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Manhunt: The Ten-Year Search for Bin Laden from 9/11 to Abbottabad
Goodreads Choice Award
Nominee for Readers' Favorite History & Biography (2012)NOW AN HBO DOCUMENTARY
In Manhunt , Peter Bergen delivers a taut yet panoramic account of the pursuit and killing of Osama bin Laden. Here are riveting new details of bin Laden's flight after the crushing defeat of the Taliban to Tora Bora, where American forces came startlingly close to capturing him, and of the fugitive leader's attempts to find a secure hiding place. As the only journalist to gain access to bin Laden's Abbottabad compound before the Pakistani government demolished it, Bergen paints a vivid picture of bin Laden's grim, Spartan life in hiding and his struggle to maintain control of al-Qaeda.
Half a world away, Bergen takes us inside the Situation Room, where President Obama considers the courses of action presented by his war council and receives conflicting advice from his top advisors before deciding to risk the raid that would change history--and then inside the Joint Special Ops Command, whose "secret warriors," the SEALs, would execute Operation Neptune Spear. From the moment two Black Hawks take off from Afghanistan until bin Laden utters his last words, Manhunt reads like a thriller.
In Manhunt , Peter Bergen delivers a taut yet panoramic account of the pursuit and killing of Osama bin Laden. Here are riveting new details of bin Laden's flight after the crushing defeat of the Taliban to Tora Bora, where American forces came startlingly close to capturing him, and of the fugitive leader's attempts to find a secure hiding place. As the only journalist to gain access to bin Laden's Abbottabad compound before the Pakistani government demolished it, Bergen paints a vivid picture of bin Laden's grim, Spartan life in hiding and his struggle to maintain control of al-Qaeda.
Half a world away, Bergen takes us inside the Situation Room, where President Obama considers the courses of action presented by his war council and receives conflicting advice from his top advisors before deciding to risk the raid that would change history--and then inside the Joint Special Ops Command, whose "secret warriors," the SEALs, would execute Operation Neptune Spear. From the moment two Black Hawks take off from Afghanistan until bin Laden utters his last words, Manhunt reads like a thriller.
400 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 2012
283 people are currently reading
3825 people want to read
About the author
Peter L. Bergen
16 books166 followersPeter Bergen (born 1962) is an American born, England-raised print and television journalist, author, and CNN's national security analyst. Bergen produced the first television interview with Osama Bin Laden in 1997. The interview, which aired on CNN, marked the first time that bin Laden declared war against the United States to a Western audience. Bergen has written several books including: Holy War, Inc., The Osama bin Laden I Know, and The Longest War: The Enduring Conflict Between America and al-Qaeda (Jan. 2011).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 443 reviews
June 14, 2012
Peter Bergen, has been on the bin Laden beat for a long time, most notably since he interviewed the al-Qaeda leader in 1997. He has reported the exploits of Osama for the full arc of his career, from freedom fighter for the Afghanis against the Soviet invader, through the rise to infamy of al Qaeda, from training Somalis in the use of RPG, to training thugs and fanatics to seize commercial airliners to dark purpose. Now he writes about the Osama we have not seen, mostly because he has had to remain in hiding, and follows the story to its bloody end. But Osama, per se, is not the central focus of the story.
This is an insider’s look at the process of hunting down the world’s most infamous terrorist. From well before September 11, 2001, the USA had been trying to find bin Laden, but he somehow always eluded his pursuers. It is no secret that his initial escape from Tora Bora was the result of tactical foolishness—subcontracting border security to a group of very corruptible locals pretty much guaranteeing failure—and the diversion of resources from Afghanistan to that other, less relevant war. But what was secret was UBL’s whereabouts for the next ten-plus years. (Government sorts first referred to him as Usama bin Laden, thus the UBL moniker that stuck, despite a later change in vowel) Bergen looks at the efforts that were made to track him down, and offers insight and new knowledge in the doing.
For example
For a guy who is a major wonk on things military and spooky, Bergen writes like an actual person. He has always been a compelling TV journalist and his communication skills are put to good use here. I was particularly taken with his depiction of the raid. It read like an action adventure novel. And as a lifelong resident of NYC, I confess to welling up more than a little when the man responsible for murdering thousands of my neighbors was put down. Bergen’s access is impressive. He interviewed many of the principals involved and offers a rich portrait of the hunt.
Peter Bergen is the real deal. He knows his stuff and if you want to know how Osama bin Laden was found and dispatched track down a copy of Manhunt.
PS - A visit to Bergen’s site, http://peterbergen.com/, will offer the reward of multiple articles relating to our favorite dead evildoer. Well, the articles are mostly elements taken from the book, so if you want a peek at the book, check these samples.
This is an insider’s look at the process of hunting down the world’s most infamous terrorist. From well before September 11, 2001, the USA had been trying to find bin Laden, but he somehow always eluded his pursuers. It is no secret that his initial escape from Tora Bora was the result of tactical foolishness—subcontracting border security to a group of very corruptible locals pretty much guaranteeing failure—and the diversion of resources from Afghanistan to that other, less relevant war. But what was secret was UBL’s whereabouts for the next ten-plus years. (Government sorts first referred to him as Usama bin Laden, thus the UBL moniker that stuck, despite a later change in vowel) Bergen looks at the efforts that were made to track him down, and offers insight and new knowledge in the doing.
For example
The conventional view is that Ayman al-Zawahiri, an Egyptian doctor and al-Qaeda’s longtime second in command, was bin Laden’s “brain.” But in making the most important strategic shift in al-Qaeda’s history—identifying the United States as its key enemy, rather than Middle-Eastern regimes—bin Laden brushed aside Zawahiri’s obsessive focus on overthrowing the Egyptian government. Bin Laden also kept Zawahiri in the dark for years about al-Qaeda’s most important operation—the planning for the 9/11 attacks—apprising his deputy only during the summer of 2001.He offers the not shocking evaluation that
Mullah Omar was a dim-witted fanatic with significant delusions of grandeur who believed he was on a mission from Allah.He also takes to task the notion that it was the intention of UBL and Al-Qaeda, by their actions, to draw the USA into a military quagmire.
This was post facto rationalization of al-Qaeda’s strategic failure. The whole point of the 9/11 attacks had been to get the United States out of the Muslim world, not to provoke it into invading and occupying Afghanistan and overthrowing al-Qaeda’s closest ideological ally, the Taliban. September 11, in fact, resembled Pearl Harbor. Just as the Japanese scored a tremendous tactical victory on December 7, 1941, they also set in motion a chain of events that led to the eventual collapse of imperial Japan. So, too, the 9/11 attacks set in motion a chain of events that would lead to the destruction of much of al-Qaeda and, eventually, the death of its leader.There are more like this. Bergen looks at the effectiveness of torture as a source of useful intelligence, the growth of the Joint Special Operations Command, the change in approach re drone strikes in tribal Pakistan, the tricky relationship between the US and Pakistan, how US intelligence tracked their man down, the decision-making process, and details of the raid. Then he follows up with an analysis of the significance of al-Qaeda in the world today.
For a guy who is a major wonk on things military and spooky, Bergen writes like an actual person. He has always been a compelling TV journalist and his communication skills are put to good use here. I was particularly taken with his depiction of the raid. It read like an action adventure novel. And as a lifelong resident of NYC, I confess to welling up more than a little when the man responsible for murdering thousands of my neighbors was put down. Bergen’s access is impressive. He interviewed many of the principals involved and offers a rich portrait of the hunt.
Peter Bergen is the real deal. He knows his stuff and if you want to know how Osama bin Laden was found and dispatched track down a copy of Manhunt.
PS - A visit to Bergen’s site, http://peterbergen.com/, will offer the reward of multiple articles relating to our favorite dead evildoer. Well, the articles are mostly elements taken from the book, so if you want a peek at the book, check these samples.
September 2, 2012
I'm keeping my review simple.
Holy Shit!!!!!!!!
Interpret as you will.
Update - I decided this book deserved more.
My Thoughts
We know the beginning of this story - the horror of 9/11. We know the middle - the ongoing search for bin Laden, the reported sightings (described as - “Where’s Waldo”) and the occasional released propaganda video confirming bin Laden’s continued existence. We know the end - bin Laden is killed. So I have to ask myself - why read this book?
Here’s the answer. The author has written a very well researched, extremely readable story of all the steps along the way. The most fascinating part was the decision making process involved once it was determined there was a high likelihood Osama bin Laden had been found. Even up to the very end - this was not a 100% certainty. What were the different options along with the pros and cons of each? I have to say, reading the last few chapters - my heart was pounding! Remember the famous photo of the President Obama, Vice-President Biden, Secretary of State Clinton and several high ranking military and cabinet members sitting around a small table intently watching as the action was taking place? At this point, I was so invested in the story, I felt like I was right there.
If you think that have even a fleeting interest in this topic, here is the book to read! Highly informative and entertaining.
Holy Shit!!!!!!!!
Interpret as you will.
Update - I decided this book deserved more.
My Thoughts
We know the beginning of this story - the horror of 9/11. We know the middle - the ongoing search for bin Laden, the reported sightings (described as - “Where’s Waldo”) and the occasional released propaganda video confirming bin Laden’s continued existence. We know the end - bin Laden is killed. So I have to ask myself - why read this book?
Here’s the answer. The author has written a very well researched, extremely readable story of all the steps along the way. The most fascinating part was the decision making process involved once it was determined there was a high likelihood Osama bin Laden had been found. Even up to the very end - this was not a 100% certainty. What were the different options along with the pros and cons of each? I have to say, reading the last few chapters - my heart was pounding! Remember the famous photo of the President Obama, Vice-President Biden, Secretary of State Clinton and several high ranking military and cabinet members sitting around a small table intently watching as the action was taking place? At this point, I was so invested in the story, I felt like I was right there.
If you think that have even a fleeting interest in this topic, here is the book to read! Highly informative and entertaining.
April 30, 2016
Old reviews went missing. How does save not working?
Great read.
Great read.
September 7, 2016
"White House Situation Room" - 4:06 pm on May 1, 2011 - Fotografia do norte-americano Pete Souza - descendente de portugueses - os avós emigraram dos Açores.
“Caça ao Homem, Os Dez Anos de Caça a Bin Laden desde o 11 de Setembro até Abbottabad” de Peter L. Bergen (n. 1962) é basicamente os 10 anos de caça a Osama bin Laden depois dos atendados de 11 de Setembro de 2001 até à sua morte na cidade de Abbottabad no Paquistão a 1 de Maio de 2011.
O americano Peter L. Bergen professor universitário e analista da CNN para assuntos de segurança nacional escreve um livro em forma de “reportagem” que resulta obviamente de uma pesquisa minuciosa a documentação e informação de diversas fontes, fortalecida por muitas entrevistas adicionais aos principais intervenientes na temática.
