Today, Time magazine got hold of a memo written by then-CIA head Leon Panetta after he received orders from Barack Obama’s team to greenlight the bin Laden mission. Here’s the text, which summarized the situation:
Received phone call from Tom Donilon who
stated that the President made a decision with regard to AC1 [Abbottabad
Compound 1]. The decision is to proceed with the assault.
The timing, operational decision making and
control are in Admiral McRaven’s hands. The approval is provided on the risk
profile presented to the President. Any additional risks are to be brought back
to the President for his consideration. The direction is to go in and get bin
Laden and if he is not there, to get out. Those instructions were conveyed to
Admiral McRaven at approximately 10:45 am.
April 27, 2012 – New York, NY – In a first for network television, NBC News has been granted unprecedented access to the most secret and secure part of the White House, the Situation Room. In a “Rock Center with Brian Williams” exclusive airing on Wednesday, May 2 at 9p/8c, President Obama and his national security and military teams, relive the pivotal moments of the raid targeting Osama bin Laden.
The iconic photograph taken inside the Situation Room offered the world the first glimpse of a national security team at work during the Special Operations mission. Now, we will hear from many of the people in that photograph about what was taking place on that historic night.
The iconic photograph taken inside the Situation Room offered the world the first glimpse of a national security team at work during the Special Operations mission. Now, we will hear from many of the people in that photograph about what was taking place on that historic night.