During the first half of the program, author John Weisman (book link) joined Ian Punnett to talk about the killing of Osama Bin Laden, how the CIA discovered his compound in Abbottabad, and the untold story of what happened when Bin Laden's corpse arrived on the USS Carl Vinson. In the summer of 2010, the CIA established a safe house in Abbottabad to monitor two individuals known to be Bin Laden couriers who had bought a compound there, Weisman explained. The compound itself warranted attention because it was different than other dwellings in the area, he continued, noting its size, high walls, opaque windows, lack of telecommunication equipment, and outside security cameras. According to Weisman, it took quite some time to determine that Bin Laden was in the compound, even though he believes certain elements in the Pakistani intelligence community knew that he was living there. Monitoring of cell phone calls and overhead surveillance helped determine that Bin Laden resided within the walled compound, he revealed.
The raiding party came in using stealth capabilities to divert any possible radar detection, Weisman reported, pointing out that one of their Blackhawk helicopters crashed (and the Pakistanis subsequently allowed the Chinese to examine a portion of the wreckage). He disputed the White House's claim that Bin Laden was shot once in the chest and once in the head by two different SEAL team members, as they are trained to fire in controlled pairs until a target goes down. Weisman said that a medical team was sent in to identify Bin Laden's body using digital photographs and DNA testing. Afterward his corpse was flown via Osprey to the USS Carl Vinson to be buried at sea so that it could never be found and memorialized. Weisman suggested that the White House only went through with the Bin Laden raid because polls showed it would be politically beneficial for them to do so. "I think if the polls had shown or indicated that [President Obama] would suffer [politically] in some way... that he would have not gone," he commented.
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In the final two hours, Andy Ramirez, president of the Law Enforcement Officers Advocates Council, discussed the case against Jesus Enrique Diaz, a Border Patrol Agent who he believes was maliciously prosecuted at the request of the Mexican Consul. On October 16, 2008, Diaz and a group of agents responded to a call involving a suspected illegal alien drug smuggler, Ramirez said. Agent Diaz did not apprehend the suspect but secured him after he had been handcuffed, he noted. According to Ramirez, at some point Diaz felt it necessary to lift the suspect up by his handcuffed arms, shift him to the ground, and press a knee into his back. There was no physical injury to the suspect, he added. Five of the agents who where there ultimately testified against Diaz, claiming along with the Mexican Consul that he tortured the drug smuggler. Diaz was charge with deprivation of rights and five counts of lying to investigators, even though his story is the only one that has not changed, Ramirez noted.