Manhunt: The Ten-Year Search for Bin Laden--From 9/11 to Abbottabad (48 page)

  
86
Chinook and the Black Hawk separated … more direct routes:
Author interview with U.S. National Security official.

  
87
Black Hawk still needed to take on fuel:
Author interview with senior administration official.

  
88
At about 2:00 a.m. local time … the Chinook landed:
Ibid.

  
89
all quickly inspected bin Laden’s corpse:
U.S. intelligence official interview.

  
90
“Well, sir, I guess I owe you sixty million dollars”:
Author interview with senior intelligence official.

  
91
Obama remembers, “It wasn’t really until”:
Barack Obama in
Targeting bin Laden
.

  
92
“I have the results of the eight-point facial analysis on bin Laden”:
Author interview with U.S. intelligence officials.

  
93
Cheers … champagne bottles:
Ibid.

  
94
“The pictures were kind of gruesome”:
James Clapper interview.

  
95
“There was a hole right around one of his eyes”:
Author interview with senior administration official.

  
96
“I don’t need facial recognition”:
Michael Leiter interview.

    
1
Pakistani security officials began arriving:
Author interview with Pakistani official.

    
2
“I am from Swat”:
Asad Munir, former ISI official, interview by author, Pakistan, July 15, 2011.

    
3
“They have killed and taken away Abu Hamza”:
Ibid.

    
4
daughter, Safia, also spoke:
Robert Booth, Saeed Shah, and Jason Burke, “Osama bin Laden Death: How Family Scene in Compound Turned to Carnage,”
Guardian
, May 5, 2011,
www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/may/05/bin-laden-death-family-compound
.

    
5
awoken by a quite unusual sound:
Ihsan Mohammad Khan interview.

    
6
“A helicopter crashed down”:
Ihsan Khan e-mail to Voice of America in Washington, DC, May 2, 2011.

    
7
not remain secret for long:
Author interview with U.S. intelligence officials.

    
8
see people on the rooftops:
Ibid.

    
9
picking up conversations by local officials:
Author interview with U.S. military official involved in the hunt for bin Laden.

  
10
reports that Pakistani media were at the compound filming:
Ben Rhodes interview.

  
11
“Some of us were eager for the president to go out”:
Ibid.

  
12
saying, “We gotta call!”:
Michael Leiter interview.

  
13
developed a real friendship:
Michael Mullen interview.

  
14
“It was not ours”:
Najam Sethi, “Operation Get OBL,” May 6, 2011,
Friday Times
,
www.thefridaytimes.com/06052011/page1.shtml
.

  
15
Kayani took a call … F-16s were scrambled:
Zahid Hussain, Matthew Rosenberg, and Jeremy Page, “Slow Dawn After Midnight Raid,”
Wall Street Journal
, May 9, 2011.

  
16
first person Obama called was his predecessor:
Author interview with senior administration official.

  
17
“I didn’t feel any great sense of happiness”:
George W. Bush: The 9/11 Interview
, National Geographic Channel, August 28, 2011.

  
18
Munter had known of the impending raid:
Author interview with National Security Council official.

  
19
It was a senior Pakistani official:
Author interview with U.S. official.

  
20
bewildered reactions of Pakistani officials:
Michael Leiter interview; author interview with U.S. officials.

  
21
Zardari told Obama, “I’m happy because”:
Author interview with senior administration official.

  
22
“Congratulations,” Kayani immediately said:
Ibid.

  
23
lasted a tense twenty minutes:
Ibid.

  
24
urged that Obama go out as soon as possible and explain:
Ibid.

  
25
“Our people need to understand what happened here”:
Ibid.

  
26
“Just get in!”:
Ed Henry, CNN White House correspondent, CNN, May 1, 2011.

  
27
Gradually the speculation:
Geraldo Rivera, “Geraldo at Large,”
Fox News
, May 1, 2011.

  
28
he thought, “I can’t do this. It’d jinx it”:
Ben Rhodes interview.

  
29
“We decided not to sugarcoat it”:
Ibid.

