Kill Bin Laden: A Delta Force Commander's Account of the Hunt for the World's Most Wanted Man

by Dalton Fury

The New York Times bestseller Kill Bin Laden is an explosive first-hand account of a Delta Force commando's hunt for the world's most wanted man.

The mission was to kill the most wanted man in the world―an operation of such magnitude that it couldn't be handled by just any military or intelligence force. The best America had to offer was needed. As such, the task was handed to roughly forty members of America's supersecret counterterrorist unit formally known as 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta; more popularly, the elite and mysterious unit Delta Force.

Told by senior ranking military officer Dalton Fury, this is the real story of the operation, the first eyewitness account of the Battle of Tora Bora, and the first book to detail just how close Delta Force came to capturing bin Laden, how close U.S. bombers and fighter aircraft came to killing him, and exactly why he slipped through our fingers. Lastly, this is an extremely rare inside look at the shadowy world of Delta Force and a detailed account of these warriors in battle.

Genres: Military Fiction, Nonfiction, History, War, Military History, Terrorism, Middle East

368 pages, Paperback

First published October 6, 2008

About the author

Thomas Greer, the former special operations commander who wrote a series of books under the pen name "Dalton Fury" and exposed the American public firsthand to the modern exploits of the military's most secretive units, died October 21, 2016 from cancer.

Starting as an enlisted soldier and instructor in the elite Army Rangers in the mid-1980s before becoming an officer, Greer later joining U.S. Army Special Forces Operational Detachment – Delta, more commonly known as "Delta Force," the Army's version of SEAL Team Six. He published "Kill Bin Laden" in 2008, recounting his participation in the unsuccessful 2001 mission to capture elusive terrorist leader Osama bin Laden when he was holed up in the Tora Bora mountains of Afghanistan. He went on to write a series of other books, including a fictionalized account of special forces operations.

Greer, 52, was perhaps the first in what has become a long series of shadowy warriors-turned-authors who traded their rifles for pens to meet the public's growing enthusiasm for details on the government's most classified missions. Civilian leaders and military planners increasingly rely on these elite commandos to accomplish secret missions in modern war zones, creating tension between those willing to tell the story and others who choose to uphold their pledge to secrecy.

"Every one of us was dubbed persona non grata by our former organization," Greer told U.S. News in 2015. "To some, that doesn't mean squat. To others, it can be pretty painful as you lose a lot of close friends."

He spoke shortly after Matt Bissonnette, one of the SEALs who contributed to the 2011 mission that killed bin Laden, came under formal Pentagon inquiry for writing his own book, "No Easy Day," as did Robert O'Neill, another of the SEALs on that mission, who revealed himself on Fox News and claimed he fired the shot that killed the al-Qaida leader.

Their actions prompted top SEAL leaders to write a letter to those within their ranks, admonishing those who break from what they described as the "critical tenet of our ethos," to not advertise the nature of their work or seek recognition for it.

"We do not abide willful or selfish disregard for our core values in return for public notoriety or financial gain," Navy Rear Adm. Brian Losey and Force Master Chief Michael Magaraci wrote at the time.

Both Bissonnette and O'Neill claimed they chose to tell their stories for the sake of the American public.

"It was UBL, the biggest target of our generation," Greer explained at the time, using the military's prefered acronym for bin Laden, and referencing the fact that the White House confirmed reports the SEAL unit had conducted the assault. "Once the gates were opened by the Obama administration, I believe both Biss and Rob decided to make their claim to history while it was still marketable."

The greatest source of criticism for the former commandos centered on their decision not to seek approval through established channels at the Department of Defense for discussing classified information. Greer submitted copies of his proposed books for review, as most others like him do, and any information the Pentagon deemed sensitive was either changed or stricken.

Others who knew Greer say he was at least in part inspired to write his own book by a perceived barrier between the general public and the less than 1 percent of them who fought the seemingly never-ending wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"It brings a lot of pride to the American people, especially in times that are needed," says Jim Reese, founder of security consulting firm TigerSwan who served with Greer in both the Rangers and Delta as a fellow officer. "You've got this organization that is in the shadows, and part of it should be. But this is the New York Yankees. What Tom was able to do with both his books and his fiction books was to bring the reality to Middle America, to let Americans be proud of this small element of Americans.

