Latest news with #AmericanManhunt:Osama
Indian Express
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Netflix's new Osama bin Laden series: Why the US didn't inform Pakistan govt about its mission in Abbottabad
A new Netflix documentary series titled American Manhunt: Osama bin Laden recalls how the US government captured the 'Most Wanted' terrorist in the world following the 9/11 attacks. The three-part series covers the decade between the 2001 attacks and bin Laden's killing at the hands of US forces in Abbottabad, Pakistan, in 2011. It features CIA officials and key figures in the administrations of US Presidents George Bush and Barack Obama. It also briefly touches upon why Obama decided against alerting the Pakistan government about his decision to raid what they suspected to be bin Laden's residence on the night of May 2, 2011. What was the rationale for the US's decision? And what was Pakistan's level of awareness about bin Laden living less than 150km from the military headquarters in Rawalpindi? Here is what officials and reports have found over the years. The United States began the mission to find Laden even before the September 11 attacks on the Twin Towers and the Pentagon (headquarters of the US Department of Defence). Around 3,000 Americans died in what was the biggest terror attack on US soil. Bin Laden, who hailed from Saudi Arabia, was known to US intelligence agencies because of his links to funding mujahideen. As far back as 1996, the CIA's Counter-Terrorist Centre (CTC) set up a special unit dedicated to analysing his actions in the Middle East and Africa. In the late 1990s, he shifted base to Afghanistan and formed al-Qaeda, intending to wage global jihad. The US government had earlier supported mujahideens in the country to push back against Soviet presence (1979-89). However, bin Laden was of the view that the United States was the real enemy that needed to be targeted for its interference in the Middle East, and its supposed incompatibility with Islamic values. The manhunt intensified right after 2001, with US officials believing that the Taliban government was sheltering al-Qaeda and bin Laden, and ultimately dislodging it from power. However, bin Laden remained at large. Finally, towards the end of the 2000s, his presence in Pakistan was zeroed in on through several clues, including tracking courier movements and satellite imagery. This information led US intelligence officers to a three-story white mansion in Abbottabad, which had two families going in and out, but seemed to house a third set of inhabitants. It had high walls and a covered balcony, which stood out in a town known for its scenic views of mountains. However, US agencies still lacked definitive proof. The decision for the US SEAL Team 6, a specialised force, to reach Abbottabad via Afghanistan and not inform the Pakistan government was thus further complicated. The Obama war cabinet gave mixed opinions on going in without concrete evidence. Then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton lent her support, while Vice President Joe Biden opposed it. Ultimately, Obama decided in favour of it. John Brennan, who was the chief counterterrorism advisor to Obama at the time of the mission, said in the documentary, 'President Obama was clear that we're not going to inform the Pakistanis, because Pakistani intelligence has worked both sides of the fence for many years, and they had relationships with a lot of the militant and terrorist groups in the areas, including with al-Qaeda.' In his book A Promised Land (2020), Obama detailed this view. Even during the 2008 presidential campaign, he said during a public debate, 'If I had Osama bin Laden in my sights within Pakistani territory, and the Pakistani government was unwilling or unable to capture or kill him, I would take the shot.' He criticised the Bush administration for maintaining 'the dual fiction that Pakistan was a reliable partner in the war against terrorism and that we never encroached on Pakistani territory in the pursuit of terrorists.' A report by Bruce Riedel, a former National Intelligence Officer, is also mentioned in the book. It said that 'Not only did the Pakistan military (and in particular its intelligence arm, ISI) tolerate the presence of Taliban headquarters and leadership in Quetta, near the Pakistani border, but it was also quietly assisting the Taliban as a means of keeping the Afghan government weak and hedging against Kabul's potential alignment with Pakistan's archrival, India.' However, the US was still dependent on Pakistan for overland routes to supply their Afghanistan operations, and to 'tacitly facilitate our counterterrorism efforts against al-Qaeda camps within its territory.' Still, Obama was clear that for the bin Laden mission, 'Whatever option we chose could not involve the Pakistanis. Although Pakistan's government cooperated with us on a host of counterterrorism operations… it was an open secret that certain elements inside the country's military, and especially its intelligence