Today at 7:07 AM MDT on The Morning Zone, law enforcement specialist. and KGAB columnist, Jim Kouri looks deeper into the Bin Laden killing from his latest column.

By Jim Kouri

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates -- a former CIA director -- and Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, commander of NATO's International Security Assistance Force and President Barack Obama's nominee to lead the CIA after his military retirement, have emphasized the importance of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance technology to the fight in Afghanistan.

The Osama bin Laden operation was the culmination of years of careful and highly advanced intelligence work as officers from the CIA, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency worked as a team to analyze and pinpoint the Pakistani compound in which bin Laden hid and eventually died.

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates -- a former CIA director -- and Army General David H. Petraeus, commander of NATO's International Security Assistance Force and President Barack Obama's nominee to lead the CIA after his military retirement, have emphasized the importance of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance technology to the fight in Afghanistan.

Gates said in March the number of certain surveillance systems in the Afghanistan theater had increased over the last several months from a few dozen to more than 60.

The plan to attack the compound of 9/11 mastermind Osama bin Laden was hatched as a result of relentless intelligence work and operational professionalism, according to Jim Garamone of the American Forces Press Service.

Once the intelligence pointed precisely to the compound in Abbottabad –- a town 35 miles north of Pakistan's capital of Islamabad –- the work on the mission began between the intelligence and military communities.

"In the end, it was the matchless skill and courage of these Americans that secured this triumph for our country and the world," Garamone said.

A small team conducted the helicopter raid on the compound. One official called it a complex operation, noting that the compound was a virtual fortress -– built in 2006 with high walls, razor wire and other defense features. Its suburban location and proximity to Islamabad complicated the operation, the official said.

"The men who executed this mission accepted this risk, practiced to minimize those risks, and understood the importance of the target to the national security of the United States," said Garamone's report. "This operation was a surgical raid by a small team designed to minimize collateral damage and to pose as little risk as possible to noncombatants on the compound or to Pakistani civilians in the neighborhood."

U.S. helicopters delivered the team to the compound, and the team was on the ground for less than 40 minutes. They did not encounter any local authorities. In addition to bin Laden, three adult males were killed in the raid.

"There were several women and children at the compound," according to the military report. "One woman was killed when she was used as a shield by a male combatant. Two other women were injured."

One of the U.S. helicopters was lost at the compound due to mechanical failure. The crew destroyed it on the ground, and the assault force and crew members boarded the remaining aircraft to leave.

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"There's also no doubt that the death of Osama bin Laden marks the single greatest victory in the U.S.-led campaign to disrupt, dismantle and defeat al-Qaeda," Garamone stated. "It is a major and essential step in bringing about al-Qaeda's eventual destruction."

Officials have admitted that the United States did not share any intelligence on the raid with any other country including Pakistan. "On the surface, the Pakistani government may protest and condemn the U.S. invasion of their sovereignty, but behind the scenes they are probably grateful that bin Laden is no longer alive and commanding a terrorist group," said former intelligence officer and NYPD cop Mike Snopes, who lost friends and colleagues during the 9-11 terror attack.

"We believed it was essential to the security of the operation and our personnel," Garamone's report said. "In fact, only a very small group of people inside our own government knew of this operation in advance." Shortly after the raid, he added, U.S. officials contacted senior Pakistani leaders and told them about the raid and its results.

"Since 9/11, the United States has made it clear to Pakistan that we would pursue bin Laden wherever he might be, Pakistan has long understood that we are at war with al-Qaeda. The United States had a legal and moral obligation to act on the information it had."

Then at 8:07, Elan Journo, a fellow in foreign policy at the Ayn Rand Institute, and the director ARI's Policy division will guest to further discuss Osama Bin Lad3en's undoing.

At 9:07, the folks for LCCC will be in to update us on the latest from the college.


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