From Mark Bowden, the preeminent chronicler of our military and special
forces, comes The Finish, a gripping account of the hunt for Osama bin
Laden. With access to key sources, Bowden takes us inside the rooms
where decisions were made and on the ground where the action unfolded.
After masterminding the attacks of September 11, 2001, Osama bin Laden
managed to vanish. Over the next ten years, as Bowden shows, America
found that its war with al Qaeda--a scattered group of individuals who
were almost impossible to track--demanded an innovative approach. Step
by step, Bowden describes the development of a new tactical strategy to
fight this war--the fusion of intel from various agencies and
on-the-ground special ops. After thousands of special forces missions in
Iraq and Afghanistan, the right weapon to go after bin Laden had finally
evolved. By Spring 2011, intelligence pointed to a compound in
Abbottabad; it was estimated that there was a 50/50 chance that Osama
was there. Bowden shows how three strategies were mooted: a drone
strike, a precision bombing, or an assault by Navy SEALs. In the end,
the President had to make the final decision. It was time for the
finish.
