9/24/2023 0 Comments Neptunes spear![]() The first was in North Carolina where the specially selected SEALs began practicing on a mock compound. ![]() To train for the mission two different sites were used. Obama decided against the airstrike, and gave McRaven the go ahead to begin rehearsals. The airstrike further made a positive identification of Bin Laden nearly impossible. The airstrike would ensure everyone in the compound was eliminated, but it would also be the “equivalent of an earthquake,” civilian casualties in the surrounding area were all but guaranteed. Despite Bin Laden painting himself as a mountain-dwelling freedom fighter, he was actually in an upscale civilian neighborhood. With an airstrike, there would be no need for boots on ground in Pakistan. The amount of ordnance was calculated to ensure success, even if the compound contained underground bunkers. The Air Force airstrike plan would drop a payload of 32 two thousand-pound bombs. Some felt the raid was the best option, while others favored an airstrike. The national security team was divided on how to proceed. On March 29, McRaven briefed the raid plan to the President and his advisors. With these veteran SEALs, the team gathered to finalize a plan (without informing Red Squadron of the potential target). McRaven then contacted the commander and chief petty officer of Red Squadron, US Naval Special Warfare Development Group. President Obama decided against working with the Pakistani government, because he didn’t trust they could keep the information secret “for more than a nanosecond.” Without making a final decision on what to do, Obama ordered McRaven and the other advisors to continue planning for a potential mission. For example, the raid had variants of working with the Pakistani government or not. Each plan had positives and negatives, and each plan had a number of variants. The plans fell into two camps, an airstrike or a special operations raid. On March 14, 2011, President Barack Obama held a meeting with his national security advisors to discuss the various available options. A number of JSOC officers gathered at CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia, to come up with a plan. In January of 2011, McRaven used the intelligence to begin work on raid plan in case the order came down. In late 2010, Vice-Admiral Bill McRaven of Joint Special Operations Command was contacted and briefed on the intelligence gathered so far. The individual, dubbed the “pacer,” fit Bin Laden’s description and physical profile, but there was no definitive proof that the “pacer” was Bin Laden. The individual in question never left the safety of the walls, but was consistently seen pacing around the compound. Within a few months, the intelligence gathered indicated that Osama Bid Laden may possibly be at the location. ![]() The CIA began devoting considerable assets to uncover who or what was hiding behind the compound’s walls. In September of 2010, the Central Intelligence Agency had become aware of an al Qaeda courier frequently visiting an upscale walled residence located in Abbottabad, Pakistan. ![]()
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