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."
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."
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.
-
A Spinal Tap reunion, Thomas Pynchon by way of Paul Thomas Anderson and a harrowing Stephen King adaptation in September movies
the week recommends This month's new releases include 'Spinal Tap II,' 'One Battle After Another' and 'The Long Walk'
-
'Vampire energy' could be causing your electric bill to rise
Under the Radar Wasted energy could account for up to 10% of home use
-
Crossword: September 10, 2025
The Week's daily crossword
-
Russia slams Kyiv, hits government building
Speed Read This was Moscow's largest aerial assault since launching its full-scale invasion in 2022
-
China's Xi hosts Modi, Putin, Kim in challenge to US
Speed Read Chinese President Xi Jinping hosted Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Russian President Vladimir Putin and other Asian leaders at an SCO summit
-
Russian strike on Kyiv kills 23, hits EU offices
Speed Read The strike was the second-largest since Russia invaded in 2022
-
UN votes to end Lebanon peacekeeping mission
Speed Read The Trump administration considers the UN's Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) to be a 'waste of money'
-
Israeli double strike on Gaza hospital kills 20
Speed Read The dead include five journalists who worked for The Associated Press, Reuters and Al Jazeera
-
China is silently expanding its influence in American cities
Under the Radar New York City and San Francisco, among others, have reportedly been targeted
-
Kyiv marks independence as Russia downplays peace
Speed Read President Vladimir Putin has no plans to meet with Zelenskyy for peace talks pushed by President Donald Trump
-
Trump halts Gaza visas as Israelis protest war
Speed Read Laura Loomer voiced her concerns over injured Palestinian kids being brought to the US for treatment and a potential 'Islamic invasion'