The navigator on the AC-130 gunship said there was simply too much gun and engine noise to think that the Chinook could make an undetected entrance. Afghan President Karzai's office released a statement on the incident. Since the agencys main task is to eavesdrop on phone and Internet messages, it may have recorded communications related to the attack. ", "The hearts and minds of our enemy are more valuable to our government than my son's blood," she said. Add in the fact that more sophisticated foreign intelligence agents are on the ground, with signals intelligence assets and deep pockets, and you have a recipe for a plot. That June, the U.S. military launched Operation Hammer Down to drive out insurgents entrenched in remote strongholds of eastern Afghanistan. "We will draw inspiration from their lives, and continue the work of securing our country and standing up for the values that they embodied. I find it very irritating that we will not question the Afghans about their knowledge of what took place that night.. Each shouldered a rocket propelled grenade launcher, aimed at the dim silhouette of the approaching helicopter then fired. During the event organized by a group called Freedom Watch, family members and former military personnel claimed President Obama turned the SEALs group into a Taliban target after the administration revealed they had conducted the bin Laden raid. The loss of a Chinook helicopter carrying members of Navy SEAL Team Six made yesterday the deadliest single day in the entire Afghan War for the U.S., The New York Times reports. The ensuing crash killed all 16 on board, eight Army special operations aviators, and eight Navy SEALs. At the pilots request, the AC-130 flashed an infrared spotlight, which could be seen only through night vision goggles, to light up the landing zone. U.S. But the CH-47D has neither a flight nor voice recorder, only an engine performance data. The team was responding to an Army Ranger unit that was engaged in a firefight with the Taliban and needed backup. Mr. Klayman said the NSA has agreed to provide some information. Two investigations of the incident proved inconclusive. Among the 38 occupants inside the Chinook were some of the most highly trained and battle-seasoned fighters in the U.S. military, including 15 commandos from the Navys SEAL Team 6,the unit that three months earlier had killed Osama bin Laden. More than 20 Navy Seals died in the helicopter crash that killed 31 in Afghanistan yesterday. The night her son Aaron died, he was in a helicopter that was built in the 1960s and last retrofitted in 1985. As more responsibilities fall on the shoulders of special forces, the risk of more losses like this one will continue to increase. The conspiracy theories didnt bother Lee at first. Hes also sent more than his fair share of curious retweets, often of the accounts of conspiracy theorists and those associated with QAnon and other outlandish conspiracy frameworks. President Trump has been known, over the years, to tweet some bizarre things. Special forces are very selective on who they partner with, but any collaboration with Afghans opens up U.S. Aaron Vaughn's mother, Karen, also demanded an explanation for why her son and his team were not using a special operations aircraft, such as the Chinooks flown by special operations pilots, which have specialized defenses designed to fly commandos deep behind enemy lines. PRX is a 501(c)(3) organization recognized by the IRS: #263347402. There are more sophisticated threats out there, such as the SA-16. They believe SEAL Team 6 had a target on its back and that persons inside the Afghan National Security Forces may have tipped off the Taliban that night in Tangi Valley. There is still a tremendous level of chance for a tragedy of such huge magnitude.. Almost 10 years after 9/11, here's what led to the death of Osama bin Laden. Lee remained in Afghanistan flying combat missions for another eight months before returning home in the spring of 2012. Image:U.S. PresidentDonaldTrumpholds a campaign rally at John Murtha Johnstown-Cambria County Airport in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, U.S. October 13, 2020. However, the AP has reported, the Afghan forces never staffed the outpost after American forces left, and the Taliban moved back in. This incident could be a sign of things to come: The crash happened in Tanji, where the U.S. closed a combat outpost in April. Are such missiles appearing in Afghanistan? The investigation of events surrounding the crash of a C H-47D Chinook , call sign Extortion 17, took military command officials just two months to complete. Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Conspiracy theories over the years have alleged that President Barack Obama and presumably then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and now Joe Biden had somehow been responsible for the attack, supposedly in order to silence the Seals for something having to do with the Bin Laden raid three months earlier. Get the latest breaking news from North Texas and beyond. Onboard were 17 members of SEAL Team 6; five naval special warfare operators, including one to intercept communications and another to handle Bart the war dog; five Army flight crewmen, including a National Guard and an Army Reserve pilot; and three Air Force personnel. HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate. But why? In 2006, he was called into Afghanistan, where he turned 25. But Tahir and a group of his fighters escaped. It was the worst day for fatalities in the history of naval special warfare. These helicopters have been well protected from long-range missile attacks for years, but still have few defenses against a simple RPG fired at short range while the Chinook hovers in place. The insurgents had no way of knowing the helicopter would be coming in, at the speed it was coming and at the altitude, Darack said. It wasnt preventable. He grew up in Tyler, went to Texas A&M, joined the Corps of Cadets and stared in shock at the news thattwo planes slammed into the World Trade Center and another into the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001. That means more raids, more targets and more reliance on Afghan competenceall of which add up to more special forces casualties. On a moonless night, an Army Chinook helicopter swept low over the Tangi Valley, a strip of forbidding terrain in eastern Afghanistan teeming with Taliban and located just 35 miles south of the capital, Kabul. However, it would be a very lucky shot to hit a moving Chinook with an RPG and they typically fly high to avoid such dangers as well as small arms fire. About a dozen of the 33 troops in the back of the helicopter suffered broken bones, heavy bruises and scrapes. U.S. officials spoke on condition of anonymity because families of those killed are still being notified. SEAL Team Six was assigned three pre-invasion missions: two clandestine political missions relating to regime change on the island, and reconnaissance from the sea of the new airfield under construction on the island's southwest coast. He was probably in the top 1 percent of Army aviators, Lee said. Coincidence or not, any Chinook shoot-down is a coup for the Taliban. 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. And needless to say, it was the real Bin Laden who was killed, not an incredible facsimile. The hearing as it took place was meant to honor the heroes of Extortion 17 instead of to answer our questions, Mr. Three months after bin Ladens death, members of the SEAL Team 6 force -- though apparently not the same ones who carried out the bin Laden raid -- were on board the CH-47 Chinook transport helicopter, along with its Army National Guard aircrew, several support personnel and seven Afghan commandos. Ten computer hard drives, five computers and more than 100 storage devices were retrieved. By the time the third sped away from its launcher, however, no target remained. Planners had created an absolutely sound mission. Ninty-six days after the death of Osama bin Laden by SEAL Team Six, an old Vietnam era Army Reserve helicopter, call sign "Extortion 17," was shot down in the Wardak Province, Tangi River Valley, Afghanistan on Aug 6, 2011.On board the Chinook CH-47D were 15 members of SEAL Team Six, 15 SEAL Team Six Support personnel, 1 Bomb Dog, 7 unidentified members of the Afghan National Army, and 1 . The night before he left to go to Fort Hood, where he would board a plane to Afghanistan, the biggest event of the 10-year war occurred: Osama bin Laden was killed in Pakistan during a raid by Navy SEALs. A chief warrant officer 5, a member of the Colorado National Guard, Carter had over 4,500 flying hours, including more than 1,000 hours during combat deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan. Virginia-based Navy SEALs in a training exercise. This critical, but completely uncontrollable, aspect of war, is well-known among fighters like Buddy. The pilots ranked among the most proficient in this type of flying and the Department of Defense. Stephen M. Mills, 35, of Fort Worth, was one of the U.S. Navy SEALS killed in the helicopter crash. Today, some family members are not just disappointed in the investigation and the FOIA process, but also in how the House Oversight and Government Reform subcommittee on national security conducted a brief hearing in Feb. 2014. Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? I was terrified. Olson himself a former Team 6 leader recalled at his change of command ceremony the men who lost their lives in Saturday's helicopter crash in Afghanistan. The former vice president has become the Democratic front-runner with primary victories across the country. By clicking submit, you are agreeing to our Terms and Conditions & Privacy Policy. Special forces routinely use helicopters in raids on homes in Afghanistan. He taught helicopter pilots how to fly in high altitudes at an aviation training site in Colorado. Due to the sheer magnitude of loss of life, combined with recent news of SEAL Team Six's successful raid on Osama bin Laden's compound, global media outlets lionized the tragedy. At that time, this marked deadliest moment in the war in Afghanistan. One helicopter crashes, but there are no injuries. Aug. 6, 2011— -- A helicopter was shot down today by Afghan insurgents as it was rushing to aid troops in a firefight, killing 30 Americans, including 22 Navy SEALs, most of whom belonged to Team 6, the unit whose members were involved in the raid that killed Osama bin Laden, U.S. officials said. "We have an ideology problem with this war, and we need to address it. I find it quite disturbing that the government is not willing to give us the answers we deserve. And they sent our guys right into the middle.. The first grenade missed Extortion 17. Were asking people to do incredible things. Led by firebrand Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), Congress is to launch an official investigation into the mysterious helicopter crash that killed several members of the Navy SEAL team 6 in Afghanistan in 2011. She had just given birth to their first child. Navy SEAL Team Six, the heroic unit that killed Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan in May 2011, is in grave danger due to the reckless actions of the Obama administration. There are no survivors. The loss of a Chinook helicopter carrying members of Navy SEAL Team Six made yesterday the deadliest single day in the entire Afghan War for the U.S., 3 Questions About the SEAL Team Six Crash, Russian Cargo Plane Explodes During Pressure Test, better protected from newer, more sophisticated threats, Your Privacy Choices: Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads. One source says the team was thought to include 22 SEALs, three Air Force air controllers, seven Afghan Army troops, a dog and handler, and a civilian interpreter, plus the helicopter crew. I had to learn how to land while browned-out, wearing NVGs, on the side of a mountain or an uneven field, Lee said. Your life is in danger. This time, they might simply have run out of luck and encountered an RPG-armed enemy who was in the right place at the right time. Aerial view of Osama bin Laden's compound in the Pakistani city of Abbottabad, made by the CIA. Some of those Seals were members of Seal Team 6 that took part in the raid that killed Osama Bin Laden, the AP reported today; although they were not actual participants in the Pakistan raid, according to the New York Times. The crash killed 38 people, including 15 Navy SEALs. In fact, the conflict was heating up. It's unclear how far away the helicopter was from the initial firefight when it went down and unclear how the troops in the firefight got to the crash location, the official said. "We simply didn't know those guys with those RPGs were there," he said. When asked what lessons Americans can draw from the crash of Extortion 17, Lees answer is simple: Americans should care about what happens in Afghanistan because theyve sent Americans to war there. Joe Pappalardo is a contributing writer at Popular Mechanics and author of the new book, Spaceport Earth: The Reinvention of Spaceflight. There was no conspiracy. Around 2007, U.S. intelligence officials discovered the name of one of bin Ladens closest couriers, whom they speculated may have been involved in supporting or harboring the terrorist. The route had been carefully planned, and gunships maintained continuous watch over the intended landing zone during Extortion 17's approach. While the goggles are better than nothing, they turn everything green, distort depth perception and limit peripheral vision. Every mission is potentially life-threatening. At 2:38 a.m. on August 6, 2011, a U.S. Army Chinook helicopter, call sign Extortion 17, entered the western opening of Afghanistan's restive Tangi Valley, flying alone. It was an auspicious day for the two enemy fighters. Follow him on Twitter at @StephenSilver. Gear-obsessed editors choose every product we review. Hamburger said. There's always the chance that Iran, which has them, or Pakistan, which conceivably could have bought some on the black market, supplied them to the Taliban. It had been loaded well within its limits. President Trump has been known, over the years, to tweet some bizarre things. "In releasing their identity, they put a target on their backs," said Doug Hamburger, whose son, Army Staff Sgt. The SEALS intentionally . Its almost always a miss.. But we are still sending people to another country to fight, and we need to understand why were doing that, he said. Where was the Chinook's black box cockpit recorder? The assassination of Osama bin Laden was a significant victory for the U.S. government and the American people at large. Nothing tests the capabilities of a young helicopter pilot like flying in the extreme conditions of Afghanistan. I mean, at any time if we would have found these squirters, or they would have found weapons, we were the way I was understanding it, we were going to be clear to engage due to the fact that they had weapons, but we had to [positively identify] them