Chapter 26: Hit and Miss in Pakistan

1 The helicopter … “on a plane.” Two Team 6 sources; “Inside Command Post in Hunt for bin Laden,” by David Wood, Newhouse News Service, March 8, 2002, accessed at: http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=20020308&slug=hunt08. Wood’s story, which was written while he was embedded in the Task Force Mountain headquarters at Bagram, and which had material deleted by military censors, makes no mention of the family being victims. However, interviews with SEALs on the mission and a comparison of dates and other details make it clear the mission described in the Wood story and the mission described by the SEALs are one and the same.

2 A few weeks … “for them.” Three JSOC sources; a Delta operator; a retired special operations officer.

3 But the cross-border … never jumped. Three Team 6 sources.

4 A year later … canceled the mission. The Way of the Knife, pp. 115–16. A senior Team 6 source.

5 But Team 6 kept … “package.” Team 6 sources.… August 31 … “British Hostage Found Dead in Afghanistan,” by Colin Freeman and Tom Coghlan, The Telegraph, September 4, 2005, accessed at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/afghanistan/1497611/British-hostage-found-dead-in-Afghanistan.html.

6 An investigation … chute in time. “Navy: SEALs’ Own Errors Led to Chute Deaths,” by Carol Ann Alaimo, Arizona Daily Star, February 7, 2009, accessed at: http://tucson.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/navy-seals-own-errors-led-to-chute-deaths/article_e019c515-955f-5d18-9d3d-6ad2116693a9.html.

7 To get around … locate the phone. The Way of the Knife, p. 134.

8 In the fall … drone strike. Two senior Team 6 sources.

9 The deception … “Hamza Rabia.” “Key Al Qaeda Figure Reported Killed in Blast,” National Public Radio, December 3, 2005, accessed at: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5037605.

10 But within … the truth. “Shrapnel Points to Drone in Pakistan Attack,” Fox News, December 5, 2005, accessed at: http://www.foxnews.com/story/2005/12/05/shrapnel-points-to-drone-in-pakistan-attack/.

11 Reputable news … drone strike. “The New Al-Qaeda Central,” by Craig Whitlock, The Washington Post, September 9, 2007, accessed at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/08/AR2007090801845_pf.html.

12 In the summer … opportunity slip. Counterstrike, pp. 115–18; a 160th SOAR source; No Easy Day, pp. 150–52.

13 After taking … “zippo.” Three Team 6 sources; a 160th SOAR source. Officials there … “provocation.” “U.S. Troops Crossed Border, Pakistan Says,” by Candace Rondeaux and Karen DeYoung, The Washington Post, September 4, 2008, accessed at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/03/AR2008090300523.html?hpid=moreheadlines.