America’s Mistake in the Killing of bin Laden

An American newspaper recently published a blow-by-blow account of the killing of bin Laden. But does the public need to know every detail?

A photo shows the U.S. president with security advisers, the defense secretary and secretary of state in breathless suspense, their gaze focused on a distant event: Navy SEAL Team 6 killing bin Laden. Like the ruins of the World Trade Center, this image will become emblematic of the era of terrorism.

As if that weren’t enough, The New Yorker magazine broke a blow-by-blow account, “Getting bin Laden.” Author Nicholas Schmidle couldn’t interview every involved party, but many. He had to disguise several names, but the questions remained public.

The technical details concerning bin Laden’s hiding techniques are astounding and explain why he couldn’t be located until his courier was identified. Not every aspect of what he did, and who supported or opposed it, was released. But over and over again, the account goes into indiscreet detail.

In terrorism circles, they’ll read with horror of how many disks and computers the SEALs collected. It’s interesting, the news that it was, at most, 50 percent certain that the mysterious inhabitant of the complex in Abbottabad was the terror chief himself. Everyone understood that not only was the weight of American power at risk, but also the future of the president.

The 1979 debacle could not be reprised, as the hostage rescue operation of the American diplomats failed due to incompetent planning and technical malfunction, and the Carter presidency failed along with it. This time, everything went according to plan — almost everything: Out of Afghanistan, in the dark of night, came two helicopters, barely detectible by radar, motors and rotor blades muted to inaudibility.

The second helicopter’s crash landing on the target was a severe glitch. The SEALs smashed the futuristic technology with hammers. Yet, what remained was still enough to make the Chinese acrimonious. It was to them that the Pakistani secret service delivered — out of revenge, for cash, or in a trade? — the technological bonanza that had fallen at their feet.

Anyone who reads between the lines will actually discover that the Americans do not trust their Pakistani allies and that this alliance is deliberate confusion. I discussed this account with General Ulrich Wegener, the legendary founder of the GSG 9 [counter-terrorist force] and commander of the famous counter-terrorism raid at Mogadishu. He just shook his head: The public does not need to know everything — and the enemy, nothing at all.