Time magazine got their hands of a copy of a memo that then-CIA chief Leon Panetta wrote after he got the order from President Barack Obama’s top national security aide to launch the raid that killed Osama bin Laden almost a year ago.
“Received phone call from Tom Donilon who stated that the President made a decision with regard to AC1 [Abbottabad Compound 1]. The decision is to proceed with the assault,” Panetta wrote in the hand-written memo dated April 29.
“The timing, operational decision making and control are in Admiral McRaven’s hands. The approval is provided on the risk profile presented to the President. Any additional risks are to be brought back to the President for his consideration. The direction is to go in and get bin Laden and if he is not there, to get out. Those instructions were conveyed to Admiral McRaven at approximately 10:45 am.”
The memo is embedded below. Larger version here.
