Elite Officer Recalls Bin Laden Hunt

Delta Force Commander Says The Best Plan To Kill The Al Qaeda Leader In 2001 Was Nixed

(CBS)  Shortly after 9/11, the Pentagon ordered a top secret team of American commandos into Afghanistan with a single, simple order: kill Osama bin Laden. It was America's best chance to eliminate the leader of al Qaeda. The inside story of exactly what happened in that mission, and how close it came to its objective has never been told until now.

The man you are about to meet was the officer in command, leading a team from the U.S. Army's mysterious Delta Force - a unit so secret, it's often said Delta doesn't exist. But you are about to see Delta's operators in action.

Why would the mission commander break his silence after seven years? He told 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley that most everything he has read in the media about his mission is wrong and now he wants to set the record straight.

---

"Our job was to go find him, capture or kill him, and we knew the writing on the wall was to kill him because nobody wanted to bring Osama bin Laden back to stand trial in the United States somewhere," the mission commander tells Pelley.

In 2001, just 10 weeks after 9/11, he was a 37-year-old Army major leading a team of America's most elite commandos. Even now, 60 Minutes can't tell you his name or show you his face. 60 Minutes hired a theatrical make up artist to take this former Delta officer through a series of transformations to disguise him. He calls himself "Dalton Fury," and is the author of "Kill Bin Laden," a new book out this week.

Dalton Fury is used to disguises. In fact in 2001, his entire team transformed themselves in Afghanistan. "Everybody has their beard grown. Everybody’s wearing local Afghan clothing, sometimes carrying the same weapons as them," he explains.

"The idea was that if this all worked out Osama bin Laden would be dead, and no one would ever know that Delta Force was there?" Pelley asks.

"That's right," Fury says. "That's the plan. And that always is when you're talking about Delta Force."

And there was no mission more important to the United States. "We'll smoke him out of his cave and we'll get him eventually," President Bush had vowed.

But the administration's strategy was to let Afghans do most of the fighting. Using radio intercepts and other intelligence, the CIA pinpointed bin Laden in the mountains near the border of Pakistan. Following the strategy of keeping an Afghan face on the war, Fury's Delta team joined the CIA and Afghan fighters and piled into pickup trucks. They videotaped their journey to a place called Tora Bora.

Fury told 60 Minutes his orders were to kill bin Laden and leave the body with the Afghans.

"Right here you're looking at basically the battlefield from the last location that we had a firm on Osama bin Laden's location," Fury explains to Pelley, looking at a ridgeline with an elevation of about 14,000 feet.

Asked how tough it would be to attack such a position on a scale of one to ten, Fury tells Pelley, "In my experience it’s a ten."

Delta developed an audacious plan to come at bin Laden from the one direction he would never expect.

"We want to come in on the back door," Fury explains. "The original plan that we sent up through our higher headquarters, Delta Force wants to come in over the mountain with oxygen, coming from the Pakistan side, over the mountains and come in and get a drop on bin Laden from behind."

But they didn't take that route, because Fury says they didn't get approval from a higher level. "Whether that was Central Command all the way up to the president of the United States, I'm not sure," he says.

The next option that Delta wanted to employ was to drop hundreds of landmines in the mountain passes that led to Pakistan, which was bin Laden’s escape route.

"First guy blows his leg off, everybody else stops. That allows aircraft overhead to find them. They see all these heat sources out there. Okay, there a big large group of Al Qaeda moving south. They can engage that," Fury explains.

But they didn't do that either, because Fury says that plan was also disapproved. He says he has "no idea" why.

"How often does Delta come up with a tactical plan that's disapproved by higher headquarters?" Pelley asks.

"In my experience, in my five years at Delta, never before," Fury says.

[notmudrose]

Dubya really screwed us in 2001 and for the last 8 years. If you voted for him you''ve now killed 4488 American soldiers in Iraq.

[thechinaman1]

we should have sent 200,000 soldiers up to the hindu kush on 9/12 until blood was flowing from every *** in bin laden''s body.

[liberalme]

The CIA has a detailed map of Tora Bora--

The few times our military had Bin Laden in their sites, they were told to back off by "someone" in Washington.

Bush never wanted to "get" Bin Laden---his "blood" brother.

[jn122736]

If Osama Bin Laden had been killed or captured the truth about 9/11 may have been let out, either by Bin Laden himself, if captured, or by his family in Saudi Arabia.
That is a very possible reason why no serious effort to kill him was ever allowed by the administration.

Bin laden, Al Qaeda, and Afghanistan were just fabricated excuses used to carry out the LONG PLANNED invasion of Iraq.

