Book: Obama hoped to put bin Laden on trial
WASHINGTON (AP) - A new book says President Barack Obama hoped to put Osama bin Laden on trial, showing the U.S. commitment to due process under law, if the al-Qaida leader had surrendered during a U.S. raid in Pakistan last year.
In "The Finish," journalist Mark Bowden quotes the president as saying he thought he would be in a strong political position to argue in favor of giving bin Laden the full rights of a criminal defendant if bin Laden went on trial for masterminding the Sept. 11 attacks.
But Bowden, who also wrote "Black Hawk Down" about the 1993 in Somalia where two helicopters were downed, killing 18 U.S. soldiers, says Obama expected bin Laden to go down fighting. A team of Navy SEALs raided bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan in May 2011 and killed bin Laden.
The Associated Press purchased a copy of "The Finish," which is due to come out Oct. 16, a few weeks before the presidential election. The revelation that Obama hoped to capture bin Laden may provide political fodder for Republicans who have criticized the Obama administration for trying to bring terrorists from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and overseas to trials in U.S. courts.
"Frankly, my belief was if we had captured him, that I would be in a pretty strong position, politically, here, to argue that displaying due process and rule of law would be our best weapon against al-Qaida, in preventing him from appearing as a martyr," Obama is quoted saying in an interview with Bowden.
Obama believed that affording terrorists "the full rights of criminal defendants would showcase America's commitment to justice for even the worst of the worst," Bowden writes.
Obama had expressed similar views as a presidential candidate.
U.S. officials have said the Navy team was ordered to capture bin Laden if he surrendered or kill him if he threatened them. Bowden asserts that the SEALs could have taken bin Laden alive, but had no intention of doing so.
In a separate account of the raid that was published last month, one member of the Navy team, Matt Bissonnette, wrote that the SEALS climbed a stairway inside the compound and opened fire when bin Laden poked his head around a doorway. Bissonnette wrote that bin Laden's hands were concealed and the SEALS presumed he was armed so they shot him.
Bowden's extensive access to top figures, from the president to the raid's operational commander, Adm. Bill McRaven, may revive criticism from Republicans that the White House allegedly leaks about the raid to burnish its foreign policy record during an election year,
Bowden details how the White House planned the mission and explains that the specific American team was chosen because it had "already successfully conducted about a dozen secret missions inside Pakistan."
The recounting of the raid matches most previous versions. But Bowden also offers new insights from the first-person perspective of the officer who commanded it on the ground.
McRaven was able to monitor all Pakistani communications during the raid from his command post at a base in Afghanistan, according to Bowden. The account shows that Pakistani authorities were unaware of the raid as it happened, giving the Americans breathing room to fly in a backup helicopter to replace the one that had crashed while depositing the first batch of SEALs in the compound.
After McRaven told then-CIA director Leon Panetta he had a "Geronimo" call - the radio code that meant the SEALs had found bin Laden - the admiral realized he had not asked whether bin Laden was dead or had been captured.
McRaven checked again with the SEALs on the ground before relaying that bin Laden had likely been killed. But McRaven cautioned Panetta to "manage his expectations" until they had more definitive proof, by comparing his photographs with the dead man.
Later, McRaven told the president that he was "pretty damn sure" that they killed bin Laden, but said the military needed to complete DNA analysis to be sure, Bowden writes.
The book's publication may complicate the Pentagon's attempts to punish Bissonnette for his book. Writing under the pseudonym Mark Owen, Bissonnette published "No Easy Day" without submitting it for a security review by the Pentagon. Bowden was under no such requirement to have the book vetted because he was not a government or military employee.
The Finish" is published by Grove/Atlantic, Inc.'s Atlantic Monthly Press imprint.
In "The Finish," journalist Mark Bowden quotes the president as saying he thought he would be in a strong political position to argue in favor of giving bin Laden the full rights of a criminal defendant if bin Laden went on trial for masterminding the Sept. 11 attacks.
But Bowden, who also wrote "Black Hawk Down" about the 1993 in Somalia where two helicopters were downed, killing 18 U.S. soldiers, says Obama expected bin Laden to go down fighting. A team of Navy SEALs raided bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan in May 2011 and killed bin Laden.
The Associated Press purchased a copy of "The Finish," which is due to come out Oct. 16, a few weeks before the presidential election. The revelation that Obama hoped to capture bin Laden may provide political fodder for Republicans who have criticized the Obama administration for trying to bring terrorists from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and overseas to trials in U.S. courts.
"Frankly, my belief was if we had captured him, that I would be in a pretty strong position, politically, here, to argue that displaying due process and rule of law would be our best weapon against al-Qaida, in preventing him from appearing as a martyr," Obama is quoted saying in an interview with Bowden.
