Tomorrow, May 2, marks the fifth anniversary of the operation that resulted in the death of Al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden back in 2011. Bin Laden was found living in a mansion in the Pakistani city of Abbottabad - not very far from a Pakistani military establishment. According to The Verge, to mark the fifth anniversary of the operation, the official Twitter handle of the CIA is live tweeting the incidents that happened on that day - in real time. CIA is using a special hashtag #UBLRaid (for "Usama Bin Ladin Raid") to identify tweets pertaining to the operation. We are embedding the tweets sent out by the official CIA Twitter handle talking about the raid below.
Things started off with this tweet.
#OTD 2011: US military raid in Abbottabad, Pakistan killed Usama Bin Ladin.#UBLRaidhttps://t.co/rklCIS2W8d pic.twitter.com/o2Ym4vM7riFollowed by some background information...— CIA (@CIA) May 1, 2016
Success of mission was culmination of years of complex, thorough & highly advanced intel ops & analyses led by CIA w support of IC.#UBLRaidMore information regarding the suspicious compound was tweeted.— CIA (@CIA) May 1, 2016
Late 2010, intel linked a courier to compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. Compound & main house had security features unusual for area#UBLRaid— CIA (@CIA) May 1, 2016
FeaturesHigh walls/barbed wireDouble entry gatesNo internet/phone connectionTrash burned not collected#UBLRaid pic.twitter.com/KyPIFPxA4d— CIA (@CIA) May 1, 2016
Assault team trained on an exact life-size replica of compound w movable walls to prep for any internal layout they might encounter#UBLRaid— CIA (@CIA) May 1, 2016
Death of Usama Bin Ladin marked significant victory in US-led campaign to disrupt, dismantle, & defeat al-Qa`ida.#UBLRaidFollowed by the official announcement...— CIA (@CIA) May 1, 2016
Join us beginning at 1:25 p.m. EDT today as we tweet the #UBLRaid as if it were happening today. pic.twitter.com/x8EBpW571fAnother announcement a while later...— CIA (@CIA) May 1, 2016
To mark the 5th anniversary of the Usama Bin Ladin operation in Abbottabad we will tweet the raid as if it were happening today.#UBLRaidThe actual operation starts.— CIA (@CIA) May 1, 2016
1:25 pm EDT-@POTUS, DCIA Panetta, & JSOC commander Admiral McRaven approve execution of op in Abbottabad.#UBLRaid pic.twitter.com/YhvuJVrMVcHelicopters set off for Abbottabad.— CIA (@CIA) May 1, 2016
1:51 pm EDT - Helicopters depart from Afghanistan for compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan#UBLRaidTwo hours later, they reach the destination - but one helicopter crash lands almost jeopardizing the entire operation...— CIA (@CIA) May 1, 2016
3:30 pm EDT - 2 helicopters descend on compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. 1 crashes, but assault continues without delay or injury#UBLRaidThe now-famous photo from the "situation room" was captured at this moment, five years ago.— CIA (@CIA) May 1, 2016
3:30 pm EDT - @POTUS watches situation on ground in Abbottabad live in Situation Room#UBLRaid pic.twitter.com/59KPF7eUTrThe main target of the operation, Osama Bin Laden, leader of the Al Qaeda is found and shot dead.— CIA (@CIA) May 1, 2016
3:39 pm EDT - Usama Bin Ladin found on third floor and killed#UBLRaid— CIA (@CIA) May 1, 2016
3:39 pm – 4:10 pm EDT – Team retrieves large quantity of materials from compound for intel analysis#UBLRaidhttps://t.co/yl1FjRA0qkPresident Obama receives "tentative confirmation of positive identification of Bin Laden."— CIA (@CIA) May 1, 2016
3:53 pm EDT - @POTUS receives tentative confirmation of positive identification of Usama Bin Ladin#UBLRaid— CIA (@CIA) May 1, 2016
4:05 pm EDT - First helicopter leaves the area to go back to Afghanistan#UBLRaid— CIA (@CIA) May 1, 2016
4:08 pm EDT - Assault Team destroys crashed helicopter#UBLRaid— CIA (@CIA) May 1, 2016
4:10 pm EDT — Backup helicopter picks up remaining team members & materials & leaves Abbottabad#UBLRaidNote that the official death of Osama Bin Laden is May 2. However, when the operation was underway in Pakistan, it was still May 1 in the U.S.— CIA (@CIA) May 1, 2016
While the concept of live tweeting a momentous event in the history of the United States seemed an interesting idea, CIA did face backlash for doing so. Some people were not impressed by the decision to live tweet Osama Bin laden's death.
@CIA You've lost the plot mate— Luke O'Neil (@lukeoneil47) May 1, 2016
this is completely inappropriate. pls reconsider or delete you account, @CIA— kate nowak (@katherinejnowak) May 1, 2016
@CIA This is grotesque and embarrassing. You should fire your web team.While some others didn't mind...— Hank Single (@Hanksingle) May 1, 2016
@CIA Really? Not sure that's a good idea.— John P Vogt (@jpvogt) May 1, 2016
@CIA Can you do it all in emojis? That would be awesome.The real-time playback of the Osama Bin Laden operation is still underway as we file this article.— Jon Danziger (@jondanziger) May 1, 2016
What do you think? Was this a good idea to mark the fifth anniversary of the operation that led to Osama Bin Laden's death?
[AP Photo/Khalid Tanveer]
