Chris Wallace tells Stephen Colbert 2 surprising things he learned about the raid that killed Osama bin Laden
The U.S. invaded Afghanistan in 2001, shortly after al Qaeda carried out the Sept. 11 attacks, and Countdown Bin Laden, Fox News host Chris Wallace's book on the raid that killed al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in Pakistan, doesn't pick up until 2010, Stephen Colbert reminded Wallace on Wednesday's Late Show. "Just set the stage, what was happening in those nine years when we weren't getting bid Laden, when that was our mission to begin with?"
After the invasion, "we chase bin Laden and we end up, we believe, cornering him in a very mountainous area in eastern Afghanistan, right on the border with Pakistan, called Tora Bora," Wallace recounted, "and we think we have him cornered in a cave, and he disappears like Keyser Söze in The Usual Suspects." "Did we take our eye off the ball, or did he just have a back exit to the cave?" Colbert asked. "No, he just got out," and "he escaped into Pakistan into this mountainous tribal area, and basically the trail goes cold for nine years," Wallace said. Two months before his book starts, "we think he's in this tribal area — wild, remote, mountainous, caves — between Afghanistan and Pakistan. And it turns out everything we thought was completely wrong."
"What did you learn that surprised you, that you didn't know, because so much has been written about this?" Colbert asked Wallace. "I think two things most of all," he said. "First of all, I talked to the man who killed bin Laden ... a Navy SEAL, SEAL Team 6, Rob O'Neill. ... I said to him, 'How dangerous did you think this mission was?' He said, 'One-way ticket.' I said, 'What do you mean?' 'A suicide mission. ... We may get bin Laden, but we aren't getting back home.' That was the one thing. The second thing is that when Obama makes the decision on Friday, April 29, it is no more than a 50-50 proposition that bin Laden is even there."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Ten years after bin Laden's death, the Taliban is back in charge of Afghanistan. "I think we're not going to have a great working relationship, but we kind of need them," Wallace said. "We need them to get the Americans out, we certainly want them to help us fight terrorism, they would like money from us. You know, in a rational world, you can make a deal. This is the Taliban."
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
'Republicans want to silence Israel's opponents'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Poland, Germany nab alleged anti-Ukraine spies
Speed Read A man was arrested over a supposed Russian plot to kill Ukrainian President Zelenskyy
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Today's political cartoons - April 19, 2024
Cartoons Friday's cartoons - priority delivery, USPS on fire, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Poland, Germany nab alleged anti-Ukraine spies
Speed Read A man was arrested over a supposed Russian plot to kill Ukrainian President Zelenskyy
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Israel hits Iran with retaliatory airstrike
Speed Read The attack comes after Iran's drone and missile barrage last weekend
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Is there a peaceful way forward for Israel and Iran?
Today's Big Question Tehran has initially sought to downplay the latest Israeli missile strike on its territory
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Peter Murrell: Sturgeon's husband charged over SNP 'embezzlement' claims
Speed Read SNP expresses 'shock' as former chief executive rearrested in long-running investigation into claims of mishandled campaign funds
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published
-
Mark Menzies: Tories investigate MP after 'bad people' cash claims
Speed Read Fylde MP will sit as an independent while party looks into allegations he misused campaign funds on medical expenses and blackmail pay-out
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published
-
Why Johnson won't just pass Ukraine aid
Speed Read The House Speaker could have sent $60 billion in military aid to Ukraine — but it would have split his caucus
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Sudan on brink of collapse after a year of war
Speed Read 18 million people face famine as the country continues its bloody downward spiral
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
How powerful is Iran?
Today's big question Islamic republic is facing domestic dissent and 'economic peril' but has a vast military, dangerous allies and a nuclear threat
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published