Killing Osama: Lessons in Leadership and Strategy

This article is dedicated to those who voted and celebrated the election victory of President Obama. You were right, there was something to this man.

Obama broke the news of bin Laden’s death with these definitive line: “Tonight I can report to the American people and the world that the United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama bin Laden the leader of al Qaeda and a terrorist who is responsible for the murder of thousands of innocent men, women and children”. Americans and many around the world may never forget where they were when they heard the news. Bin Laden had over the years began to personify the limits of American power and the vulnerability of the world to terrorism. Every once in a while, the rich and ruthless al Qaeda leader would send out an uncompromising video message reminding the USA and Israel that the jihad was not over. For ten years, he taunted, threatened and continued with his global bombing campaign.

Its hard, even for the biggest cynic, not to be impressed by the strategic skills of Obama and his team. Here are a few highlights. In August 2009, just a few months after his inauguration, Obama invited the Director of the CIA, to the Oval Office. He asked the Director to prioritise the killing or capture of bin Laden. This would be a critical element to the war on terror for the President and the CIA would have all the support they required. In November 2010, the CIA presented information to the Obama, including the external plan of a building, of a compound in Pakistan where they believed a high value al Qaeda target was hiding. Obama asked them to prepare an operational plan even as they sought more intelligence. In January 2011, the operation was underway. By March the elite Navy Seal team 6 of 25 men was conducting mock entries into a prototype bin Laden compound. They would only know if bin Laden was truly there during the actual operation.

On the night of 1 May the Navy Seals flew into the compound from neighbouring Afghanistan, stormed the dark buildings, shot dead those who fired at them, killed bin Laden with a bullet to his head, packed out a ‘library’ of bin Laden’s materials, bombed a failed helicopter and flew out to a US aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea with bin Laden’s body. All in 40 minutes. The operation was conducted without the knowledge of most senior White House officials, NATO allies, the Pakistani authorities and any of the President’s family. Obama knew the operation was over when it was announced into the Situation Room, where his team anxiously huddled, “Geronimo ekia”. Geronimo (code name for bin Laden) has been killed.

This operation is unparalled in the history of the US military. It had been ten years since the earnest search began and many assumed that the US government had close to given up. The decision to go ahead has been called ‘gutsy’ as there was no guarantee bin Laden would be there, the Navy Seals could have run into explosive traps or face attack from the Pakistani military. Obama’s dwindling political fortunes would have been doomed by a failed operation. Now no one can question the strategic ability of the President.