For almost ten years, the United States had
been tirelessly searching for one man - Osama Bin Laden, the terrorist mastermind behind
the September 11th attacks that killed almost three thousand Americans and triggered a war
that was still raging today - May 2nd, 2011. While the United States had toppled the Taliban,
the government that was sheltering Bin Laden at the time of the attacks, they had never
been able to capture or kill the man. That was about to change. The CIA had been searching for Bin Laden’s
secret base for years with no luck. He had managed to escape from Afghanistan,
which was under US occupation, and travel to the neighboring country of Pakistan. But in the mountainous, rural regions of Pakistan,
with little government oversight, it was easy for him to stay under the radar. The government had been looking for leads
for years, but finally 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 heavily guarded and in enemy
territory. The US had to rely heavily 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 infamous terror leader
was incredibly secretive - so secretive, that they were never able to capture an image of
him coming in or out of the building. So everything was still circumstantial, 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 skeptical
about the operation - after all, if it went wrong, top US troops would either be killed
or remain trapped behind enemy lines. Not only would this be a disastrous 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 truly in
the compound, many didn’t feel it was worth the risk. Ultimately, the President disagreed - and
he gave the okay to the operation that would become Operation Neptune Spear. And the people carrying it out would be the
best of the best. Meet 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 risky 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 exactly friendly and the
US was worried that Bin Laden could be tipped off in advance. 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 tricky 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 confident 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 escape. 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 doom. 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 smoothly, they would soon
be at the compound. But everything didn’t go smoothly. While the helicopters weren’t detected and
they didn’t come under hostile 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
properly, the helicopter was knocked off balance, and it grazed the back of the compound wall. The tail rotor was seriously 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 escalate. 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 lightly injured, they returned
fire and killed the evil courier. However, 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. 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 accurate? The Navy after-action report favors Bissonnette’s
retelling. And just like that, one of the most notorious
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 efficient
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. And the American public was about to find
out. It was the evening of May 1st when word started
going around that the President was going to be making a speech on TV that night. Usually, when Barack Obama made a planned
speech, it was early in the evening during prime time - often to the annoyance of everyone
who was trying to watch their favorite TV show. But this unplanned speech on short notice
was different - and political watchers kept waiting until the President ascended the podium
at less than half an hour to midnight. And as soon as he opened his mouth, people
knew this was big. 11:35 - “Tonight, I can report to the American
people and to the world that the United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama
bin Laden, the leader of Al Qaeda and a terrorist who’s responsible for the murder of thousands
of innocent men, women, and children.” As the President paid tribute to the many
who had died in bin Laden’s terror attacks, a spontaneous celebration erupted around the
country. It was just short of ten years since the September
11th terror attacks, and many Americans lived in fear of the next attack. As word got around, large groups of fans attending
sports games screamed in joy. Democrats exulted in the biggest foreign policy
win of the Obama Presidency - and Republicans celebrated the end of an enemy while wondering
if they should even bother running against him next year! And there was only one thing left to do. 12:59 - It was a little over an hour after
President Obama’s speech, and the troops had one major piece of business left to attend
to - what to do with Osama bin Laden’s body? The terror leader had been fully tested and
examined, and they were sure he was their guy. He had been checked for any vital intel, and
the body had no more secrets to give up. The only thing left to do was dispose of the
body, but there was one problem with that. No one wanted him! Bin Laden was wanted in just about every country
on the planet, and even the countries where he had sought refuge - Pakistan and Afghanistan
- considered him an outlaw. No country would want to give him a grave,
because it would be a massive target for radical activity. No one wants to have an Al Qaeda pilgrimage
in your country every year. So why not just cremate his body and be done
with it? Cremation is against Islamic tradition, and
as hated as the terror leader was, the government still wanted to respect his faith. No need to anger his followers any more than
they already were - given that their leader had just been eliminated. Fortunately, there was an alternative. Bin Laden’s body was loaded on the aircraft
carrier Carl Vinson, and the US government called the government of Saudi Arabia for
approval to dispose of the body. He was a Saudi citizen, after all, and the
Saudis were important allies of the US government at the time. And the Saudi response was - we don’t care
what you do with him, just don’t make it our problem! The plan to bury Osama bin Laden at sea was
approved, and the body was treated with Muslim religious rites. There was even a brief reading of Arabic religious
statements, at which point the body was draped in a white shroud, place in a bag loaded with
hundreds of pounds of iron chains, and placed on a wooden board. As the board was tilted forward, Bin Laden’s
body slipped into the sea - ensuring the terror leader would never have a grave that could
be visited by loyalists, or targeted by enemies. And now that the entire operation was over,
there was only the cleanup to attend to. It was roughly 3 AM local time in Pakistan
when their Army chief received a phone call informing the country of the operation that
took place in their borders. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
filled him in on the details - and likely smoothed over some angry words. While there was some brief dispute of whether
any Pakistani forces had been involved, the government denied this and reports stated
that the Pakistani planes which scrambled to the location had only arrived after all
the US forces had departed. This is not where the aftermath ended through. The raid that killed Osama bin Laden had played
out over less than an hour, but the follow-up would span years. Controversies centered around the legality
of the raid on foreign soil - although the laws passed after 9/11 gave the US wide latitude
to eliminate threats abroad. Pakistan wasn’t pleased with the US operating
on their soil, and the US wanted to know more about bin Laden’s network of support in
Pakistan. Neither got too many answers. Conspiracy theories persisted about bin Laden
being alive - although the US government releasing some photos of the terror leader’s corpse
largely put those to rest. And there was one more inevitable act. Once the operation was partially declassified,
various members of the team started putting out memoirs. Some varied in details - and most made the
person writing the book out to be the hero. So naturally, it wasn’t long before Hollywood
came calling. Only a year and a half after the death of
Osama bin Laden, the movie “Zero Dark Thirty” was released and its pick for the hero was…a
fictional intelligence analyst played by Jessica Chastain. Because it wouldn’t be a key moment in American
history without Hollywood putting its own spin on it. Want to know more about this famous manhunt? Check out “Weird Things Navy SEALs Discovered
in Osama Bin Laden’s Compound”, or watch this video instead.