No prólogo Peter L. Bergen situa-nos na casa que serviu de esconderijo perfeito durante mais de 6 anos a Osama bin Laden e aos membros da sua família – “3 mulheres e uma dúzia de filhos e netos”. Em vez de uma caverna fria e húmida situada nas inóspitas montanhas algures entre o Afeganistão e o Paquistão, Osama bin Laden, vive numa vivenda, com altos muros, situada na cidade paquistanesa de Abbottabad, rodeado por 3 das suas mulheres. A mais recente – 4º mulher - a “jovial iemenita Amal” vivia com Osama no 3º andar e a sua 2º mulher Khairiah e a 3º mulher Shiam Husayn ambas sauditas habitavam no 2º andar da moradia, mas com espaço privativo autónomo para cada uma delas.
A vida familiar do homem mais procurado do mundo era para bin Laden “uma fonte de verdadeiro conforto, pois cria que a poligamia e a procriação eram deveres religiosos.”
“As altercações entre as mulheres de bin Laden eram raras. Todas tinham contraído matrimónio sabendo desde logo que se tratava de um compromisso polígamo, uma situação que acreditavam ser abençoada por Deus.”
Nos capítulos seguintes Bergen descreve de uma forma sintética o surgimento da Al-Qaeda, o período que antecedeu os atentados de 11 de Setembro de 2011 – a preparação, as ligações com várias “células” terroristas em vários países, a inépcia dos serviços secretos norte-americanos para detectarem os “sinais” de que algo trágico poderia efectivamente acontecer.
São descritas também as muitas diligências efectuadas por todas as agências de investigação americanas, na localização e captura de bin Laden e nos ataques efectuados com todo o tipo de tecnologia e recursos nessa “tarefa” nunca produzindo os resultados pretendidos.
Sempre havia na CIA uma débil esperança de que um dia surgisse a informação da efectiva localização de bin Laden – a tarefa seria encontrar o “correio” humano que com ele mantinha ligação à estrutura da Al-Qaeda. Surge então “o Kuwaitiano” de nome Abu Ahmed al-Kuwaiti como homem de confiança de bin Laden e única pista que acaba por levar os serviços de espionagem americanos até ao complexo habitacional de Abbottabad – estamos em Agosto de 2010.
Dá-se início a um longo período de investigação e espionagem de forma a confirmar e validar a localização de bin Laden. Os serviços secretos analisam e monitorizam toda a informação recolhida e começam a desenvolver e planear formas de actuação que permitissem a efectiva captura de bin Laden – não tendo contudo a confirmação da identidade do “misterioso” residente da vivenda.
Os capítulos referentes à preparação da operação de assalto à vivenda de Abbottabad, no interior do Paquistão, são descritos de uma forma minuciosa sendo indispensáveis alguns factores para o sucesso de tão arriscada e complexa operação militar: repetição, surpresa, sigilo, rapidez, simplicidade e empenhamento.
Apesar de todo o treino e preparação da equipa de assalto “Seals” nem tudo correu conforme o previsto – mas o resultado final foi atingido. A 1 de Maio de 2011, quase 10 anos depois da caça ao homem, bin Laden é morto no complexo habitacional de Abbottabad, uma pequena cidade no interior do Paquistão.
No Epílogo com o subtítulo de “O Crepúsculo da Al-Qaeda” Peter L. Bergen procede a uma breve e minuciosa análise da ameaça que representa a organização terrorista, nomeadamente, nas estratégias pós-morte do seu carismático líder Osama bin Laden.
Um livro que não sendo um policial não deixa de ser uma boa história dramática, escrita por Peter L. Bergen de uma forma simples e sintética, sobre acontecimentos complexos e que nem sempre têm a unanimidade e concordância do mundo ocidental e do mundo islâmico.
May 26, 2013
It doesn’t get more “Cloak and Dagger” than this and its’ a true story. Bin Laden was surely the most sought after villain and mass murderer in modern history and we are given a dramatic account of it in Peter Bergen’s book.
We are presented with a C.I.A. that made mistakes but was relentless in its’ 11 year pursuit of Bin Laden (well much more than 11 years, but after 9/11 the quest became fundamental). It is also interesting that there were a substantial number of women in the C.I.A. involved in the track-down.
We also come away with a greater understanding of al Qaeda and how it has diminished since the invasion of Afghanistan. Still there are many splinter groups that will continue to cause murderous terror in the years to come. Afghanistan and Pakistan are such dysfunctional countries that these groups can grow there.
I still came away from this book wondering how much had been left out. The premise is that Bin Laden’s chief courier to the outside world had been discovered and tracked to the Abbottabad compound. Apparently there were some safe-houses set-up there to monitor the Bin Laden compound – but this is not elaborated on. It would have been very conspicuous to have “Westerners” in this part of the world. I also find it difficult to believe that Bin Laden was not being supported by some in Pakistan’s I.S.I. and their military. There are many sordid and complex connections between the Pakistani authorities and the Taliban. Also it was very much within Pakistan’s interest to preserve Bin Laden – his existence was a tremendous source of money to Pakistan from the U.S. With his death, these sources will now dry up.
It is indeed sad, that like other evil men, Bin Laden changed the course of history. We will always remember that horrendous day in September/2001 when the attack came. Somehow the death of that man (however grim it may sound) gave me, at least, a sense of relief and maybe a moral closure.
We are presented with a C.I.A. that made mistakes but was relentless in its’ 11 year pursuit of Bin Laden (well much more than 11 years, but after 9/11 the quest became fundamental). It is also interesting that there were a substantial number of women in the C.I.A. involved in the track-down.
We also come away with a greater understanding of al Qaeda and how it has diminished since the invasion of Afghanistan. Still there are many splinter groups that will continue to cause murderous terror in the years to come. Afghanistan and Pakistan are such dysfunctional countries that these groups can grow there.
I still came away from this book wondering how much had been left out. The premise is that Bin Laden’s chief courier to the outside world had been discovered and tracked to the Abbottabad compound. Apparently there were some safe-houses set-up there to monitor the Bin Laden compound – but this is not elaborated on. It would have been very conspicuous to have “Westerners” in this part of the world. I also find it difficult to believe that Bin Laden was not being supported by some in Pakistan’s I.S.I. and their military. There are many sordid and complex connections between the Pakistani authorities and the Taliban. Also it was very much within Pakistan’s interest to preserve Bin Laden – his existence was a tremendous source of money to Pakistan from the U.S. With his death, these sources will now dry up.
It is indeed sad, that like other evil men, Bin Laden changed the course of history. We will always remember that horrendous day in September/2001 when the attack came. Somehow the death of that man (however grim it may sound) gave me, at least, a sense of relief and maybe a moral closure.
August 30, 2012
My CNN colleague Peter Bergen's book on the hunt for Osama bin Laden is gripping. Bergen is staggeringly brilliant, meticulous, level-headed -- and writes clearly and factually with understated power, yet still manages on-target stabs of droll humor like this characterization of bin Laden's dull successor, Ayman al-Zawahiri, calling him "a black hole of charisma."
According to Bergen, there was never 100 percent certainty among President Obama's advisors and intelligence analysts that bin Laden was at the walled compound. The option the president chose was perhaps the riskiest, plus he went ahead against the advice of his Defense Secretary Robert Gates who was involved in Jimmy Carter's failed mission to rescue the U.S. hostages in Iran.
Here are some of my favorite quotes:
*Michael Scheuer, founder of the CIA's bin Laden unit, on why women are great intelligence analysts: "They seem to have an exceptional knack for detail, for seeing patterns and understanding relationships, and they also, quite frankly, spend a great deal less time telling war stories, chatting, and going outside for cigarettes than the boys. If I could have put up a sign saying, 'No boys needs apply,' I would've done it."
*Barack Obama, from his 2009 Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech: "I face the world as it is, and cannot stand idle in the face of threats to the American people. For make no mistake: evil does exist in the world. A nonviolent movement could not have halted Hitler's armies. Negotiations cannot convince al-Qaeda's leaders to lay down their arms. To say that force is sometimes necessary is not a call to cynicism -- it is a recognition of history, the imperfections of man, and the limits of reason."
*Michele Flournoy, Undersecretary of Defense for Policy, on the plans of Admiral William McRaven to get bin Laden: "McRaven had a backup for every possible failure, and a backup to the failure of the backup, and a backup to the failure of the backup of the backup."
*Joint Chiefs Chairman, Admiral Mike Mullen, on the importance of witnessing in person the rehearsal of the SEALs training for the raid: "If I am going to send somebody in to die, I want to...[have] the opportunity to look the men in the eye. Every single one of them. Personally." [That quote, I'm not ashamed to say, brought me to tears.]
If you're looking for an objective read on the strategy behind the take-down of bin Laden, this is it.
According to Bergen, there was never 100 percent certainty among President Obama's advisors and intelligence analysts that bin Laden was at the walled compound. The option the president chose was perhaps the riskiest, plus he went ahead against the advice of his Defense Secretary Robert Gates who was involved in Jimmy Carter's failed mission to rescue the U.S. hostages in Iran.
Here are some of my favorite quotes:
*Michael Scheuer, founder of the CIA's bin Laden unit, on why women are great intelligence analysts: "They seem to have an exceptional knack for detail, for seeing patterns and understanding relationships, and they also, quite frankly, spend a great deal less time telling war stories, chatting, and going outside for cigarettes than the boys. If I could have put up a sign saying, 'No boys needs apply,' I would've done it."
*Barack Obama, from his 2009 Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech: "I face the world as it is, and cannot stand idle in the face of threats to the American people. For make no mistake: evil does exist in the world. A nonviolent movement could not have halted Hitler's armies. Negotiations cannot convince al-Qaeda's leaders to lay down their arms. To say that force is sometimes necessary is not a call to cynicism -- it is a recognition of history, the imperfections of man, and the limits of reason."
*Michele Flournoy, Undersecretary of Defense for Policy, on the plans of Admiral William McRaven to get bin Laden: "McRaven had a backup for every possible failure, and a backup to the failure of the backup, and a backup to the failure of the backup of the backup."
*Joint Chiefs Chairman, Admiral Mike Mullen, on the importance of witnessing in person the rehearsal of the SEALs training for the raid: "If I am going to send somebody in to die, I want to...[have] the opportunity to look the men in the eye. Every single one of them. Personally." [That quote, I'm not ashamed to say, brought me to tears.]
If you're looking for an objective read on the strategy behind the take-down of bin Laden, this is it.
June 13, 2018
I was still quite young when Osama was caught. I had always been under the impression that the manhunt for the most wanted terrorist was a joint effort by the US and Pakistan. Reading this book brought out aspects of the chase that I had no idea about.
This is a very well written book by Bergen, which captures the entire gamut of operations starting with the bombing of the twin towers to the death of Osama. It also shows the growth and fall of the Al-Quaeda. Getting closer to the date of the actual raid brings about the tense moments and also the implications of a failed operation especially in the aftermath of the war on Iraq.
Towards the end, the author naively believes that the biggest possible giant was toppled. I guess he did not forsee the growth of ISIS. Although this was a great book to read from an operations perspective, I would be interested in knowing the growth of dictators from a psychological perspective.