Reviews

[Ed Wagemann · Rating 3 out of 5]

There was a program that BBC aired in November of 2001 (just days before the incident in Tora Bora) where Jeremy Vine revealed an FBI document in which US agents were told to "back off" from investigating the Bin Laden family. That seemed kind of weird but irrelevent until just a few days later when it was reported that the Pentagon ordered American troops to stand down when they had Osama bin Laden cornered in Tora Bora in December of 2001. Dalton Fury, the commander on the ground at Tora Bora reveals this in his book Kill Bin Laden. But the question that nagged at me was why? If you have Bin Laden cornered, literally just feet from where we were dug in at, then why order our troops to stand down?

Bin Laden escaped and soon enough the entire thing was sorta swept under the carpet as the Bush/Cheney gang misled America into invading oil-rich Iraq, claiming that they knew that Saddam had WMDs - WMDs that never actually materialized. And as the world looked on in horror as Bush/Cheney mounted a pre-emptive and unethical war, the mastermind of the largest attack on US soil in history was no longer a concern. In fact, in a pres conferance Bush 43 famously came out and admitted that he didn't care about Bin Laden and wasnt interested in going after him.

This comment sparked disbelief in some - especially folks who had joined the military after 9/11 to fight in retaliation of Bin Laden's brutal attack on innocent U.S. civilians. It was at this time that I first found about the Bush family's business ties to the Bin Laden family through the Carlyle group. Further research showed that a bank that was associated with the Bin Laden family had bailed out one of Bush 43's failed businesses during the 1980s.

John Farmer, a Senior Counsel for the 9/11 Comission, says this about 9/11: "At some level of the governmet at some point in time...there was an agreement not to tell the truth about what happened." Meanwhile Senator Bob Graham wrote that "the White House was directing the cover-up". Since The American people have been doubting the government and expecting cover ups in large numbers since the assasination of JFK and the crimes committed during Watergate these notions weren't anything new. And the Bush family's connections to the Bin Laden family is interesting and certianly grist for conspiracy theorists, the real motive behind the Bush/CHeney gang ordering Dalton Fury's troops to stand down goes back to 1997 when a rightwing think tank called The Project for the New American Century created a document outlining how America needed to be transformed. Members of this think tank included Jeb Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld and Paul Wolfowitz. Several of these future members of the Bush Administration met with Bill Clinton at that time and tried to convince Clinton to invade Iraq, presenting him with a fully detailed plan. When Clinton refused the plan, the wheels were set in motion for putting a candidate into the White House who would promote the New American Century cabal's agenda.

Shortly afterward, The Project for the New American Century issued a report titled Building America's Defences which stated "The process of transformation, even if it brings revolutionary change, is likely to be a long one, absent some catastrophic and catalyzing event - like a new Pearl Harbor."

Or a 9/11... Again, conspiracy Theorists have jumped on that to show that 9/11 was more than just coincidence? But the important thing to take from this evidence is that it is very clear that when this new Pearl Harbor actually occured, the Bush Administration had already been planning and was prepared for it - and that they had all the machinations for exploiting the tragedy of 9/11 to justify public support for a build-up to a war for oil in Iraq in order. They had been planning for nearly a decade, after all. Combine this with the Bush Administration's blatant dishonesty, misinformation campaigns and military-indusrial complex agenda it would suggest that their entire reign was full of evil-minded plots that reveal their obvious intentions.

[Mark Sequeira · Rating 3 out of 5]

So I'm a bit conflicted. The author clearly says on the jacket and foreword that this is the only real account and how no one else who's written about Tora Bora was there and so he wrote this book to correct all the poor, secondhand accounts. Then he acknowledges that Gary Berntsen was there (JawBreaker), that Gary Schroen was there (First In), that Billy Waugh was there (Hunting the Jackal), that the Green Berets and the Air Force Special Operations Command was there.

So the only accounts I guess he is rebutting is 'The Hunt for Bin Laden' by Robin Moore or 'Roberts Ridge' by MacPherson. And he fails to mention the Navy Seals at all (Lone Survivor). And then, he only mentions ONE inaccuracy in that book by Moore so that is hardly a new telling or correct telling of events there.

