10 years ago: it was the capture and execution of bin Laden, the leader of al-Qaeda

On the eve of the ninth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, the CIA told President Barack Obama it had the best lead in years to find its main instigator, the head of Al-Qaeda, Osama Bin Laden. They had followed a high-level al Qaeda courier to a house in Abbottabad, Pakistan, and believed he could lead them to Bin Laden. It turned out that he lived there.

the Former CIA Director John Brennan, then Obama’s senior counterterrorism adviser, recounted what he called “the most intense, covert and well-planned operation” of his career .: the high-risk special forces incursion on May 1, 2011 that killed Bin Laden.

The CIA warned their information needed to be corroborated, but during the briefing the possibility of finally catching America’s most wanted fugitive was excited. “We aspired to find the man and give the victims of 9/11 the justice they deserved,” said Brennan.

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Over the following months, CIA observers became increasingly convinced that a tall bearded figure seen walking around the compound was Bin Laden, although they did not have a clear view of his face. At the end of December, Obama was ready to act. In intense secrecy, White House officials began planning an operation around a table-sized mockup of the complex.

Missile attack or helicopter assault

One option – a precision missile strike – could leave them without proof that they killed bin Laden. The second option, a helicopter assault on a moonless night, carried enormous risks, as US soldiers could be killed in a shootout or caught in a confrontation with Pakistani forces – who were not forewarned about it. mission – and who might come out to defend your territory.

As preparations progressed into early 2011, a senior CIA expert was 70% sure it was bin Laden, while a separate review of the “red team” estimated the probability at only 40.%. But there was still no positive identification: “We didn’t have as much information as we would have liked, certainly,” said Brennan. “There was nothing to contradict the view that it was bin Laden,” he added.

Bin Ladens are dead, but ‘Al Qaeda’ remains as strong as ever

On Thursday, April 28, 2011, Obama met with senior officials in the White House underground crisis room. “Obama wanted to hear from everyone,” Brennan said., who recalled that among those against the incursion were Defense Secretary Robert Gates and then Vice President Joe Biden, but the majority were in favor, in what they said recognized to be a “close decision”.

The next morning, April 29, Obama gave the green light for the Special Forces raid on Sunday afternoon UST, as Brennan continued to review the plan: “You keep coming back to your mind over and over again, not only what you have done so far, but also what was going to happen the next day, making sure that all possible aspects were taken into account.”.

“There was no applause or celebration. It was a feeling of accomplishment.”

As the helicopters left Afghanistan for the 90-minute flight to Abbottabad, officials made their way to a narrow side room where Brigadier General Brad Webb monitored the action on a laptop, communicating in time. real with the chief of special operations, Admiral Bill McRaven.

A famous White House photograph shows Obama, Biden, Brennan and the other officials huddled side by side around Webb, nervously watching the video in silence as the raid unfolded. One of the two helicopters had crashed, so a save had to come. There was no video signal from inside the complex.

After about 20 minutes, “McRaven received the sentence “ Gerónimo Gerónimo ” from the attackers“Said Brennan. Bin Laden was dead in the house where he was hiding in Abbottabad, northern Pakistan. The main reaction was relief, but” there was no applause or celebration. “It was a feeling of accomplishment,” he recalled. head of the CIA, for whom the operation was “risky”.

“But, as the president said, even though the odds were 50%, it was a much better opportunity than the United States had previously had to catch Bin Laden,” he said. “It was absolutely the right risk at the right time.”

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