[inventagod2]

bin Laden (or Tim Ossman) was a CIA employee, and had very little to do with 9/11. Someone within our government got away with murder, in the name of oil.
There was never a real plan to ''get'' Osama...

[zhynaryll]

You Bush-haters out there need to go join your great hero, bin Laden!!! Leave the US! We don''t need nor want your kind!! However - if Bush made the call to NOT get bin Laden, then HE needs to leave the US as well! The whole operation using the warlords was an exercise in stupidity, and I lay that on the generals in charge - Bush doesn''t know that much about the military, you know! Or it could have been canceled by left-over Clintonites in the military! That''s as good a reason as blaming Bush, is it not????

[bobnjersey]

[Ten weeks after 9/11, Fury and a team of U.S. Army Delta Force soldiers joined CIA operatives and Afghan fighters known as mujahideen under the command of a warlord named General Hazrat Ali, to whom the CIA paid millions in cash. ]

maybe they should have paid them ''after'' they caught him. so much for incentive.

[bobnjersey]

[Bush doesn''''t know that much about the military, you know! Or it could have been canceled by left-over Clintonites in the military! That''''s as good a reason as blaming Bush, is it not????]
[Posted by zhynaryll at 05:36 PM : Oct 02, 2008]

there were ''clintonites'' in the military? i thought he gutted the military and the cia ... killed vince foster ... and destroyed the holy grail. i''m surprised you didn''t open w/ the ''could have been clinton'' reference.

what exactly does bush know much about ... anything?

[flajoe1]

This is an old story. Nothing new here...

Say...How do I get CBS to help me push my book?

[jn122736]

This is an old story. Nothing new here...

Say...How do I get CBS to help me push my book?

Posted by Flajoe1 at 05:44 PM : Oct 02, 2008
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You might try writing something worth printing!

[lmartink]

This is the way Afghanistan is.

Despite the puppet Karzai in Kabul, the warlords have run the rest of Afghanistan for centuries. They have the power. It is quite likely that this warlord took our offer of millions of dollars, and engineered the escape of Osama bin Laden at the same time. He called for an attack in one direction, while he knew Osama was escaping to safety in the other direction. Such a feat would bring this warlord great prestige and honor in Afghanistan.

When queried about this, the Afghanis will shrug their shoulders and say, "That''s Afhanistan."

But, then, the jerks in the White House should have known this. I went to college and I knew it was happening simply because that''s the way Afghanistan is.

It''s the same reason Pakistan has not found bin Laden. There is no prestige or honor in it.

[govwatch-2009]

For all intent and purpose Bin Laden is dead. Videos are fakes, they contain no proof of life.

[imnho]

Bush was completly clueless when it came to matters invoving the presidency. The fact that the not ready for prime time leadership screwed this up is not a suprize. Everything he tries turns into ashe. This guy basically has srewed up hat know body thought could be screwed up.

Sounds like a nice story - sounds like he should make a nice profit from his book.

Whether it''s the truth or not, who knows - but the one thing that is evident is that he''s making a lot of guesses:

""Had we gone up that ridgeline towards that location, Osama bin Laden may have been 500 meters away. We might have run right into him," Fury tells Pelley."

""He moved as far as he could and then got out and either walked across or was carried across into Pakistan, free and clear," Fury tells Pelley.
"

Right. Maybe Bin Laden flapped his magical wings and flew over the border.

Fact is, it doesn''t matter how he got across the border - clearly those we entrusted to get Bin Laden - GW Bush and the military - failed.

As for the fact that we paid millions or even billions of dollars to the various Afghan warlords, we should have been paying for results - not just giving them the money and hoping they would do something for it.

[hothead007]

OSAMA LADEN IS THE CREATION OF THE TERRORIST UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND THEIR IS NO EXISTANCE OF ANY SUCH THING AS ALQAEDA ALL THIS ARE IMAGINARY FICTITIOUS CHARACTERS BUT CIA ON THE ORDERS OF THE SATAN BUSH AND HIS DEVIL CRONIES TO FOOL THE AMERICAN PEOPLE

[petro49l]

George W. Bush promised the Saudis that Bin Laden will not be captured or harmed by the Coalition. The Pakistani Army defends Waziristan. Islamabad could fire a thermo-nuclear warhead at Afghanistan and strike an American target. Bush has indicated that he would declare war on Iran. OPEC definitely controls the region.

[pensacola98]

I am skeptical to believe this officer, or this news article. No Delta Force officer would disclose or leak information like this, because if they did, they know they are violating the law. Readers are hungry to believe something, and there are no shortages of people looking for a sucker to feed a great story.