  
30
Obama told Rhodes that, for the speech:
Ibid.

  
31
“You can’t write this stuff”:
Tony Blinken interview.

  
32
“Turn on the TV”:
Michael Vickers interview.

  
33
“I remember walking out”:
James Clapper interview.

  
34
“Good evening. Tonight I can report”:
“Full Text of Obama’s Speech on bin Laden’s Death,” CBS, May 2, 2011,
www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20058783-503544.html
.

  
35
some fifty-five million Americans:
Brian Stelter, “Obama’s TV Audience Was His Largest,”
New York Times
, May 3, 2011,
www.nytimes.com/2011/05/04/arts/television/bin-laden-speech-drew-obamas-largest-audience-as-president.html
.

  
36
Nayef offered his congratulations:
Author interview with senior administration official.

  
37
A V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft:
Schmidle, “Getting bin Laden.”

  
38
ceremony that took a little under an hour:
“DOD Background Briefing with Senior Defense Officials from the Pentagon and Senior Intelligence Officials by Telephone on U.S. Operations Involving Osama Bin Laden,” May 2, 2011,
www.defense.gov/transcripts/transcript.aspx?transcriptid=4818
.

  
39
hand-carried to Washington:
Author interview with senior administration official.

  
40
Using DNA material obtained from relatives:
“DOD Background Briefing with Senior Defense Officials from the Pentagon and Senior Intelligence Officials by Telephone on U.S. Operations Involving Osama Bin Laden,” May 2, 2011,
www.defense.gov/transcripts/transcript.aspx?transcriptid=4818
.

  
41
made a number of assertions about what had happened:
“Transcript of White House Press Briefing on bin Laden’s Death,”
Wall Street Journal
, May 2, 2011,
blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2011/05/02/transcript-of-white-house-press-briefing-on-bin-ladens-death/
.

  
42
White House quickly retracted:
Robert Booth, “The Killing of Osama bin Laden: How the White House Changed Its Story,”
Guardian
, May 4, 2011,
www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/may/04/osama-bin-laden-killing-us-story-change
.

  
43
“would be presented to the public”:
“Transcript of Interview with CIA Director Panetta,” NBC News, May 3, 2011,
www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42887700/ns/world_news-death_of_bin_laden/t/transcript-interview-cia-director-panetta/#.TxclzV1AIj8
.

  
44
Obama, Gates, and Clinton all agreed:
“Obama on bin Laden: The Full
60 Minutes
interview,” CBS News, May 8, 2011,
www.cbsnews.com/8301-504803_162-20060530-10391709.html
.

  
45
“important for us to make sure”:
Ibid.

  
46
“The fact of the matter is”:
Ibid.

  
47
“You ought to give McRaven a gold-plated tape measure”:
Tony Blinken interview.

  
48
a tape measure mounted on a plaque:
Author interview with senior administration official.

  
49
a task force of 125 people worked 24/7:
Author interview with senior U.S. intelligence official.

  
50
“It was decided that any effort to work with the Pakistanis”:
Calabresi, “CIA Chief: Pakistan Would Have Jeopardized bin Laden Operation.”

  
51
first reaction of the Pakistani military to the bin Laden operation:
Author interview with U.S. official.

  
52
Both Pakistani generals offered their congratulations:
Author interview with U.S. official.

  
53
horribly embarrassing for the Pakistani military:
Ibid.

  
54
Criticism of the army from all quarters:
“Altaf Asks Military, Govt to Apologise Over US Raid,”
Dawn
, May 5, 2011,
www.dawn.com/2011/05/05/altaf-asks-military-govt-to-apologise-over-us-raid.html
.

  
55
this was the worst week of his life:
Author interviews with senior Pakistani military official and U.S. diplomatic official.

  
56
at least him or Kayani or President Zardari:
Author interview with Pakistani military official.

  
57
Pasha had played a key role:
Author interviews with U.S. officials.

  
58
Pasha felt that the relationship with the United States:
Author interview with Pakistani official.

  
59
“I believe that there are elements”:
Eli Lake, “Rogers: Pakistani Intelligence Services Aided bin Laden,”
Washington Times
, June 14, 2011,
www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/jun/14/rogers-pakistan-military-intel-aided-bin-laden/
.

