Techno-Nationalism

Chapter 11Tradecraft, Stealth and Technology

Osama Bin Laden, the world’s most-wanted terrorist, was killed by U.S. commandos in the early hours of the morning of May 2, 2011. The Americans carried out an unlikely and daring helicopter-borne assault on a pitch-black, moonless night in Abbottabad, Pakistan.

The killing of Bin Laden was the most expensive, exhaustive and technologically sophisticated manhunt in history. U.S. intelligence was able to find him because of an omnipresent American surveillance web of electronic eyes and ears that wrapped around the planet that could infiltrate virtually any communications network or electronic communications device anywhere. The use of such technology marked a new era in the art of surveillance and intelligence gathering.

The raid’s success came down to stealth technology that enabled U.S. forces to fly to the Bin Laden compound undetected and materialise, seemingly out of thin air.

From a techno-nationalist perspective, the raid, officially known as Operation Neptune Spear, is significant on three different levels.

On the surface, it is an adrenaline-charged story about revenge and long-awaited justice. But, on a second level, the operation reflects America’s decades-long technological feedback loop and the immense power that it has afforded Washington’s intelligence services.

On yet another level, however, the raid cast light on the secret world of tradecraft—in this case, the art of stealing valuable intelligence and hardware, ...