Malarchy....all of it!!!

[strmrnnr]

I do not believe it either. The story is a good one, but the mannerisms of the man telling the story in the video tell me he is NOT a hardened D-Force fighter. For one thing he would not talk with his hands when he is using his mouth - it is one or the other - unless nessesary. He blinks too much - every time you blink you, miss something - D-Force fighters don''t miss much.

I would expect to find a man with his mannerisms in a science lab somewhere, trying to explain a theory that was passed on to him through psychosis, but has no proof of his discovery.

In that respect the story may be true. I have not met the man before - has he supplied accurate information in the past??

[libluv2cnsor]

OSAMA LADEN IS THE CREATION OF THE TERRORIST UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND THEIR IS NO EXISTANCE OF ANY SUCH THING AS ALQAEDA ALL THIS ARE IMAGINARY FICTITIOUS CHARACTERS BUT CIA ON THE ORDERS OF THE SATAN BUSH AND HIS DEVIL CRONIES TO FOOL THE AMERICAN PEOPLE


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by hothead007 at 01:21 AM : Oct 03, 2008
+ report abuse

*************

wow..that has as much faith in conspiracy as christians have faith in jesus christ. AGAIN..you keep ranting about satan and the devil..you do understand that if you believe in satan and the devil THEN YOU PRETTY MUCH have to believe in god and angels..are you sure you are an athiest?? or just a disgruntled closet religious person?

[mjthere]

For all intent and purpose govwatch at 08:01 PM : Oct 02, 2008 is dead. Posts and Videos are fakes, they contain no proof of life.

[mjthere]

Posted by liberalme at 04:15 PM : Oct 02, 2008
The few times our military had Bin Laden in their sites,
IS AMAZING - DID B L HAVE A PASS? unless you means Sights not sites.

[downsteamjim]

Joe Biden would have killed bin Laden but he ran out of paper clips.

[runningralph]

Islamic jihadists will continually see that while they were praying and chanting others have gained competitive edge in business and technology. They will try to rectify that disadvantage by armed attacks. This is bin Laden''s motivation, same as the other terrorists. He is a big name, but just one of millions.
Westerners who hope to resist jihad should focus on the best method of resistance and keep in mind what will happen if our resistance is unsuccessful.

[ranger101st2]

Cannot believe some of you numb-nuts are blaming liberals, B. Obama, Joe Biden, etc. Blaming everyone except the people in charge. GW Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, etc. decided to "outsource" this mission to the Afghans who were brought off and could not care less about OBL. Why wasn''t 10th Mountain used? They were in country, were in thier element, but were not used. Fury''s plan sounds good. Sneak in from the back door and take ''em by surprise. Since OBL would have been killed/captured, Bush would not have a "boogeyman" to instill fear in Americans so he could win another term. Well, he stole the 1st election, and was leaving NOTHING to chance. I cannot wait to hear this Delta Operator''s story, coz its from the "horses mouth." The decision to invade Iraq was set in stone from Day 1 of this Administration. A war we did NOT need. Iraq was no threat at all, just a ploy to make money and secure oil contracts. It pulled all the good resources out of the Afghan theatre, and sent to Iraq. You want more of the same the next 4 yrs? Then vote for that Repuke ticket, the one with the unqaulified VP that says the post should have more power. Wat a joke. Are you people gonna fall for this? Dalton Fury you did ur job, even when the higher ups gave you close to nothing to work with. Bravo Zulu Sir! "Rhyno" LRS A Co. 327, 1st BCT 101st AB

[thoseb]

It`s all a scam anyway.

check out the documentary zeitgeist. you can
watch it for free on

www.zeitgeistmovie.com

[hurtback34]

In 2004 we elected George Bush instead of John Kerry as our president. In 2008 we need to elect John McCain instead of Barrack Obama. With the way things are now in our country today we need a president who has experience in politics and has some foreign policy expereince. We need a president who''s ready to lead from day 1 and one that doesn''t need a manual on how to run a nation with him evry hour of every day until he figures it own on his own. Senator Barrack Obama''s experience is way too under qualified to be granted the most prestigous job of being President of the United States of America. Senator John McCain has experience in politics and has more foreign policy expereince then Senator Barrack Obama. Just because Senator John McCain is a Republican doesn''t mean it will be another 4 more year of the same policys because Senator John McCain puts his country needs above his own needs. We do need change this election but we need it to be the right kind of change. Senator John McCain we give us the rigth kind of change that we need in America today. The only thing Senator Barrack Obama chages is his promises. Senator John McCain has already been a hero of 1 war and if we give him the chance he will once again be the hero of the War''s in Iraq and Afghanistan. The stakes are to great this year''s election not to put someone in office that is unexperience in politics, that''s why we need to elect Senator John McCain as our next President of The United States of America.

