This Day In History, 2011: "Holy shit, we're going after bin Laden"

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This is my remembrance of the days leading up to the bin Laden raid, the day of the raid centered on the iconic Situation Room photograph, and the day after.⁣ ⁣ Note that the most important people from this day are not pictured at all. Our country owes a debt of gratitude to Admiral Bill McRaven, the former Commander of Special Operations, and the members of SEAL Team Six that planned for and executed the mission. They are the real heroes of this day. It was a real honor to be at Fort Campbell a few days later when they presented President Obama with the American flag that flew aboard the helicopter.⁣ ⁣ If you have more questions, please leave them in the comments section. I will try to answer the ones that I can. I will not be able to respond to questions about what was on the screen during the raid or what I might have overheard.⁣ ⁣ Please stay safe, practice social distancing, and wear a mask when you’re out and about!⁣ ⁣ ⁣ ⁣ ⁣

A post shared by Pete Souza (@petesouza) on May 1, 2020 at 6:47am PDT

Here is the wider view of this famous picture, along with the original caption:

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Nine years ago tomorrow, I made this picture during the bin Laden raid.⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ As promised, I will be posting an IGTV video here on Instagram tomorrow with my perspective on the photo and that day.⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ For reference purposes, here is the original caption we posted to accompany the photograph when we posted it the following day along with eight other photographs from the day on the White House Flickr Photostream:⁣⁣ ⁣ President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden, along with members of the national security team, receive an update on the mission against Osama bin Laden in the Situation Room of the White House, May 1, 2011. ⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ Seated, from left, are: Brigadier General Marshall B. “Brad” Webb, Assistant Commanding General, Joint Special Operations Command; Deputy National Security Advisor Denis McDonough; Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton; and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates. Standing, from left, are: Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; National Security Advisor Tom Donilon; Chief of Staff Bill Daley; Tony Blinken, National Security Advisor to the Vice President; Audrey Tomason, Director for Counterterrorism; John Brennan, Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism; and Director of National Intelligence James Clapper. ⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ Please note: a classified document seen in this photograph has been obscured. ⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ ⁣⁣

A post shared by Pete Souza (@petesouza) on Apr 30, 2020 at 6:48pm PDT