  
60
no official Pakistani complicity:
Michael Leiter interview; author interviews with multiple other intelligence officials.

  
61
al-Qaeda officially confirmed the death of its leader:
Augustine Anthony, “Al-Qaeda Confirms Bin Laden Is Dead, Vows Revenge,” Reuters, May 6, 2011,
www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/06/us-obama-statement-idUSTRE74107920110506
.

  
62
The same day that al-Qaeda announced bin Laden’s death:
Jake Tapper, Nick Schifrin, and Jessica Hopper, “Obama Thanks SEALs, Troops Back from Afghanistan,” ABC News,
abcnews.go.com/Politics/obama-seals-troops-back-afghanistan-job-well-done/story?id=13543148#.TxdJtV1AIj8
.

  
63
half an hour, in a small classroom:
Author interviews with senior administration officials.

  
64
First to speak was the helicopter pilot:
Ibid.

  
65
describing everyone’s role, including that of the interpreter:
Ibid.

  
66
“finest fighting force in the history of the world”:
Ibid.

  
67
“Well, sir, I strongly advise you to have a treat”:
Ibid.

  
68
discussed all the areas of tension:
Author interview with U.S. government official, Washington, DC.

  
69
While Kerry was still in the air:
Ibid.

  
70
“very hard, very difficult”:
Author interview with Pakistani intelligence official involved in the interrogation of bin Laden’s wives.

  
71
President Obama visited CIA headquarters:
Transcript of President Obama’s remarks to the intelligence community, May 20, 2011.

  
72
“we kept it a secret”:
Ibid.

    
1
inception in Peshawar in August 1988:
Peter Bergen,
The Osama bin Laden I Know
(New York: Free Press, 2006), pp. 74–82.

    
2
A Gallup Poll:
John Esposito and Dalia Mogahed,
Who Speaks for Islam? What a Billion Muslims Really Think
(New York: Gallup Press, 2007).

    
3
sent a team of would-be suicide bombers to Barcelona:
Al Goodman, “11 on Trial Over Alleged Barcelona Terror Plot,”
CNN.com
, November 13, 2009,
http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europe/11/12/spain.terror.trial/
.

    
4
trained an American recruit, Faisal Shahzad:
United States of America v. Faisal Shahzad
, Plea, 10-CR-541 (MGC), United States District
Court, Southern District of New York, June 21, 2010,
http://www.investigativeproject.org/documents/case_docs/1435.pdf
.

    
5
LeT carried out multiple attacks in Mumbai:
Somini Sangupta, “Dossier Gives Details of Mumbai Attacks,”
New York Times
, January 6, 2009,
www.nytimes.com/2009/01/07/world/asia/07india.html
.

    
6
hid bombs in toner cartridges:
“Magazine Details al Qaeda Cargo Plane Plots,”
CNN.com
, November 21, 2010,
http://articles.cnn.com/2010-11-21/world/al.qaeda.magazine_1_cargo-plane-aqap-plane-crash?_s=PM:WORLD
.

    
7
formally pledged allegiance to bin Laden:
Katherine Houreld, “Somali Militant Group al-Shabaab Formally Joins Al-Qaeda,” Associated Press, February 9, 2012,
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/feb/09/somali-al-shabaab-join-al-qaida
.

    
8
up to twelve hundred were working:
Jane Ferguson, “Violent Extremists Calling Fighters to Somalia,”
CNN.com
, April 27, 2010,
http://articles.cnn.com/2010-04-27/world/somalia.al.shabaab_1_somali-american-transitional-federal-government-foreign-fighters?_s=PM:WORLD
.

    
9
Ryan Crocker, said:
Lee Keath, “Al Qaeda Is Close to Defeat in Iraq, US Ambassador Says,” Associated Press, May 25, 2008,
http://articles.boston.com/2008-05-25/news/29268149_1_shi-ite-sadr-city-maliki
.

  
10
AQI sent foot soldiers into Syria:
“US Official Says Al-Qaeda Involved in Syria,” Al Jazeera, February 17, 2012,
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/02/201221794018300979.html
.