[cybergeezera]

Bin Laden and the Taliban better look out now! Biden sent his lawyer kid to Iraq! They''re going to SUE the place to pieces!

[ranger25th]

It''s great to hear some one finally come out and talk about this. For those of you who question it, whether or not he is really delta by scrutinizing his body movements or whatever... get a clue. Are you military or delta for that matter, have you seen things that make you want to die yourself? And if you think G.W. Bush and his staff did everything in the best interest of the country or it''s soldiers, then you the same kind of people that allow communist states like Russia, N. Korea and China to exist. Go live there if you like to blindly follow some one.

[ranger25th]

It''s great to hear some one finally come out and talk about this. For those of you who question it, whether or not he is really delta by scrutinizing his body movements or whatever... get a clue. Are you military or delta for that matter, have you seen things that make you want to die yourself? And if you think G.W. Bush and his staff did everything in the best interest of the country or it''s soldiers, then you the same kind of people that allow communist states like Russia, N. Korea and China to exist. Go live there if you like to blindly follow some one. By the way Ranger101st2, good job with the post, you hit it dead center. One last thing, for whoever said this info is classified, it''s not, it''s public knowledge some people just are too lazy to look for it and even if it was, I guess it shows some people are more patriotic than others.

[apr53]

Bush didn''t want Osama killed,he needed him as an excuse for Iraq.

[ohmyapplepie-2009]

Seem to me the only person talking about Afghanstan and killing Bin Laden is Obama. Where is John?
Oh yea he''s still has 99 more years in Iraq.

How long can you republicans hold on to your sinking ship cut the line and let John and Sara float away before they take you down with them.

[kesac4650]

This guy speculates on who failed to grant approval on one hand and then confesses his own failure to execute well on the other hand.
CBS, headlines that as a plan being "nixed", because that is what they want us to believe.

[dacthecat]

A similar story is told in a book called Not a Good Day to Die: The Untold Story of Operation Anaconda
by Sean Naylor.

The problem is that the US military is not properly structured to fight a guerilla insurgency - using Western (British/French) tactics against Eastern-style asymmetric strategies has never worked --AND will not no matter how much the US Officer corps expects it to.

Small unit light infantry tactics using a bottom up approach allowing the soldiers on the ground to make decisions is the only way to engage a guerilla insurgency. The soldiers on the ground have had poor leadership and ridiculous protocols including having to wait for approval from MacDill AFB in Tampa, FL.

[oly_joe]

The only way Bush and the Army could have killed
bin Laden was to drop A-Bombs on half of Afghanistan
and they would have still missed him!

[jgg000]

My hunch is Pakistan wouldn''t fully cooperate.

[republic1776]

Funny how these claims come out when they release thier "book" $$$

[oly_joe]

Bush should have dug up Lawrence of Arabia .. LOL

[truthspeake2]

...and Americans feel safer with Republicans in charge??? Amazing!

[carmenrob]

Afghanistan without getting Osama bin Ladin and instead move into Iraq. My astonishment continues. Too bad many people won''t be able to see or hear this story due to 1) they don''t care, 2) are watching "sitcoms" or 3) too busy working two jobs to hold an apt. and feed their children.

[carmenrob]

Afghanistan without getting Osama bin Ladin and instead move into Iraq. My astonishment continues. Too bad many people won''t be able to see or hear this story due to 1) they don''t care, 2) are watching "sitcoms" or 3) too busy working two jobs to hold an apt. and feed their children.

[justmy3cents]

Like it or not Bin Laden has proven himself to be a creative and cunning military strategist. If one were to assume that he knew he was being tracked then it''s safe to also assume that any of his radio transmissions were tempered to manipulate the outcome of the battle. The same goes for the alleged sighting right before they called in the bombs. Given Bin Laden''s track record it''s not just possible it was a decoy, it''s probable. Yet those possibilities were absent from this story. Finally, 2000 yards in that type of terrain might as well have been 20 miles. Yes, they probably were close but don''t equate that distance to the stroll you take around the block after dinner. While I have total respect for the depth of the Delta Force let''s not forget that there''s a reason the Soviets weren''t able to accomplish much there either.

[fire183704]

The Proclaimed Officer of Delta,has some things to answer for.As ex-military member I ask how this information was approved for release,how information such as this puts soldiers in theater at risk.And just an observation the individual in the interview had rapid blinking while in conversation about events ,this action is known as being a tell for disceitfull nature.How much research and effort was made to validate this info?