services, maintained links to the Taliban and perhaps even al-Qaeda.' He added, 'The fact that the Abbottabad compound was just a few miles from the Pakistan military's equivalent of West Point (the Pakistan Military Academy) only heightened the possibility that anything we told the Pakistanis could end up tipping off our target. Whatever we chose to do in Abbottabad, then, would involve violating the territory of a putative ally in the most egregious way possible, short of war— raising both the diplomatic stakes and the operational complexities.' In the immediate aftermath of the mission, the Pakistani government denied having any information about bin Laden's whereabouts. Husain Haqqani, Pakistan's Ambassador to the US in 2011, later claimed that Pakistan would have gained in terms of its credibility on terror-related issues by cooperating on bin Laden, and would have actually helped the US if it knew his location. Several commentators have questioned the possibility of the Pakistan government being totally unaware. A report in The New York Times claimed in 2014 that over time, US officials would deny any culpability of the Pakistani government to journalists. 'It was as if a decision had been made to contain the damage to the relationship between the two governments,' it said. One source also told The NYT that the ISI 'ran a special desk assigned to handle Bin Laden. It was operated independently, led by an officer who made his own decisions and did not report to a superior.' Further, the files collected from bin Laden's house revealed regular correspondence between Bin Laden and leaders such as Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) founder Hafiz Saeed, whom the Pakistan government is known to have supported in the past. On its part, Pakistan set up a commission of inquiry after the Abbottabad raid. Its contents were never made public, but Al Jazeera claimed to have unearthed it in 2014. It said, 'The Commission's 336-page report is scathing, holding both the government and the military responsible for 'gross incompetence' leading to 'collective failures' that allowed both Bin Laden to escape detection, and the United States to perpetrate 'an act of war'.'
Indian Express
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
American Manhunt – Osama bin Laden review: Netflix series could lowkey be a CIA-funded propaganda piece, but it's undeniably thrilling
Every single high-ranking official who appears in American Manhunt: Osama bin Laden — and there certainly is a murderer's row of them — knows that they are in a Netflix documentary. They're prone to speaking in blurbs; in declarations and pronouncements, almost as if they want to make sure that they make the cut. The sprawling three-episode series, which was suspiciously released two months after it was supposed to, traces the decade-long hunt for Osama bin Laden, the notorious Al Qaeda leader who remained, for a long period of time, the most wanted man in the world. At the peak of America's war on terror, there was a $25 million price on his head. Bin Laden kept taunting the Americans for years, somehow evading capture despite having being driven out of his stronghold in Afghanistan following the 9/11 attacks. The documentary series begins on the fateful day when two passenger airliners crashed into the World Trade Centre, while another hit the Pentagon. A fourth plane, United 93, crashed into a field in Pennsylvania after passengers overpowered the hijackers and took control of the cockpit. It was the worst terrorist attack in modern history, resulting in the deaths of nearly 3,000 people. President George W. Bush vowed to bring those responsible to justice, and essentially gave the Central Intelligence Agency carte blanche to capture or kill bin Laden. Also read – The Greatest Rivalry – India vs Pakistan review: Boys played well, but Netflix's cricket documentary is run out by randomness The series is told almost entirely from the perspective of CIA officials who were closely involved in the operation to hunt bin Laden down. Jessica Chastain played a composite of these women in Zero Dark Thirty, director Kathryn Bigelow's brawny epic about the manhunt. Also featured are the operatives who found themselves on-ground in Afghanistan mere weeks after the attacks. Admiral William McRaven, who oversaw the raid on bin Laden's compound, makes an appearance as well. But, perhaps most impressively, so does Robert O'Neill, the Navy SEAL who has controversially claimed that he was the man who — spoiler alert — shot and killed bin Laden. This is when the leadership of the CIA was handed over to Leon Panetta, who served under President Barack Obama as the director of the CIA when bin Laden was located in Pakistan. He appears quite prominently in the third episode. The access that directors Mor Loushy and Daniel Sivan is stunning, quite frankly. And even though the talking heads don't really reveal any new information — they're obviously beholden to details that have been declassified — there is an undeniable