So even though I didn't mind the writing or see the point of all the complaints about writing...It isn't Tolstoy anyway, I did have issues with how it was represented. Still, it was a good read in an area of interest.

[Michael Huang · Rating 3 out of 5]

On 12/14/2001, Delta force commandos embedded with Afghan war lord forces surrounded bin Laden around Tora Bora. In his desperation, bi Laden instructed his followers to surrender. He eventually escaped. It’s unclear whether he was clever in the escape or was deliberately set free by the Muslim fighters. The commandos were understandably frustrated as many requests of various tactical nature were not granted. For instance, deploying US marines or Army rangers in significant size to cut off escape routes was not done. Part of the reason was perhaps political. The US government wanted the Afghan war lords to take the credit. In any case, since the mission was to kill bin Laden, Fury believes, it was a failure. The commandos’ capabilities and dedications are clear from this first hand account of the entire operation. It is authentic if a bit too detailed at times.

[Nannie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have loved Dalton Fury’s other books, but he tends to get way too technical with Army abbreviations and descriptions of weapons. This book was way too long and was boring with all the detailed descriptions of terrain, etc. I would not recommend this book.

[Medusa · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.75 stars. Serviceable writing, unfortunately though not surprisingly marred by lots of chest pounding and dick swinging, less actual content than one might wish. If you read my reviews you know it’s hard for me to give any combat vet book fewer than three stars, except in the case of truly bad books, because of my respect for what they’ve done; this is no exception. It’s an okayish listen and read available at this writing on scribd.

[Albert · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was given to me by one of my ex Green Beret buddies several hours before bin Laden was killed in May 2011. His comment was "The Army realled f*cked up at Tora Bora". I agree.
However, the fault did not rest with the super soldiers of the Army's elite Delta Force whose actions form the core of this book. Rather, Delta was hamstrung from the outset of this operation to kill bin Laden deep in the Afghanistan mountain stronghold of the master terrorist.
George W. Bush wanted to use our Muslim "allies" to work in tandem with Delta to slam the door shut on bin Laden's escape route. Delta on the ground already knew better. Bin Laden escaped.
Our Muslim allies were venal warlords and their inept AK-47 toting tribesmen. Our own Army upper echelon thwarted Delta at every conceivable opportunity with their reluctance to commit these most elite American commandos.
Now, with the death of bin Laden, the book seems almost anti-climatic. Tora Bora is history but "Kill bin Laden" is destined to become a movie. I hope that Hollywood gets it straight: an operation gone wrong. Our Army at its best and at its worst.

[Jerome Otte · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, with a title like this, and a comic-book pseudonym like that, what red-blooded American male HASN'T bought a copy the day this came out? This was OK. The author certainly isn't a talented writer, but this is a very interesting look at the Battle of Tora Bora and how Delta Force operates in a war zone.

For an account of bin Laden's personal escape and movements during and after the battle, see Descent into Chaos: The United States & the Failure of Nation Building in Pakistan, Afghanistan & Central Asia. For another excellent account of the battle, see Peter Bergen's The Longest War: A History of the War on Terror and the Battles with Al Qaeda Since 9/11, which also includes interviews that Bergen conducted with the author.

According to some accounts(i.e. the Internet rumor mill), Fury's real name is apparently Thomas Greer, and his brother is apparently an instructor at AMU. No way to verify that, though, as usual, and it doesn't really matter anyway...

Easily a third of the book seems to be dedicated to how much of a hard-on the author has for Delta Force. Delta is so awesome that we're not even supposed to name it. Any physical test is a mere nuisance for Delta. Delta routinely benches 300, solves trigonometry problems on napkins and makes Chicken Pot Pie out of sheet rock and mealworms. No syrup for the waffles? No problem: that's the Delta Way. Some readers may be looking for that; I wasn't. I can appreciate a little esprit de corps but to me, it ends up sounding like a yearbook entry or something.

Interestingly, Delta never fired a single shot to kill an al-Qaeda militant, mainly relying on air strikes. The only mention of a US soldier firing a gun in the battle is when a Delta operator tried to scare off a reporter...That made me laugh. The book also makes it seem like Delta is the only real well-functioning unit in the Army, which is depends on your point of view, really. The narrative is a little disjointed and you have a hard time linking one chapter to the next or figuring out the big-picture events of each day...Also, the American SOF operators have curious and amusing nicknames. Obviously, Fury wants to protect their identities, but it seems like these are their honest-to-God nicknames: Crapshoot, Ironhead, "the Admiral",Catfish, Hopper, Jester, Pope, Scrawny, Shrek, Ski, Stormin'...

