A photograph from the Obama White House shows the President, Vice President, Secretaries of State and Defense, Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and other aides watching in rapt attention as the raid on Osama bin Laden's hideout takes place. Deputy National Security Advisor John Brennan called it an "anxiety-filled" moment, but it's also a demonstration of the state-of-the-art technology used by JSOC, the Joint Special Operations Command. The head of al Qaeda was killed by a team that's part of JSOC, an organization most Americans never heard. It now may become a household word, synonymous with anti-terrorism that's very high-tech and very high-risk. We hear how members are chosen, trained and equipped, and what kinds of missions they're used for. JSOC costs a billion dollars a year, but Congress doesn't ask many questions. What interrogation methods does JSOC use? Should it be more open?
JSOC and the Killing of Osama bin Laden
Credits
Guests:
- Marc Ambinder - The Week - @marcambinder
- Kimberly Dozier - Daily Beast / CNN - @KimberlyDozier
- Kalev Sepp - Naval Postgraduate School
- Conrad Crane - Army War College's Military History Institute