A news junkie's dream day -- details of the military action that took out Osama bin-Laden yesterday emerge hour by hour. I realize that for non-journalists, this level of detail is not advisable. News addictions are not for everybody.
But going back to my work as a private investigator on behalf of the families who lost relatives in the 9/11 attacks, I've always retained a high degree of interest in the intelligence operations both before and since those attacks.
Finding a person is the most basic task any young investigative reporter has to master. We, of course, do not have the powerful tools of the CIA, DIA, or NSA, but finding most people is not that hard to do.
In the case of someone who doesn't want to be found, however, other means need to be employed. Everything starts with scraps of data that you piece together over time to try and discern patterns.
Every person lives according to his own pattern. Daily routines, habits, preferences are the best predictor of what that person will do the next time circumstances repeat themselves.
The tracking of bin-Laden started well before 9/11; he was trapped but allowed to escape at Tora Bora in late 2001, and then he vanished. But not really. He was there all the while, and it took systematic surveillance of others until the CIA felt they had one guy -- a courier -- who was in touch with bin-Laden.
It was eight months ago that the intelligence operatives started to zoom in on the compound where yesterday's raid took place. Not until the past few days did they develop enough confidence that this was a credible hideout for the al-Qaeda chief to justify an attack.
The President made the decision. The team went in and killed Osama bin-Laden. As the entire story emerges at some future point, this indeed will be a book worth reading.
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1 comment:
What an immense operation this was- and I'm thankful it was successful. As you mentioned in a later post- if it had not been successful, the media and the world would definitely be reacting very differently!
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