Still, this an interesting, and rare, account of how Delta Force operates in a combat zone. Also interesting were the accounts of Ali's and Zaman's rivalry, how it affected the battle, and how "Fury" and the chief CIA officer, "George", did their best to convince them to negotiate and compromise. The common narrative is that the stupid Bush did not send US troops to close the Pakistani border and relied on the ever-unreliable Pakistanis. Hindsight is always perfect, and yes, in RETROSPECT, that was a mistake, but the border regions were infested with al-Qaeda loyalists that would have given US troops a very hard time. The maps were very useful.

Also, the failure to catch bin Laden, I believe was not a political or military failure that can be traced back to one decision. Although Fury notes some decisions that, if made differently, MIGHT have changed the outcome, the main reason for the failure to catch bin Laden, I think was the "light footprint" approach to the war that called for small teams of CIA and SOF personnel, supported bu local Afghans and US airpower. Without a doubt this approach was very effective, but, like every plan, it has its drawbacks. The alternative (the huge numbers of conventional troops that MIGHT have blocked bin Laden's escape) would have been inflexible and unwieldly. We just didn't have time to plan, resources, execute such a plan. And most of the conventional troops in country at the time (Marines, Rangers, 10th Mountain Division were busy with other missions. We also lacked the airlift capability required. And the Marines at Kandahar at that time didn't even have cold weather gear.

Given a mission they fail and blame it on others....and an easy operation (so easy a caveman could do it!) like arresting a single old Afghani man in his hut in the mountains of Afghanistan is "one for the book". The best is yet to come: the most difficult part of the operation was done by some Afghan milita forces (opening up a checkpoint). The highly trained and arrogant DELTA operators simply were transported all the way in a truck...but Mr Fury makes us believe that the ride was very, very hard...
Come on, give me a break...

For some additional info on the battle see this Army history .

Also see
SOCOM's 20th Anniversary History for a good account of the battle .

For some additional information on the battle that didn't make it, see this Senate report

[Matt Odom · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fantastic look behind the scenes of the months long battle of Tora Bora.

One of few non-fiction books that doesn't read like one (dry) but doesn't transcend the realm of feeling like fiction.

[Bob Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Before Seal Team Six finally found Osama bin Laden in Pakistan in May 2011 and ended his days, the US government thought he was hiding in the Tora Bora mountain area of Afghanistan. This book is about a joint effort of the Delta Force and the CIA to find and kill him at the end of 2001.

It's an interesting book in several ways. First, you really get a good description of the way this battle was fought. Working in the background behind local Afghan forces (who were being paid thousands of dollars by the CIA) the Delta Force was totally undercover for several months. They were tasked to operate under total secrecy amid dozens of international journalists who were desperate for any scrap of information. Second, they were tasked to use the Afghan local forces and allow them to make the final capture of kill of their target. Third, you get an idea of how the CIA was involved in financing the local warlords and the effect of giving bundles of cash to people who live in abject poverty.

The first chapters of the book cover the Delta Force itself and how the author because to be in the group and how they trained for the mission. The middle chapters are a very detailed account on the Delta Force's tactics and how they coordinated with the Air Force. The final chapters recount events after the battle ended in December 2001 and the author's eventual retirement from the Delta Force and the military.

How effective was the Delta Force? Its hard to say. The author admits no member of his force used a rifle to actually kill any of the enemy. At the conclusion of the battle the Afghans documented 220 al Queda dead and about 150 captured. Most of the attack was conducted with radio directed bombing, with the Delta Force close enough to al Queda targets to be able to direct the US bombers. Over one thousands bombs were dropped over 90 days on caves and hideouts in the mountains the Afghans had used to defeat the Soviet Army a generation before.

The book is very readable and divided into short chapters of 15-20 pages. There are pictures, but since the Delta members were disguised with beards and wore Afghan clothing, they aren't useful to help the narrative. All of the names of the Delta Force members(including the author) have been changed.