This is a very well written book by Bergen, which captures the entire gamut of operations starting with the bombing of the twin towers to the death of Osama. It also shows the growth and fall of the Al-Quaeda. Getting closer to the date of the actual raid brings about the tense moments and also the implications of a failed operation especially in the aftermath of the war on Iraq.
Towards the end, the author naively believes that the biggest possible giant was toppled. I guess he did not forsee the growth of ISIS. Although this was a great book to read from an operations perspective, I would be interested in knowing the growth of dictators from a psychological perspective.
March 26, 2019
Absolutely brilliant. A gripping account of the multi-layered hunt for Osama bin Laden. Even though you definitely know how it's going to end, it's fascinating stuff. Especially the chapters dealing with President Obama's decision to authorise the raid or not. A great companion to the equally-good non-fiction work, 'The Triple Agent' and, of course, the excellent film 'Zero Dark Thirty'.
Highly recommended.
Highly recommended.
December 24, 2023
4.5 stars
Very good crisp story of the hunt for Bin Laden.
I wish I had read it ten years ago when it came out.
Bergen is about as objective a reporter as one can be.
Very good crisp story of the hunt for Bin Laden.
I wish I had read it ten years ago when it came out.
Bergen is about as objective a reporter as one can be.
May 25, 2020
Hello my dear friends on this here app (at the time of writing this review Tanzeel had two (2) friends). After failing in my pursuit of tiktok fame I have retired to Goodreads in my old age. Before reviewing this book just a quick disclaimer, I have a grade C in English Language GCSE so forgive my use of semi colons; randomly.
I procured this book in the final year of my undergraduate degree, many a moon ago. We were given vouchers to buy books to help facilitate our learning. The year had passed and I hadn’t used this £100+ voucher and so I panic bought a bunch of books, amongst which was “Manhunt - From 9/11 To Abbottabad - The 10 Year Search for Bin Laden”. The book sat on my bookshelf up until recently when I finally decided to read it, and boy am I glad I did.
Peter Bergen did a tremendous job of systematically breaking down key events that transpired which inevitably led to the death of Bin Laden. The book also explored, though briefly, the root of Bin Laden theological views and what led him to lead the life he did - which has always piqued my interest, considering his family’s vast fortune. ‘Twas a good read and I recommend you, my friends, to read it too - if you have interest in such things!
Thank you for reading my first book review since primary school! Though I don’t know if I have reviewed the book sufficiently enough 😔
I procured this book in the final year of my undergraduate degree, many a moon ago. We were given vouchers to buy books to help facilitate our learning. The year had passed and I hadn’t used this £100+ voucher and so I panic bought a bunch of books, amongst which was “Manhunt - From 9/11 To Abbottabad - The 10 Year Search for Bin Laden”. The book sat on my bookshelf up until recently when I finally decided to read it, and boy am I glad I did.
Peter Bergen did a tremendous job of systematically breaking down key events that transpired which inevitably led to the death of Bin Laden. The book also explored, though briefly, the root of Bin Laden theological views and what led him to lead the life he did - which has always piqued my interest, considering his family’s vast fortune. ‘Twas a good read and I recommend you, my friends, to read it too - if you have interest in such things!
Thank you for reading my first book review since primary school! Though I don’t know if I have reviewed the book sufficiently enough 😔
April 10, 2016
Most of us already know the story of bin Laden's capture, so it wasn't any particular interest in the subject matter that led me to this book. I'd just finished Bergen's United States of Jihad: Americans Fighting for Radical Islam--from al-Qaeda to ISIS when this book became available in audio at my library. Bergen is an exceptional journalist--he writes with a comprehensiveness that a reader can appreciate. Most any question you can think of is answered, and many you did not think to ask.
What was interesting about this was the political calculation behind the raid on Abbottabad: the players and the opinions. Two out of three of Obama's top advisors did not recommend the raid (Gates and Biden) and only one did (Clinton). I probably would have agreed with the nay-sayers as I was among the few who did not think we should retaliate for 9/11, but I also thought that by 2011 bin Laden had been effectively sidelined and was almost irrelevant. Besides, the disasters of previous such attempts just made the calculations too hard to certify, and going into a sovereign country unannounced is just not the way I would do things.
Bergen is very nice to Michèle Flournoy, at the time Under Secretary of Defense for Policy and a member of the team watching the outcome of the raid realtime. She was also founder of the New America Think Tank of which Bergen was an employee while he was writing the book. Now I think Bergen has moved on, and Flournoy left government in 2012 and has several advisory roles in different non-profits and educational and policy organizations. She is on the Board of Directors of New America.
The Epilogue in this book includes mention of the material that Bergen made into his book about jihadism in the U.S., and more information about relationships in the aftermath of the raid that is still relevant to us now. Bergen also talks openly of the shadowy JSOC group that may have been initially exposed in Jeremy Scahill's work on Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army.
What was interesting about this was the political calculation behind the raid on Abbottabad: the players and the opinions. Two out of three of Obama's top advisors did not recommend the raid (Gates and Biden) and only one did (Clinton). I probably would have agreed with the nay-sayers as I was among the few who did not think we should retaliate for 9/11, but I also thought that by 2011 bin Laden had been effectively sidelined and was almost irrelevant. Besides, the disasters of previous such attempts just made the calculations too hard to certify, and going into a sovereign country unannounced is just not the way I would do things.
Bergen is very nice to Michèle Flournoy, at the time Under Secretary of Defense for Policy and a member of the team watching the outcome of the raid realtime. She was also founder of the New America Think Tank of which Bergen was an employee while he was writing the book. Now I think Bergen has moved on, and Flournoy left government in 2012 and has several advisory roles in different non-profits and educational and policy organizations. She is on the Board of Directors of New America.
The Epilogue in this book includes mention of the material that Bergen made into his book about jihadism in the U.S., and more information about relationships in the aftermath of the raid that is still relevant to us now. Bergen also talks openly of the shadowy JSOC group that may have been initially exposed in Jeremy Scahill's work on Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army.
October 6, 2016
Mostly very informative, but also a bit exciting, since it's not a fiction book. The author mentions very many persons, which makes it less of an page-turner, and more an appraisal to the contributors of the raid. Still very interesting reading
October 13, 2022
This is a nail-biter. It keeps you to the dge of your seat up until the last ten odd pages.
“Laden, long fancied himself something of a poet. His compositions tended to the morbid, and a poem written two years after 9/11 in which he contemplated the circumstances of his death was no exception.
Bin Laden wrote, “Let my grave be an eagle’s belly, its resting place in the sky’s atmosphere amongst perched eagles.”
But there was no spectacular martyrdom in the mountains among the eagles. Instead bin Laden died surrounded by his wives in a squalid suburban compound awash in broken glass and scattered children’s toys and medicine bottles—testament to the ferocity of the SEALs’ assault on his final hiding place.
And on February 25, 2012, Pakistani authorities sent mechanized diggers to the compound that tore the complex down, erasing bin Laden’s six-year sojourn in Abbottabad over the course of a weekend.
If there is poetry in bin Laden’s end, it is the poetry of justice, and it calls to mind President George W. Bush’s words to Congress just nine days after 9/11, when he predicted that bin Laden and al-Qaeda would eventually be consigned to “history’s unmarked grave of discarded lies,” just as communism and Nazism had been before them. President Barack Obama has characterized al-Qaeda and its affiliates as “small men on the wrong side of history.”
Fourteen chapters make up this book:
1. 9/11 and After
2. Tora Bora
3. Al-Qaeda in the Wilderness
4. The Resurgence of Al-Qaeda
5. A Working Theory of the Case
6. Closing In on the Courier
7. Obama at War
8. Anatomy of a Lead
9. The Last Years of Osama bin Laden
10. The Secret Warriors
11. Courses of Action
12. The Decision
13. Don’t Turn On the Light
14. Aftermath
I’ll just cut to the chase. Chapters 1 to 12 speak of a host of stuff. I’ll instead focus on the end.
For almost ten years, the United States had been industriously searching for one man – Osama Bin Laden, the terrorist brain behind the September 11th attacks that killed almost three thousand Americans and triggered a conflict that was still raging today - May 2nd, 2011.
While the United States had deposed the Taliban, the government that was sheltering Bin Laden at the time of the attacks, they had never been able to detain or slay the man. That was about to alter.
The CIA had been searching for Bin Laden’s clandestine base for years with no luck. He had managed to escape from Afghanistan, which was under US occupation, and travel to the adjoining country of Pakistan. But in the hilly, rustic regions of Pakistan, with little government supervision, it was trouble-free for him to stay under the radar. The government had been looking for leads for years, but to conclude got their break in 2010, when their leads led them to a compound in Abbottabad.
They began taking surveillance footage of the compound, and determining the best way to breach it.
What followed was one of the trickiest intelligence-gathering operations in US history. The compound was profoundly guarded and in enemy territory. The US had to rely deeply on local help to gather intelligence, and over a period of months they spied on the three-story building.
They learned every detail about the building, but a lot was still missing. For one thing, the villainous terror leader was extremely enigmatic - so reticent, that they were never able to capture an image of him coming in or out of the building. Consequently, everything was still anecdotal, but after an extended period of time, they were able to conclude that this was were Osama Bin Laden.
Now it was time to take action.
It was April 29th when President Obama was briefed on the details of the operation. Many within his security team were cynical about the operation - in any case, if it went wrong, top US troops would either be killed or remain trapped behind enemy lines. Not only would this be a catastrophic loss of life, but it would potentially expose many of the US’ biggest secrets if they were interrogated and forced to reveal classified information.
And with the doubts that Bin Laden really in the compound, many didn’t feel it was worth the risk. Eventually, Obama disagreed - and he gave his nod to the operation that would become ‘Operation Neptune Spear’.
And the people carrying it out would be the best of the best.
Seal Team 6 -- an elite squadron of the highly-trained Navy Seals …….. they answer directly to the Joint Special Operations Command and carry out some of the most highly classified operations the US government is involved with. These include hostage rescue, special espionage missions, counterterrorism, targeting of enemy infrastructure, and direct action against the deadliest of US enemies - like Osama Bin Laden.
They would be briefed on the mission, which would be classified as capture-or-kill. Officially, the US has the policy of never killing an enemy who has already surrendered - but no one involved in the mission had any delusion that Osama Bin Laden would ever surrender.
And to pull this all off they had to implement some perilous strategies. The planning had been going on for the better part of a year, since the intelligence reports started coming in, and many strategies had been considered.
The easiest would have been a joint operation with Pakistani military forces - but the Pakistani government wasn’t precisely welcoming and the US was worried that Bin Laden could be tipped off beforehand. The US also considered striking at the compound with stealth bombers, which could atomize Bin Laden - but there would be no way of following up to ensure he was already dead, and the fiddly terror leader had managed to escape US operations before.
So instead, the government decided to go old-school.
