Current and former SEALS hit Obama on bin Laden ad

Present and former Navy SEALS are decrying President Obama's attempt to politicize tomorrow's anniversary of the killing of Osama bin Laden.

An unidentified, currently- serving SEAL said, "Obama wasn’t in the field, at risk, carrying a gun. As president, at every turn he should be thanking the guys who put their lives on the line to do this. He does so in his official speeches because he speechwriters are smart.

"But the more he tries to take the credit for it, the more the ground operators are saying, 'Come on, man!' It really didn’t matter who was president. At the end of the day, they were going to go."

For the sake of disclosure, it should be mentioned that Ryan Zilke- who served 23 years as a SEAL and led a SEAL Team 6 unit- is now a Republican state senator in Montana. Perhaps his reaction is therefore predictable. Nevertheless, he is not impressed by the posture Mr. Obama and his campaign are taking on the mission.

"The decision was a no brainer," said Zilke. "I applaud him for making it but I would not overly pat myself on the back for making the right call. I think every president would have done the same. He is justified in saying it was his decision but the preparation, the sacrifice - it was a broader team effort.’

Chris Kyle, a former SEAL with 165 confirmed and 95 unconfirmed kills to his credit, claims that the President didn't actually even make the decision to go ahead with the mission. "The operation itself was great and the nation felt immense pride. It was great that we did it.

"But bin Laden was just a figurehead. The war on terror continues. Taking him out didn’t really change anything as far as the war on terror is concerned and using it as a political attack is a cheap shot," Kyle said.

"In years to come there is going to be information that will come out that Obama was not the man who made the call. He can say he did and the people who really know what happened are inside the Pentagon, are in the military and the military isn’t allowed to speak out against the commander- in-chief so his secret is safe."

A former intelligence official was anonymously quoted by the same article as saying that the Obama administration had known bin Laden's whereabouts since October of 2010, but delayed taking action, thereby risking yet another bin Laden escape

Even liberal commentator Ariana Huffington of The Huffington Post is livid at Mr. Obama's effort to make political capital out of the death of bin Laden. "We should celebrate the fact that they did such a great job," Huffington told CBS News. "It's one thing to have an NBC special from the Situation Room... all that to me is perfectly legitimate, but to turn it into a campaign ad is one of the most despicable things you can do."

One thing seems clear: the decision by the Obama campaign to try to make political capital out of the death of bin Laden is not going over very well among the SEALs themselves, and even with some of Mr. Obama's own supporters.

HT: Drudge, Daily Mail On Line