Obama had been cautious about the mission but was reassured when the Pakistanis provided a sample of bin Laden’s DNA.

Bin Laden’s identity and location had been verified. He was under Pakistani control, and they would not intervene in the SEAL mission to kill bin Laden. The ISI guards had left the compound area, no weapons were left behind, and the SEALs did not encounter a firefight. Even the crash of one of their helicopters did not arouse the army.

An ISI liaison officer guided the SEALs to Osama’s quarters. Osama retreated to his bedroom, where the SEALs apparently riddled him with bullets. His wife and children were left for the ISI to manage.

“There were no bags of computers and storage devices,” reports Hersh. Further, there was no burial at sea of bin Laden, as reported by Obama.

The original agreement between the U.S. and Pakistan was to wait for a week after the mission, then report that bin Laden’s remains had been found in the mountains, and identified by DNA. However, Obama’s political advisers urged him to get out in front of the story immediately. In doing so, he betrayed the generals who had helped him. A new cover story was now needed.