Seal Team 6 would be flown in using modified Black Hawk helicopters that were designed to be quiet and would be able to fly in under enemy radar. The Pakistani military had been heavily trained and supplied by US advisors, so their capabilities were known - and the US was certain they could get around them. The goal was to get to the compound without being detected or challenged by the Pakistani forces - and once the target was down, they would be able to beat a hasty retreat.
May 1st, 1:22 PM…. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta received the word from the President, and directed Admiral William McRaven to move ahead with the operation. Within the next two hours, President Obama and his national security team would move to the Situation Room to watch the whole thing unfold over night-vision images transmitted to them from a drone.
The roughly 24 Navy SEALS sent on the mission would temporarily be transferred to the control of the CIA, so it would technically not be a military mission and would not be classified as an act of war. These were going to be some of the most critical minutes in the US’ modern history – and for the men on the ground, every single minute would count. While the roughly two dozen SEALs were the ones who would breach the compound, there were 79 commandos and a dog involved in the raid.
The dog, a Belgian Malinois named Cairo, was there to alert the SEALs to any sudden activity - including the Pakistani military approaching the compound, or anyone trying to flee. The core team was backed up by a dog handler, interpreters, pilots, intelligence agents, and tech experts who would make it all possible.
But the success or failure of the mission would hinge on the men entering the compound.
And one wrong move could spell disaster.
3:30 AM - give or take. Two helicopters descend on the Abbottabad compound. While the other helicopters stand by in case they’re needed, these two will carry out the primary mission. Flying low to the ground, the stealthy Black Hawk helicopters hover over the compound grounds.
While the first deploys ropes to lower its team to the ground, the other heads to the far northeast corner to covertly drop off its interpreter, dog, handler, and four SEALs. If everything went effortlessly, they would soon be at the compound.
But everything didn’t go well. While the helicopters weren’t detected and they didn’t come under aggressive fire, mother
nature had something to say. The first helicopter flew into what’s known as a ‘vortex ring state’ - an air phenomenon caused by higher-than-expected temperatures creating an air vortex. The rotor’s air pressure didn’t diffuse appropriately, the helicopter was knocked off balance, and it grazed the back of the compound wall.
The tail rotor was gravely damaged, and the helicopter started rolling over. The quick-thinking pilot drove the helicopter into the ground nose-first, preventing a total collapse, and the SEALs and crew were able to escape unscathed after a rough landing.
Now the only question was - had this blown their secret mission?
The answer seemed to be no, as there was no sign of aggression from the compound. The SEALs had successfully weathered a crash landing without being detected, the helicopter was secure against the compound walls, and the other helicopter had landed safely outside the compound.
The rest of the team was scaling the walls, and the whole team was reunited. The next step was breaching the compound - and that’s where the SEALs’ explosives team came in. They needed to get in quickly and hit the people inside with shock and awe.
Outside, preparation was key - but once they were inside, every second would count.
Ten years of searching had come down to this.
3:33 AM - To get through the security, the SEALs used portable explosives to blow open the doors of the compound’s guest house, one by one. They breached the compound and began storming up the stairs. The first room they encountered on the first floor contained two adult males - but none of them was Osama bin Laden.
They were detained, but they weren’t the target.
More disturbing - every floor seemed to contain small groups of children. This wasn’t just a terrorist compound - it was a home where the terrorists kept their families, regardless of all the danger they were putting them in. And with every floor the SEALs ascended, the danger would rise.
3:35 - What happened next?
Reports of that may vary. As they reached the second floor, they encountered more resistance. This is where Bin Laden’s courier, Abu Ahmed al-Kuwaiti, was found - and SEAL Mark Owen would controversially write a book on the firefight. He claimed that al-Kuwaiti was armed and fired on the SEALs. While one SEAL was frivolously injured, they returned fire and killed the evil courier.
However, as theauthor shows, intelligence sources later said that the SEALs were able to get the drop on the man after cutting power to the compound and eliminated him without him fighting back. What was clear was that they still hadn’t encountered the man himself.
3:37 - It was time to ascend once again, and the resistance became fiercer the further the SEALs headed into the house.
They had encountered the courier, as well as his brother and wife, and all enemies had either been killed or captured. As they ascended the staircase, they encountered another enemy - and this one provided a glimmer of hope.
After the Al Qaeda soldier was killed, the SEALs identified him as a son of Osama Bin Laden - one of the terror leader’s many progenies who followed in his footsteps. And if he was there, the odds were good his father wasn’t far away.
3:39 - There was only one floor left to be breached, the third - and the SEALs were steeling themselves for yet another disappointment. This was clearly a high-level Al Qaeda compound, but Bin Laden had been notorious for staying one step ahead of his pursuers, and he could be far away by now.
But as they breached the third floor, it became clear this time was different. In the third floor’s main room was Osama Bin Laden - seemingly unarmed and wearing the loose-fitting tunic he was usually seen wearing in his many propaganda videos.
The SEALs got their first glimpse of him as he stuck his head out of the bedroom… And they didn’t miss their opportunity.
They immediately fired, wounding him. However, he was able to retreat back into the bedroom, and the SEALs pursued.
The room was revealed to contain many of Bin Laden’s female relatives, including several of his wives. One approached the SEALs, as if she was charging - and the SEALs quickly shot her to wound, grabbing her and advancing further towards the terror leader.
Osama Bin Laden had nowhere left to run, and America’s most skilled soldiers were right outside his door.
What happened next? Reports vary.
And Matt Bissonnette, one of the SEALs on site, claims that Bin Laden had been mortally wounded by the initial shots as they approached. His wives were trying to protect him, and the SEALs were forced to act as any one of them could have an explosive device. But when they pushed past them, they found Bin Laden on the ground, mortally wounded. As he moved, they fired multiple shots and neutralized the terror leader for good. But another SEAL had a very different story.
Robert J. O’Neill would become one of the first SEALs to identify himself as one of the men on the mission, and had a much more dramatic recollection of the events. In his retelling, Osama bin Laden might have been wounded, but he was far from neutralized.
In fact, he was strong enough to grab one of the women in the room and hide behind her, using her as a human shield.
As bin Laden pushed the hapless woman towards the SEALs, O’Neill quickly fired two shots directly into bin Laden’s forehead and killed him.
Which report was precise?
The Navy after-action report supports Bissonnette’s retelling. And just like that, one of the most disreputable enemies of the United States was no more. The SEAL team radioed back “For God and country - Geronimo, Geronimo, Geronimo” - officially confirming that the enemy had been killed in action. The entire affair had taken less than fifteen minutes from landing to the elimination of Osama bin Laden, one of the most competent operations in US military history - and it had been completed without a single death or serious injury to the entire Navy SEAL team.
Watching from the situation room, President Obama uttered the words the entire White House team had been waiting to hear - “We got him.” But the mission wasn’t over just yet.
3:55 - The SEAL team members quickly sprung into action, securing bin Laden’s body and moving it downstairs. They would be exiting shortly, but there was still some extensive cleanup work to do. The compound might be a source of vital intelligence, and they thoroughly searched the room and surrounding area.
They found two weapons in the room - an assault rifle and a pistol - but the efficient team had managed to neutralize bin Laden before he could reach them. They weren’t loaded - indicating that the Al Qaeda leader was not expecting a firefight. But what to do about the other residents?
Almost everyone who had engaged the US troops with weapons had been killed, but the compound was full of civilians.
The US had no desire to take all the women and children found there into custody, so they non-violently restrained them and left them outside the compound to be found by Pakistani forces.
Most didn’t put up any resistance - besides the injured wife of Bin Laden, Amal Ahmed Abdul Fatah. She berated the SEALs in Arabic for the entire duration of the clean-up mission, and it seemed the Yemeni woman was a true believer in her late husband’s mission.
She, like most of the people found there, would eventually be deported from Pakistan back to their home countries in the Middle East. And now, it was time to make a clean getaway.
4:05 - Bin Laden’s body and every important piece of intelligence or evidence had been secured. Taking what they needed, the first helicopter was loaded and primed for takeoff. Much like the landing, this was a low take-off to avoid detection. For those back in the United States, the SEALs were heroes - but this was an unauthorized mission, and it was unlikely the Pakistani forces would be grateful if they were caught there.
But much like the first time, SEAL Team Six pulled off a perfect getaway and exited the compound. But there was one more matter to attend to.
4:08 - The damaged Black Hawk helicopter that crashed in the compound would not be leaving through the sky and Pakistani forces would be there shortly. The chopper contained vital information about US military capabilities - because it wasn’t just a standard helicopter and had been outfitted with stealth features. So before they departed, the troops used the same portable explosives like the ones they had used to breach the compound - and gave their fallen chopper an explosive send-off.
This only took minutes, and soon one of the backup helicopters brought on the mission arrived, scooped up the remaining Navy SEALs, and flew them off to join the first helicopter.
The mission was over - and now it was time for a long ride.
5:53 - The ride back was over an hour and a half - more than three times the length of the mission that killed Osama bin Laden.But now that it was over, they had to get back to safe territory - back in US-occupied Afghanistan, where the Americans had been fighting since the days after the September 11th terror attacks.
While it was unlikely the Pakistanis would fire on a US chopper if it was detected, a stealthy escape would go much smoother, so the US troops had used some disinformation efforts.
As the various explosions led to crowds before takeoff, an Urdu-speaking American military officer claimed it had been a Pakistani operation being carried at the compound and to keep their distance. It worked, and the American landed safely at Bagram Airfield - carrying the body of Osama Bin Laden.
Now it was time to deal with the aftermath.
7:01 - Back at the White House, the celebration was tempered by one question - was it really him?
Bin Laden was infamous for using body doubles, and there had been multiple times where it was thought he had been killed only for it to turn out to be a feint. So everyone waited anxiously for the results of preliminary examinations of the corpse - and over an hour after the SEALs arrived in Afghanistan, a new report came in indicating that the notorious rogue was actually dead.
This time, the United States had gotten their man.
“Laden, long fancied himself something of a poet. His compositions tended to the morbid, and a poem written two years after 9/11 in which he contemplated the circumstances of his death was no exception.
Bin Laden wrote, “Let my grave be an eagle’s belly, its resting place in the sky’s atmosphere amongst perched eagles.”
But there was no spectacular martyrdom in the mountains among the eagles. Instead bin Laden died surrounded by his wives in a squalid suburban compound awash in broken glass and scattered children’s toys and medicine bottles—testament to the ferocity of the SEALs’ assault on his final hiding place.
And on February 25, 2012, Pakistani authorities sent mechanized diggers to the compound that tore the complex down, erasing bin Laden’s six-year sojourn in Abbottabad over the course of a weekend.
If there is poetry in bin Laden’s end, it is the poetry of justice, and it calls to mind President George W. Bush’s words to Congress just nine days after 9/11, when he predicted that bin Laden and al-Qaeda would eventually be consigned to “history’s unmarked grave of discarded lies,” just as communism and Nazism had been before them. President Barack Obama has characterized al-Qaeda and its affiliates as “small men on the wrong side of history.”
