Plan B

U.S. Prepped Two bin Laden Raid Teams

One for if he was killed, one for if he was taken alive.

Given all the recent doubts about Pakistan’s allegiances, this shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise: The U.S. had readied itself for a fight with Pakistan following the bin Laden raid—so much so that President Obama insisted the assault force be large enough to fight hostile local police if necessary. The White House revealed Monday that there were two teams of specialists on standby if something went wrong: one to bury bin Laden if killed and a second made up of lawyers, interrogators, and translators in case he was captured alive. One senior administration official said Monday that the CIA and the military’s Joint Special Operations Command had instructions to “avoid any confrontations if at all possible,” but they were authorized “to return fire to get out.” In the end, only the team to dispose of the body was needed.