Its important to understand how the military functions, especially in foreign lands and when tethered to local forces. In this instance, it didn't function up to its potential and the author makes that point repeatedly. The political restraints put on the Delta Force greatly hampered what could have been accomplished. I'm sure that was the author's point in writing the book.

[Alain DeWitt · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've read quite a few books on the Afghan and Iraq Wars and more than a few Special Ops bios and histories. I must say, this one is pretty meh.

'Fury' (a pseudonym) is the Delta troop commander at Tora Bora and so provides a very detailed account of the battle. That's the good part. Now for the bad.

Number one gripe has to be the 'characters'. I realize that Fury is working with some serious restrictions due to security. A lot of these books have the same hurdle to overcome. Fury tries to breathe life into his teammates by telling us their nickname (Stormin', Ironhead, Hopper, The Admiral) and give us some sketches of a few of them. The nicknames don't help us to get to know these men because the character descriptions are all so over the top. Every guy he tells us about is smarter, stronger, faster and a greater warrior than the last guy he told us about. They just all blur together. Unless you can give us the men's real backgrounds, I suggest you not try to flesh them out.

The second grip is particular to the ebook editions. The opening pages to the book have several maps that it would have been nice to have easy access to during the reading. This is really a drawback of all ebooks and I don't know of a solution.

Lastly, I think it would really behoove future editions if Fury were to include an aftermath on Neptune Spear now that Bin Laden is dead.

[George · Rating 3 out of 5]

As an audio book, this was a dud. The actor reading the book just didn't sell it. Waah waah.

As a war story memoir whatever, solid 3 stars. You like this genre, then you won't be disappointed. You're looking for something about the Battle of Tora Bora, sure this is ok. Not gonna change your life, but not a waste of time. If the "oh Delta is awesome" had been dialed down a bit then it would have been ok. That said, if you're an eleven year old with a pellet gun, then stop doing your chores or homework and read this book because it is the most awesome thing ever.

[RICK "SHAQ" GOLDSTEIN · Rating 4 out of 5]

RICK “SHAQ” GOLDSTEIN SAYS: “A CLUMP OF HAIR… A DROP OF BLOOD… OR PERHAPS A SEVERED FINGER WRAPPED IN PLASTIC… STONE-COLD-DEAD!”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In the aftermath of 9/11 the order came down from the top… KILL BIN LADEN! The author (a pseudonym) Dalton Fury heads up a group of forty highly-trained… highly-secretive… Delta Force commandos… along with “twelve commandos from the famed British SBS… and another dozen or so U.S. Army Green Berets”… and six CIA intelligence operatives and technicians.

As a Viet Nam era veteran I am extremely aware of how not only the methodology… but the terrain of war… has also changed drastically over the last four decades. As disappointing as the failure to eradicate Bin Laden has been… the constantly changing “BILL-OF-MATERIALS” THAT MUST BE MIXED INTO A FORMULA, THAT CAN BE MANUFACTURED INTO A VICTORIOUS MISSION, NOW HAS MANY MORE INTRICATE COMPONENTS… AND EACH CARRIES THE INNATE CAPABILITY… TO BE THE CATALYST THAT DETERMINES… SUCCESS… OR FAILURE.

This book’s strength is in the way it educates the reader, in ways that are never accomplished on the evening news. In Afghanistan, the language barrier is exponentially increased as village to village… war lord to war lord… the dialect may differ. There are fighters involved from many countries. Bin Laden’s “outer defense ring comprised Afghans, Algerians, Jordanians, Chechens, and Pakistanis. Bin Laden’s more trusted fighters are Saudis, Yemenis, and Egyptians.” So American fighters not only have to communicate with their local allies, but intelligence “eavesdroppers” have to decipher endless languages. As the American, British, and Afghan forces advance towards Tora Bora, every few miles there are different war lords in control of the area. The mountainous terrain sports 14,000 foot peaks with well entrenched al Qaeda terrorists in hard to find caves, in place from years of fighting with the Soviets and almost every historical figure that ever passed that way.

