Osama Bin Laden is dead,
President Obama announced
Sunday night, in a televised
address to the nation. His death
was the result of a U.S. operation
launched today in Abbottabad,
Pakistan, against a compound
where bin Laden was believed to
be hiding, according to U.S.
intelligence. After a firefight, a
small team of American forces
killed bin Laden and took
possession of his body, the
president said.
“Tonight I can report to the
American people and the world
that the United States has
conducted an operation that
killed Osama bin Laden,” Obama
said during brief remarks at the
White House.
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“Justice has been done,” he said,
in comments that marked a
formal end of the manhunt for
the most visible and emotionally-
charged symbol of the terrorist
attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
The president said U.S.
intelligence operatives received a
tip in August on bin Laden’s
whereabouts, which ultimately
led to Sunday’s attack. Obama
said he determined last week
that the U.S. had enough reliable
information to take action; by
Sunday morning, he had
authorized“a small team of
Americans” to conduct an
operation targeting bin Laden.
“After a fire fight, they killed
Osama bin Laden and took
custody of his body,” the
president said. “No Americans
were harmed. They took care to
avoid civilian casualties.”
Obama said the 9/11 attacks that
bin Laden and his lieutenants
orchestrated nearly 10 years ago
remain“the worst attack on the
American people in our history”
and said the images of the
crumbling Twin Towers“are
seared into our national
memory.”
The president emphasized that
Americans“did not choose this
fight” against al Qaeda, but
rather, “it came to our shores.”
He praised U.S. military and
intelligence professionals for
working“tirelessly to achieve
this outcome.” To the families of
9/11 victims, he noted that the
U.S. has“never forgotten your
loss.”
“Tonight, let us think back to the
sense of unity that prevailed on
9/11,” Obama said. “I know that
it has, at times, frayed. Yet today’s
achievement is a testament to
the greatness of our country and
the determination of the
American people.”
Both Bill Clinton and George W.
Bush had targeted bin Laden
during their presidencies, and
both had failed to either capture
him or kill him. The failure to
snare bin Laden weighed most
heavily, perhaps, on the Bush
Administration, which occupied
the White House during the 9/11
attacks, and the al Qaeda leader’s
killing falls exactly eight years to
the day when Bush famously
declared“Mission Accomplished”
in Iraq.
Bush said in a statement that
Obama called him Sunday night
to inform him of“the
momentous achievement” of bin
Laden’s death.
“I congratulated him and the
men and women of our military
and intelligence communities
who devoted their lives to this
mission. They have our
everlasting gratitude,” Bush said.
“The fight against terror goes on,
but tonight America has sent an
unmistakable message: No
matter how long it takes, justice
will be done.”
Clinton, who was president when
the first World Trade Center
bombing occurred in 1993,
issued a statement calling bin
Laden’s death “a profoundly
important moment not just for
the families of those who lost
their lives on 9/11 and in al-
Qaida’s other attacks but for
people all over the world who
want to build a common future
of peace, freedom, and
cooperation for our children.”
In a conference call with
reporters just after President
Obama spoke, senior
administration officials provided
a detailed sketch of how the
intelligence on bin Laden’s
whereabouts was gathered.
Intelligence officials had been
conducting lengthy
reconnaissance work prior to
receiving their key tip in August.
According to senior
administration officials,
suspected terrorists in custody
since 9/11 -- including the
attack’s mastermind, Khalid
Sheikh Mohammed -- identified a
courier who had a close
relationship with bin Laden.
“This man was one of the few al
Qaeda couriers trusted by bin
Laden,” one senior
administration official said. “They
indicated he might be living with
and protecting bin Laden. But for
years we were unable to identify
his true name or his location.
Four years ago we uncovered his
identity… About two years ago,
after months of persistent effort,
we identified areas of Pakistan
where the courier and his
brother operated. Still, we were
unable to pinpoint exactly where
they lived due to extensive
operational security on their part.
