Summary
- A thrilling account of the manhunt and capture of Osama bin Laden revealed through interviews.
- The documentary features exclusive insider knowledge from CIA operatives and special forces.
- Detailed reconstructions of the mission to kill bin Laden and the strategic decisions involved.
Netflix is on a roll at the moment when it comes to true-crime documentaries, with another entry in the American Manhunt series landing on the platform on May 14. The new three-part event tells the story of the manhunt to capture 9/11 mastermind, Osama bin Laden.
The series was supposed to be released back in March, but it was delayed due to unforeseen circumstances. The wait was worth it, as American Manhunt: Osama bin Laden is a pulsating thrill ride from start to finish. It features interviews with special forces and intelligence operatives, who break down exactly what happened in their pursuit of justice for the evil carried out on September 11, 2001.
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American Manhunt: Osama bin Laden Features Inside Knowledge From The People Who Helped Bring Down Al-Queda
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American Manhunt: Osama bin Laden |
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Contributors |
Leon Panetta, Henry A. Crumpton, John Miller, Nayyera Haq, Ben Rhodes, Michael Morell |
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Air Date |
May 14, 2025 |
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Directed by |
Mor Loushy and Daniel Sivan |
American Manhunt: Osama bin Laden is the quintessential account of what happened from the moment Al-Qaeda terrorists attacked American soil, by flying planes into the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001. Footage of the moment President George Bush heard about the atrocities during an appearance at an elementary school features in the Netflix documentary. It is accompanied by an interview with Michael Morell, who was the president's daily briefer, and the one who broke the news to him. As the three-part series progresses, there are interviews with the man who actually killed Bin Laden, as well as the head of the CIA, Leon Panetta, who recounts exactly what happened in the build-up to the mission to locate bin Laden and attack the compound in Pakistan where he was in hiding. In an interview with Tudum, directors Mor Loushy and Daniel Sivan said:
Being thrown into the driver’s seat after the worst attack in American history would rattle anyone, even these brave men and women who had devoted their lives to protecting Americans by assessing geopolitical threats and sounding alarms that were often ignored. But the intelligence analysts didn’t have time to grieve or reflect. They had a mission at hand: to figure out who did this and stop them before the next attack.
American Manhunt: Osama bin Laden Reveals A Minute-by-Minute Account Of The Dangerous Mission To Capture And Kill Him
The true story of the mission to capture and kill Osama bin Laden has been recounted in a few documentaries, but Netflix's American Manhunt features the most in-depth account of the events of May 2, 2011. The Netflix documentary reveals that an exact replica of the compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, where bin Laden was hiding, was built to help the special forces team practice their secret mission in the lead up to the attack. Operation Neptune Spear was the code name for the mission, and Robert OŃeil was the man who fired the fatal shot that killed bin Laden. OŃeil features in the Netflix documentary, and talks about how he prepared to say goodbye to his children in the event that he didn't make it out alive. He also states how many different possibilities were considered in the planning for the mission, including the chances of the helicopter crashing, and how that would be dealt with. Turns out, that exact thing did happen, but the mission still went ahead, and the team were able to not only kill bin Laden, among others, but obtain crucial evidence that could help thwart further attacks on US soil.
The special forces team loaded bin Laden's body and the evidence onto another helicopter, and managed to make it back to Afghanistan, before Pakistani forces could reach them. The documentary also shows a reconstruction of how they blew up the crashed helicopter to destroy sensitive information. All while this was going on, President Barack Obama and his cabinet watched on from a small conference room, as they received minute-by-minute updates. The documentary also reveals information about the discussions that went on within the cabinet, to decide whether the mission would actually go ahead, and the possible risks to relations with Pakistan. Joe Biden, who was vice president at the time, voted against it, but Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, was one of many who were in favor of the mission taking place. Ultimately, President Obama made the decision, and it turned out to be the right one. Osama bin Laden's body was dumped in the ocean, to avoid a shrine being made to one of the worst terrorists the world has ever seen. The final sobering thought the audience is left with as American Manhunt draws to an end is whether America actually won the war on terror. They might have killed bin Laden, and waged war on Afghanistan, but the attacks on that fateful day in September 2001 arguably weakened America, and the effects are still felt to this day.
American Manhunt: Osama bin Laden is Available To Watch On Netflix Now
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