The New Yorker's 'cinematic' bin Laden raid story: 8 takeaways

The most detailed account yet of the epic raid includes juicy new tidbits on abandoned plans, bin Laden's burial at sea, and a much-hyped war dog

An abandoned plan to raid Osama bin Laden's compound would have forced Navy SEALs to sneak through town and then tunnel into the building, according to The New Yorker.
(Image credit: REUTERS/Faisal Mahmood)

The story of the daring U.S. raid that killed Osama bin Laden on May 1 has been recounted many times, but Nicholas Schmidle at The New Yorker has just come out with the most complete version of the tale yet. Schmidle's long, "cinematic retelling" of the raid is quite dramatic and detailed — largely because he draws information from the Navy SEALs who conducted the mission, as well as various Pentagon and White House sources. Here are eight of The New Yorker's best new additions to the bin Laden raid saga:

1. Discarded plans included tunnels, bombs, and a raid on foot

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