So much hypocrisy.

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. — Behind closed doors, President Barack Obama was bringing his personal thanks Friday to some of the secretive special operations forces who stormed Osama bin Laden’s compound.

The president was meeting with some of the Navy SEALS who carried out the operation in Abbottabad, Pakistan, and the elite helicopter crews who flew them in. He was then to speak to troops recently back from Afghanistan, where the fighting and search for an endgame continues despite the death of the terrorist who masterminded the killing of nearly 3,000 Americans on Sept. 11, 2001.

Hundreds of soldiers clad in fatigues milled about in front of an enormous American flag as they waited in a hangar for Obama to arrive. The mood looked celebratory as troops wearing combat boots broke out occasional dance moves. But Obama has said there’s no need to “spike the ball” and revel in bin Laden’s death, and presidential spokesman Jay Carney said his comments would reflect that attitude.

“I don’t expect you’ll hear the president spiking the ball and gloating when he speaks to troops returning from Afghanistan,” Carney told reporters traveling with the president Friday on Air Force One. “The point he will make is that while the successful mission against Osama bin Laden was an historic and singular event, it doesn’t by any means mean that we are finished with the war against al-Qaida. The fight goes on.”