The iconic photo of President Obama and the very few U.S. officials privy to details of Operation Geronimo was actually taken in a small conference room outside of the Situation Room. Obama revealed that and other small but fascinating details about the mission to capture or kill Osama bin Laden in an interview with Brian Williams on the one-year anniversary of bin Laden’s death. Not even First Lady Michelle Obama knew about the operation. “Even a breath of this in the press could have chased bin Laden away,” Obama said. “We didn’t know at that point whether there might be underground tunnels coming out of that compound that would allow him to escape.”
In the video, Obama discusses the scene when he left the Situation Room so he could watch the live feed coming from a drone parked above bin Laden’s compound. Hillary Clinton and others involved in the mission also appeared on the Rock Center segment. Clinton was asked a funny question on her way to the Situation Room.
