Did Wikileaks Force Obama’s Hand In Going After Bin Laden?
Just days before the raid that took down bin Laden, Wikileaks posted documents on its website referring to al Qaeda couriers who were taking the terror leader’s messages to his followers. The documents also referenced the town where bin Laden was found as a possible al Qaeda hideout. Which raises the question, did these documents force the US to act before al Qaeda elements caught wind that the noose was tightening?
Wikileaks may have triggered the killing of Osama Bin Laden, it was suggested last night.
For although the CIA has thought since September that he was in hiding in Abbottabad, special forces stormed his fortress only days after the website published new secret documents.
These made reference to named ‘couriers’ carrying Bin Laden’s message to his followers, and also to Abbottabad as a possible Al Qaeda bolthole.
America has already revealed that it was led to Bin Laden by tracking a man identified as his key courier.
When that courier was found in Abbottabad, the CIA began surveillance that led to the raid.
As a result, last night it was suggested the operation had to be launched before Bin Laden knew the game was up.
This seems unlike. According to Politico, “The SEALs held rehearsals of the raid on April 7 and April 13, with officials monitoring the action from Washington.” The Wikileaks documents weren’t published until just days before the raid.
If the publication of the documents changed the trajectory of the mission at all it was only a shift in timing. Given that the raid was already being rehearsed its execution was likely imminent even before the Wikileaks publication.
Tags: Osama Bin Laden, wikileaks