thrill to hearing the oft-told tale straight from the horse's mouth. At the same time, however, you can't help but come up with conspiracy theories of your own. How was Netflix able to get this sort of access in the first place? This isn't Formula 1 we're talking about; the CIA is perhaps one of the most secretive organisations in the world. It took them nearly 20 years, for instance, to declassify documents related to the operation that inspired the film Argo. But while you might be familiar with the broad strokes of the bin Laden manhunt, the devil's in the details. Take, for instance, counterterrorism specialist Cofer Black's recollection of how he was appointed the head of the task force. During a meeting with Bush and his cabinet mere days after 9/11, Black wiggled his way towards the table — he was originally made to sit by the wall — and told Bush something to the effect of, 'Give me six weeks and I'll have insects crawling out of his eyes.' Bush had found his man. But Black admitted that the president's decision didn't go down too well with Secretary of Defence, Donald Rumsfeld. According to Black, this resentment was perhaps the reason why Rumsfeld refused to send military support to the CIA when they'd cornered bin Laden in the Tora Bora mountains. The operatives featured in the show don't hesitate to express their anger at being left hanging by Rumsfeld. They had bin Laden in their sights. Internal politics allowed him to slip away. The CIA lost his scent after the Battle of Tora Bora, but when Obama was elected into office, he made tracking bin Laden down a priority once again. Read more – The Octopus Murders review: Complex and compelling, Netflix's true crime docu-series uncovers the 'biggest conspiracy in history' The series switches gears in the feature-length final episode, which is dedicated entirely to the final stage of the manhunt, during which the Agency discovered that bin Laden was likely hiding out in Abbottabad. They accessed this intel by utilising 'enhanced interrogation techniques', which is the more polite word for 'torture'. Much has been said about this topic over the years, but the Netflix series marks perhaps the first time that multiple CIA officials go on the record to express their regret for what happened. One analyst even claims to have voiced her dissent when bin Laden's trusted crony, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, was being tortured at Guantanamo Bay. Lowkey a glossy propaganda piece designed to whitewash the CIA's image and absolve it of dropping the ball — 9/11 wasn't an intelligence failure, the folks in the show definitively declare — American Manhunt: Osama bin Laden is undeniably thrilling. The Agency has a history of using films, literature, and music to shape and control narratives; it only makes sense for them to go where the audience is. American Manhunt: Osama bin Laden Directors – Mor Loushy and Daniel Sivan Rating – 3.5/5 Rohan Naahar is an assistant editor at Indian Express online. He covers pop-culture across formats and mediums. He is a 'Rotten Tomatoes-approved' critic and a member of the Film Critics Guild of India. He previously worked with the Hindustan Times, where he wrote hundreds of film and television reviews, produced videos, and interviewed the biggest names in Indian and international cinema. At the Express, he writes a column titled Post Credits Scene, and has hosted a podcast called Movie Police. You can find him on X at @RohanNaahar, and write to him at He is also on LinkedIn and Instagram. ... Read More
New Indian Express
16-05-2025
- New Indian Express
'American Manhunt: Osama bin Laden' reveals details of decade-long search
The highly anticipated third chapter of the American Manhunt documentary series, titled American Manhunt: Osama bin Laden, was released on Netflix on May 14. The three-episode series, directed by Mor Loushy and Daniel Sivan, delves into the international search for Osama bin Laden, the founder of the extremist Islamist organisation al-Qaeda, after he was implicated in the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. On that tragic day, dubbed as 9/11 terror, four planes were hijacked by terrorists, with two crashing into the World Trade Center towers in New York City, another into the Pentagon in Washington, DC, and the fourth crashing into a field in rural Pennsylvania. The coordinated attacks, carried out by al-Qaeda militants based in Afghanistan, resulted in the deaths of over 3,000 people, including passengers and crew members of the hijacked planes, those in the targeted buildings, as well as police officers, firefighters, and others who succumbed to injuries and long-term health effects from toxic fumes. The ten-year search for bin Laden, one of the most notorious terrorists in history, is explored in the documentary through interviews with key US government officials who were involved in the operation to track him down. The series offers an in-depth look at the extensive efforts made by various agencies to bring bin Laden to justice.
