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Vanity Fair: Inside Osama Bin Laden's Final Hours

Billy Mitchell

Billy Mitchell

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Yet another "inside the decision to kill bin Laden" article. Well written, and with some new details I hadn't heard before.

http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/2012/11/inside-osama-bin-laden-assassination-plot?src=longreads&buffer_share=a6b26&utm_source=buffer

“Mr. President,” [Michael Morell, the head of the CIA bin Laden team] said, “if we had a human source who had told us directly that bin Laden was living in that compound, I still wouldn’t be above 60 percent.” Morell said he had spent a lot of time on both questions, W.M.D. and Abbottabad. He had seen no fewer than 13 analytical drafts on the former and at least as many on the latter. “And I’m telling you, the case for W.M.D. wasn’t just stronger—it was much stronger.”
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That was a fantastic read. Thanks for posting!
 
Several things to take away from that but the one thought that kept reoccurring to me, and I openly admit my familial bias towards the Navy, is that Navy Seals are just simply bad-fucking-asses. If your ass doesn't pucker imagining yourself in that situation, you don't get it. And those guys do this shit for a living. They're a level of teamwork, trust, reliability, and honor that really puts those terms into perspective. I've been privileged to know some Seals and have never for a millisecond found them lacking ice-cold confidence and dedication, especially to each other.

Great read.
 
Funniest phone message I ever had was from a guy who was a former navy seal (who was batshite crazy). I used to coach and play softball. This guy left a message saying he couldn't play in that week's game. Then he explained that while working on his pick-up he left the brake off and it started rolling, his shirt got stuck in something dragging him with it, he grabbed some pipe which was still hot and gave him 2nd degree burns and the tire ran over his knee, giving him a partially torn ACL. He said this all very matter of fact, again apologized for missing that night's game and would try to make next week's game. As I recall, he did come back and play like 2 weeks later. Also played with a broken foot once.
 
“I don’t know what we would have done if all those people had just started rushing the compound,” he said.
He even mentioned Cairo, the dog.
“You had a dog?” the president asked, surprised.
“Yes, sir, we always have a dog with us,” the commander said.
“Well,” said Obama, “I would like to meet that dog.”
“Mr. President, then I would advise you to bring treats,” said the commander.
 
Mark Bowden is a great writer, but I'm pretty sure the mock-up of the compound wasn't on Fort Bragg. Or anywhere near it.
 
jhmd2000 said:
Mark Bowden is a great writer, but I'm pretty sure the mock-up of the compound wasn't on Fort Bragg. Or anywhere near it.
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That did strike me as odd. Seemed strange for Seal Team 6 to be training at Bragg. No reason to doubt him though.
 
Liquid Karma said:
That did strike me as odd. Seemed strange for Seal Team 6 to be training at Bragg. No reason to doubt him though.
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Uh....yes there is. Nothing odd about any SOFs at Bragg, but there was satellite imagery of the contrary. Front page of yesterday's N&O showed the mock-up on the banks of the Albermarle Sound.
 
Didn't he spend it posting on Condi Rice's Facebook page?
 
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