first., He added: So we hadnt started looking at the LZ yet, just due to there was so much more of a threat to the east with the squirters. He spoke out against banning girls education. International reactions to bin Ladens death ranged from favorable to mixed. EXPLOSIVE: CIA Whistleblower Exposes Bidens Alleged Role With the Deaths of Seal Team- Claims to have Documented Proof. SEAL TEAM SIX - EXTORTION 17 COVER UP theunitedwest 15.8K subscribers Subscribe 683 53K views Streamed 7 years ago WOW, watch author Don Brown blow the lid off of the official government report. Additional forces were then sent to secure the crash site. Insurgents shot down a U.S. military helicopter during fighting in eastern Afghanistan, killing 30 Americans, most of them belonging to the same elite unit as the Navy SEALs who killed former Al. Flying 250 feet above the valley floor at just under 70 miles per hour, Dave Carter, the pilot to the right of Nichols, guided the helicopter toward a carefully chosen landing zone just over a mile away. The RPG that struck Extortion 17 threw the helicopter into an uncontrollable spin. The team was responding to an Army Ranger unit that was engaged in a protracted firefight with Taliban fighters and needed reinforcements. His father Billy Vaughn recounted Thursday a phone call from his son following the White House decision to credit the highly secretive military unit for the bin Laden raid. In all 38 troops died after the helicopter was shot down by what a review determined to be a Taliban RPG over Wardak Province, Afghanistan, on Aug. 6, 2011. Over time, certain memories will fade, certain details will fade. JSOC ground forces and those who flew them knew and trusted each other. In all, 17 members of the SEAL Team 6 counterterrorist force were on board the CH-47 Chinook transport helicopter, along with its Army National Guard aircrew, several support personnel and seven Afghan commandos. An initial investigation indicates the helicopter was shot down by insurgents in the volatile Tangi valley of Wardak province, several hours south of Kabul. The Pentagons witness stuck to a theme that no mistakes were made that night, though the investigative file contained testimony from a number of witnesses saying the mission was riddled with missteps. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. In the immediate wake of the tragedy, the military initiated two investigations. It's true that members of SEAL Team 6 died tragically in a helicopter crash not long after the Bin Laden mission, but the particular soldiers who perished weren't part of that operation, says O'Neill. The team boarded Extortion 17 with Dave Carter and Bryan Nichols at the controls. Stay informed daily on the latest news and advice on COVID-19 from the editors at U.S. News & World Report. "The downing of Extortion 17 was a catastrophic and unprecedented tragedy for our nation," Reid testified. MARTHA RADDATZ, LUIS MARTINEZ and MIKE BOETTCHER, helicopter was shot down today by Afghan insurgents, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. In addition to the 30 Americans, the official said there were seven Afghan army soldiers and an interpreter on the helicopter. The Chinook smashed into the ground, the force ripping off his goggles. President Trump has also claimed, including in the first presidential debate, that Biden opposed the raid that took out Bin Laden. No family members were allowed to testify. All of us know that going into it.". The subject of the tweet, per The Beast, is Alan Howell Parrot, a falconer-turned-CIA whistleblower who was once the star of a documentary called Feathered Cocaine.. The immediate reaction force (IRF) was assembled hastily for insertion into Tangi Valley to help Army Rangers capture fleeing Taliban. This is all, needless to say, completely unsubstantiated if not outright false. With Robert O'Neill, Patricia Economo, Enrique Garcia, James Obrien. The pilots, crew and Chinook helicopters of "Extortion Company," the conventional Army aviation unit to which Extortion 17 belonged, had supported over 90 percent of raids conducted by Rangers and SEALs of JSOC in that region; the flight in question was nothing out of the ordinary. We were told at that time we were the first unit to make it through a rotation without having anyone killed.. On July 25, a Chinook was hit by a rocket propelled grenade fired by the Taliban. Charlie Strange, whose Navy cryptologist son, Michael, was on Extortion 17, told The Times last year that it was too much of a coincidence for Taliban to be standing so near the landing zone. The Chinook is often used to assist in disaster relief, delivering food and water after earthquakes and floods. The families of these deceased heroes have been stonewalled by the Obama Department of Defense and the Obama National Security Agency in disrespect over their sons unexplained tragic deaths. The co-pilot, Bryan Nichols, was one of Lee's closest friends in the Chinook company. Family members question SEAL Team 6's most deadly incident. DevGru is an emblem of U.S. military power, known worldwide. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. He finished his contract with the Army shortly afterward, and that September enrolled in Southern Methodist Universitys Dedman School of Law. Navy SEALs. The families of some of the 17 SEAL Team 6 commandos who were killed in an ambush in Afghanistan during a helicopter flight to help Army Rangers pinned down by Taliban gunmen accused the Obama administration of deliberately endangering their loved ones for political ends. Neither did the risk he and his pilots faced every night. Saturday's deaths bring the total number of coalition troops killed in Afghanistan to 334 this year, according to the Associated Press. Were handing rifles to 20-year-olds and asking them to shoot people. The fighting lasted at least two hours, he said, the New York Times reported. The landing zone was small, and the commanders didnt want to split up the strike force. "He said, 'Mom, there's chatter. The alleged hit on SEAL Team 6 is a reference to the downing of a Chinook transport helicopter by insurgents a few months after the bin Laden raid. He has written about soldiers returning home from war and the mental health crisis facing young people. It requires the highest level of skills from the pilots because they are some of the most dangerous operations.. Lees second deployment started in May of 2011. 2023 A&E Television Networks, LLC. It's a scary thought. During a press conference on Washington Thursday, family and advocates for the fallen troops called into question the rules of engagement that they say prohibited their sons from being able to return fire, and the White House's decision to announce shortly after the killing of Osama bin Laden that SEAL Team 6 was responsible for the raid. Patrick Hamburger, served among the helicopter's crew. Six weeks into his deployment, Lee experienced his worst day as a helicopter pilot to that point. But the CH-47D has neither a flight nor voice recorder, only an engine performance data recorder for maintenance. Just as ridiculous as saying [President George W.] Bush was responsible for 9/11, Lee said. Stephen Silver, a technology writer for The National Interest, is a journalist, essayist and film critic, who is also a contributor to Philly Voice, Philadelphia Weekly, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Living Life Fearless, Backstage magazine, BroadStreet Review and Splice Today. By what name was Fallen Angel: Call Sign - Extortion 17 (2021) officially released in Canada in English? They then repeated and emphasized a few related questions: How could this happen? September-11-pentagon-attack-survivors-evacuation. The Chinook had no Apache escort, as did the Ranger team that enjoyed the element of surprise when it touched down hours earlier. Legal Statement. The U.S. Army knows the risks when it plans air assault operations in Afghanistan. We may earn commission if you buy from a link. On a moonless night, an Army helicopter carrying 17 members of the elite Navy SEAL Team 6, the unit that killed Osama Bin Laden, is shot down in Afghanistan. Call Sign Extortion 17: The Shoot-Down of SEAL Team Six is a 2015 non-fiction expose, written by best-selling author and former U.S. Navy JAG Officer Don Brown, about the 2011 Chinook shootdown in Afghanistan of a United States Boeing CH-47 Chinook helicopter. Located in a remote and dangerous province in eastern Afghanistan, the base was the target of near-constant rocket attacks from Taliban insurgents. .css-v1xtj3{display:block;font-family:FreightSansW01,Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif;font-weight:100;margin-bottom:0;margin-top:0;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}@media (any-hover: hover){.css-v1xtj3:hover{color:link-hover;}}@media(max-width: 48rem){.css-v1xtj3{font-size:1.1387rem;line-height:1.2;margin-bottom:1rem;margin-top:0.625rem;}}@media(min-width: 40.625rem){.css-v1xtj3{line-height:1.2;}}@media(min-width: 48rem){.css-v1xtj3{font-size:1.18581rem;line-height:1.2;margin-bottom:0.5rem;margin-top:0rem;}}@media(min-width: 64rem){.css-v1xtj3{font-size:1.23488rem;line-height:1.2;margin-top:0.9375rem;}}Russian Cargo Plane Explodes During Pressure Test, Air Force's IRON Wireless Network Protects Nukes, Watch Opposition Group Land Drone on Russian Jet, Pentagon's Mysterious Aircraft Won't Need a Runway, The Secret War to Take out Iran's F-14 Fighters, Meet the E-7 Wedgetail, the Air Forces New Plane, Report: Pilot Error Ruined a $112 Million F-35 Jet, Air Force Grounds Jets: Their Tails May Fall Off, The Messy Battle to Build the F-35's Next Engine, Russia Dredges Up Ancient BTR-50 Vehicles. You never want to use the same landing zone twice, Darack said. ", While not commenting directly on the allegations, he called those who were lost "warriors" who represented "the diversity and talent of America and its military.". As they made their approach, there was a line of thunderstorms nearby. The resulting crash killed all 38 people on board including 17 US Navy SEALs, two