Fourteen chapters make up this book:
1. 9/11 and After
2. Tora Bora
3. Al-Qaeda in the Wilderness
4. The Resurgence of Al-Qaeda
5. A Working Theory of the Case
6. Closing In on the Courier
7. Obama at War
8. Anatomy of a Lead
9. The Last Years of Osama bin Laden
10. The Secret Warriors
11. Courses of Action
12. The Decision
13. Don’t Turn On the Light
14. Aftermath
I’ll just cut to the chase. Chapters 1 to 12 speak of a host of stuff. I’ll instead focus on the end.
For almost ten years, the United States had been industriously searching for one man – Osama Bin Laden, the terrorist brain behind the September 11th attacks that killed almost three thousand Americans and triggered a conflict that was still raging today - May 2nd, 2011.
While the United States had deposed the Taliban, the government that was sheltering Bin Laden at the time of the attacks, they had never been able to detain or slay the man. That was about to alter.
The CIA had been searching for Bin Laden’s clandestine base for years with no luck. He had managed to escape from Afghanistan, which was under US occupation, and travel to the adjoining country of Pakistan. But in the hilly, rustic regions of Pakistan, with little government supervision, it was trouble-free for him to stay under the radar. The government had been looking for leads for years, but to conclude got their break in 2010, when their leads led them to a compound in Abbottabad.
They began taking surveillance footage of the compound, and determining the best way to breach it.
What followed was one of the trickiest intelligence-gathering operations in US history. The compound was profoundly guarded and in enemy territory. The US had to rely deeply on local help to gather intelligence, and over a period of months they spied on the three-story building.
They learned every detail about the building, but a lot was still missing. For one thing, the villainous terror leader was extremely enigmatic - so reticent, that they were never able to capture an image of him coming in or out of the building. Consequently, everything was still anecdotal, but after an extended period of time, they were able to conclude that this was were Osama Bin Laden.
Now it was time to take action.
It was April 29th when President Obama was briefed on the details of the operation. Many within his security team were cynical about the operation - in any case, if it went wrong, top US troops would either be killed or remain trapped behind enemy lines. Not only would this be a catastrophic loss of life, but it would potentially expose many of the US’ biggest secrets if they were interrogated and forced to reveal classified information.
And with the doubts that Bin Laden really in the compound, many didn’t feel it was worth the risk. Eventually, Obama disagreed - and he gave his nod to the operation that would become ‘Operation Neptune Spear’.
And the people carrying it out would be the best of the best.
Seal Team 6 -- an elite squadron of the highly-trained Navy Seals …….. they answer directly to the Joint Special Operations Command and carry out some of the most highly classified operations the US government is involved with. These include hostage rescue, special espionage missions, counterterrorism, targeting of enemy infrastructure, and direct action against the deadliest of US enemies - like Osama Bin Laden.
They would be briefed on the mission, which would be classified as capture-or-kill. Officially, the US has the policy of never killing an enemy who has already surrendered - but no one involved in the mission had any delusion that Osama Bin Laden would ever surrender.
And to pull this all off they had to implement some perilous strategies. The planning had been going on for the better part of a year, since the intelligence reports started coming in, and many strategies had been considered.
The easiest would have been a joint operation with Pakistani military forces - but the Pakistani government wasn’t precisely welcoming and the US was worried that Bin Laden could be tipped off beforehand. The US also considered striking at the compound with stealth bombers, which could atomize Bin Laden - but there would be no way of following up to ensure he was already dead, and the fiddly terror leader had managed to escape US operations before.
So instead, the government decided to go old-school.
Seal Team 6 would be flown in using modified Black Hawk helicopters that were designed to be quiet and would be able to fly in under enemy radar. The Pakistani military had been heavily trained and supplied by US advisors, so their capabilities were known - and the US was certain they could get around them. The goal was to get to the compound without being detected or challenged by the Pakistani forces - and once the target was down, they would be able to beat a hasty retreat.
May 1st, 1:22 PM…. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta received the word from the President, and directed Admiral William McRaven to move ahead with the operation. Within the next two hours, President Obama and his national security team would move to the Situation Room to watch the whole thing unfold over night-vision images transmitted to them from a drone.
The roughly 24 Navy SEALS sent on the mission would temporarily be transferred to the control of the CIA, so it would technically not be a military mission and would not be classified as an act of war. These were going to be some of the most critical minutes in the US’ modern history – and for the men on the ground, every single minute would count. While the roughly two dozen SEALs were the ones who would breach the compound, there were 79 commandos and a dog involved in the raid.
The dog, a Belgian Malinois named Cairo, was there to alert the SEALs to any sudden activity - including the Pakistani military approaching the compound, or anyone trying to flee. The core team was backed up by a dog handler, interpreters, pilots, intelligence agents, and tech experts who would make it all possible.
But the success or failure of the mission would hinge on the men entering the compound.
And one wrong move could spell disaster.
3:30 AM - give or take. Two helicopters descend on the Abbottabad compound. While the other helicopters stand by in case they’re needed, these two will carry out the primary mission. Flying low to the ground, the stealthy Black Hawk helicopters hover over the compound grounds.
While the first deploys ropes to lower its team to the ground, the other heads to the far northeast corner to covertly drop off its interpreter, dog, handler, and four SEALs. If everything went effortlessly, they would soon be at the compound.
But everything didn’t go well. While the helicopters weren’t detected and they didn’t come under aggressive fire, mother
nature had something to say. The first helicopter flew into what’s known as a ‘vortex ring state’ - an air phenomenon caused by higher-than-expected temperatures creating an air vortex. The rotor’s air pressure didn’t diffuse appropriately, the helicopter was knocked off balance, and it grazed the back of the compound wall.
The tail rotor was gravely damaged, and the helicopter started rolling over. The quick-thinking pilot drove the helicopter into the ground nose-first, preventing a total collapse, and the SEALs and crew were able to escape unscathed after a rough landing.
Now the only question was - had this blown their secret mission?
The answer seemed to be no, as there was no sign of aggression from the compound. The SEALs had successfully weathered a crash landing without being detected, the helicopter was secure against the compound walls, and the other helicopter had landed safely outside the compound.
The rest of the team was scaling the walls, and the whole team was reunited. The next step was breaching the compound - and that’s where the SEALs’ explosives team came in. They needed to get in quickly and hit the people inside with shock and awe.
Outside, preparation was key - but once they were inside, every second would count.
Ten years of searching had come down to this.
3:33 AM - To get through the security, the SEALs used portable explosives to blow open the doors of the compound’s guest house, one by one. They breached the compound and began storming up the stairs. The first room they encountered on the first floor contained two adult males - but none of them was Osama bin Laden.
They were detained, but they weren’t the target.
More disturbing - every floor seemed to contain small groups of children. This wasn’t just a terrorist compound - it was a home where the terrorists kept their families, regardless of all the danger they were putting them in. And with every floor the SEALs ascended, the danger would rise.
3:35 - What happened next?
Reports of that may vary. As they reached the second floor, they encountered more resistance. This is where Bin Laden’s courier, Abu Ahmed al-Kuwaiti, was found - and SEAL Mark Owen would controversially write a book on the firefight. He claimed that al-Kuwaiti was armed and fired on the SEALs. While one SEAL was frivolously injured, they returned fire and killed the evil courier.
However, as theauthor shows, intelligence sources later said that the SEALs were able to get the drop on the man after cutting power to the compound and eliminated him without him fighting back. What was clear was that they still hadn’t encountered the man himself.
3:37 - It was time to ascend once again, and the resistance became fiercer the further the SEALs headed into the house.
They had encountered the courier, as well as his brother and wife, and all enemies had either been killed or captured. As they ascended the staircase, they encountered another enemy - and this one provided a glimmer of hope.
After the Al Qaeda soldier was killed, the SEALs identified him as a son of Osama Bin Laden - one of the terror leader’s many progenies who followed in his footsteps. And if he was there, the odds were good his father wasn’t far away.
3:39 - There was only one floor left to be breached, the third - and the SEALs were steeling themselves for yet another disappointment. This was clearly a high-level Al Qaeda compound, but Bin Laden had been notorious for staying one step ahead of his pursuers, and he could be far away by now.
But as they breached the third floor, it became clear this time was different. In the third floor’s main room was Osama Bin Laden - seemingly unarmed and wearing the loose-fitting tunic he was usually seen wearing in his many propaganda videos.
The SEALs got their first glimpse of him as he stuck his head out of the bedroom… And they didn’t miss their opportunity.
They immediately fired, wounding him. However, he was able to retreat back into the bedroom, and the SEALs pursued.
The room was revealed to contain many of Bin Laden’s female relatives, including several of his wives. One approached the SEALs, as if she was charging - and the SEALs quickly shot her to wound, grabbing her and advancing further towards the terror leader.
Osama Bin Laden had nowhere left to run, and America’s most skilled soldiers were right outside his door.
What happened next? Reports vary.
And Matt Bissonnette, one of the SEALs on site, claims that Bin Laden had been mortally wounded by the initial shots as they approached. His wives were trying to protect him, and the SEALs were forced to act as any one of them could have an explosive device. But when they pushed past them, they found Bin Laden on the ground, mortally wounded. As he moved, they fired multiple shots and neutralized the terror leader for good. But another SEAL had a very different story.
Robert J. O’Neill would become one of the first SEALs to identify himself as one of the men on the mission, and had a much more dramatic recollection of the events. In his retelling, Osama bin Laden might have been wounded, but he was far from neutralized.
In fact, he was strong enough to grab one of the women in the room and hide behind her, using her as a human shield.
As bin Laden pushed the hapless woman towards the SEALs, O’Neill quickly fired two shots directly into bin Laden’s forehead and killed him.
Which report was precise?
The Navy after-action report supports Bissonnette’s retelling. And just like that, one of the most disreputable enemies of the United States was no more. The SEAL team radioed back “For God and country - Geronimo, Geronimo, Geronimo” - officially confirming that the enemy had been killed in action. The entire affair had taken less than fifteen minutes from landing to the elimination of Osama bin Laden, one of the most competent operations in US military history - and it had been completed without a single death or serious injury to the entire Navy SEAL team.
Watching from the situation room, President Obama uttered the words the entire White House team had been waiting to hear - “We got him.” But the mission wasn’t over just yet.
3:55 - The SEAL team members quickly sprung into action, securing bin Laden’s body and moving it downstairs. They would be exiting shortly, but there was still some extensive cleanup work to do. The compound might be a source of vital intelligence, and they thoroughly searched the room and surrounding area.
They found two weapons in the room - an assault rifle and a pistol - but the efficient team had managed to neutralize bin Laden before he could reach them. They weren’t loaded - indicating that the Al Qaeda leader was not expecting a firefight. But what to do about the other residents?
Almost everyone who had engaged the US troops with weapons had been killed, but the compound was full of civilians.
The US had no desire to take all the women and children found there into custody, so they non-violently restrained them and left them outside the compound to be found by Pakistani forces.
