The Path To Bin Laden

It has been a long hard slog, that came to fruition yesterday with the assassination of Osama Bin Laden.

Following the September 11, 2001 attacks, former President George W. Bush made it a key priority of the United States of America to kill or capture OBL. He came closest in December 2001 it the mountains of Tora Bora, during the invasion of Afghanistan. According to reports, because of lack of U.S. troops on the ground, NATO support, and too much dependence on Afghan allies, OBL along with close associates were able to sneak out of the area, and likely migrated to Pakistan.

That led to a multi-year largely futile effort to locate Bin Laden. Although his realtime capabilities were basically eliminated, OBL remained an existential threat to the U.S.. Rumors swirled about his location, but generally people believed he was in the mountains between Afghanistan and Pakistan. That actually ultimately turned out to be false. But sustained attacks against Al Qaeda basically eliminated OBL from the operational side of Al Qaeda, and for many, he was an afterthought as the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq marched on.

The irony is that the biggest break may have come all the way back in 2004, though no one realized it at the time.

Some time after Sept. 11, detainees held by the U.S. told interrogators about a man believed to work as a courier for bin Laden, senior administration officials said. The man was described by detainees as a protégé of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, and “one of the few Al Qaeda couriers trusted by bin laden.” This man’s identity was discovered during one of the much criticized harsh interrogations that were ordered by President Bush.

Initially, intelligence officials only had the man’s nickname, but they discovered his real name four years ago.

Two years ago, intelligence officials began to identify areas of Pakistan where the courier and his brother operated, and the great security precautions the two men took aroused U.S. suspicions.

Last August, intelligence officials tracked the men to their residence in Abbottabad, Pakistan, a relatively wealthy town 35 miles north of Islamabad where many retired military officers live. Officials were stunned by what they found. The compound was built in 2005, at the cost of approximately $1 million. It was by far the largest compound in the area, with 12-18 foot walls covered by barbed wire. A secondary inner wall protected the central housing area. This was a definition of a military fort less than a house.

On April 29, 2011, President Obama gave the order to go forward. Navy SEAL teams moved in a helicopter raid. Two helicopters began the mission, but on failed because of mechanical difficulties; that helicopter was purposefully destroyed by U.S. forces. Pakistan was not notified beforehand of the operation.

The raid took 40 minutes in total, from beginning to end. OBL, one of his sons, as well as two ‘couriers’ were killed. One woman was also killed when she attempted to shield one of the combatants; rumors are that she attempted to save Bin Laden. Two other women rumored to be wives of OBL and four other men, possibly other sons of Bin Laden, were captured. Bin Laden was apparently shot in the head at mid range.

Osama Bin Laden’s body was taken for immediate DNA confirmation, which confirmed his identity. On the morning of May 1st, his body was unceremoniously buried at sea.