United States Air Force Pararescue, one United States Air Force Combat Control Team member, one pilot and two crewmen of the United States Army Reserve, one pilot and one crewman of the United States Army National Guard, seven members of the Afghan National Security As they started their descent, Lee heard a loud popping noise. The next night, the pair had orders to drop off more troops in the same spot. But why? On this night, Aug. 6, 2011, something went terribly wrong. "A NATO helicopter crashed last night in Wardak province," Karzai said in the statement. JSOC and aviation commanders, prepared for virtually any outcome, quickly formulated a plan: they would send a team on one helicopter to bolster the Ranger-led force. Lee is 36 now, a civil attorney in Dallas, a world away from Afghanistan. Telling stories about ordinary people involved in extraordinary events is his passion. August 6, 2011 / 6:08 PM / CBS Boston KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- A military helicopter was shot down in eastern Afghanistan, killing 31 U.S. special operation troops, most of them from the. or redistributed. The terrorist leader was not only a major player within al-Qaeda but also a figurehead that attracted supporters and recruits from around the world. Many of these family members are undergoing psychological care over what has become a double tragedy: the deaths of their sons and the cover-up for which these family members feel betrayed by their own government.. The United States Naval Special Warfare Development Group (DevGru)better known by its former name, Team 6-reportedly suffered the bulk of the casualties. At that time, this marked deadliest moment in the war in Afghanistan. His unit called itself Extortion Company. One of his Chinooks, flying under the call sign Extortion 17 (one-seven), was tasked with the special operations mission the night of Aug. 6. Then they have to stick the landing. May 1 (EDT)1:25 p.m. President Obama, along with other top officials, formally approve the execution of Operation Neptune Spear.1:51 p.m. Stealth Black Hawk helicopters take off from Afghanistan, carrying a group of 25 Navy SEALs.3:30 p.m. The choppers land on the compound in Abbottabad. The helicopter was in great operational shape. . The tempo of the missions did not decrease. More than 20 Navy Seals died in the helicopter crash that killed 31 in Afghanistan yesterday. Somebody tipped them off. RETWEET!, The president went on to follow that last command, although the Oscar the Midnight Rider account has since been suspended by Twitter. The crash took the lives of 17 SEALs and five special warfare development group operators, making it the worst one-day loss in the history of U.S. naval special operations. The Taliban silenced him. Composed primarily of members of the 75th Ranger Regiment, which falls under the authority of the secretive Joint Special Operations Command, or JSOC, the team sought to capture or kill a powerful insurgent leader, Qari Tahir, known to coalition forces by his designation "Lefty Grove." A volley of three rockets total sped toward the general direction of the approaching Chinook, all launched within a few seconds of each other. "Sometimes the enemy just gets that terribly lucky shot. But it's just as plausible that the Taliban got lucky. The Taliban, of course, has taken credit, saying it shot down the helo during a special forces raid on a home. A catastrophic crash seemed unavoidable. . Ohio Republican Secretary of State 'actively' considering Senate run against Sherrod Brown, DeSantis family spends the afternoon at Houston Rodeo ahead of governor's speech, Marianne Williamson launches campaign against Biden, vows to fight 'forces of hatred, injustice and fear', Haley blasts both Democrats and fellow Republicans, including Trump, over exploding national debt. The Taliban shot at the Chinooks all the time with RPGs and rifles, Darack said. Darack did extensive research of what happened next. The entire operation, which lasted only 40 minutes from start to finish, was the culmination of years of calculated planning and training. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. Theyre going after [enemy fighters] in very hostile environments, who know the terrain very well, who know the battlescape very well, Darack said. Only the pilots, crew, and special operations ground forces commanders knew about the planned flight path and time. A man reads the front page of a newspaper featuring the news that al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was shot dead deep inside Pakistan in a night-time helicopter raid by US covert forces, ending a decade-long manhunt for the mastermind of the September 11 attacks. Furthermore, according to the lore, due to the alleged Iran angle, the Iran nuclear agreement in 2015 was in fact a payoff to Iran for whatever role they played in the earlier conspiracy. Trump, who is running for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, announced a slate of futuristic new policies in a campaign video Friday.