Chris Wallace On Book ‘Countdown Bin Laden’: ‘SEAL Team Six Viewed Hunt For Osama Bin Laden As Suicide Mission’

(CBS Local)– This week marks the 20th day of the attacks of September 11, 2001 and galore astir the state and the satellite are reexamining the events of that time and everything that unfolded successful the years aft the deadly violent onslaught astatine the World Trade Center successful New York City. Author and writer Chris Wallace was reasoning astir each of this for months erstwhile helium wrote his caller publication from Simon & Schuster called “Countdown Bin Landen: The Untold Story of the 247-Day Hunt to Bring the Mastermind of 9/11 to Justice.”

The publication features elaborate reporting astir the last 8 months of the hunt for Osama Bin Laden and features interviews with 2 members of SEAL Team Six, Defense Secretary Robert Gates, CIA Director Leon Panetta and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. CBS Local’s DJ Sixsmith precocious spoke to Wallace astir the book, what helium learned astir President Barack Obama’s determination to spell aft Bin Laden and the determination by the Biden medication to propulsion U.S. troops retired of Afghanistan.

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“The cardinal players erstwhile it was happening didn’t cognize what was going to hap with each of the uncertainty, each of the doubts and each of the questions,” said Wallace. “Almost everybody who was progressive with the determination from CIA Director Leon Panetta to each the apical radical successful the White House to Admiral William McRaven, who was the caput of Joint Special Operations Command, to a mates of the SEALs successful SEAL Team Six, who were connected the raid, including the antheral successful Rob O’Neill who really killed Bin Laden. I interviewed them each astatine large length. The publication starts connected August 27, 2010, erstwhile a mates of radical came into Panetta’s bureau of the CIA and accidental we person a pb astir wherever Bin Laden mightiness be.”

The 1 idiosyncratic Wallace didn’t get to interrogation for the publication was President Obama, but helium did yet chat with the 44th President successful backstage aft penning the book. The writer and writer learned a ton successful his probe and interviews and helium says years passing since these events allowed him to person much entree to radical and documents helium would not person been capable to entree if helium wrote the publication years ago.

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“When I talked to a mates of the SEALs, including Rob O’Neill, helium said I viewed this arsenic a 1 mode ticket. He said this was a termination mission. He said if Bin Laden was there, determination was nary accidental we were coming location alive. Either the full compound was going to beryllium booby-trapped oregon erstwhile we went up successful the main location wherever we thought Bin Laden was, determination would beryllium each kinds of Al-Qaeda bodyguards who would propulsion each kinds of worldly astatine us. Another happening is they ne'er had a hard, steadfast lawsuit that Bin Laden was successful the compound. It was ever circumstantial. They ne'er had a affirmative ID that Osama Bin Landen was surviving successful that compound.”

“They went astir the country successful the Situation Room connected the last time April 28, 2011 connected a Thursday day and President Obama is asking each of his apical people…. Biden, who was against doing the raid, Robert Gates, the Secretary of Defense, who was against doing the raid and connected and on. Some of them were saying there’s a 30% chance, immoderate of them were saying there’s a 70% chance. At 1 point, President Obama looks implicit astatine the Deputy CIA Director named Mike Morell and helium says explicate each of these antithetic percentages.”

“He said it depends connected wherever you’ve been and however overmuch occurrence you’ve had, but helium said the lawsuit that determination were weapons of wide demolition successful Iraq erstwhile we invaded, that lawsuit was stronger than this one,” said Wallace. “There was implicit soundlessness successful the room. Everyone thought that if the lawsuit for weapons of wide destruction, which didn’t crook retired to beryllium true, is stronger, he’s [President Obama] is ne'er going to bash it. The President, who was astir apt the smartest user of quality and accusation successful the room, said this is simply a 50-50 proposition. He’s either determination oregon he’s not there. Then helium said I’ll fto you cognize successful the morning. He went up to his household quarters and helium had a hoops crippled on. It was the Lakers and Kobe Bryant playing the Charlotte Hornets. He stayed up precocious astatine nighttime and thought astir it and the adjacent greeting helium went to his apical aides and said it is simply a go.”

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“Countdown Bin Laden” is disposable present wherever books are sold.