The Irish Sun
14-05-2025
- Politics
- The Irish Sun
The shocking military gaffe that let Bin Laden escape just months after 9/11 as CIA boss admits ‘we could have ended it'
HE was the most wanted terrorist in history. But it took the American intelligence services almost 10 years to hunt down Advertisement 16 For years Osama bin Laden managed to evade US authorities Credit: AFP 16 He was the mastermind behind 9/11, the worst terrorist attack in US history Credit: Getty Images - Getty 16 President Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton and other top US officials nervously watch on as Bin Laden is hunted Credit: AP Now, a new Netflix documentary, American Manhunt: Osama bin Laden, charts the nerve-wracking, decade-long global missions to capture the world's most notorious criminal. It also examines the costly errors that meant the Al Qaeda leader could have been brought to justice far sooner, with a senior CIA boss candidly admitting they "could have ended it" just months after the atrocity. From the moment the Advertisement READ MORE FEATURES Gina Bennett, a CIA counter-terrorism analyst, says: 'There was a name on a manifest that was suspected of being a pretty major Al Qaeda operative. "For years that was the terrorist group that we knew was determined to attack the United States. That name, that moment, there was just no way that was a coincidence. We knew immediately this was Osama bin Laden.' Gina was part of a crack CIA team, mainly women, who had been focusing on Bin Laden since the Nineties. Her colleague Cindy Storer says: 'We knew that Bin Laden was operating training camps and safe houses against the Advertisement Most read in The Sun Exclusive Exclusive "When the war was over, we discovered he turned those camps into training camps for Islamic militants to go out and attack other countries. We knew they had terrorist capabilities. "So we didn't know to what extent they were going to come directly after the US.' Shameless Taliban claims there is 'no proof' Osama bin Laden was behind 9/11 16 The events of 9/11 left 2,977 people dead Credit: AFP 16 The moment President Bush was told about the attacks while visiting a school Credit: AFP Advertisement Attacks started across the world, heralding a new wave of terrorism, and in the months before 9/11, there was intelligence that Al Qaeda posed a threat to American targets. Gina says: 'All the indicators were that something big was happening.' Cindy adds: 'We got reporting that people in Bin Laden's network were calling their mothers and telling them goodbye and stuff like that. Something very serious was about to happen.' Unimaginable atrocity The US government was warned by the CIA that the likely targets would be famous landmarks or symbols of US capitalism - but they did not know when or how. Advertisement And none of them could have imagined the extent or horror of 9/11 when it did happen. Cindy says: 'You can't not feel some responsibility for not stopping an attack that occurred on your watch. So you can't help but question yourself.' It soon became clear that the Taliban government in Afghanistan were providing a safe haven for Bin Laden, who became the world's most wanted man after the events of 9/11 left 2,977 people dead. We got reporting that people in Bin Laden's network were calling their mothers and telling them goodbye and stuff like that. Something very serious was about to happen Cindy Storer So America gave them an opportunity to turn him over, which they refused. Advertisement Just four days after 9/11, President Bush decided to go to war and put the CIA and its counterterrorism boss, Cofer Black, in charge of hunting him down. 'Operation Jawbreaker' sent small teams of CIA agents behind enemy lines to work with their Afghan allies, the Northern Alliance, who were already fighting the Taliban. And Cofer Black's instructions were clear - he wanted Bin Laden's head on a stick to present to President Bush. 16 Operation Jawbreaker tracked Bin Laden down to the mountainous stronghold of Tora Bora in the months after the atrocity Advertisement 16 Just four days after 9/11, President Bush decided to go to war 16 Bin Laden released propaganda videos praising the attacks Credit: Getty By December, the Americans and the Northern Alliance had taken control of all the major Afghan cities - but Bin Laden had got away. American intelligence located his whereabouts in the mountainous stronghold of Advertisement They needed military reinforcements, but they were denied. The decision was made to bomb anyway, despite CIA protestations that they needed support. The mountain cave was hit for 56 hours with some of the heaviest bombing since World War Two - but there was no proof Bin Laden was dead and fears grew that escape routes had not been sealed off. Then, six months later, the Americans' worst fears were realised - film footage emerged proving Bin Laden was alive. Cofer Black says: 'We could have ended it and moved on. It would have given some closure to the Advertisement "This was the best chance we ever had and I am sorry we