Another factor in favor of approving the raid was that the U.S. was monitoring “plots that were being developed by al Qaeda, and the importance of us being able to reduce those threats.”
He said some of his advisers thought the U.S. should develop more intelligence.
“The problem there was that we had no idea what might be underneath the compound,” the president said, expressing the concern that bin Laden could slip away. “We didn’t have 24/7 visuals on the compound.”
He said his national security team also considered firing a missile at the compound.
“Obviously, the advantage was it didn’t put our guys in harm’s way,” Mr. Obama said. “The problem was, at that point — we would not be able to —necessarily confirm that — we had captured or killed bin Laden. The possibilities of collateral damage were more extensive. And so in the end, because I had so much confidence [in] our special forces, because I had seen the meticulous planning that had gone into it, because we had walked through the operation often enough that I felt that they could get in and get out. And even if it was the wrong guy, they wouldn’t be pinned down. I decided that at that point it was — it was important for us to go forward.”
He said he and other top aides entered the situation room as the raid was in progress, just as one of the special forces helicopters crash-landed in the compound.
Reporter Peter Bergen noted that “the last person that bin Laden saw on Earth was an American.”
Mr. Obama replied, “and hopefully, at that moment, he understood that the American people hadn’t forgotten the some 3,000 people who he killed.”
@ Based on a Washington Times report.