The author is very honest in discussing the decisions that are made… and not made… to his satisfaction… up and down the myriad of levels in the American decisional chain. An early back-breaking decision was when President Bush and Vice-President Cheney “denied an immediate commitment of American troops to seal Pakistan’s side of Tora Bora, thus cutting off a potential al Qaeda escape route.” The author states: “The back door would remain wide open to the enemy. We were not pleased.” On the other hand… “A FEW WEEKS EARLIER, COLONEL MULHOLLAND HAD REVIEWED THE CIA PLAN TO GO AFTER BIN LADEN IN THE MOUNTAINS AND DECLARED IT WAS “FLAWED” AND WANTING ON SEVERAL COUNTS. WITH NO ABILITY TO EVACUATE CASUALTIES BY AIR, WINTER GROWING WORSE BY THE DAY, NO AMERICAN QUICK-REACTION FORCE, AND THE PROSPECTS OF A TREACHEROUS UPHILL SLUGFEST – AND WORKING WITH A WAR-LORD WHO HAD NOT YET BEEN VETTED – THE TASK FORCE DAGGER COMMANDER OPTED TO PASS UNTIL THE CIA COULD PRESENT BETTER INTELLIGENCE. AND WHO COULD BLAME A PRUDENT COMMANDER FOR DECIDING NOT TO RISK HIS MEN AGAINST A WELL-PREPARED DEFENSE WHILE SUPPORTED ONLY BY AN INDIGENOUS FORCE OF UNKNOWN RELIABILITY AND QUALITY?”

This book may not have as much action as you might originally have hoped for… but that’s why Arnold Schwarzenegger (used to) and Clint Eastwood are stars… but what this book gives you more of than you anticipated is the real-detailed… gut wrenching… myriad… decisions… that based on the verdict… can be truly life or death. One situation that I feel crystallizes this dilemma, is the chain of command involved in giving the grid locations “of where we planned to put in our sniper teams and what area they planned to lase for the bombers.” “CAN YOU IMAGINE THE PRESSURE THAT MUST HAVE ROLLED DOWNHILL THROUGH FOUR OF FIVE LEVELS OF COMMAND TO GET THIS REQUEST TO US?” AND IT WAS NOT ONLY SEVERAL LAYERS OF GENERAL OFFICERS BREATHING DOWN COLONEL ASHLEY’S NECK FOR THE INFORMATION, FOR HE EXPLAINED, EVERYBODY FROM “POTUS” ON DOWN IS ASKING FOR DETAILS. IT WENT ALL THE WAY UP TO THE WHITE HOUSE, FOR “POTUS” IS THE ACRONYM FOR THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.”…

**”THIS IS EXACTLY WHY WE WILL NEVER BE AS GOOD AS THE ISRAELIS AT KILLING TERRORISTS… WE HAVE TOO MANY BUREAUCRATIC LAYERS AND DECISION MAKERS WHO STIFLE INITIATIVE AND WASTE PRECIOUS TIME.”**
By the end of the book the reader will feel like they’ve been out on the front lines sifting through these levels of bureaucracy with the author. Throughout the book “Fury gives the full measure of credit where it rightfully belongs: to his men. It is one of the traits of a great leader.”

[Justus Polk · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t think kill bin laden has any fictional elements because he tells about the real things that happened. The only difference is that he just censors and doesn't say the things that will hurt our national security or future operations. For example, he talks about an operation where goes and gets Gul Ahmed(A guy that hid Osama Bin Laden during the Tora bora raid) but he doesn't say “Gul Ahmed’s” real name. He also talks about the checkpoint in great detail, but he doesn't reveal any secrets. This is why I think Dalton fury is a genius and there are no fiction parts in the book. Another source of evidence of why there is no fiction in kill bin laden is because dalton fury states that he would not write the book because he didn't remember all that happened but one day he found his little blue notebook that he took notes on during the battle. He also says that he talked to his buddies over a beer after operations and got new pieces of the event from them.

