A new Channel 4 docudrama on the Bin Laden raid premiered last night and provides new details on the covert op. It also features interview with senior U.S. government officials, a former Seal Team Six member, and a rather candid interview with President Obama. The trailer is embedded below; full video here.
One interesting element from the White House spin which comes through in the video is President Obama's repeated reference to there only being a 50-50 chance of Bin Laden being in the compound, and that this operation was basically a 'gamble'. President Obama has come under a lot of criticism of late for being too risk averse, so from a messaging and political strategy point of view it could be helpful for the President to beef up his risk taking image.
However, the natural question is whether this is the right spot politically for Obama to be positioning himself as a risk taker? I see two potential problems: first, by emphasizing the 50-50 gamble it makes Obama appear like he got lucky. Second, as opposed to gambling on financial regulatory or budget reform here his gamble here involved the lives of military personnel as well as a Pakistani military backlash.
From a military strategy perspective I can see advantages to emphasizing Obama's willingness to take risk on convert raids in terms of the message it sends to both U.S. enemies and 'frenemies' alike. Americans may also prefer that their President be 'lucky' rather than or in addition to being 'good'.
Overall it's an intriguing messaging strategy and the video is well worth a watch.
One interesting element from the White House spin which comes through in the video is President Obama's repeated reference to there only being a 50-50 chance of Bin Laden being in the compound, and that this operation was basically a 'gamble'. President Obama has come under a lot of criticism of late for being too risk averse, so from a messaging and political strategy point of view it could be helpful for the President to beef up his risk taking image.
However, the natural question is whether this is the right spot politically for Obama to be positioning himself as a risk taker? I see two potential problems: first, by emphasizing the 50-50 gamble it makes Obama appear like he got lucky. Second, as opposed to gambling on financial regulatory or budget reform here his gamble here involved the lives of military personnel as well as a Pakistani military backlash.
From a military strategy perspective I can see advantages to emphasizing Obama's willingness to take risk on convert raids in terms of the message it sends to both U.S. enemies and 'frenemies' alike. Americans may also prefer that their President be 'lucky' rather than or in addition to being 'good'.
Overall it's an intriguing messaging strategy and the video is well worth a watch.
Channel 4's Description:
A stellar cast of White House insiders speak on camera about the operation to find and kill Osama Bin Laden, including the first - and extraordinary - documentary interview with President Barack Obama on the subject.
From the anxiety-drenched minutes in the White House Situation Room to the deadly stairwells of Bin Laden's secret labyrinth, cinematic dramatisations take viewers deep inside one of the most important moments of our era, showing the US Navy Seals coming face to face with the most wanted man in history.
Based on high-level CIA and White House briefings, and packed with exclusive stories and fresh insights, the film reveals that President Obama received a downbeat last-minute intelligence assessment, which caused many of his senior advisors to turn against the operation.
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