Introduction
The elimination of Osama bin Laden, the terrorist who was responsible for the actions of many terrorist groups that operated, including in the United States, was mandatory and necessary. Social peace and public security could only be achieved by eliminating the terrorist threat that emanated from various groups. At the same time, potential violence could compromise the peaceful life of American citizens. However, the plan to assassinate bin Laden was not ideally arranged, and in this regard, it is necessary to consider its details.
Strengths of the Plan
The strength of the plan to eliminate bin Laden was the collection of information and intelligence about his group. This data played a crucial role in locating him. A set of search measures taken by early intelligence agencies of the United States, including the CIA, led to the discovery of the terrorist (Bohan et al., 2011). This further enabled the development of a strategic plan based on bin Laden’s specific location.
The discovery of the large Abbottabad, Pakistan complex where bin Laden was at the time involved a combination of human intelligence, satellite, and electronic surveillance (Bohan et al., 2011). Inter-agency coordination of efforts was a mandatory aspect, without which it would not have been possible to carry out research and plan for the elimination of bin Laden. The CIA and the US Department of Defense were in constant contact to plan all the elements of the terrorist elimination plan as efficiently as possible.
Covert execution was another notable positive aspect that enabled this operation to be performed most effectively. The plan to kill the terrorist was designed in such a way that the elimination went as unnoticed as possible by others. One of the primary factors influencing this parameter was the involvement of a highly qualified special forces unit. This minimized the risk that the operation would be discovered, thereby keeping bin Laden and his associates from learning of the plan (Bohan et al., 2011). Thus, he did not have time to prepare an escape, and the party arrived at the Abbottabad house to find him.
Another vital aspect concerns the operational execution. As noted earlier, special forces were responsible for this, and they underwent a specialized training course for complex tasks. A crucial aspect of the plan was the use of stealth helicopters to evade detection. Speed also became an important aspect that kept the terrorists from escaping.
Weaknesses of the Plan
Despite the success of the operation to eliminate bin Laden, several aspects were not planned and could potentially lead to the failure of the operation. One of these was the loss of the U.S. Black Hawk helicopter, which opened up some of the vulnerabilities of using such aircraft in the army (Shalal-Esa, 2011).
Several new variations of Black Hawk helicopters were used in the operation to eliminate bin Laden. The Ministry of Defense noted that earlier helicopters of the same model had already been shot down in the zone of operation in Somalia (Shalal-Esa, 2011). The crash of the helicopter during the operation to eliminate bin Laden was allegedly because the machine could not cope with the operation in harsher temperature conditions than usual(Shalal-Esa, 2011). Thus, the pilot was forced to make a rougher landing to allow the engines to cool more quickly.
Helicopters are sensitive to environmental conditions, which can pose specific difficulties for their operation in countries with unusual climates. Sandstorms and high air temperatures can adversely affect the wear of helicopter frame parts and significantly damage the rotors (Shalal-Esa, 2011). Shortly after the incident, officials said the helicopter’s loss was due to mechanical failure. In this regard, it is unclear why, during operational planning, the decision to use helicopters despite a malfunction was made. Potentially, this aspect could lead to the demise of the entire squad and the failure of the operation, making it critically important to consider.
Violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty is another weakness of the plan. Another country in which, according to intelligence, Osama bin Laden was hiding was not notified that any operations using weapons would be carried out on its territory. American military groups entered the territory of a foreign country without permission, which could entail significant consequences (60 Minutes, 2022).
The legality and ethics of interference in another state’s activities have been in question for a long time. At the same time, the exculpatory factor, such as the elimination of the head of the terrorists, does not work. This violation of territorial integrity has exacerbated bilateral relations and set a precedent that other countries could exploit. This would mark a significant tactical oversight that was not accounted for in the planning.
Criticism of the plan to eliminate bin Laden was primarily based on the lack of transparency and ambiguity in the decision-making process. This includes the role of President Obama in this process and his carrying out the operation without parliamentary permission (Bohan et al., 2011). The legality of the operation is in doubt due to the limited information provided, which has caused public confusion.
The justification for the operation also includes specific problems caused by the lack of international cooperation. International anti-terrorism complexes should have been considered to enhance the quality of the operation and involve international partners. This move could alleviate the moral and ethical condemnation associated with this operation. More transparency in this context could positively influence the operation’s outcome and potentially mitigate negative consequences.
Criticism of planning the assassination of bin Laden is mainly because the intelligence did not fully provide information about the internal situation in Pakistan. Thus, in an area with a high military presence, an operation involving two military helicopters and personnel could fail (60 Minutes, 2022). In this regard, the best solution could be to clarify the attitude of the Pakistani authorities to the current situation, which could potentially be aware of the whereabouts of bin Laden. In this case, this could simplify the operation and reduce the time spent searching for the terrorist.
Thus, the assassination planning operations would become a joint effort between Pakistan and the United States. However, this, in turn, could affect the bin Laden group’s discovery of the plans. This is because a large number of terrorist intelligence officers could be present in Pakistan.
Regarding the plan’s long-term impact, several potential negative aspects significantly influence international politics. The sweeping effort to eliminate bin Laden was important as a blow to al-Qaeda, but it is not known how much it was able to weaken the global presence of the terrorist threat (60 Minutes, 2022). The dispersal of terrorist groups and their activities around the world did not significantly decrease after the death of bin Laden. From this, we can conclude that his role was subordinate to al-Qaeda’s overall distribution of efforts. The elimination of bin Laden is an essential step in eliminating the terrorist threat.
Nevertheless, the plan was not entirely thought out, as the results were unclear. The government did not specify whether any further action was taken regarding the terrorist situation. This could significantly improve the overall situation with the threat of revenge from al-Qaeda.
A potential weakness of the plan to eliminate bin Laden is the possible escalation of the situation with the terrorist threat. This could be due to the elimination of such a significant figure. Therefore, the government had to take a set of measures to counter any further possible attempts by terrorists to attack the United States (60 Minutes, 2022). Additionally, other criticisms stem from the fact that the operation was conducted in a foreign country without the knowledge or consent of the local authorities. It may also affect the development of events and relations between Pakistan and the United States.
Conclusion
It is worth noting that the plan to destroy bin Laden was successfully implemented but contained some disadvantages and costs. A significant negative aspect is that the United States did not calculate what weather conditions would be in the location of the elimination of bin Laden. Due to this miscalculation, the special forces team was exposed to unreasonable risk and lost the helicopter during a hard landing.
In addition, in carrying out the plan, there was a significant problem that the US army would invade Pakistan without authorized permission. This further affected their international relations, complicating them. Thus, the negative aspects of planning to assassinate bin Laden required careful consideration and improvement during the strategizing phase.
References
60 Minutes. (2022). Killing Bin Laden. YouTube.
Bohan, C., Hosenball, M., Zakaria, T. & Ryan, M. (2011). Special report: The bin Laden kill plan. Reuters.
Shalal-Esa, A. (2011). Helicopter loss in bin Laden raid highlights risks. Reuters.