SEAL Target Geronimo: The Inside Story of the Mission to Kill Osama bin Laden
by
Chuck Pfarrer
Order:
USA
Can
Macmillan Audio, 2012 (2012)
Hardcover, CD, e-Book
Reviewed by Hilary Williamson
C
huck Pfarrer, the author of
SEAL Target Geronimo: The Inside Story of the Mission to Kill Osama bin Laden
, is himself a former assault element commander of SEAL Team Six. He also wrote
Warrior Soul: The Memoir of a Navy SEAL
. He tells the story of
Operation Neptune's Spear
, the May 2, 2011 attack on bin Laden's family compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, based on conversations with SEAL Team Six
Jedi's
who participated in the raid. Osama bin Laden (code name
Geronimo
) was shot during the attack.
I
listened to the unabridged audiobook (8 CDs, 10 hours), narrated clearly and calmly by Erik Bergmann, and found it totally fascinating. Operation Neptune's Spear itself proceeded quickly, smoothly - aside from a malfunctioning helicopter and an explosion of chickens - and with few shots fired. But it only occupies part of the book. Pfarrer also gives readers/listeners a thorough briefing on SEAL history, training, and previous key operations, as well as different US agencies' response to the terrorist threat, and the evolution of bin Laden's role from a Saudi millionaire/wannabe Afghan jihadi to a major terrorist leader and funder, the object of an intense, decade-long manhunt.
P
farrer is consistently negative about the CIA's role in counter-terrorism, pre- and post-9/11, and explains why. He speculates that Ayman al-Zawahiri deliberately betrayed bin Laden by using a courier he knew was blown to communicate with him, and gives cogent supporting analyis. He also cites WikiLeaks documents indicating that many of Iraq's WMDs, chemical weapons in particular, were used against the U.S. military. Though the continuing possibility of these weapons in the hands of terrorists is very disturbing, one wonders why this would be kept quiet by the U.S. government and press.
T
hat aside, I found
SEAL Target Geronimo
well researched, well organized and a gripping account that left me very impressed by the courage, competence, and training of the men on the ground. Highly recommended.
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