  
11
favorable views … dropped by at least half:
“Terror Suspect Went to Meet bin Laden,” Associated Press, May 4, 2011,
www.foxnews.com/world/2011/05/04/indonesia-terror-suspect-went-meet-bin-laden/#ixzz1kCVvHPfP
.

  
12
warned that the West faced “victory or holocaust”:
David Frum and Richard Perle,
An End to Evil: How to Win the War on Terror
(New York: Random House, 2003), p. 7. Also see Dana Milbank, “Prince of Darkness Denies Own Existence,”
Washington Post
, February 20, 2009.

  
13
invoking the specter of World War IV:
Charles Feldman and Stan Wilson, “Ex-CIA Director: US Faces ‘World War IV,’ ”
CNN.com
, April 3, 2003,
http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/04/03/sprj.irq.woolsey.world.war/
; James Woolsey on CNN, June 2, 2002.

  
14
a global conflict that killed tens of millions:
See generally
The Black Book of Communism
(Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1999).

  
15
Americans are far more likely to drown:
In a typical year about three hundred Americans accidentally drown in their bathtubs,
http://danger.mongabay.com/injury_death.htm
.

  
16
al-Qaeda announced his successor:
Saeed Shah, “Ayman al-Zawahiri Takes Over Al Qaeda Leadership,” McClatchy, June 17, 2011,
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/06/16/MNLH1JUT4A.DTL
.

  
17
set off bombs in Manhattan in 2009:
John Marzulli, “Najibullah Zazi Pleads Guilty to Plotting NYC Terror Attack, Supporting Al Qaeda,”
New York Daily News
, February 22, 2010.

  
18
Mumbai-style attacks in Germany:
“Terror Suspects ‘Were Tipped Off,’ ”
CNN.com
, September 10, 2007,
http://articles.cnn.com/2007-09-10/world/germany.terror_1_joerg-ziercke-terror-plot-training-camps?_s=PM:WORLD
.

  
19
ramped-up program of attacks:
Katherine Tiedemann and Peter Bergen, “The Year of the Drone,” New America Foundation, February 24, 2010,
http://counterterrorism.newamerica.net/sites/newamerica.net/files/policydocs/bergentiedemann2.pdf
.

  
20
a CIA drone killed Atiyah Abdul Rahman:
“Atiyah Abd al-Rahman Dead: Al Qaeda Second in Command Killed in Pakistan,” Associated Press, August 28, 2011,
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/27/atiyah-abd-al-rahman-al-qaeda-dead_n_939009.html
.

  
21
one of bin Laden’s dozen or so sons:
Douglas Farah and Dana Priest, “Bin Laden Son Plays Key Role in Al-Qaeda,”
Washington Post
, October 14, 2003,
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/20/AR2007082000980.html
.

  
22
Islamist groups did very well:
“Two Islamist Parties Win Big in Egypt Election,”
CNN.com
, January 21, 2012,
http://articles.cnn.com/2012-01-21/africa/world_africa_egypt-elections_1_egypt-election-egyptian-election-conservative-al-nour-party?_s=PM:AFRICA
.

  
23
the most dangerous of the group’s regional branches:
“Intel Chief: U.S. Faces Many Interconnected Foes,” Associated Press, January 31, 2012,
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57368904/intel-chief-u.s-faces-many-interconnected-foes/
.

  
24
“Let my grave be an eagle’s belly”:
Osama bin Laden, “Exposing the New Crusader War,” on jihadist websites February 2003.

  
25
sent mechanized diggers to the compound:
“Osama Bin Laden Compound Being Demolished in Pakistan,” Reuters, February 25, 2012.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/feb/26/osama-bin-laden-compound-demolished
.

  
26
“history’s unmarked grave of discarded lies”:
“President Bush Addresses the Nation,”
Washington Post
, September 20, 2001,
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/nation/specials/attacked/transcripts/bushaddress_092001.html
.

  
27
“small men on the wrong side”:
Remarks by the President at United States Military Academy at West Point Commencement, West Point, New York, May 22, 2010.