support our fellow brothers and sisters that do get paid not enough for what they do.

Just wanted to say, I dont think anyone thinks that getting Osama is the end of violence. If they do, I have a bridge to sell. Getting Osama wasnt just about revenge either, to all the people that think we were just out trying to settle a grudge. Getting Osama was to take out a serious threat. He didnt just attack the world trade center on 9/11. He's been attacking targets for years! I suppose that the SEALs could have just asked him to hug it out. That seems to be what most of these people that keep on posting the Martin Luther quote wanted. But really, what other option was there? If America took him into incarceration do you suppose that the terrorist would just set down their weapons and shrug? Cause I imagine they would be more pissed and start attacking every spot they could. Not to say it wont happen, because like I alluded to earlier, things arent going to get better. So to all the people that say we shouldnt have killed him, what do you propose? Pack our bags and head home? Do tell. And to all the people that think we are only in the middle east to protect our oil, how well do you think thats working. whats gas now? like over $4.00 a gallon(again)? And if you think that the military isnt in Africa, your wrong about that too. I have friends that have gone on deployments to Africa. Heck, I have friends that have deployed to South America. They dont quite make the press like the war in the middle east, because a lot of the missions there are aid missions. damn warmongering military tryin to help out! but you guys dont look for that stuff. Cause its not in the popular news. Oh, and actually the pic on this post is damn Neat! And quit pining about Neato posting stuff for comments. Its individual contributors that post this stuff. Ahhhh. I feel better for now!

Oh, also, to all the people that like talking about how violent America is, and how we are just rutheless killers, I just wanna point out that America does consider the fact that we want to avoid casualties. Why do you suppose President Obama used a surgical strike like the SEALs? He could have dropped a bomb. If you read the news articles, that was one of his options. They had been tracking Osama for over a year looking for the perfect opportunity. He put the lives of his men in danger to avoid killing a neighborhood. just putting that out there. Another thing, before you continue blasting America for its violence, just look around the world. At least America is trying to help. I dont think that our president would bomb our own people if we started an uprising. Look at all the riots that started with Egypt. Sure America has riots, but we use non-lethal force first. Its called Escalation of force. but look at all the riots in Yemen, Bahrain. All over. Consider the fact that in Mexico, just in Juarez, more people die in one year than have died in the whole war in the middle east. So, again, like I said, maybe instead of blasting America, you could commend it for at least trying.

oh, last point. (yeah, I know I've gone on long enough, but people's blind opinions really get my going) America caught Saddam. We didnt kill him. Saddam was executed by the Iraq government.

Most people in the USA are too brainwashed with blind patriotism that it's futile to try to argue with them.

WTF is this macho imbecilic jingoistic crap doing on Neatorama?
*deletes bookmark*

I wondered for a minute if the original post was a parody. I guess not.

I am a progressive. I believe it is our society's responsibility to support itself in the long term and always strive to make the world a better place. I am pro-education, pro-science, pro-technology, pro-environment. I believe that people should be free to live as they choose *as long as* they do not abuse each other or the environment for any reason, including profit. I am generally a pacifist, but I recognize that sometimes you have to fight -- preferably with professionalism and dignity.

I have *never* discounted the bravery of our armed forces -- and in fact, I don't believe many people ever have. This is a false story that conservatives tell about liberals.

I *have* frequently questioned the motives and necessity of particular actions our troops are sent into. I *do* believe the "War on Terror" has mostly been conducted in an ineffective way that has cost us the lives of thousands of soldiers as well as trillions of dollars of taxpayer money, and largely made our country less secure and less free.

In this particular case I think our Commander-In-Chief did the right thing in ordering this mission to take out bin Laden, and both the CIA and Seal Team Six did an excellent job.

You know what? In ordering this particular strike, as opposed to the original proposal to simply bomb the compound into paste, Obama (you know, that "liberal f@g") was showing trust that the superior training and competence of the SEALS would lead to a better outcome than "awesome" weapons. And he was right.

Glorifying war and destruction is never a good thing though. I'm sure from somebody's perspective, the hijackers on 9/11 were badass, it was really cool when terrorists got to play with those 747s, and really awesome how the twin towers collapsed.