Most didn’t put up any resistance - besides the injured wife of Bin Laden, Amal Ahmed Abdul Fatah. She berated the SEALs in Arabic for the entire duration of the clean-up mission, and it seemed the Yemeni woman was a true believer in her late husband’s mission.
She, like most of the people found there, would eventually be deported from Pakistan back to their home countries in the Middle East. And now, it was time to make a clean getaway.
4:05 - Bin Laden’s body and every important piece of intelligence or evidence had been secured. Taking what they needed, the first helicopter was loaded and primed for takeoff. Much like the landing, this was a low take-off to avoid detection. For those back in the United States, the SEALs were heroes - but this was an unauthorized mission, and it was unlikely the Pakistani forces would be grateful if they were caught there.
But much like the first time, SEAL Team Six pulled off a perfect getaway and exited the compound. But there was one more matter to attend to.
4:08 - The damaged Black Hawk helicopter that crashed in the compound would not be leaving through the sky and Pakistani forces would be there shortly. The chopper contained vital information about US military capabilities - because it wasn’t just a standard helicopter and had been outfitted with stealth features. So before they departed, the troops used the same portable explosives like the ones they had used to breach the compound - and gave their fallen chopper an explosive send-off.
This only took minutes, and soon one of the backup helicopters brought on the mission arrived, scooped up the remaining Navy SEALs, and flew them off to join the first helicopter.
The mission was over - and now it was time for a long ride.
5:53 - The ride back was over an hour and a half - more than three times the length of the mission that killed Osama bin Laden.But now that it was over, they had to get back to safe territory - back in US-occupied Afghanistan, where the Americans had been fighting since the days after the September 11th terror attacks.
While it was unlikely the Pakistanis would fire on a US chopper if it was detected, a stealthy escape would go much smoother, so the US troops had used some disinformation efforts.
As the various explosions led to crowds before takeoff, an Urdu-speaking American military officer claimed it had been a Pakistani operation being carried at the compound and to keep their distance. It worked, and the American landed safely at Bagram Airfield - carrying the body of Osama Bin Laden.
Now it was time to deal with the aftermath.
7:01 - Back at the White House, the celebration was tempered by one question - was it really him?
Bin Laden was infamous for using body doubles, and there had been multiple times where it was thought he had been killed only for it to turn out to be a feint. So everyone waited anxiously for the results of preliminary examinations of the corpse - and over an hour after the SEALs arrived in Afghanistan, a new report came in indicating that the notorious rogue was actually dead.
This time, the United States had gotten their man.
January 1, 2024
War on Al-Qaeda sounds a lot more like war on Hamas
November 18, 2012
This book will keep you riveted, cover to cover. It's a powerful story. It's told with a minimum number of acronyms and bureaucratic jargon. Peter Bergen's knowledge of his topic shines through.
The heart of the book is the was long and detailed planning for the final operation. As important as the mission was planning for Pakistan's response to its success or failure. There was advance negotiating for alternative air rights in the event of retaliation by closing US access to Afghanistan. The US paid $2 million in "blood money" for the release of Raymond Davis, a CIA agent held for the murder in broad daylight of two Pakistanis who could be killed in prison. The principals had to maintain poker faces in public during the hours before the operation - notably President Obama joking at the Press Club Dinner and Michael Leiter (Head of the National Center for Counterterrorism) following through in his wedding plans. President Obama released his birth certificate as the SEALs left the US, was this part of a plan to distract the press?
I learned that entering the house and capturing or killing its resident was the easy part (apparently SEALs do this a lot in Afghanistan and other places). But the conditions of this entry, exit and aftermath carried enormous risk. The SEALs would have to slip inside a sovereign airspace undetected, land their helicopters in a neighborhood, and enter a household that, hopefully, was Bin Laden's. Robert Gates and others put the chance of it being the terrorist's home was 40%.
I believe this book was rushed to press. Not many people could have produced a volume so informative and so engagingly written so fast, but there are gaps. The Bush years are raced through. What did those 2 dozen or so people at the CIA actually do for 7 years? What of the cell phones known to be in the compound belonging to users who "weren't taking any such precautions" (p. 130 )? Why couldn't these phones be tracked for a confirmation? Was there a "safe house" in Abbottabad, as other accounts suggest? Doctor Shakil Africhi really stuck his neck out with the vaccination project. I'm told he is being held in a Pakistani jail... is he? While no longer wealthy, Bin Laden is still supporting a large family and a far flung network. Where is this money coming from? The only mention of money is that donations are drying up.
I liked the style of Notes. While there are no numbers in the text, when you come to an item you are interested in, you can flip to the Notes section which is arranged by page number and has the referenced text in bold letters. This is easier to use than conventional footnotes. The Index has few further breakdowns for its entries so for most page referrals you have to guess; but the book is short, so it is still functional. Many of the photos have been seen before.
If you are an American, this book will make you really proud of the team. Once you understand and consider the logistics and risk, you marvel at the planning, determination, training, technology and, of course, the amazing abilities of the Navy SEALs.
The heart of the book is the was long and detailed planning for the final operation. As important as the mission was planning for Pakistan's response to its success or failure. There was advance negotiating for alternative air rights in the event of retaliation by closing US access to Afghanistan. The US paid $2 million in "blood money" for the release of Raymond Davis, a CIA agent held for the murder in broad daylight of two Pakistanis who could be killed in prison. The principals had to maintain poker faces in public during the hours before the operation - notably President Obama joking at the Press Club Dinner and Michael Leiter (Head of the National Center for Counterterrorism) following through in his wedding plans. President Obama released his birth certificate as the SEALs left the US, was this part of a plan to distract the press?
I learned that entering the house and capturing or killing its resident was the easy part (apparently SEALs do this a lot in Afghanistan and other places). But the conditions of this entry, exit and aftermath carried enormous risk. The SEALs would have to slip inside a sovereign airspace undetected, land their helicopters in a neighborhood, and enter a household that, hopefully, was Bin Laden's. Robert Gates and others put the chance of it being the terrorist's home was 40%.
I believe this book was rushed to press. Not many people could have produced a volume so informative and so engagingly written so fast, but there are gaps. The Bush years are raced through. What did those 2 dozen or so people at the CIA actually do for 7 years? What of the cell phones known to be in the compound belonging to users who "weren't taking any such precautions" (p. 130 )? Why couldn't these phones be tracked for a confirmation? Was there a "safe house" in Abbottabad, as other accounts suggest? Doctor Shakil Africhi really stuck his neck out with the vaccination project. I'm told he is being held in a Pakistani jail... is he? While no longer wealthy, Bin Laden is still supporting a large family and a far flung network. Where is this money coming from? The only mention of money is that donations are drying up.
I liked the style of Notes. While there are no numbers in the text, when you come to an item you are interested in, you can flip to the Notes section which is arranged by page number and has the referenced text in bold letters. This is easier to use than conventional footnotes. The Index has few further breakdowns for its entries so for most page referrals you have to guess; but the book is short, so it is still functional. Many of the photos have been seen before.
If you are an American, this book will make you really proud of the team. Once you understand and consider the logistics and risk, you marvel at the planning, determination, training, technology and, of course, the amazing abilities of the Navy SEALs.
July 20, 2012
Say what you like about the book, you have to love the ending. Bergen lays out the details of the ten year effort to improve the world by taking out international scumbag and world's worst suburban neighbor Osama Bin Laden. Bergen's writing style leans more journalist than story-telling but give him credit in two major areas.
First, he pulls off the neat trick most successfully done in Ron Howard's retelling of the "Apollo 13" mission of wringing tension and drama out of a story despite the fact that the outcome is known. At one point SEAL Team Six's $60million stealth Blackhawk loses a rotor blade against a high concrete wall inside the Bin Laden compound disabling it, waking the neighbors and stranding the SEAL's. These pages read as dramatically as any Tom Clancy cold war spy v. spy nail-biter.
Second, Bergen keeps things moving along during the nine or so years between Bin Laden's narrow escape at Afghanistan's Tora Bora and when the CIA finally picked up his trail in the Islamabad suburbs. Bergen manages to fill the prolonged lack of progress with satisfying technical insight on the efforts of the CIA and NSA to track the terrorist.
The book also succeeds as an object lesson for managers in making high-risk decisions with limited information. President Obama faced a roughly 50/50 shot that Bin Laden was hiding where the CIA thought he was. Based circumstantial intel (the main argument for the idea that it indeed was Bin Laden holed up in the complex was the lack of evidence that he was somewhere else) Obama faced the decision to invade a sovereign country and killing some random stranger versus letting the most wanted man since Adolf Hitler escape. Either mistake would have cost him the U.S. presidency.
In short, while the book's main audience draws from the Robert Ludlum anyone who appreciates justice and the truly evil getting what they deserve should find this a satisfying read.
June 6, 2012
A well-researched and engagingly written history of the long search for Osama Bin Laden. I’m tempted to give it five stars, but I have two complaints. First, at several points the author reveals an anti-Bush and pro-Obama bias. At some points I found myself agreeing with him, and I am more willing after reading the book to give the Obama administration more credit for getting OBL than I had before. President Obama has taken a much more aggressive approach to exterminating terrorists than I realized. Also, the author was critical of the Clinton administration for letting the terrorist threat grow. So the book wasn’t just partisan politics as usual. Nevertheless, some bias did bleed through. Second, the book would have been better if the author could have interviewed the Navy SEALS involved in the operation. However, that probably was not his fault. The military may have deliberately prevented the names of the SEALS from being released. The author did seem to have access to numerous high-level government officials involved in the OBL operation. It was astonishing to discover how many people were actually involved in the operation. The Epilogue gave some interesting perspective on the state of terrorism in the world. The author suggests the war on terrorism has been enormously successful, and the threat of violent Islam is not nearly as bad as people think. You’re more likely to drown in your bathtub than to be killed by terrorists.
September 10, 2012
this is really a magazine article streched into a full length book. what most disappointed me about it (besides the rush job to try and capitalize on the event) is that bergen offers not real contemplation on the idea of our soveriegn nation, shooting to kill, in a mission that sounded as if it was assasination all the way. he also breezes right on by the wife and brother of the courier who were shot and killed, not really explining why they shot them. i guess it felt like an outline of the events rather than a full book treatment. it will be interesting to see how the new book written by one of the actual seals on the team will confirm/conflict with bergen's book. alas, hopefully in 5 or 10 somwone can interview all involved and write a FULL account of what happened something along the lines of the 9/11 commision report or the leaning tower. until then, 2 stars for you mr. bergen
November 28, 2021
Another piece of US propaganda.
August 29, 2019
A familiar subject,about which I have read a good deal.Still,It kept me interested,particularly the details of the Abbottabad operation.
January 12, 2019
Manhunt is about killing and what bin osama bin laden did and what he had going on in his life . Laden abbottabad compound before pakistani made government demolished. It’s also about how he struggled at maintaining control of al -Qaeda ,he had to work very hards because there was many other people that wanted control over al-Queda.