didn't take it.' Hunt for the henchmen 16 Osama bin Laden with Ayman al-Zawahiri, an Egyptian who was known as his right-hand man Credit: Getty 16 Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who was being tracked by American intelligence for years, was the 'architect' of 9/11 Credit: AP As Bin Laden released another propaganda video, the hunt for him and his henchmen intensified. Advertisement The Al Qaeda founder was at the top; after him was his deputy Al Zawahiri. Next in command were a handful of lieutenants who were also very close to Bin Laden. These were Abu Zubaydah, who was suspected to be Bin Laden's chief operations operative, and a mysterious figure known only as Mukhtar. In December 2001, three months after 9/11, a flight attendant on an American airliner thwarted another terror attack when he discovered a passenger with a bomb in his shoes. The investigators felt they were at a dead end, but then they managed to capture Abu Zubaydah in a raid in Pakistan. Advertisement Unbelievably, he cooperated with the FBI and named the mysterious Mukhtar as a man they had been tracking for years - Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, known as KSM. But that was nothing compared to what happened next. Mastermind unmasked Zubaydah revealed KSM was not just one of Bin Laden's closest accomplices, but the chief planner behind the September 11 attacks. FBI Special Agent Ali Sofan says: 'He was the architect, the visionary, the mastermind of 9/11.' Advertisement He had been the man behind the first attack on the World Trade Centre back in 1993, but considered it a failure when he failed to topple the towers. So he found his way to Afghanistan and Al Qaeda and pitched an idea to Osama Bin Laden to target not only the World Trade Centre, but also the Capitol Building and the Pentagon. After 9/11, KSM went into hiding, but intelligence revealed he was in Pakistan. In March 2003, they raided his villa in Rawalpindi, and he was captured. But what became clear was that Bin Laden was still very much in charge - and there were real concerns about additional attacks. Advertisement In the months that followed came the 2004 Madrid train bombings, which killed 193 people, then the 7/7 bombings in London that left 52 dead. Cindy Storer says: 'There was attack after attack, we knew there could be another attack at any time, anywhere." KSM provided information about Al Qaeda as an organisation. But there was one thing he wouldn't talk about - Bin Laden. The hunt for Bin Laden stalled. But the terror plots continued - another was uncovered to blow up the New York subway, another to blow up 15 airliners over the US. Advertisement Bin Laden was looking for his next 9/11. Monster hunt 16 Osama Bin Laden occasionally released videos so his followers knew he was alive Credit: AP 16 US intelligence managed to trace his whereabouts to a large house in Abbotabad, Pakistan Credit: EPA 16 Obama gave orders for the operation, despite the uncertainty that Bin Laden was in the home Credit: Netflix Advertisement In September 2007, six years after 9/11, Bin Laden released a new videotape proving he was alive and still plotting against the US. But the trail on him had gone cold. Barack Obama was sworn in as US President, and he told the CIA their number one task was to find Bin Laden. The CIA analysed every video Bin Laden put out, and the focus was on how he was getting them to the news - there must be a trusted courier. An Al Qaeda operative arrested in Africa named the courier as Abu Ahmed. Advertisement But he proved elusive until the summer of 2010, when they were able to track his phone to Pakistan. They managed to follow him to a large house in Abbottabad. It was a bigger compound than any other in the area, boasting 18ft tall walls topped with barbed wire. It was clear that someone of high value was located there. The CIA started immediate surveillance of the compound, but it had no phones or internet, and all their rubbish was burned. They started to track the women and children who were seen coming and going, and they discovered that there were two families living in the compound - those of Abu Ahmed and his brother. Advertisement But then satellite footage revealed that there was a third family living in the house that never left the compound. There was a man who would come outside every day and walk in the garden, but the walls and security meant it was impossible to get a clear image of his face. Without exact proof that Bin Laden was there, it was difficult for the President to make a decision to take action against the compound. If this was a botched operation, his reputation would be in tatters. But he asked the CIA to prepare to go into the compound. Advertisement Bin Laden's reign of terror By Kevin Adjei-Darko EVIL mastermind Osama Bin Laden orchestrated some of the deadliest terror attacks the world has ever seen. As the leader of al-Qaeda, he was the brain behind the September 11, 2001 atrocities that killed nearly 3,000 people in New York, Washington D.C., and Pennsylvania. Nineteen hijackers