Washington:Defense Secretary Robert Gates believes President Obama’s decision to go ahead with the mission that killed Osama bin Laden was “one of the most courageous decisions”.
What made it such a “gutsy call” Gates tells Katie Couric in his first interview since the raid, was the uncertainty that the Qaeda leader was really in the compound and the risk to the Navy SEALS attacking it.
In the last days of his tenure as defense secretary, Gates sat down to describe his feelings while he watched and listened in the Situation Room as the raid that killed the world’s most wanted terrorist unfolded. He had been in the White House in 1980 the night of the failed attempt to rescue the hostages in Iran. That disastrous mission weighed heavily on his mind as he sat with President Obama. “Frankly, my heart was in my mouth,” Gates says.
What concerned him most was the lack of complete proof that bin Laden was really there. “There was a lot of uncertainty about whether he was there. And that was my principle concern,” he says.
This uncertainty, potential political fallout and the danger faced by the assault team made the operation anything but a sure bet. “This was a very risky operation. So, I was very concerned. So was the President. I believe…I worked for a lot of these guys and this is one of the most courageous calls – decisions – that I think I’ve ever seen a president make,” says Gates tells.
Gates also says he believes the situation in Afghanistan is improving to the point that more troops may be able to come home. “I think we could be in a position by the end of this year, where we have turned the corner in Afghanistan…we could see success ahead,” he tells Couric, “and more troops could come home,” says Gates.
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