Bin laden had to two wives named Khadijah sharif and Khairiah sabar. He had to fight after crushing Talibn to Tora bora ,when Americans was forced to come . It’s also about the U.S. military officials in Washington tried to negotiate their safe passages.
My favorite character is the main character Bin laden because he has so much going on and
you never know what might come next, and he did so much in his life that you would be surprised that went on . Yes i feel that the characters are very real ,because i feel everyone in wars are real people.Yes the story kept me guessing on what was going to happen next cause your never knew what was coming next or who there to start wars with next .
My favorite part of the book was when they show you the pictures of what they really looked like ,and you understand the book a little better. When the army and the most powerful man in the nation ,helped “strategic partnership” , with the U.S. . The sad scenes is when “al-Qaeda sped up dramatically as bin laden’s body sank down into the deep”.
The book made me cry because there was a lot of killing going on to get what they wanted ,and killing people makes me very sad. It kinda had me griping the book to see what was going to be next .
No because i feel that he died in a better way then what he wanted them to do ,because he wanted them to let his grave eagle’s belly .but instead he died with family around him . Yes its difficult to care about the main character cause you get into the book and you start to think that could happen to someone in my family . I think it’s hard to work when something like that happens i wouldn’t be able to work,Stuff like that hurts .
No the story was not to scary for me ,but it makes me look at things in a different way then how i look at them now. And i found that very interesting.
I give the star rating because at the beginning of the story i really didn’t like it but as, i started reading it more it got better and better .
No it took me till i got to the middle of the middle of the book when i started to enjoy the book very good book to read.
Bin laden had to two wives named Khadijah sharif and Khairiah sabar. He had to fight after crushing Talibn to Tora bora ,when Americans was forced to come . It’s also about the U.S. military officials in Washington tried to negotiate their safe passages.
My favorite character is the main character Bin laden because he has so much going on and
you never know what might come next, and he did so much in his life that you would be surprised that went on . Yes i feel that the characters are very real ,because i feel everyone in wars are real people.Yes the story kept me guessing on what was going to happen next cause your never knew what was coming next or who there to start wars with next .
My favorite part of the book was when they show you the pictures of what they really looked like ,and you understand the book a little better. When the army and the most powerful man in the nation ,helped “strategic partnership” , with the U.S. . The sad scenes is when “al-Qaeda sped up dramatically as bin laden’s body sank down into the deep”.
The book made me cry because there was a lot of killing going on to get what they wanted ,and killing people makes me very sad. It kinda had me griping the book to see what was going to be next .
No because i feel that he died in a better way then what he wanted them to do ,because he wanted them to let his grave eagle’s belly .but instead he died with family around him . Yes its difficult to care about the main character cause you get into the book and you start to think that could happen to someone in my family . I think it’s hard to work when something like that happens i wouldn’t be able to work,Stuff like that hurts .
No the story was not to scary for me ,but it makes me look at things in a different way then how i look at them now. And i found that very interesting.
I give the star rating because at the beginning of the story i really didn’t like it but as, i started reading it more it got better and better .
No it took me till i got to the middle of the middle of the book when i started to enjoy the book very good book to read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 17, 2018
Manhunt by Peter L. Bergen has a lot of information on the search to find Bin Laden after the 9/11 tragedy. This book contains information such as where Bin Laden was staying and how his life had changed after going into hiding. His high lutenists are being found and captured by the Americans, while he is in a 12 foot high building still plotting how to take down the United States . Manhunt also contains important details about the decisions President Obama had to make that lead to the capture of Bin Laden. Bin Laden is finally found and was killed on sight May 2, 2011.
What I liked about Manhunt by Peter L. Bergen, was the many secret details that were shared throughout the book. Such as Bin Laden having three wives. I also didn’t know that he had any children and I was very impressed about the personal information found in Manhunt. I also liked learning of where he stayed for those years and seeing him for the horrible person he was. Not only did he lead 9/11, but he went in hiding and let his close partners in the crime of 9/11 be caught while he was living in the company of his wives and children. I also liked learning about the details that led up to his capture.
Even though I did indeed like learning about the many details of Bin Laden during hiding and then capture, I also found this book to be a little boring. Not only did i find it boring but I found it really hard to finish reading. Manhunt was mainly fact after fact. I also got confused at on point in the book. If it was a little more story line instead of like a research journal I think I would enjoy this book more.
I gave this book a four. I gave it this rating because even though I did find it boring, I think that was because of my interests in book reading instead of the book itself. Overall I think this book was not the best but definitely wasn't terrible. I think that if you’re the sort of person who likes to read for fact after fact then this book is for you. For me on the other hand I don’t think I would ever reread Manhunt.
What I liked about Manhunt by Peter L. Bergen, was the many secret details that were shared throughout the book. Such as Bin Laden having three wives. I also didn’t know that he had any children and I was very impressed about the personal information found in Manhunt. I also liked learning of where he stayed for those years and seeing him for the horrible person he was. Not only did he lead 9/11, but he went in hiding and let his close partners in the crime of 9/11 be caught while he was living in the company of his wives and children. I also liked learning about the details that led up to his capture.
Even though I did indeed like learning about the many details of Bin Laden during hiding and then capture, I also found this book to be a little boring. Not only did i find it boring but I found it really hard to finish reading. Manhunt was mainly fact after fact. I also got confused at on point in the book. If it was a little more story line instead of like a research journal I think I would enjoy this book more.
I gave this book a four. I gave it this rating because even though I did find it boring, I think that was because of my interests in book reading instead of the book itself. Overall I think this book was not the best but definitely wasn't terrible. I think that if you’re the sort of person who likes to read for fact after fact then this book is for you. For me on the other hand I don’t think I would ever reread Manhunt.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 15, 2018
On September 11, 2001, America was attacked by the Islamic extremist group, Al-Qaeda. 9/11 was a series of plane hijackings led by Osama bin Laden. Manhunt, by Peter L. Bergen, tells the story of the planning, execution, and aftermath of the attacks. However, Bergen primarily focuses on the aftermath- the search for Osama bin Laden. Bergen gives a thorough account of the sequence of events that led to the finding and death of Osama bin Laden.
The story of 9/11 can be complex. However, Bergen tells it in a way that is easily understood for readers. The knowledge that Bergen equips readers with is my favorite part of the book. Bergen does this by the immense description he brings to every part of the story. Not only is Bergen an extremely educated source, he takes the time to ensure the reader is educated as well.
One thing I did not enjoy in Manhunt was the pace of the book. However, this is a personal preference when it comes to time spent discussing each event taking place in the story. Bergen spent the first chapter only giving an account of what took place on the day of 9/11. The next 13 chapters were mainly spent on the search for Osama bin Laden. This left me with questions regarding the actual execution of each of the attacks.
I gave Manhunt, by Peter L. Bergen, 4 stars. Through his work, it is evident that Bergen is passionate about the subject by the detail he gives. I also share the same passion for knowledge of 9/11, and I enjoyed the book greatly. I would recommend this book to all. I would especially recommend this book to those who hold the same passion for 9/11, history, and education.
The story of 9/11 can be complex. However, Bergen tells it in a way that is easily understood for readers. The knowledge that Bergen equips readers with is my favorite part of the book. Bergen does this by the immense description he brings to every part of the story. Not only is Bergen an extremely educated source, he takes the time to ensure the reader is educated as well.
One thing I did not enjoy in Manhunt was the pace of the book. However, this is a personal preference when it comes to time spent discussing each event taking place in the story. Bergen spent the first chapter only giving an account of what took place on the day of 9/11. The next 13 chapters were mainly spent on the search for Osama bin Laden. This left me with questions regarding the actual execution of each of the attacks.
I gave Manhunt, by Peter L. Bergen, 4 stars. Through his work, it is evident that Bergen is passionate about the subject by the detail he gives. I also share the same passion for knowledge of 9/11, and I enjoyed the book greatly. I would recommend this book to all. I would especially recommend this book to those who hold the same passion for 9/11, history, and education.
March 1, 2019
In a lot of ways, this was a frustrating book to read, through no fault of the authors. The hunt for Osama Bin Laden, you would think would be a priority for the US Government, all parts of it, after the horrific attacks of 9/11. Sadly, that wasn't the case.
This book details not the attacks (I don't think we need another of those, really), but the twisty trail that led to the eventual death of the terrorist leader. Sadly, along the way are all sorts of partisan politics and people afraid to take responsibility for their jobs. There are details of several near-misses much earlier than the eventual resolution of the hunt, and even a few papers from analysts well before the attacks warning of Bin Laden and Al-Queda's focus on attacking the US on its own soil.
While it may not be popular in some political circles, the book also makes fairly clear that Bin Laden had help from the Pakistani government. Someone, somewhere, knew what was going on not only in that compound, but when it was built, custom, for the man and his family.
This is very detailed and well researched, but that itself makes a few bits of it dry reading. It's a lot more like reading an extended news article than any kind of adventure story. If you're ok with that going in, it's well worth the read.
This book details not the attacks (I don't think we need another of those, really), but the twisty trail that led to the eventual death of the terrorist leader. Sadly, along the way are all sorts of partisan politics and people afraid to take responsibility for their jobs. There are details of several near-misses much earlier than the eventual resolution of the hunt, and even a few papers from analysts well before the attacks warning of Bin Laden and Al-Queda's focus on attacking the US on its own soil.
While it may not be popular in some political circles, the book also makes fairly clear that Bin Laden had help from the Pakistani government. Someone, somewhere, knew what was going on not only in that compound, but when it was built, custom, for the man and his family.
This is very detailed and well researched, but that itself makes a few bits of it dry reading. It's a lot more like reading an extended news article than any kind of adventure story. If you're ok with that going in, it's well worth the read.
April 4, 2023
This is the second book I happen to read regarding end-days of UBL. This book is written from the perspective of the law enforcement agencies. It depicts very well the struggles, frustrations regarding the missed opportunities of eliminating Bin Laden. The most telling part is the number of clear-cut opportunities of eliminating Bin Laden were wasted away due to lack of political will. The most detailed version of this particular point is better illustrated in the book The Looming Tower. One such chance was let go when Bin Laden was on a hunting trip in Afghanistan.
The book nicely portrays the amount of hardwork, planning, skill and persistence that goes into intelligence work. Best part about the book is the detailed and intimate details of what went on during decision-making regarding Operation Neptune Spear. The author clearly lays down practical, political, strategic and policy level nuances of the decision making.
A book one must not miss!
The book nicely portrays the amount of hardwork, planning, skill and persistence that goes into intelligence work. Best part about the book is the detailed and intimate details of what went on during decision-making regarding Operation Neptune Spear. The author clearly lays down practical, political, strategic and policy level nuances of the decision making.
A book one must not miss!
May 6, 2020
This chronicling by Peter L. Bergen is a detailed and engaging telling of the chase for Osama Bin Laden. Bergen is a stellar writer of the first order and this book is a fine example of his work.
