![]() ![]() leaders will be able to withdraw forces from Afghanistan, it could help the process of reconciliation in the war-torn country. Secretary Gates said that while it's too early to tell whether bin Laden's death will affect the rate at which U.S. "For all of the concerns that I've just been talking about - the uncertainty of the intelligence, the consequences of it going bad, to risk the lives of the Americans involved - it was a very gutsy call." "This is one of the most courageous calls, decisions, that I think I've ever seen a president make," he said. Secretary Gates, who has worked for eight presidents in a public life that will culminate with his June 30 retirement, expressed admiration for the courage of the president's decision. "I think everybody agreed that we needed to act, and act pretty promptly," he said. Though the intelligence was imperfect, Secretary Gates said, the national security team was on board with President Barack Obama's decision to launch the operation. It was all circumstantial, but it was the best information that we had since probably 2001." My worry was the level of uncertainty about whether bin Laden was even in the compound. There wasn't any direct evidence that he was there. "I had real reservations about the intelligence. "I was very concerned, frankly," he told CBS correspondent Katie Couric. Gates said in an interview aired May 15 on the CBS program "60 Minutes."īut the secretary acknowledged some anxious moments as the situation unfolded. WASHINGTON (AFNS) - The May 1 raid that killed al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden was "a perfect fusion of intelligence collection, intelligence analysis and military operations," Defense Secretary Robert M. ![]()
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