I don't even care what this article is about, this blog post screams douchebag. It looks like it was written by a ten year old who just finished beating up his sister. Throw a few more awesomes in there, and another "don't it", and you'd have it spot on.

I am still assuming that this is a parody, because I don't believe anyone can keep a straight face about the amateur fashion this blog post was written.

I enjoyed the post, and enjoyed the comments even more. Self-righteous, anyone? Still laughing at a couple of these. (Kittens? Canadians? You can't be serious). The name-calling is especially convincing when thrown into arguments.

@ Hmmmm. Yes. I suppose that Amercicans are brainwashed into blind patriotism. Not at all like North Korea or China. Who are true humanitarians. I suppose its Americans that have violent protests, and riots in the street and rip our country apart when we dont like our leaders. I guess that Americans will strap bombs to ourselves, our wives, and our children and run them into crowded markets, and malls, and theaters, based on a pure hatred based solely on religion. Yes, America does have its fair share of issues. But come on, really? What is really interesting to me is that everyone that comments on this stuff apparently does not have any idea of what happens over there. I can only assume that all the people that like to say that the war on terror was a waste of lives, and like to say that its a waste of money, have this image in their head of crazy red eyed monsters running through the streets shooting down anyone they see, all while holding up an American flag. The media only shows the anti-American people over there. There are many more individuals in the countries that we are currently in that love Americans for the sacrifices that have been made. Do most of you people understand the Taliban or Al-queda? Do you realize that the go into these villages and "recruit" thousands of young men by threating and killing families and loved ones? And it wasnt in response to America going over there. This has been going on well before we went into the middle east. Its called terrorism for a reason. Most people just see the headlines and never read into what America is doing in the middle east. When Saddam was defeated, it wasnt Americans dancing in the streets of Iraq and Turkey an Kuwait. Cheering and holding up banners. Im sure this is just another wasted comment, because Im pretty sure that it just falls on deaf ears, and the people that accuse America of being blind brainwashed patriots are really little more than the same.

@ Bored

So the USA is not the only country with blind patriotism. Your point?

You went to Iraq for the oil. If it really was about dictatorship you could invade half the world. (This is not a hint, nobody appointed the USA as policeman of the world.)

I could go on but what's the point.

You will never meet these guys since they must remain anonymous , and even if you knew them, they wouldn't drink with you. This is not something to be flaunted, but a hard and difficult job they had to do. Don't insult them with childish posts.

@hmmm. If the USA went Iraq for the oil, then I guess its a good thing. Considering gas was at an all time high that summer. And it continues to go up. You dont even know what your talking about. Thats just typical ignorance. But I guess you're probably right. Nobody appointed the US as the world police. That would be called the U.N. I dont see anyone talking bad about France for leading the charge in Libya. America was attacked, and for that reason we invaded. So the WMD thing was false. Invading Iraq did nothing for our oil, so I dont really understand why people like you fixate on it. It just proves my point that you know nothing about the topic you are trying to talk about. The US is training the Iraq military so that we can pull out of Iraq. The US knows it wont be able to defeat terrorism. Thats why they are training the Afghanistan military to help quell the violence there. You say that we could invade half the world to take out a dictator. It wasnt about taking out a dictator. It was about taking away a safe haven for Al-queda and Taliban and giving people rights. I was in Iraq during their first elections. Can you imagine, for a moment, being able to vote for your leader for the first time in 50 some years? Can you imagine going into the voting station, knowing that you might die for going? Because that was the exact case. Saddams supporters threatened bombs, and murder at all of those stations. yet millions of people showed up to vote, even with death being a possible penaltly. No one held a gun to their heads telling them to vote. It was just the opposite. But I suppose you probably overlook that tidbit, to continue calling the US the bad guys. Just remember, the US isnt the only country with soldiers over there. And the US cant force another country to join its war. They joined the war because they agreed with what we were doing. So I guess that kind of makes them world police too. And the only reason that its futile to argue, isnt because we are blind patriots. Its futile to argue because you use a little bit of false information to try to base your entire arguement on. State some facts based on real information, and then you have an arguement.

Bored, you should consider using the Enter key to separate long blocks of text into readable paragraphs.

