The Last Days of Osama bin Laden
-
Bergen and bin Laden
Show host Peter Bergen is one of only very few western journalists to have met Osama bin Laden in person. In 1997, he produced the first television interview with bin Laden for CNN, in which bin Laden declared war against the US. This photo was taken on the same day.
-
Embedded Military Journalist
Peter Bergen embedded with U.S. military, en route in rural Afghanistan. He has covered the story of al-Qaeda for the past 18 years and first became interested in militant Islam in February 1993, when the World Trade Center in Manhattan was bombed, killing six.
-
Black Hawks Landing Zone
One UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter assigned to the 1st Air Cavalry Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division. Black Hawks would become key to the mission to raid the suspected bin Laden compound. On March 14, CIA director Leon Panetta went to the White House with three options:
The first one: A joint assault with Pakistani forces.
The second option: A high-altitude bombing with B-2 bombers.
The third option: A helicopter assault using U.S. Special Ops Commandos.President Obama dismisses the first two options in favor of a unilateral Special Ops raid. It’s a risky decision, but the one most likely to deliver bin Laden dead or alive. The Navy’s Special Warfare Development Group, and elite arm of the SEAL’s more commonly known as Team 6 are chosen to conduct the operation.
-
Task Force Lobos Black Hawks
Two UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters from Task Force Lobos, 1st Air Cavalry Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, navigate the mountainous terrain of northern Afghanistan, following the completion of an air assault mission that the 1st ACB conducted with coalition ground forces in Regional Command North.
When the Navy SEALs were selected to carry out the mission to capture bin Laden, they were sent to a large government-owned stretch of desert, chosen to allow the pilots of the 160th Airborne to practice in elevations equivalent to Abbottabad.
-
Special Ops Chinooks
Two MH-47 Chinook helicopters land before being boarded by Afghan Commandos, with the Afghan National Army's 3rd Commando Kandak, and U.S. Navy SEALs, with Special Operations Task Force - South, en route to a village-clearing operation in Shah Wali Kot District, June 20, Kandahar province, Afghanistan.
Schoolbus-size Chinook helicopters like this served as backup to the Navy SEAL Team 6 strike team on the night of the bin Laden mission. The Chinooks landed roughly two-thirds of the way to the compound with two dozen SEALs on board to help respond if the SEALs who went forward were attacked.
-
Nighttime Training
Members of the Armed Forces perform a nighttime fast rope training exercise from an MH-60L Black Hawk helicopter, piloted by U.S. Army soldiers from the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, the same unit that flew Navy SEAL Team 6 to Osama bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad.
The night of the mission should have looked like this; the Black Hawk was supposed to briefly hover above the compound and the SEALs would slide down ropes into the open courtyard. But that's not how it happened. That night, when the first Black Hawk reached the target, it began to skitter and clipped the wall of the compound. The aviator of the Black Hawk helicopter was facing one of the toughest emergency situations. He lost his tail rotor; he had no control over the aircraft. And this aviator was able to put the aircraft on the ground very fast.
The 12 SEALS on board the downed helicopter escaped unhurt into an outer courtyard. They then had to go to Plan B; and since they had planned for Plan A, Plan B and Plan C, they were able to adapt immediately on the ground and conduct the operation even though the loud crash and explosive booms woke up the compound’s occupants.
-
Task Force Black Knight
Pfc. Jose Pizano, of Task Force Black Knight, Apache Company, 3rd Battalion, 66th Armor Regiment, 172nd Infantry Brigade, watches the opposing ridge line with his M14 Enhanced Battle Rifle en route to the village of Sar Howza, Paktika province, Afghanistan.
-
Patrol in Paktika Province
Staff Sgt. James Allen conducts a dismounted patrol of the Sharana District Center bazaar with his platoon's Afghan Uniformed Police partners.
-
Army Captain Interviews Elder
U.S. Army Capt. James Perkins from Task Force Black Knight, Company A, 3-66th Armor Reg., 172nd Inf. Bde., speaks with one of the elders in Sar Howza, Paktika province, Afghanistan.
-
Osama bin Laden's Neighbors
Neighbors of Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad, Pakistan. Peter Bergen has come to Abbottabad to meet local journalist Khaled Khesseji and talk to bin Laden’s neighbors, Pakistani officials, and those who witnessed the raid to learn more about the final chapter in bin Ladens’ life. Many people are hesitant to talk these days. They fear harassment or arrest by the local police… But a few are willing to talk.
-
Speedy Street
This street scene is in the neighborhood of Osama bin Laden's compound. Before the raid, the talk of the town was rumors that somebody heard that someone said that Osama was there or Osama was not there. Everyone was still at that time wondering was he there, or was he not there?
-
Abbottabad Walled Compound
Surveillance-style view into backyard of walled compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. People in Pakistan often have high walls, particularly in this region, but they usually don’t have high walls around their balconies. Bin Laden's compound was recently built, disproportionate in size from other homes in the neighborhood, and had incredibly high security. It was those kinds of physical signatures that convinced the agency that they were really onto something.
Another reason the analysts focused on the compound was they noticed that there were no phone lines running into it or connections to the outside world. There was a satellite dish on the top but not anything that would allow communications back and forth. And that just shouted at them: These people didn’t want to be found. -
Fresh Milk Delivery
A local dairy man delivers cans with fresh milk to a walled compound. Every morning, several gallons of milk were delivered to the main gate of bin Laden's compound. Twice a week they bought a goat from a nearby store, but their contact with the outside world was limited.
-
Some Tasty Fruit
Local fruit dealer in the neighborhood of Osama bin Laden's compound. When asked about some of the residents of the at-the-time mysterious compound, an Abbottabad resident said, “I haven’t met them a lot. They are rich people and we’re poor laborers. If we meet each other in the street I say “Peace be onto you” and they say “And upon you be peace.” That’s it.”
-
An Old Man and a Donkey
A friendly man with his donkey cart in Abbottabad, Pakistan, near Osama bin Laden's compound.
