OBL mission was a 'gamble', reveals Obama

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]




WASHINGTON: The mission to kill Osama bin Laden was almost called off at the last minute due to a lack of certainty over whether the terrorist leader was living in a Pakistani compound, a new documentary has revealed.

In his first detailed interview since the Al-Qaida leader was shot dead by Navy Seals, US president Barack Obama revealed that he took a “gamble” and was advised not to go through with the risky operation.

Just days before the May 1 attack, the CIA had advised there was a 60-70 per cent certainty that bin Laden was holed up with his family in a fortified compound in a military suburb of Abbottabad, Pakistan.

But on April 28 a special “red team” of security analysts advised the President they were only about 30-40 per cent certain it was the world’s most wanted man, due to a lack of evidence and an unusually large number of visitors to the house.

A “tense” Whitehouse meeting followed where a number of Obama’s highest advisers told him the “stakes were too damn high”.

“Even though I thought it was only 50/50 that bin Laden was there I thought it was worth us taking a shot,” Obama said in Bin Laden: Shoot to Kill

If the mission was unsuccessful, the President admitted he faced “huge geopolitical ramifications”.

But when it was finally confirmed that bin Laden had been killed with shots to the head and chest, there was little celebration inside the White House, the documentary revealed.

“This was a big gamble. I think at the time I said something very brief: ‘We got him’,” Obama said.