Manhunt
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75 any chance that the Pakistanis would be given a heads-up: Author interview with senior U.S. intelligence official.
76 “McRaven, in some of the earliest briefings, was very sensitive”: Author interview with senior administration official.
77 avoiding any kind of firefight: Ibid.
78 defensive perimeter … the intelligence case: Ibid.
79 “The premium is on the protection of our force”: Ibid.
80 ended up having some two dozen Navy SEALs in Pakistani custody: Author interview with senior administration officials, Washington, DC.
81 “That was a huge fundamental shift”: Ibid.
82 quick reaction force: Ibid.
83 “If we know we can find Number One or Number Two”: Michael Mullen interview.
84 forged a personal relationship: Author interview with Pakistani official.
85 “You have too many CIA agents in this country”: Ibid.
86 “shouting match”: Jane Perlez, “Denying Links to Militants, Pakistan’s Spy Chief Denounces U.S. Before Parliament,” New York Times, May 13, 2011, www.nytimes.com/2011/05/14/world/asia/14pakistan.html.
87 over the course … deep in the forests of North Carolina: Schmidle, “Getting bin Laden.”
88 These rehearsals … “on target”: Author interview with senior U.S. intelligence official.
89 “audio signature” … McRaven had advertised it could be: Ibid.
90 During the rehearsals … the SEALs practiced: Ibid.
91 had encountered pretty much every type of surprise possible: James Cartwright interview.
92 “McRaven had a backup for every possible failure”: Michèle Flournoy interview.
93 a great cheer went up: Eric Greitens interview.
94 replicated the likely heat conditions: Schmidle, “Getting bin Laden.”
95 this time joined by Admiral Mullen: Author interview with senior U.S. intelligence official.
96 “rehearsal of concept” … “game time” decisions: Ibid.
97 the whole operation could be conducted in under thirty minutes: Author interview with senior U.S. administration official.
98 drop in at the JSOC operations center at Bagram: Michael Mullen interview.
99 “If I am going to send somebody in to die”: Ibid.
100 “First of all, it helps that he’s from central casting”: Tony Blinken interview.
101 “In terms of difficulty”: Author interview with senior U.S. intelligence official.
102 told the Al-Quds Al-Arabi newspaper: Khalid al Hammadi, “Bin Laden’s Former ‘Bodyguard’ Interviewed,” Al-Quds Al-Arabi, August 3, 2004, and March 20 to April 4, 2004.
103 willingness to be martyred: The Guardian website has a useful chronology of statements by bin Laden and Zawahiri at www.guardian.co.uk/alqaida/page/0,,839823,00.html, where bin Laden’s February 20, 2006, statement can be found.
104 rules of engagement the SEALs adhered to: Leon Panetta interview with NBC Nightly News, May 3, 2011, www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42887700/ns/world_news-death_of_bin_laden/t/transcript-interview-cia-director-panetta/#.TwHRIiNAYfU.
105 consisting of … experienced interrogators: James Cartwright interview. See also Eric Schmitt, Thom Shanker, and David E. Sanger, “U.S. Was Braced for Fight with Pakistanis in bin Laden Raid,” New York Times, May 9, 2011, www.nytimes.com/2011/05/10/world/asia/10intel.html?emc=na#.
106 would fly to the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson: James Cartwright interview; Schmitt, Shanker, and Sanger, “U.S. Was Braced for Fight.”
107 point of diminishing returns: Author interview with senior U.S. intelligence official.
108 “There was always the tension between”: Tony Blinken interview.
109 Obama gave a provisional go-ahead: Gorman and Barnes, “Spy, Military Ties Aided bin Laden Raid.”
110 “not invited”: Ben Rhodes interview in Targeting bin Laden.
111 “In the past I have had to engage newspaper editors and say”: Ben Rhodes interview.
112 “I felt the enormous weight of the information I’d been told”: Ben Rhodes interview in Targeting bin Laden.
113 “playbook” … “Keep preparing”: Author interview with senior administration official.
114 able to flip a switch immediately: Ibid.
115 “So, for all the options that involved him not being there”: Ibid.
116 worked up a sixty-six-page document: Author interview with U.S. intelligence official.
117 In mid-April, John Brennan called Mike Leiter: Michael Leiter interview.
118 president of the Harvard Law Review: Harvard Gazette, February 25, 1999, news.harvard.edu/gazette/1999/02.25/news.html.