Obama believed that affording terrorists "the full rights of criminal defendants would showcase America's commitment to justice for even the worst of the worst," Bowden writes.
Obama had expressed similar views as a presidential candidate.
U.S. officials have said the Navy team was ordered to capture bin Laden if he surrendered or kill him if he threatened them. Bowden asserts that the SEALs could have taken bin Laden alive, but had no intention of doing so.
In a separate account of the raid that was published last month, one member of the Navy team, Matt Bissonnette, wrote that the SEALS climbed a stairway inside the compound and opened fire when bin Laden poked his head around a doorway. Bissonnette wrote that bin Laden's hands were concealed and the SEALS presumed he was armed so they shot him.
Bowden's extensive access to top figures, from the president to the raid's operational commander, Adm. Bill McRaven, may revive criticism from Republicans that the White House allegedly leaks about the raid to burnish its foreign policy record during an election year,
Bowden details how the White House planned the mission and explains that the specific American team was chosen because it had "already successfully conducted about a dozen secret missions inside Pakistan."
The recounting of the raid matches most previous versions. But Bowden also offers new insights from the first-person perspective of the officer who commanded it on the ground.
McRaven was able to monitor all Pakistani communications during the raid from his command post at a base in Afghanistan, according to Bowden. The account shows that Pakistani authorities were unaware of the raid as it happened, giving the Americans breathing room to fly in a backup helicopter to replace the one that had crashed while depositing the first batch of SEALs in the compound.
After McRaven told then-CIA director Leon Panetta he had a "Geronimo" call - the radio code that meant the SEALs had found bin Laden - the admiral realized he had not asked whether bin Laden was dead or had been captured.
McRaven checked again with the SEALs on the ground before relaying that bin Laden had likely been killed. But McRaven cautioned Panetta to "manage his expectations" until they had more definitive proof, by comparing his photographs with the dead man.
Later, McRaven told the president that he was "pretty damn sure" that they killed bin Laden, but said the military needed to complete DNA analysis to be sure, Bowden writes.
The book's publication may complicate the Pentagon's attempts to punish Bissonnette for his book. Writing under the pseudonym Mark Owen, Bissonnette published "No Easy Day" without submitting it for a security review by the Pentagon. Bowden was under no such requirement to have the book vetted because he was not a government or military employee.
The Finish" is published by Grove/Atlantic, Inc.'s Atlantic Monthly Press imprint.
I don't wish to argue with Mr Bowden, because he is an excellent investigative reporter...but in this case I'll respectfully disagree.
The LAST thing in the world Obama wanted was a living OBL and the headaches of a trial-both in the US and abroad. I think the order was dead or alive, with the preference for dead, and that is alright with me,
Spongebob can always have an under the ocean trial if someone really thinks it matters.
the dead don't talk. bet bush and chaney were relieved over that one.
Would the Muslims, 10% of whom would like America to burn in hell, be put on the jury?
@TimBurr I'd like to see proof of your 10% claim because I find it difficult to believe that 170,000,000 Muslims want to see America destroyed.
Your number is low to my calculation.
Just cant put that picture in the trash can you... Ok, the osama picture is out, what rights and freedoms must I give up this time?
Obama's commitment to due process? Under President Bush between 2004 and the end of his presidency about 500 people in Pakistan were killed by drones. During President Obama's presidency about 2500 have been killed. That is 5 times as many! Doesn't sound like much of a commitment to due process to me. (And that is only the numbers for Pakistan. How many more died in Afghanistan, Yemen and wherever else he may have authorized drone use?) Remember Obama's campaign promise to end the war in Afghanistan?
@Nobody - In war, that is due process.
I call BS that the white house planned the raid. What a crock. Just another attempt of the Obaminator to make political points . There was never any question that UBL would be killed on site ,weather the the Obaminator order him to be taken alive or not. UBL should have been shot with bullets dipped in pork blood so he could not claim is virgins in the after life.
He got EXACTLY what he deserved
I'm thinking the trial Seal Team 6 conducted and dumping him in the ocean was just fine. al-Qaida couldn't care less about 'rule of law'. That's like trying to teach a lion how to eat with a fork.
 @DrivingMsPatty You're right. They do not care about rule of law. We do, however. One of the many reasons we are better than them.
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Besides that, in their eyes, he died with honor. It would have been much worse to both him and his followers if we had held him in prison for life.
 @Vince009  @DrivingMsPatty It would of been much worse for everybody if he had been captured and Jailed for life. Then they would Fight for him the rest of his dying days in Prison. Hi Jacking planes and bombing buildings trying to force his release. Killed and at the bottom of the sea is the best place for him!!
@DrivingMsPatty I call BS! I don't think they had any thought of a trial for this monster. I think it was taken care as it should have been, and it should happen more.