On october 7, 2008, Obama1 made the following pledge:
"We will kill bin Laden. We will crush al-Qaeda. That has to be our biggest national security priority."
During his campaign, Obama repeatedly attacked the Bush Administration for failing to kill the US' number one boogeyman. After all, Bush told the press already in 2002:
Deep in my heart I know the man is on the run, if he's alive at all. Who knows if he's hiding in some cave or not; we haven't heard from him in a long time. And the idea of focusing on one person is -- really indicates to me people don't understand the scope of the mission.
Terror is bigger than one person. And he's just -- he's a person who's now been marginalized. His network, his host government has been destroyed. He's the ultimate parasite who found weakness, exploited it, and met his match. He is -- as I mentioned in my speech, I do mention the fact that this is a fellow who is willing to commit youngsters to their death and he, himself, tries to hide -- if, in fact, he's hiding at all.
So I don't know where he is. You know, I just don't spend that much time on him, Kelly, to be honest with you.
Obama, on the other hand, knew what the people needed to hear:
WATERTOWN,S.D., May 16 -- Sen. Barack Obama pushed back Friday against President Bush's implicit criticism of his approach to foreign policy, condemning his administration for not capturing Osama bin Laden
This allowed Obama to reply that, yes, he didn't understand a lot of things—for instance, he didn't understand why George W. Bush invaded Iraq, which had nothing to do with Sept. 11, yet let Osama Bin Laden thrive in the mountains of Pakistan.
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President-elect Barack Obama wants to renew the U.S. commitment to finding al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, according to his national security advisers.
Osama bin Laden remains on the run despite a $25 million reward for his capture.
And from Factcheck.baracobama.com:
President Bush Falsely Attacks Barack Obama After Failing To Kill Or Capture Osama Bin Laden For Over Seven Years
February 10, 2008
"I certainly don't know what he believes in. The only foreign policy thing I remember he said was he's going to attack Pakistan and embrace Ahmadinejad." -George W. Bush, February 10, 2008
"You want a fight, President Bush? Let's finish the fight with Bin Laden and Al Qaeda." -Barack Obama, October 2, 2002
The Bush-McCain decision to take our eye off of Afghanistan to launch a misguided war in Iraq diverted resources from the fight against terrorism, allowed Osama bin Laden to escape justice, and has enabled al Qaeda’s core leadership to reconstitute a sanctuary in northwest Pakistan.
But in 16 months we should be able to reduce our combat troops, put — provide some relief to military families and our troops and bolster our efforts in Afghanistan so that we can capture and kill bin Laden and crush al Qaeda.
As late as yesterday, Obama1 made this very clear:
President-elect Barack Obama said Wednesday that Al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden remain the "number one threat" to US security, after a new voice recording emerged from the terror group's leader.
"Bin Laden and Al-Qaeda are our number one threat when it comes to American security," Obama told reporters, after the recording warned the president-elect of new fronts in bin Laden's self-styled holy war against Western interests.
Obama1 is now being heavily criticized by Obama2:
Barack Obamasuggested last night that removing Osama bin Laden from the battlefield was no longer essential and that America's security goals could be achieved merely by keeping al-Qaeda "on the run".
"My preference obviously would be to capture or kill him," he said. "But if we have so tightened the noose that he's in a cave somewhere and can't even communicate with his operatives then we will meet our goal of protecting America.
"I think that we have to so weaken [bin Laden's] infrastructure that, whether he is technically [sic] alive or not, he is so pinned down that he cannot function," he said. "And I'm confident that we can keep them on the run and ensure that they cannot train terrorists to attack our homeland."
Obama2 and Obama1 proceeded to blame each other for being "just another politician."