119 position that Barack Obama had held: Fox Butterfield, “First Black Elected to Head Harvard’s Law Review,” New York Times, February 6, 1990, www.nytimes.com/1990/02/06/us/first-black-elected-to-head-harvard-s-law-review.html.
120 worked for the congressional commission … final report: Testimony of former senator Charles S. Robb before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, “Nomination of Michael Leiter to Be Director, National Counterterrorism Center,” p. 3, www.fas.org/irp/congress/2008_hr/leiter.pdf.
121 “I had seen enough failures in this world”: Michael Leiter interview.
122 there were aspects of the case that bothered him: Ibid.
123 In Leiter’s mind … gaps in the coverage: Ibid.
124 “I don’t think that is sufficient if this is successful or a failure”: Ibid.
125 Brennan agreed that the Red Team was a good idea: Ibid.
126 Leiter then went to see Tom Donilon: Ibid.
127 “Denis, are you fucking kidding me?”: Ibid.
128 The ideal time to do the helicopter assault: Author interview with senior U.S. intelligence official.
129 the longer they waited, the greater the possibility of a leak: Ibid.; James Cartwright interview.
130 Morell said, “Absolutely, I think it’s a great idea: Michael Leiter interview.
131 they had forty-eight hours: Ibid.
132 Leiter’s team explored three alternative hypotheses: Ibid.
133 The analysts found that the first hypothesis was the most likely: Ibid.
134 “We actually thought we had a pretty good handle”: Ibid.
135 none of the alternative hypotheses was as likely: Ibid.
136 posted online … “silliness”: Alan Silverleib, “Obama Releases Original Long-Form Birth Certificate,” CNN, April 27, 2011, edition.cnn.com/2011/POLITICS/04/27/obama.birth.certificate/index.html.
137 the SEAL teams had already left their base: Schmidle, “Getting bin Laden.”
CHAPTER 12: THE DECISION
1 “Bottom line is”: Michael Leiter interview.
2 “It really didn’t change anything”: Michael Vickers interview.
3 “Even if you’re at the forty percent low end of this range”: Michael Leiter interview.
4 “We thought the prospects were higher”: John Brennan in Targeting bin Laden.
5 “There was a deflation in the room”: Ben Rhodes in Targeting bin Laden.
6 “if anything, the Red Team actually brought down”: Tony Blinken interview.
7 “I think this Red Team”: Michael Leiter interview.
8 “the best evidence since Tora Bora”: Author interview with senior U.S. intelligence official. Also see Massimo Calabresi, “CIA Chief: Pakistan Would Have Jeopardized Operation,” Time, May 3, 2011, swampland.time.com/2011/05/03/cia-chief-breaks-silence-u-s-ruled-out-involving-pakistan-in-bin-laden-raid-early-on/.
9 Obama summed up the case: Michael Leiter interview.
10 “Mister President, this is a very hard call”: Ben Rhodes interview for Targeting bin Laden.
11 Situation Room began to fill with laughter: Interviews with senior administration officials.
12 Joe Biden … was worried about the local fallout from the raid: Ibid.
13 Robert Gates continued to be skittish: Ibid.; Michael Leit
er interview; James Cartwright interview.
14 Gates and Biden still leery: Michael Leiter interview and interviews with senior administration officials.
15 against the SEAL helicopter assault: Tom Donilon interview for Targeting bin Laden; Mike Leiter interview.
16 had never prepared … with as much care: Michael Mullen interview.
17 “Bill’s [McRaven’s] team can do this”: Ibid.
18 a tiny drone-fired munition: Author interviews with senior administration officials.
19 a thirteen-pound “smart” bomb: V. J. Hennigan, “Pentagon Seeks Mini-Weapons for New Age Warfare,” Los Angeles Times, May 30, 2011.
20 Hillary Clinton gave a long, lawyerly presentation: Author interview with senior administration officials.
21 “Mister President, my first choice would be that we wait”: Michael Leiter interview.
22 “I’ve always used the test”: Leon Panetta, interview by author, Washington, DC, February 16, 2012.
23 Hillary Clinton voiced a related point: Author interview with senior administration officials.
24 John Brennan, Obama’s top counterterrorism adviser, urged a go: Michael Leiter interview.
25 Ben Rhodes, Michèle Flournoy, Tony Blinken, Mike Vickers, Robert Cardillo, and Nick Rasmussen all endorsed the raid: Author interviews with each of them.
26 Obama listened to the counsel: Tony Blinken interview.
27 “This is a close call”: Barack Obama interview for Targeting bin Laden.
28 felt that those who had voiced doubts: “Obama on bin Laden: The Full 60 Minutes Interview.”
