The Cellar - May 3, 2011: White House situation room during bin Laden raid

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- - May 3, 2011: White House situation room during bin Laden raid (http://cellar.org/showthread.php?t=25124)

May 3, 2011: White House situation room during bin Laden raid

http://cellar.org/2011/whitehouseosamaraid.jpg

And so they watched the raid unfold, live video being shot by a camera affixed to a Navy SEAL's helmet on the other side of the earth.

It's said they witnessed the killing shot.

For or against the administration, it's a great image; can you not imagine yourself in there, directly watching history unfold, hoping for the best outcome?

Or would you be the overflow crowd in the hall, not having the rank to be in the situation room but desperately hoping to catch a glimpse?

The General is the only one working. Or maybe he's posting on the Cellar. Everyone else is watching.

1. They blurred out the confidential document in the foreground.
2. Even the disposable plastic cups have presidential seals.

Not to keep responding to myself, but it always amazes me how small the White House is. That's an extremely cramped room.

I think Clinton's document is probably a better-res version of this:

http://cellar.org/2011/compoundOBL.jpg

Pajamas fellow Wretchard -- an armchair military analyst, but a very good one -- points out the details of the compound:

Quote:

It is shaped like a truncated isosceles triangle with one vertex lopped off. The triangular compound was surrounded by high walls. But it was also internally subdivided, like a ship, in order to make it impossible for a landing force to alight directly within it. The living quarters were grouped in a keep, walled off from the rest of the compound by an alley to either side.

It was designed to delay an assault team long enough for reinforcements to arrive. But the SEALs apparently brought the helicopters down into the confined space anyhow. One of the SEAL helicopters can be seen in this picture of the aftermath, apparently hung up on a high wall.

Interestingly, the Google Maps satellite view shows a series of circular excavations on the interior side of the outer wall. Whatever was to destined be placed there would still leave a clear field of fire from the house but considerably constrict the open space. It would have reduced the maximum available rotor diameter space to something like 20 meters. The CH-53 has a 24 meter rotor diameter and UH-60 has a rotor diameter of about 16 meters.

What's Robert Downey Jr. doing there?

Isn't someone going to photoshop the little girl from the royal wedding in there?

Or disaster man? Speaking of which, a number of faces, Obama's included, look added later.

Shhh. That is for operational security. He led Seal Team 6 personally.

It's funny to me that they use the exact same shitty plastic HP brand laptop that I've got on my desk at work. You'd think they'd have something a little better. lol.

I'm sure it's a special 'police package' with bored-out cylinders and turbochargers and gas shocks and shit.

That shot really puts you there. That's Merc's elbow behind Hillary. He isn't allowed to say so though.

I reckon if Merc was that close to Hillary, at that moment when everyone was totally focused on the events on screen ...

I love that we get to see that.

That's a picture that will still be looked at a century from now.

Clever too. Hard to imagine a more dynamic view of the President. Beats the shit out of a helmet and a fighter plane.

I keep coming back to this picture. It is sure to be lasting.