The objectionable part of this post for most people was the juvenile way in which it was written. I found the childish and offensive comments the most objectionable. Nick's comment (#7) is offensive and shows his ignorance and lack of tolerance for others.

Also, I agree with taking the guy out, but let's not pretend they didn't bomb the hell out of the place because they were trying to save lives. Bombing the compound would have led to an uncertain outcome. Did we get him or not? Is that really his unidentifiable body part or his child's? The need was for absolute certainty; otherwise, we'd have as many Osama sightings as Elvis sightings every year.

You can only go so far with cute cat vids that get one comment. At least you are guaranteed to get your armchair pundits fired up with a post like this.

Mission accomplished I say. One day Pakistan might be able to decide what side its actually on for more than one minute.

I like how people jump on the bandwagon to chastise the SEALS for a successful mission but people forget that the guy they killed personally oversaw the slaughter of 3000 unarmed civilians - purposefully targetted. Yes the US and its allies have hit civilians but its been a cock up when its happened. Bad intel, bad aim...why would the US go out of its way to kill civvies - it would make no sense at all. Whereas OBL couldnt give a damn about anyone but his own sense of self worth. Kudos to Obama for sitting through the mission. I'm not sure I would have the stomach for it.

@ piotra.....Wait...you mean they also killed Ben Laden? Ben Laden from down the street? That'll teach him to leave out his trash cans after trash day.

Now you can go lick his xss after he is done with that gun.

What a wonderful welcome you have given our newest author. I hope he can withstand your graciousness long enough to grow a thick skin, because It's getting harder and harder to find anyone willing to work here.

I was just amazed at how people were able to turn a post about a night vision gadget into "America is evil".

Reminds me of the time I submitted that post about the giant crossword puzzle on the side of a building in Lviv in the Ukraine. And then people jumped on my use of "the" in front of the word Ukraine.

Btw-Night vision...still a gadget not a weapon. It may aid in the use of a weapon. But it can probably only do damage if you clock someone in the head with it.

Wow, yea this is really incredible for 2004, I really can't imagine what the military is capable today!

No one argues that countries are invaded so that gas will be cheap, it's precisely the opposite. Bush and his cabinet were mostly ex oil people, oil companies fund political campaigns, they want access to oil but not so that they can sell it to you for cheap! You don't understand corporations if you believe that.

The point to make if you want to argue that wars have nothing to do with oil is to say "look, we went to war and now the oil companies are making no money. So it cant have been about oil"

Wars have been fought over oil for over half a century now, democratically elected Mosaddegh of Iran was overthrown in 1953 by the US and UK after he nationalised the oil companies. Not so that westerners could have cheap gas, but so that oil corporations could have access to the oil. The CIA documents on this have been declassified so you can look it up.
And that's just one of many.

Hi Mrs Cellania,

You have an audience. How does one become an author on Neatorama?

Hi, Miss C.

I think he'll grow that thick skin by the time he hits puberty. Thick skins are awesome, you know. I hear Chuck Norris has one. Booyah!

So, someone who has "thick skin" what is that skin covering exactly?

It seems to me that when we make statements and are criticized we can feel embarrassed or insulted. So we grow a "skin" thick enough to keep those criticisms at a safe distance from our....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZXgxBlZHpw

Btw, Sorry if I have contributed to the difficulty of the job. Feel free to PM me or email me if you want me to behave differently. I will respect your guidelines on your website.

Not because I told you so, but so that you know. Al-Qaeda released a statement almost verbatim what I said they would, stating that Osama's blood "is more precious to us and to every Muslim than to be wasted in vain."

("If you can manage to see a friend die and accept that it was entirely in vain then perhaps you are wise enough to judge them. But chances are you would claim your loss was not in vain and manifest some heroic reason for their death which would further fuel your conviction that you are right and they are wrong and action must be taken to correct the world." - Ryan S)

"It will remain, with permission from Allah the Almighty, a curse that hunts the Americans and their collaborators and chases them inside and outside their country."

http://af.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idAFTRE7415H120110506?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=0

FLESH - BULLET - ONE LESS TERRORIST
Simple equation, huh?