took over four planes, slamming two into the Twin Towers, one into the Pentagon, and another crashing in a field after passengers fought back. Before 9/11, Bin Laden's fingerprints were all over other deadly plots. In 1998, he ordered truck bombings at US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, killing 224 and injuring thousands. In 2000, al-Qaeda struck again with the bombing of the USS Cole in Yemen, killing 17 American sailors. Bin Laden used his fortune and twisted ideology to fund global jihad, radicalise followers, and build terror networks. The Saudi-born terror chief became the world's most wanted man, hiding in plain sight in Pakistan for years before U.S. Navy SEALs took him out in a daring 2011 raid. Admiral William McRaven, head of the Navy Seals, was tasked with planning the raid. Seal Team Six was sent to Jalalabad, where they built a mock-up of the compound and practised for weeks. On May 1, 2011, the most classified operation of the last 20 years was launched. Bin Laden's codename was Geronimo. As the helicopters carrying the team hovered over the compound, one of them crashed - but miraculously, the Navy Seals walked away. Advertisement The crash had awoken the neighbourhood, but the decision was taken to carry on with the mission. Within minutes, the Seals were within the compound and shot and killed Abu Ahmed. As they made their way up the stairs, their next target was Bin Laden's son, Khalid. As the Seals peeled off to search, there were only two of them left to go to the top floor, where Bin Laden could be hiding. Officer Robert J O'Neill says: 'Standing in front of me, two feet away, was Osama Bin Laden. It was one of those moments in life where it did slow down. Advertisement "He's taller than I thought, he's skinnier than I thought. His beard was grey/white. But I recognised his nose. This is definitely him. He's not surrendering, he's a threat, not just to me but to my team. He has to die.' Back in America, President Obama and his team were about to hear the words America had wanted for 10 long years: 'Geronimo, Geronimo, we got him.' American Manhunt: Osama bin Laden is out now on Netflix. 16 Robert O'Neil was the Navy SEAL who fired the bullet that killed Osama bin Laden Credit: Universal News and Sport (Scotland) Advertisement 16 In May 2011, Barack Obama announced to the world that Bin Laden had been killed Credit: Reuters 16 Pictures released later by the US showed the conditions of the compound, which housed Bin Laden Credit: BBC
Scottish Sun
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Scottish Sun
The shocking military gaffe that let Bin Laden escape just months after 9/11 as CIA boss admits ‘we could have ended it'
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) HE was the most wanted terrorist in history. But it took the American intelligence services almost 10 years to hunt down Osama Bin Laden after the 9/11 terror attacks shocked the world. 16 For years Osama bin Laden managed to evade US authorities Credit: AFP 16 He was the mastermind behind 9/11, the worst terrorist attack in US history Credit: Getty Images - Getty 16 President Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton and other top US officials nervously watch on as Bin Laden is hunted Credit: AP Now, a new Netflix documentary, American Manhunt: Osama bin Laden, charts the nerve-wracking, decade-long global missions to capture the world's most notorious criminal. It also examines the costly errors that meant the Al Qaeda leader could have been brought to justice far sooner, with a senior CIA boss candidly admitting they "could have ended it" just months after the atrocity. From the moment the World Trade Centre fell, US intelligence officers were focused on working out who was responsible. The CIA immediately got to work trawling the flight manifests - the documents that detailed everyone who was on the hijacked planes that hit the two towers - as the terrorists would be on there too. Gina Bennett, a CIA counter-terrorism analyst, says: 'There was a name on a manifest that was suspected of being a pretty major Al Qaeda operative. "For years that was the terrorist group that we knew was determined to attack the United States. That name, that moment, there was just no way that was a coincidence. We knew immediately this was Osama bin Laden.' Gina was part of a crack CIA team, mainly women, who had been focusing on Bin Laden since the Nineties. Her colleague Cindy Storer says: 'We knew that Bin Laden was operating training camps and safe houses against the Soviet Union. "When the war was over, we discovered he turned those camps into training camps for Islamic militants to go out and attack other countries. We knew they had terrorist capabilities. "So we didn't know to what extent they were going to come directly after the US.' Shameless Taliban claims there is 'no proof' Osama bin Laden was behind 9/11 16 The events of 9/11 left 2,977 people dead Credit: AFP 16 The moment President Bush was told about the attacks while visiting a school Credit: AFP Attacks started across the