Countdown bin Laden by Chris Wallace

Author:Chris Wallace
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Avid Reader Press / Simon & Schuster
Published: 2021-09-07T00:00:00+00:00

COUNTDOWN: 12 DAYS

April 19, 2011

Washington, D.C.

The dress rehearsal went off just fine. McRaven and his people flew back to Washington. The admiral was tired, but he didn’t sleep. He spent his time going over the plan again. He couldn’t let himself get too confident, as he didn’t know what Obama was going to do. He might still call off the raid in favor of a less risky drone strike. He might decide to do nothing at all. The intelligence was good, but the CIA still didn’t have the key element: No one could say, for sure, that The Pacer was bin Laden.

The stress of not knowing weighed on McRaven. Maybe by the end of today’s meeting, he’d have an answer. In any case, he had to be perfectly prepared, able to answer every question—not only from Obama, but from anyone else in the Situation Room, every heavyweight in the administration: Panetta, Gates, Clinton, Biden. Mullen would be there, too, and all the top military brass. There were some great minds among them, and McRaven didn’t want to be blindsided.

The room began to fill up. McRaven took a deep breath. He’d have to wait his turn, but he was ready. Finally, the president arrived. Obama greeted everyone, but he didn’t waste time socializing. They all knew why they were there.

Obama started with Panetta. The CIA director said the dress rehearsal went well, but he would leave the details to others. Analysts and operators continued to watch The Pacer walk in tight little circles around his vegetable garden every day, but they still couldn’t provide a definitive identification.

He pushed the president for action. Panetta said the intelligence community faced “the law of diminishing returns” in gathering any new details about the compound. There was an opportunity cost to waiting. Every day they didn’t act increased the chances that The Pacer would disappear. Panetta didn’t want to lose the chance to possibly get bin Laden, not after all these years.

And there was another factor, one adding to the sense of urgency. The SEALs wanted to launch the attack under the cover of darkness. Only two or three nights a month were moonless—and they were coming up soon, the first few nights in May. So if they didn’t go then, they’d have to wait until June. But by June, the heat might make it impossible to carry off the raid. It was either now or they’d have to wait until September. More time for bin Laden, if it was him, to decide to leave. More time for the trail to go cold again.

Obama didn’t want to squander the opportunity. But the president was still weighing the risks and the rewards. He listened to everyone’s opinion and read the reports. He wanted to hear the latest—if the SEALs were ready, if the weather was right.

Panetta updated Obama further on the dress rehearsal. The noise signature—the time the people in the compound would have to react after the helicopters emerged from the darkness—was now down to sixty seconds.

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