This book is accurate, objective and highly detailed. It is a dramatic and factual account of the hunt for Bin Laden. It also engagingly details the interplay between the military and the White House policy makers; ultimately leading to the location of and killing of Osama Bin Laden in Abbottabad.
I can highly recommend this book to all those who have an interest in the story behind the destruction of the person who controlled a decades long terror campaign against the "enemies of Islam" according to Bin Laden.
Robert Frank Ries
This book is accurate, objective and highly detailed. It is a dramatic and factual account of the hunt for Bin Laden. It also engagingly details the interplay between the military and the White House policy makers; ultimately leading to the location of and killing of Osama Bin Laden in Abbottabad.
I can highly recommend this book to all those who have an interest in the story behind the destruction of the person who controlled a decades long terror campaign against the "enemies of Islam" according to Bin Laden.
Robert Frank Ries
July 16, 2021
All that went in to finding Bin Laden and all of the planning that went in place for the raid on his compound. Even though George W. Bush did all he could to try and hunt him down in Afghanistan, it took President Barack Obama's daily insistence on updates on the search for him that kept everything going until he was finally found. I have a lot of respect for President Obama with taking the chance that Bin Laden was in the compound when the chances were from 40 - 90%. Great book and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
August 12, 2025
This is a good follow up to my reading of the Looming Tower. It details the aftermath and how and why did it take 10 years for OBL to be finally "secured".
There is enough suspense despite us knowing how it ended. The author has tried his best to give us a complete picture of the man hunt.
However, I do wish more was known about the life of OBL in the post 9/11 world. His escape and the possibly chill life he had in Abbottabad should have been explored more.
There is enough suspense despite us knowing how it ended. The author has tried his best to give us a complete picture of the man hunt.
However, I do wish more was known about the life of OBL in the post 9/11 world. His escape and the possibly chill life he had in Abbottabad should have been explored more.
February 4, 2020
Thorough Book on Osama Bin Laden’s Death
This is a very thorough book on Osama bin Laden’s death. He begins with Osama just before 9/11/2001 and delves into the story on why Osama planned it and what happened. The book also looks at Bin Laden’s beliefs of the world and how the Americans and other countries sought to find him. Very good reporting.
This is a very thorough book on Osama bin Laden’s death. He begins with Osama just before 9/11/2001 and delves into the story on why Osama planned it and what happened. The book also looks at Bin Laden’s beliefs of the world and how the Americans and other countries sought to find him. Very good reporting.
June 21, 2012
By Peter L. Bergen. Grade: B+
Non-fiction and History are a strange combination that requires intense solitary writing and profound research. 'Manhunt: The Ten-Year Search for Bin Laden--from 9/11 to Abbottabad’ is an example of a book that will take you step-by-step, event-after-event, right from September 11,2001 to May 2,2011 - the day the world's most wanted man was successfully killed. The book is based on the exhaustive research by Peter L. Bergen and the exceptional access to White House official documents make it the best source material available on the subject. Something that should not be missed.
It was only a week before 9/11 that Peter Bergen turned in the manuscript of Holy War, Inc., the story of Osama bin Laden--whom Bergen had once interviewed in a mud hut in Afghanistan--and his declaration of war on America.
Here are riveting new details of bin Laden’s flight after the crushing defeat of the Taliban to Tora Bora, where American forces came startlingly close to capturing him, and of the fugitive leader’s attempts to find a secure hiding place. As the only journalist to gain access to bin Laden’s Abbottabad compound before the Pakistani government demolished it, Bergen paints a vivid picture of bin Laden’s grim, Spartan life in hiding and his struggle to maintain control of al-Qaeda even as American drones systematically picked off his key lieutenants.
Half a world away, CIA analysts haunted by the intelligence failures that led to 9/11 and the WMD fiasco pored over the tiniest of clues before homing in on the man they called "the Kuwaiti"--who led them to a peculiar building with twelve-foot-high walls and security cameras less than a mile from a Pakistani military academy. This was the courier who would unwittingly steer them to bin Laden, now a prisoner of his own making but still plotting to devastate the United States.
It was May 3rd,2011 when I heard the news that Bin Laden was dead. My first reaction was skepticism. But then US President Barack Obama confirmed the news and removed my doubts. I found it a bit strange that he was found in Pakistan, but since politics is not really my thing, I left that thought there.
I remember Peter Bergen as the writer of Holy War Inc. which talked about how religion can flip the face of terrorism. Only a week after its publishing, 9/11 happened. ‘Manhunt...’ is a detailed account of how America searched and killed the world’s most brutal terrorist. Throughout the book, there is a sense of knowing a secret and with the passing pages you can feel the weight of the revelation. With these fourteen chapters, you live the mission all over again.
The prologue of the book is about Bin Laden’s life before 9/11. I am still amazed by Bergen’s research because he not only wrote about Laden, but about his family, and the even families of his family! So much detailing on every fact with hundred percent precision.
The initial chapters encapsulated details of 9/11, Al-Qaeda’s working principals, rise of Osama, his personal life, failure of America’s Intelligence service; which almost everyone knows of (especially if you have an interest in history). As we progress, we learn more about America’s counterattack on Bin Laden who was hiding in Afghanistan’s mount Tora Bora range at that time. Bergen has neutrally written how America almost got the man but at the last moment, due to a blunder, lost him and he slipped away.
The actual hunt for the man begins from chapter five, and the author's narration made the rest of the book a real page turner. In later chapters Bergen has crisply described how the CIA devised the strategy to find Osama, how they failed many times, clashes of high ranked officers and their views, and finally about the ‘action’ in Abbottobad.
In ‘Manhunt...’ you can see Bergen’s research on Bin Laden in every chapter and knowing the fact that not everyone can understand the terms, places and names easily, a detailed map of Afghanistan and Pakistan, with US Navy SEALs operational plan, is given at the starting of the book. By reading it, you can easily figure out the US Foreign Policy. It has Osama’s mindset, his views (that actually sound correct at some point if you are a neutral reader).
My only gripe is that Bergen totally missed out how Al-Qaeda’s finances started to go down, and where their money went. This is really important because when you are talking about millions of dollars that they had once, and then showing them poor as ever, we must need to know how it happened. Nonetheless rest of the research is really extensive and complete from start to end.
I am also very impressed by the fact that Bergen presented both sides of the conversation and even on the most controversial issues he remains unbiased. It also raised a question of Pakistan’s role in fight against terrorism because according to CIA, Pakistan was not brought into concern because they believe they were a threat that could jeopardize the mission. I enjoyed it because I’ve followed 9/11 thoroughly but even if you are clueless about 9/11, it will quickly become a must-read. However, this one is for patient readers and requires a lot of analytical skills and your grey cells to be working the entire time.
Originally reviewed at : www.the-vault.co.cc
Non-fiction and History are a strange combination that requires intense solitary writing and profound research. 'Manhunt: The Ten-Year Search for Bin Laden--from 9/11 to Abbottabad’ is an example of a book that will take you step-by-step, event-after-event, right from September 11,2001 to May 2,2011 - the day the world's most wanted man was successfully killed. The book is based on the exhaustive research by Peter L. Bergen and the exceptional access to White House official documents make it the best source material available on the subject. Something that should not be missed.
It was only a week before 9/11 that Peter Bergen turned in the manuscript of Holy War, Inc., the story of Osama bin Laden--whom Bergen had once interviewed in a mud hut in Afghanistan--and his declaration of war on America.
Here are riveting new details of bin Laden’s flight after the crushing defeat of the Taliban to Tora Bora, where American forces came startlingly close to capturing him, and of the fugitive leader’s attempts to find a secure hiding place. As the only journalist to gain access to bin Laden’s Abbottabad compound before the Pakistani government demolished it, Bergen paints a vivid picture of bin Laden’s grim, Spartan life in hiding and his struggle to maintain control of al-Qaeda even as American drones systematically picked off his key lieutenants.
Half a world away, CIA analysts haunted by the intelligence failures that led to 9/11 and the WMD fiasco pored over the tiniest of clues before homing in on the man they called "the Kuwaiti"--who led them to a peculiar building with twelve-foot-high walls and security cameras less than a mile from a Pakistani military academy. This was the courier who would unwittingly steer them to bin Laden, now a prisoner of his own making but still plotting to devastate the United States.
It was May 3rd,2011 when I heard the news that Bin Laden was dead. My first reaction was skepticism. But then US President Barack Obama confirmed the news and removed my doubts. I found it a bit strange that he was found in Pakistan, but since politics is not really my thing, I left that thought there.
I remember Peter Bergen as the writer of Holy War Inc. which talked about how religion can flip the face of terrorism. Only a week after its publishing, 9/11 happened. ‘Manhunt...’ is a detailed account of how America searched and killed the world’s most brutal terrorist. Throughout the book, there is a sense of knowing a secret and with the passing pages you can feel the weight of the revelation. With these fourteen chapters, you live the mission all over again.
The prologue of the book is about Bin Laden’s life before 9/11. I am still amazed by Bergen’s research because he not only wrote about Laden, but about his family, and the even families of his family! So much detailing on every fact with hundred percent precision.
The initial chapters encapsulated details of 9/11, Al-Qaeda’s working principals, rise of Osama, his personal life, failure of America’s Intelligence service; which almost everyone knows of (especially if you have an interest in history). As we progress, we learn more about America’s counterattack on Bin Laden who was hiding in Afghanistan’s mount Tora Bora range at that time. Bergen has neutrally written how America almost got the man but at the last moment, due to a blunder, lost him and he slipped away.
The actual hunt for the man begins from chapter five, and the author's narration made the rest of the book a real page turner. In later chapters Bergen has crisply described how the CIA devised the strategy to find Osama, how they failed many times, clashes of high ranked officers and their views, and finally about the ‘action’ in Abbottobad.
In ‘Manhunt...’ you can see Bergen’s research on Bin Laden in every chapter and knowing the fact that not everyone can understand the terms, places and names easily, a detailed map of Afghanistan and Pakistan, with US Navy SEALs operational plan, is given at the starting of the book. By reading it, you can easily figure out the US Foreign Policy. It has Osama’s mindset, his views (that actually sound correct at some point if you are a neutral reader).
My only gripe is that Bergen totally missed out how Al-Qaeda’s finances started to go down, and where their money went. This is really important because when you are talking about millions of dollars that they had once, and then showing them poor as ever, we must need to know how it happened. Nonetheless rest of the research is really extensive and complete from start to end.
I am also very impressed by the fact that Bergen presented both sides of the conversation and even on the most controversial issues he remains unbiased. It also raised a question of Pakistan’s role in fight against terrorism because according to CIA, Pakistan was not brought into concern because they believe they were a threat that could jeopardize the mission. I enjoyed it because I’ve followed 9/11 thoroughly but even if you are clueless about 9/11, it will quickly become a must-read. However, this one is for patient readers and requires a lot of analytical skills and your grey cells to be working the entire time.
Originally reviewed at : www.the-vault.co.cc
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