The fact that they were being so
careful reinforced our belief that
we were on the right track.”
When the intelligence community
finally pinpointed the courier’s
location, they were “shocked by
what we saw,” said this official.
The neighborhood in
Abbottabad was “relatively
affluent with lots of retired
military,” this official continued,
and was insulated from urban
areas or places susceptible to
natural disaster and terrorist
attacks. The home was“roughly
eight times larger than the other
homes in the area,” and it was
surrounded by 12-to-18-foot-
high walls, topped with barbed
wire. It had two security gates
and a value of roughly $1 million,
although it lacked telephone and
Internet connections.
An even more telling clue for
intelligence operatives: The
occupants of the house were
burning their trash rather than
putting it out for collection.
One senior administration official
suggested bin Laden had been
staying at the compound for at
least six months without moving.
Bin Laden was known to have
regularly shifted locations to
evade capture, so it’s unusual
that he chose to stay in on spot
for such an extended period.
More recently, the Obama
administration had reduced the
number of drone strikes in the
area -- while ramping up
surveillance -- in an effort to give
the al Qaeda leader a heightened
sense of safety in his home.
Prior to the operation, Obama
convened nine meetings with his
national security team to review
intelligence. According to a White
House aide,“Principals met
formally an additional five times
themselves and their deputies
met seven times.”
The president made the decision
to undertake the operation at
8:20 a.m. on April 29th in the
White House’s Diplomatic Room
before he left to survey tornado
damage in Alabama. Tom
Donilon, his National Security
Advisor, prepared the formal
orders and convened the
principals at 3 p.m. that same day
to complete the planning.
The next day, without giving off
a hint of the weighty operation
being planned, Obama prepared
for and delivered his address at
the annual White House
Correspondent's Association
dinner. The next morning he
played nine holes of golf.
Final preparations were made on
Sunday. At 2 p.m., the president
met with top advisers for an
hour and half, at which point he
returned to the Situation Room
for an additional briefing. Twenty
minutes after that, he learned
that bin Laden had been
“tentatively identified.” By 7 p.m.
he was told it was highly
probable that bin Laden was at
the compound. By 8:30 p.m., he
received an additional briefing.
He signed off on the attack after
that.
No other intelligence operatives
in other countries were told of
the attack before it occurred --
including Pakistani operatives --
according to administration
officials. Vice President Joseph
Biden informed congressional
leadership of the attack shortly
before it took place, aides on the
Hill told the Huffington Post.
Details about the fight itself are
still difficult to come by.
According tolocal reports in
Pakistan, a helicopter involved in
the attack had a mechanical
problem and crashed.
U.S. forces intentionally destroyed
the remainder of the wreckage
to reduce signs of their presence
in the area , according to NBC
and other media reports. Two
helicopters remained to provide
cover for Joint Special Operations
Command forces; in addition,
there was a predator drone.
The fight lasted only 40 minutes
and was described by a senior
administration official as a
“surgical raid” conducted by a
Navy Seals unit. Bin Laden's adult
son was killed, as were two of
his couriers and a woman being
used as a human shield. Bin
Laden himself“did resist the
assault force,” a senior
administration official said.
Reports on Sunday night said the
terrorist leader was ultimately
shot in the head.
Officials warned that in the
aftermath of the attack,
Americans should be on alert for
a reprisal from al Qaeda.
However, one official added,
there were“no specific threats"
as of Sunday night. ABC News
reported that authorities plan to
bury bin Laden’s body at sea in
order to leave no definitive
location for his final resting
place. It will be done, an official
added,“in accordance with
Islamic practice and tradition."
Hours later, CNN reported that
theburial had taken place.
"Americans understand the costs
of war," Obama said toward the
end of his remarks. "Yet as a
country, we will never tolerate
our security being threatened,
nor stand idly by when our
people have been killed. We will
be relentless in defense of our
citizens and our friends and
allies."