world, heralding a new wave of terrorism, and in the months before 9/11, there was intelligence that Al Qaeda posed a threat to American targets. Gina says: 'All the indicators were that something big was happening.' Cindy adds: 'We got reporting that people in Bin Laden's network were calling their mothers and telling them goodbye and stuff like that. Something very serious was about to happen.' Unimaginable atrocity The US government was warned by the CIA that the likely targets would be famous landmarks or symbols of US capitalism - but they did not know when or how. And none of them could have imagined the extent or horror of 9/11 when it did happen. Cindy says: 'You can't not feel some responsibility for not stopping an attack that occurred on your watch. So you can't help but question yourself.' It soon became clear that the Taliban government in Afghanistan were providing a safe haven for Bin Laden, who became the world's most wanted man after the events of 9/11 left 2,977 people dead. We got reporting that people in Bin Laden's network were calling their mothers and telling them goodbye and stuff like that. Something very serious was about to happen Cindy Storer So America gave them an opportunity to turn him over, which they refused. Just four days after 9/11, President Bush decided to go to war and put the CIA and its counterterrorism boss, Cofer Black, in charge of hunting him down. 'Operation Jawbreaker' sent small teams of CIA agents behind enemy lines to work with their Afghan allies, the Northern Alliance, who were already fighting the Taliban. And Cofer Black's instructions were clear - he wanted Bin Laden's head on a stick to present to President Bush. 16 Operation Jawbreaker tracked Bin Laden down to the mountainous stronghold of Tora Bora in the months after the atrocity 16 Just four days after 9/11, President Bush decided to go to war 16 Bin Laden released propaganda videos praising the attacks Credit: Getty By December, the Americans and the Northern Alliance had taken control of all the major Afghan cities - but Bin Laden had got away. American intelligence located his whereabouts in the mountainous stronghold of Tora Bora, and a team was sent up to find him. They needed military reinforcements, but they were denied. The decision was made to bomb anyway, despite CIA protestations that they needed support. The mountain cave was hit for 56 hours with some of the heaviest bombing since World War Two - but there was no proof Bin Laden was dead and fears grew that escape routes had not been sealed off. Then, six months later, the Americans' worst fears were realised - film footage emerged proving Bin Laden was alive. Cofer Black says: 'We could have ended it and moved on. It would have given some closure to the survivors in New York. "This was the best chance we ever had and I am sorry we didn't take it.' Hunt for the henchmen 16 Osama bin Laden with Ayman al-Zawahiri, an Egyptian who was known as his right-hand man Credit: Getty 16 Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who was being tracked by American intelligence for years, was the 'architect' of 9/11 Credit: AP As Bin Laden released another propaganda video, the hunt for him and his henchmen intensified. The Al Qaeda founder was at the top; after him was his deputy Al Zawahiri. Next in command were a handful of lieutenants who were also very close to Bin Laden. These were Abu Zubaydah, who was suspected to be Bin Laden's chief operations operative, and a mysterious figure known only as Mukhtar. In December 2001, three months after 9/11, a flight attendant on an American airliner thwarted another terror attack when he discovered a passenger with a bomb in his shoes. The investigators felt they were at a dead end, but then they managed to capture Abu Zubaydah in a raid in Pakistan. Unbelievably, he cooperated with the FBI and named the mysterious Mukhtar as a man they had been tracking for years - Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, known as KSM. But that was nothing compared to what happened next. Mastermind unmasked Zubaydah revealed KSM was not just one of Bin Laden's closest accomplices, but the chief planner behind the September 11 attacks. FBI Special Agent Ali Sofan says: 'He was the architect, the visionary, the mastermind of 9/11.' He had been the man behind the first attack on the World Trade Centre back in 1993, but considered it a failure when he failed to topple the towers. So he found his way to Afghanistan and Al Qaeda and pitched an idea to Osama Bin Laden to target not only the World Trade Centre, but also the Capitol Building and the Pentagon. After 9/11, KSM went into hiding, but intelligence revealed he was in Pakistan. In March 2003, they raided his villa in Rawalpindi, and he was captured. But what became clear was that Bin Laden was still very much in charge - and there were real concerns about additional attacks. In the months that followed came the 2004 Madrid train bombings, which killed 193 people, then the 7/7 bombings in London that left 52 dead. Cindy Storer says: 'There