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Gleaning Insight From Absence: Intelligence Tradecraft Lessons From Finding Bin Laden, John D. Deniston

Australian Counter Terrorism Conference

Shortly after the May 2011 raid by American Special Forces that killed Osama Bin Laden, several of the fascinating clues that the Intelligence Community had used to unlock the puzzle of the Al Qaeda leader’s final whereabouts became public. While much analysis has focused on the centrality of surveillance of a trusted al Qaeda courier to narrow the bin Laden search, this paper offers attention to other compelling clues including the size and composition of bin Laden’s compound, its lack of internet or telephone service, and the peculiar behaviour of its occupants. On the basis of these leads, this paper …