29 on his shoulders for the rest of his life: John Brennan interview for Targeting bin Laden.
30 “The most difficult part”: “Obama on bin Laden: The Full 60 Minutes Interview.”
31 “I thought it was important”: Barack Obama in Targeting bin Laden.
32 Obama had 100 percent confidence: Author interview with administration officials, Washington, DC, August 2011.
33 Obama knew the stakes were high: Barack Obama in Targeting bin Laden.
34 “What if the mysterious pacer was a prince from Dubai”: “Obama on bin Laden: The Full 60 Minutes Interview.”
35 tripled the number of troops in Afghanistan: “Remarks by the President in Address to the Nation on the Way Forward in Afghanistan and Pakistan.”
36 called Mubarak and told him it was time to step down: Jake Tapper, “After Thursday Speech, White House Pushed Mubarak: You Must Satisfy the Demonstrators in the Street,” ABC News, February 11, 2011, abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2011/02/after-thursday-speech-white-house-pushed-mubarak-you-must-satisfy-the-demonstrators-in-the-street/; author interview with senior administration official.
37 military campaign that toppled the Libyan dictator: Paul Richter and Christi Parsons, “Obama Faces Growing Criticism for Libya Campaign,” Los Angeles Times, March 21, 2011, articles.latimes.com/2011/mar/21/world/la-fg-us-libya-20110322.
38 Both Gates and Biden had advised Obama against: Michael Hastings, “Inside Obama’s War Room,” Rolling Stone, October 13, 2011, www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/inside-obamas-war-room-20111013.
39 word could trickle out: Author interviews with senior administration oficials, Washington, DC, December 2011.
40 “Even though I thought it was only fifty-fifty”: “Obama on bin Laden: The Full 60 Minutes Interview.”
41 semicircle around him: Tom Donilon in Targeting bin Laden.
42 “I’ve considered the decision”: Ibid.
43 “This is the third president”: Tom Donilon for Targeting bin Laden, unaired portion of his interview.
44 “I thought, ‘Man, that is a gutsy call’ ”: Tony Blinken interview.
45 “I’ve never seen devastation like this”: “Obama on Tornado Devastation in the South: ‘It’s Heartbreaking,’ ” Los Angeles Times, April 29, 2011, latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2011/04/obama-visits-tornado-devastation.html.
46 Donilon signed an official authorization: Tom Donilon in Targeting bin Laden.
47 were told to evacuate: Saeed Shah, “U.S. Officials Escape bin Laden Revenge Bombing in Pakistan,” McClatchy Newspapers, October 4, 2011, www.mcclatchydc.com/2011/05/20/v-print/114485/us-officials-survive-bomb-attack.html.
48 Obama flew to Kennedy Space Center: Devin Dwyer, “President Obama, Gabrielle Giffords Meet After Shuttle Launch Postponed,” ABC News, April 29, 2011, abcnews.go.com/US/president-obama-gabrielle-giffords-meet-florida-scrubbed-shuttle/story?id=13478147#.Tx3niV1AIj8.
49 McRaven decided to push the mission back: Michael Leiter interview; Tom Donilon in Targeting bin Laden.
50 during a break from rehearsing his speech: Mazzetti, Cooper, and Baker, “Behind the Hunt for bin Laden.”
51 “I couldn’t have any more confidence in you”: Jake Tapper, “President Obama to National Security Team: ‘It’s a Go,’ ” ABC News, May 2, 2011, abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2011/05/president-obama-to-national-security-team-its-a-go/.
52 Obama was turning over the details: “Obama on bin Laden: The Full 60 Minutes Interview.”
53 a hilarious after-dinner monologue: Transcript of Obama’s Remarks at the Correspondents’ Dinner, Wall Street Journal, May 1, 2011, blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2011/05/01/transcript-of-obamas-remarks-at-the-correspondents-dinner/.
54 comedian Seth Meyers, at one point made a joke: Nick Carbone, “Obama’s Poker Face: President Reacts to Bin Laden Joke at Correspondents’ Dinner,” Time, May 2, 2011, newsfeed.time.com/2011/05/02/obamas-poker-face-president-reacts-to-bin-laden-joke-at-correspondents-dinner/#ixzz1kKBJRvr5.
55 Stephanopoulos quizzed him: Marc Ambinder in Targeting bin Laden.
CHAPTER 13: DON’T TURN ON THE LIGHT
1 “Go downstairs and go back to bed”: Author interview with Pakistani official familiar with the interrogation of bin Laden’s wives.