was attack after attack, we knew there could be another attack at any time, anywhere." KSM provided information about Al Qaeda as an organisation. But there was one thing he wouldn't talk about - Bin Laden. The hunt for Bin Laden stalled. But the terror plots continued - another was uncovered to blow up the New York subway, another to blow up 15 airliners over the US. Bin Laden was looking for his next 9/11. Monster hunt 16 Osama Bin Laden occasionally released videos so his followers knew he was alive Credit: AP 16 US intelligence managed to trace his whereabouts to a large house in Abbotabad, Pakistan Credit: EPA 16 Obama gave orders for the operation, despite the uncertainty that Bin Laden was in the home Credit: Netflix In September 2007, six years after 9/11, Bin Laden released a new videotape proving he was alive and still plotting against the US. But the trail on him had gone cold. Barack Obama was sworn in as US President, and he told the CIA their number one task was to find Bin Laden. The CIA analysed every video Bin Laden put out, and the focus was on how he was getting them to the news - there must be a trusted courier. An Al Qaeda operative arrested in Africa named the courier as Abu Ahmed. But he proved elusive until the summer of 2010, when they were able to track his phone to Pakistan. They managed to follow him to a large house in Abbottabad. It was a bigger compound than any other in the area, boasting 18ft tall walls topped with barbed wire. It was clear that someone of high value was located there. The CIA started immediate surveillance of the compound, but it had no phones or internet, and all their rubbish was burned. They started to track the women and children who were seen coming and going, and they discovered that there were two families living in the compound - those of Abu Ahmed and his brother. But then satellite footage revealed that there was a third family living in the house that never left the compound. There was a man who would come outside every day and walk in the garden, but the walls and security meant it was impossible to get a clear image of his face. Without exact proof that Bin Laden was there, it was difficult for the President to make a decision to take action against the compound. If this was a botched operation, his reputation would be in tatters. But he asked the CIA to prepare to go into the compound. Bin Laden's reign of terror By Kevin Adjei-Darko EVIL mastermind Osama Bin Laden orchestrated some of the deadliest terror attacks the world has ever seen. As the leader of al-Qaeda, he was the brain behind the September 11, 2001 atrocities that killed nearly 3,000 people in New York, Washington D.C., and Pennsylvania. Nineteen hijackers took over four planes, slamming two into the Twin Towers, one into the Pentagon, and another crashing in a field after passengers fought back. Before 9/11, Bin Laden's fingerprints were all over other deadly plots. In 1998, he ordered truck bombings at US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, killing 224 and injuring thousands. In 2000, al-Qaeda struck again with the bombing of the USS Cole in Yemen, killing 17 American sailors. Bin Laden used his fortune and twisted ideology to fund global jihad, radicalise followers, and build terror networks. The Saudi-born terror chief became the world's most wanted man, hiding in plain sight in Pakistan for years before U.S. Navy SEALs took him out in a daring 2011 raid. Admiral William McRaven, head of the Navy Seals, was tasked with planning the raid. Seal Team Six was sent to Jalalabad, where they built a mock-up of the compound and practised for weeks. On May 1, 2011, the most classified operation of the last 20 years was launched. Bin Laden's codename was Geronimo. As the helicopters carrying the team hovered over the compound, one of them crashed - but miraculously, the Navy Seals walked away. The crash had awoken the neighbourhood, but the decision was taken to carry on with the mission. Within minutes, the Seals were within the compound and shot and killed Abu Ahmed. As they made their way up the stairs, their next target was Bin Laden's son, Khalid. As the Seals peeled off to search, there were only two of them left to go to the top floor, where Bin Laden could be hiding. Officer Robert J O'Neill says: 'Standing in front of me, two feet away, was Osama Bin Laden. It was one of those moments in life where it did slow down. "He's taller than I thought, he's skinnier than I thought. His beard was grey/white. But I recognised his nose. This is definitely him. He's not surrendering, he's a threat, not just to me but to my team. He has to die.' Back in America, President Obama and his team were about to hear the words America had wanted for 10 long years: 'Geronimo, Geronimo, we got him.' American Manhunt: Osama bin Laden is out now on Netflix. 16 Robert O'Neil was the Navy SEAL who fired the bullet that killed Osama bin Laden Credit: Universal News and Sport (Scotland) 16 In May 2011, Barack Obama announced to the world that Bin Laden had been killed Credit: Reuters