[stevex47]

How many years have the bin ladens and boosh''s been making billions of dollars?

There''s your answer. And pailin connects Obama with terrorists is a true laugh at hypocrisy yet again from the reich wing failures.

[justmy3cents]

Like it or not Bin Laden has proven himself to be a creative and cunning military strategist. If one were to assume that he knew he was being tracked then it''s safe to also assume that any of his radio transmissions were tempered to manipulate the outcome of the battle. The same goes for the alleged sighting right before they called in the bombs. Given Bin Laden''s track record it''s not just possible it was a decoy, it''s probable. Yet those possibilities were absent from this story. Finally, 2000 yards in that type of terrain might as well have been 20 miles. Yes, they probably were close but don''t equate that distance to the stroll you take around the block after dinner. While I have total respect for the depth of the Delta Force let''s not forget that there''s a reason the Soviets weren''t able to accomplish much there either.

[justmy3cents]

Like it or not Bin Laden has proven himself to be a creative and cunning military strategist. If one were to assume that he knew he was being tracked then it''s safe to also assume that any of his radio transmissions were tempered to manipulate the outcome of the battle. The same goes for the alleged sighting right before they called in the bombs. Given Bin Laden''s track record it''s not just possible it was a decoy, it''s probable. Yet those possibilities were absent from this story. Finally, 2000 yards in that type of terrain might as well have been 20 miles. Yes, they probably were close but don''t equate that distance to the stroll you take around the block after dinner. While I have total respect for the depth of the Delta Force let''s not forget that there''s a reason the Soviets weren''t able to accomplish much there either.

[justmy3cents]

Like it or not Bin Laden has proven himself to be a creative and cunning military strategist. If one were to assume that he knew he was being tracked then it''s safe to also assume that any of his radio transmissions were tempered to manipulate the outcome of the battle. The same goes for the alleged sighting right before they called in the bombs. Given Bin Laden''s track record it''s not just possible it was a decoy, it''s probable. Yet those possibilities were absent from this story. Finally, 2000 yards in that type of terrain might as well have been 20 miles. Yes, they probably were close but don''t equate that distance to the stroll you take around the block after dinner. While I have total respect for the depth of the Delta Force let''s not forget that there''s a reason the Soviets weren''t able to accomplish much there either.

[justmy3cents]

Like it or not Bin Laden has proven himself to be a creative and cunning military strategist. If one were to assume that he knew he was being tracked then it''s safe to also assume that any of his radio transmissions were tempered to manipulate the outcome of the battle. The same goes for the alleged sighting right before they called in the bombs. Given Bin Laden''s track record it''s not just possible it was a decoy, it''s probable. Yet those possibilities were absent from this story. Finally, 2000 yards in that type of terrain might as well have been 20 miles. Yes, they probably were close but don''t equate that distance to the stroll you take around the block after dinner. While I have total respect for the depth of the Delta Force let''s not forget that there''s a reason the Soviets weren''t able to accomplish much there either.

[inventagod2]

bin Laden, or Tim Ossman - was never the ''bad guy''...

[justmy3cents]

Like it or not Bin Laden has proven himself to be a creative and cunning military strategist. If one were to assume that he knew he was being tracked then it''s safe to also assume that any of his radio transmissions were tempered to manipulate the outcome of the battle. The same goes for the alleged sighting right before they called in the bombs. Given Bin Laden''s track record it''s not just possible it was a decoy, it''s probable. Yet those possibilities were absent from this story. Finally, 2000 yards in that type of terrain might as well have been 20 miles. Yes, they probably were close but don''t equate that distance to the stroll you take around the block after dinner. While I have total respect for the depth of the Delta Force let''s not forget that there''s a reason the Soviets weren''t able to accomplish much there either.

[justmy3cents]

Like it or not Bin Laden has proven himself to be a creative and cunning military strategist. If one were to assume that he knew he was being tracked then it''s safe to also assume that any of his radio transmissions were tempered to manipulate the outcome of the battle. The same goes for the alleged sighting right before they called in the bombs. Given Bin Laden''s track record it''s not just possible it was a decoy, it''s probable. Yet those possibilities were absent from this story. Finally, 2000 yards in that type of terrain might as well have been 20 miles. Yes, they probably were close but don''t equate that distance to the stroll you take around the block after dinner. While I have total respect for the depth of the Delta Force let''s not forget that there''s a reason the Soviets weren''t able to accomplish much there either.