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- Attachments : Liberty statue
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- Water boarding torture on the combatants at Guantanamo Bay , finally rat’ed on the couriers and the National Security Agency traced one of the couriers to bin Laden’s house. Months of time was spent using spies and satellites in hopes that bin Laden would reveal himself. The President had 3 choices. Continue the vigil. Launch a missile from a far off a B-2 bomber destroying the house and all its occupants. Send in special forces SEALs team 6 to bring him out dead or alive.
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- How strong was the intelligence?
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- 50% to 80% good.
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- What could go wrong?
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- Plenty. We could have a hostage situation. We could get into a diplomatic crisis. The whole mission could be a debacle, it has happened before to Jimmy Carter.
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- More than 100 people have been briefed on how the raid might occur. More time might allow leaks and bin Laden might escape again.
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- The president slept on the decision and the next morning ok’ed the SEALs to enter a sovereign country on a perilous mission with the hopes of getting bin Laden.
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- On Saturday the mission left the base in Jalaabad, Afghanistan.
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- The President Situation Room in the West Wing of the White House watched the video. A hole was blown through the side of the house. Gunfire erupted as the SEALs worked their way through the buildings inside the compound. Those watching the video from the helmet camera heard the words, “ Visual on Geronimo” .
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- The man responsible for 1,000’s of murders in 4 continents was cornered in a single room. That day was preceded by 15 years of the hunt. Bill Clinton had released Tomahawk missiles on bin Laden’s suspected hiding place in 1998. He got away.
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- George W. Bush dispatched troops to Afghanistan training camps in 2001. He got away.
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- Bin Laden loved his image as the warrior - prophet. He portrayed his vision as the hard, pure alternative to the decadent weakness of the modern world. In reality he was living in a million dollar home, a fortress inside a wealthy Pakistan town. He was in a king-sized bed. He had satellite TV. He had several younger wives. This was hardly cave dwelling.
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- He had planned the mission and had sent 19 martyrs armed with a few box cutters to hijack 3 planes and slam them into buildings with all their passengers. A suicide mission designed to kill as many civilians as possible. George Bush put a bounty on him dead or alive. But, he remained hidden. He did not communicate using electronics that could be monitored by spy satellites. He communicated with hand written memos carried by trusted couriers.
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- Five of the captives given water boarding interrogation finally became forthcoming and out’ed the trusted couriers. One courier was found in the summer of 2010. The National Security Agency put him on surveillance. He was traced to this house in Abbottabad, Pakistan.
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- The President was briefed and first informed in August, 2010. Leon Panetta, the CIA Director, chose Admiral William McRaven to plan the mission to get bin Laden.
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- Darkness was the cloak.
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- Speed was essential. In and out in 30 minutes before the Pakistan military would know what was happening. April 28, 2011 the decision was made to go in even though bin Laden had not been spotted.
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- Four helicopters approached the walled off house in Bilal Town outside Abbottabad.. The 3 story house was a replica that Navy SEALs had trained on for months before the mission.
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- The HH-60 helicopter lost its lift and landed hard against the wall of the fortress. The CH-47 Chinook dropped off a dozen SEALs that fast-roped on to the roof. The CH-47 Chinook landed in the compound yard. Four men and 1 woman were killed in the raid. The stricken helicopter was destroyed to erase evidence.
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- SEALs boarded the Chinook carrying computer drives and other intelligence they had collected. DNA and face recognition methods were used to confirm the body being removed was bin Laden. The helicopters took the body to an aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea. The burial was performed there. The hunt was over. Justice was done.
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