Kill bin laden is an account of what happened in Tora bora by an actual delta force commando who led the raid on Osama bin Laden. Since Osama Bin Laden was hidden in the caves of Tora bora it was the hardest operation to do but delta force created a genius plan to attack the direction he would never expect. The next plan delta force wanted to employ was yet again another genius plan it was to drop hundreds of land mines on Bin Laden’s escape route. The weird thing about this is it was disapproved and delta force’s plans were never disapproved before until Tora Bora. The mission would depend on Afghan forces because delta force only had 50 men. The CIA paid the mujahadeen leader named Ali and they brought delta force to the mountains. Delta force also blended it with the afghans because they were disguised as a afghan. Four days after arriving in Tora bora dalton fury had to make a decision his men were trapped behind enemy lines but the CIA was listening to Osama Bin Laden’s radio transmissions and had a breakthrough. They finally had the location of Osama Bin Laden. He saved his men and they were going up the mountains to get Osama Bin Laden but he had a decision to march his small team up or wait until afghan support in the morning. He decided to wait until morning because his orders were to take afghan support and it was also thought that Osama Bin Laden had 1,000 harden fighters protecting him. 6 months later American and Canadian forces came back and opened up caves where they were looking for Osama Bin Laden’s body but they never found his body. In October 2004 Osama Bin Laden released a message and fury found out his team had failed. Fury believes that Osama Bin Laden was hit with shrapnel during the bombing and then was hidden in a town next to al Qaeda's cemetery. Then was drove as far as possible and then walked or was carried to the Pakistan border. I think the book is very good and I would rate it a 5-star review because it has so many first-hand accounts of something I never knew about and you can’t find anywhere else. This is also an account of the actual Delta Force Commander that was on the battlefield at the time!. This give’s me much more insight into what happens in delta force, its mission, and its protocol. It might even make me consider a little more about joining the 75th ranger regiment so I can have the opportunity of joining the delta force. If I can pass the very hard selection course which only 0.5% make it but this book gives me hope.

[Geoff Wooldridge · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fascinating, mostly well-written and intelligent insight, from a Delta Force insider, of the nature of commando warfare, in hostile terrain, against a ruthless enemy, and alongside unreliable allies.

In early 2002, in the immediate post-9/11 environment in America, where revenge for the terrorist attacks burnt hot in the political and public psyche, Usama bin Laden was designated Public Enemy No.1 and an urgent priority was placed on tracking him down, and killing him and as many of his supporters as possible.

The highly trained and secretive Delta commandos were inserted into the Tora Bora mountain area of Afghanistan (on the Pakistan border) where bin Laden and his followers had established strong defensive positions in the mountain cave network.

The American objective was to work with local warlords, guiding their efforts to attack Al Qaeda, while remaining mostly invisible themselves, and coordinating massive American aerial bombardment and gunship attacks on enemy positions.

Fury, as a leader on the ground during this action, has provided detailed first-hand accounts (while respecting classified information and the true identity of most individuals) of the military efforts, the difficulties and successes, giving praise and criticism as he saw fit. This is not a document promoting self-glory for the author.

The local Afghani forces were fickle, had uncertain and divided loyalties, their own motivations (mostly wealth and local power), and a reluctance to fight at night, frustrating the American objectives.

Fury occasionally expresses his personal frustration with higher command decisions and a political reluctance to go all out in the objective to kill bin Laden.

While the military action was successful in defeating the Al Qaeda forces and driving them from their mountain strongholds, giving the locals the glory associated with victory, Delta Force considered the action a failure as it dis not achieve its primary objective of killing bin Laden. he lived to fight another day.

This is pretty well done, despite an occasional excess of American nationalistic fervor.

[Lindsey Trujillo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, this was an interesting look into Delta Force during the start of the War on Terror, specifically the Battle of Tora Bora. Fury provided a detailed picture of what it took to pass Delta selection as well as the grueling and extensive training that all Delta operations are required to complete. It is obvious through Fury's story that his fellow operators were first and foremost in all the missions they carried out together and have left a lasting impact on his life. One of the most interesting parts of this book surrounds the work that Delta did with various mujahideen. This book was packed with, at times very tedious information about the Battle of Tora Bora and tended to be a bit dry and hard to get through, but he redeemed himself with the last 25% of the book. I will say that if you are looking for an action-packed story involving Delta Force, I would find another book as Fury's telling was more factual and straight forward than exciting. This book has added to my interest in Delta Force, and it absolutely won't be the last I read on the subject.

