Monday, May 02, 2011
The Great Raid
Nearly ten years after the 9/11 attacks were carried out under his orders, Osama bin laden has been brought to infinite justice. Here's what we know so far:
--In 2007, detainees from the Afghanistan theater of operations identified a courier by nickname who had been personally involved with Osama bin Laden.
--By 2009, this courier had been identified by name.
--In August 2010, the intelligence community had enough information to link the courier to a high-security mansion in Abbottabad, Pakistan in high-level briefs to President Obama.
Between August 2010 and today, Navy SEALS extensively rehearsed the operation to successfully breach the mansion and kill Osama bin Laden. (Was there any doubt that US forces would spare his miserable, worthless life instead of shooting him on sight?)
President Obama authorized the assault today, utilizing a team of over 20 SEALS and two helicopters. After roughly 40 minutes, Osama bin Laden, an adult son, the courier and his brother, and a woman used as a human shield were dead. All American forces safely returned after destroying a helicopter that was damaged during the mission.
The mission was fraught with risk. The SEALS had no idea how much resistance to expect from bin Laden's security detail; there was no guarantee bin Laden would even be in the mansion when the choppers arrived.
I'll definitely give President Obama credit for taking the risk and pressing on with this mission. (I also question whether the death of Osama bin laden is a face-saving way to pull out of Afghanistan as quickly as possible.) But the mission to kill Osama bin Laden was the product of years of intelligence-gathering by our top spy agencies, plus the boundless courage, skill and professionalism of our armed forces. The world's worst criminals often find ways to hide for years at a time, but no scoundrel will ever escape justice forever.
