A little while after the 9/11 Commission released its’ report in 2004, I saw a review of it in the Washington Post and was interested that they found it ‘highly readable,” unlike many such reports which are dry and incomprehensible.  I decided to read it, but waited until we went on vacation later that year so that I could read it on a beach with the waves and warm air surrounding me. As I read about the incomprehensible tragedy that happened that day, being able to look up at the palm trees and waves and feel the warm breezes seemed like both a counterpoint and reassurance that the world could recover and go on after such a tragedy.

So, recently, when Peter Bergen released this book on the 10 year search for and death of Osama bin Laden, it seemed like a type of closure for me to read it. Bergen is a journalist who has reported extensively on national security and is currently a contributor for CNN.  He is widely known for his interview with Osama bin Laden in which bin Laden declared war on the West for the first time to a Western audience.

Bergen begins with the hunt for bin Laden, and the various tactics used and the types of information that those tactics elicited during the Bush and Obama administrations.  It was surprising to me that there was so very little to go on for so many years.  bin Laden essentially disappeared and was very careful in contacting his people in al-Qaeda throughout the ten year period after 9/11 making him very difficult to find.  It also had the  effect of making bin Laden more figurehead rather than the charismatic leader who had the audacity to plan the 9/11 attacks.  Throughout this period, especially after Obama took office, drone strikes were used against other al-Qaeda leaders and this began to take its toll on the organization as well.

Against this background the search for bin Laden continued but had basically stalled for a number of years until Obama took office when it began again to gain more attention and traction.  When eventually the CIA felt that that they had found bin Laden’s hideout in Abbottabad, Pakistan, the story turns from the hunt to the process of confirming and making the decision of when and how to strike and take out bin Laden.  I found this part of the narrative to be quite insightful.  Looking at the various choices that Obama had to consider and their ramifications, both politically and operationally, was quite instructive on how a president must think and make decisions.

Bergen interviewed many people for this book and the insights from Bush and Obama as well as others closer to the actual planning and logistics of the operation are quite extraordinary.  Just getting the background about that now famous picture of Obama leaning forward and Secretary Clinton covering her mouth in shock as they watched the operation proceed in real time makes this book totally worth reading!

So was killing Bin Laden revenge or justice?  I think a little of both.  On the world stage it  seems like a necessary action since I don’t think that a nation state can turn the other cheek in the face of such massive and horrific hatred as was unleashed on that fateful day in September. On the other had does this kind of retaliatory action just breed more hatred in the future?  I sincerely hope not but we will not know the answer to that until more time has passed.

 Brenda’s Rating: ****(Four Stars)

Recommend this book to: Ken, Sharon, Keith and Marian

Book Study Worthy?  Yes

I read this book as an ebook