2 “Don’t turn on the light”: Ibid.
3 taken the sensible precaution of turning off the electricity: Ihsan Mohammad Khan, interview by author, Abbottabad, Pakistan, July 21, 2011.
4 staffers had begun arriving at the White House: Author interview with senior administration officials.
5 McDonough had gone to his friend Mike Leiter’s wedding: Michael Leiter interview.
6 “It was my wedding” … “I might not be back”: Ibid.
7 attended Sunday mass: Marc Ambinder in Targeting bin Laden.
8 “deputies” meeting began … each had thick briefing books: Author interview with senior administration official.
9 “branches” and “sequels”: Author interview with Pentagon official.
10 the armor-plated limos: Marc Ambinder in Targeting bin Laden.
11 canceled all tours … the movie The Hangover: Ben Rhodes interview.
12 secure communications in the Situation Room: Ben Rhodes in Targeting bin Laden.
13 team of some thirty officers: James Cartwright interview.
14 Cartwright’s team … biggest concern was: Ibid.
15 sit tight in the compound: Author interview with senior administration official.
16 could fight their way out: Ibid.
17 Obama’s war cabinet began to gather in the Sit Room: Mike Leiter interview.
18 room had been transformed into a command center: Calabresi, “CIA Chief: Pakistan Would Have Jeopardized Operation.”
19 “What do you think?” Panetta asked: Author interview with senior intelligence official.
20 Observing the operation at the CIA: Eric Olson interview by Martha Raddatz, Aspen, Colorado, July 27, 2011, http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/300735-1.
21 Panetta was in nominal control of the operation: Author interview with U.S. intelligence official.
22 At 1:22 p.m., Panetta ordered McRaven to perform the raid: Ibid.
23 At 2:05 p.m., Panetta began one more overview of the operation: Mazzetti, Cooper, and Baker, “Behind the Hunt for bin Laden.”
24 twenty-three “operators” and an interp
reter: Schmidle, “Getting bin Laden.”
25 small cards filled with photos and descriptions: Lamb, “Revealed: The SEALs’ Secret Guide.”
26 combat dog named Cairo, wearing body armor: Ben Forer, “Osama Bin Laden Raid: Navy SEALs Brought Highly Trained Dog with Them into Compound,” ABC News, May 5, 2011, abcnews.go.com/US/osama-bin-laden-raid-navy-seals-military-dog/story?id=13535070#.TtaMrF1AIj8.
27 at about 11:00 p.m. local time, the two Black Hawks took off: Schmidle, “Getting bin Laden.”
28 in “peacetime” mode: Irfan Ghauri, “Abbottabad Incursion: US Took Advantage of ‘Peacetime Mode,’ ” Express Tribune, July 12, 2011, tribune.com.pk/story/207808/abbottabad-incursion-us-took-advantage-of-peacetime-mode/.
29 gave off a low heat “signature” … flew “nap-of-the-earth”: Chris Marvin, former Black Hawk pilot, interview for The Last Days of Osama bin Laden, National Geographic Channel, November 9, 2011.
30 flight time to the target was about an hour and a half: Author interview with U.S. intelligence official.
31 Petraeus, who had received a heads-up three days earlier: Paula Broadwell and Vernon Loeb, All In: The Education of General David Petraeus (New York: Penguin Press, 2012), pp. 255–59.
32 dozen Special Forces operations: Ibid.
33 Petraeus strolled into the ops center: Ibid; David Petraeus, interview by Tresha Mabile, Washington, DC, August 2011.
34 three bus-size Chinook helicopters: Schmidle, “Getting bin Laden.”
35 Flew on to Kala Dhaka: “OBL Operation: Helicopters Landed in Kala Dhaka Before Proceeding to Abbottabad,” Express Tribune, May 14, 2011, tribune.com.pk/story/168573/osama-bin-laden-operation-helicopters-landed-in-kala-dhaka-before-proceeding-to-abbottabad/.
36 more than a dozen senior officials: Author observations.
37 bat-shaped RQ-170 Sentinel stealth drone: Greg Miller, “CIA Flew Stealth Drones into Pakistan to Monitor bin Laden House,” Washington Post, May 17, 2011, www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/cia-flew-stealth-drones-into-pakistan-to-monitor-bin-laden-house/2011/05/13/AF5dW55G_story.html.
38 “The White House, as only the White House can”: Michael Leiter interview.
39 “Slowly, onesies and twosies”: Ibid.