[Peter Corrigan · Rating 4 out of 5]

My Amazon review January 20, 2018

Fascinating and fast-moving account of the Tora Bora 'operation' in December 2001 from a Delta officer. Nothing especially fancy here in terms of writing, but a solid retelling of the failed attempt to snuff UBL before he reached the safety of Pakistan, our dear ally in the 'war on terror'. The thought that ISI did not know he was there the whole time is really laughable. The internal politics of the Afghans and their warlord culture are front and center in this book and he is very honest in his appraisal of their fighting worth. A mixed bag, to be sure. The Delta operators are impressive and best of all is to read a war book without a single American killed in action. Sadly that will not (and has not) always been the case, but it really points to the value of the Special Forces concept of war in many situations.

[Joseph Freedom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really great book and an incredible story!

There are great lessons learned here about tactical planning and execution that are utterly timeless - and they’re being taught by the best of the absolute best in one of the most dynamic and austere tactical situations of all warfare. If you call yourself a leader, this better be on your TBR!

You can say what you want about historical accuracy and who wrote the better book, but of all the people that were there and have talked about being there, they all say that Dalton is an A-1 operator, friend, and human being. I enjoyed his version. I’ll enjoy the next guy’s version too. They are all layers of an intricate puzzle we’re really just figuring out some 20+ years later. Don’t hate and come along for the ride.

Rest in peace, MAJ Fury. I hope to meet you on the other side of the breach. Sine Pari! RLTW!

[Steven Kaminski · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sometimes, very rarely when it comes to books you lose me. I have read a lot about Delta Force...I have read about Charlie Beckwith who created the unit. I met members when I was enlisted. But this book is kind of frustrating. He gets into operational details and then suddenly stops saying he can't describe more because its classified.
This book was about the unit being dispatched into Tora Bora on the hunt for Bin Laden and he's is right to be absolutely frustrated. But you don't do that while you're trying to describe combat operations. It's too disjointed. Maybe I will try to read his next book when it comes out...

[Chase Lamp · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was super interesting insight into the initial covert operation in the hunt for Bin Laden. I learned a lot more about Delta operators than I thought I would, maybe more than I wanted to, and what the Battle of Tora Bora was really about, how it came to be, and how it flushed out. What a scary time. This book does get a little heavy on the descriptions of the terrain, Delta acronyms and language, and military speak. So if you’re super into that level of detail you’ll absolutely love this. The parts about working with the British commandos, local warlords, and Afghan villagers was absolutely awesome.

[Pete · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author spends a lot of time trying to convince readers that the Delta squads are supermen who can do anything, yet they couldn't even co-ordinate missions with their muhj allies without the result being a goat f--k. It's unlikely they even got a whiff of Bin Laden in Tora Bora much less had him surrounded on a hilltop.

[Chris Schultz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'd give this one a 4.5/5. Dalton's account of his time in foreign countries and what Delta Force soldiers have to go through is mind boggling. Would recommend to anyone who like historical non-fiction, war novels, or anything military related.

[Osku · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great personal account of the battle. Also an intriguing insight to the Delta world and the men that operate within the unit. The book also raised my interest towards air combat controllers and I will be definitely picking about a book about them as soon as I find one.

[Orlando · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was a tough read as I slogged through each chapter. Then on May 2, 2011, with about three chapters to go, Seal Team Six made any further reading of this book an entirely pointless endeavor. I finished it anyway just so I can say I did.

[Marcus Wallis · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book details military politics and sitting at HQ ordering bombing raids. It was just plain boring.

People who enjoy reading military books enjoy tales of high risk missions, scaling fences and diving for cover.

There was a whole lot of the former and not much of the latter present here.

[Kelley Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book was exciting to read...listen to...as it told the story of Tora Bora and the struggle our troops had to deal with. The only down side was that they author never said what happened to Bin Laden, and it left me hanging.

[Robert McAusland · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dalton Fury gives us an up front and in depth view of the ground/air battles, the politics, and the bureaucracy during war. Great details, great characters and amazing heroism. It took me a couple of shots to get through it but well worth the time and effort.

[Albert · Rating 1 out of 5]

A boring read...

[Miltonh · Rating 1 out of 5]

Miss-Labeled...Should have been Tora-Bora Battles.

[DMurt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book. Truths are said about the Afgan army. Sadly, the author died young from cancer.

[Angel Belgodere · Rating 4 out of 5]

'Murica