Operation Neptune’s Spear: War

crimes as a means to an end

In a series of coordinated strikes on September 11, 2001, bin Laden's al-Qaeda, an Islamist

extremist terrorist organization, killed 2,977 individuals from 93 different countries. Four

commercial aircraft were hijacked by 19 terrorists, who then purposefully crashed two of the

aircraft into the World Trade Center and another into the Pentagon. Flight 93, the fourth

hijacked jet, was fought back by its passengers after learning about the other attacks, and the

aircraft crashed into a field in western Pennsylvania about 20 minutes' flight from

Washington, D.C. After these chains of events, CIA began the biggest manhunt in history.

The Central Intelligence Agency learned in September 2010 that an al Qaeda courier was

routinely visiting a posh walled home in Abbottabad, Pakistan. The CIA started investing

significant resources to find out who or what was within the compound's gates. The

information acquired within a few months suggested that Osama Bin Laden might be present

there. When the operation started, both at the guest house and the main building, resistance

was encountered as SEAL team six started to clear the compound. Abu Ahmad al-Kuwaiti,

Osama bin Laden's main courier, a second courier and his wife, Khalid bin Laden, and a third

courier were all shot and killed in the resultant shootout.

It's unclear who fired the kill-shot. The SEAL team members Robert J. O'Neill and Matt

Bissonnette both asserted that they killed Osama bin Laden. Regardless of who fired the shot,

the goal had been reached. As we analyze the media coverage of this operation, CNN news

agency is more concerned about the fact that the terrorist threat has been ended and does not

cover the fact that bin Laden was unarmed, and according to the Geneva conventions, the
combatants that have laid down their weapons shall in all circumstances be treated humanely

without discriminations. But in this case, bin Laden was shot twice in the head, even though

he had no firearm on him or in his close proximity. While the U.S government calls this act

“as an action of self-defense”, Al Jazeera on the other hand, was more concerned about the

international laws being broken as a means to an end. Was it permissible for the US to

conduct an operation without informing Pakistan's government on its soil? In the end, CNN

news agency and Al Jazeera had different media coverages regarding the outcome of the

Operation Neptune’s Spear.

CNN’s coverage of the Op. Neptune’s Spear

CNN news agency framed the operation in a way that, they were more concerned about the

death of the engineer behind 9/11. Also addressing the fact that the U.S special operations unit

completed their mission in only 40 minutes, ‘swooping in’ with the helicopters and clearing

rooms methodically one by one. Without calling attention to the unarmed state of ‘Geronimo’,

bin Laden’s code name. Robert M. Entman (1993) states that, logically speaking, frames

simultaneously draw attention away from other aspects of the reality being depicted by

choosing and highlighting specific aspects of that reality. Furthermore, the majority of frames

are characterized by both what they contain and exclude, and the absence of potential problem

definitions, justifications, assessments, and suggestions may be just as important for directing

the audience as its inclusion (1993). CNN also utilized 3D imaging to simulate the raid and

the compound, where there were two helicopters unloading animated soldiers that breach the

compound. This sort of storytelling makes the situation more of a ‘video game’ than a news

piece, calling attention to how Navy SEALs finished the mission with no casualties. As an

American based news agency, CNN had the opportunity influence the public while utilizing

the spirit of patriotism. Obscuring the fact that his cause of death may be a violation.
Deceased body of bin Laden is buried in the northern Arabian sea according to Islamic rituals

on the same day. This burial was carried out to prevent any shrine to be made on his name,

preventing him to become a symbol of martyrdom for al-Qaeda. Furthermore, Pippa Norris, et

al. (2003) state that, A story's choice of specific details reveals vital information about the

viewpoint of the media source. These viewpoints have the power to draw attention to

particular attitudes and alter public opinion in political environments with diverse media

coverage. A small number of media messages may result in a small number of activated

attitudes among the general audience (2003).

Al Jazeera’s coverage of the Op. Neptune’s Spear

As stated above, Al Jazeera’s concern regarding the broken international laws to take out an

HVT (High Value Target), asking questions about how can the SEAL operative’s lethal

gunfire during a high-profile clandestine operation qualify as an act of self-defense against an

impending risk if bin Laden was an unarmed target? Main focus on their news coverage is

about; Instead of calling attention to the notorious terrorist leader’s death like CNN, they call

attention to the possible legal violations. Daya K. Thussu and Des Freedman (2003) suggests

that, a component of the conflict is how it is portrayed in the media. Media coverage affects

those who are actually and potentially involved in the conflict, not just "the public" as a group

of passive bystanders (2003).

“Hasty burial at sea”

The argument over whether the US military's burial of the al-Qaeda leader's body in

accordance with Islamic law and custom is separate from the arguments regarding the

legitimacy of Osama bin Laden's assassination and the US's authority to conduct an operation

on foreign soil. According to the White House and the US Department of Defense, the burial

was performed "in accordance with Islamic teachings and rituals" and at sea. The fact that the
footage of the burial was not released on public by government officials, made important

Islamic figures to question the authenticity of the Islamic burial traditions that has been

carried out in his funeral. Furthermore, the burial of the body at sea drew many attentions

from these Muslim figures as it is a violation of Islamic burial traditions. Thussu and

Freedman (2003) further suggests that, Governments and other organizations exist in nations

that are not directly involved but might become so. Each of these organizations aims to

influence public opinion and set agendas through the media. These conflicts occur across

many media platforms and are aimed at various audiences. It makes little sense to refer to a

struggle in some regions of the world when one side or the other dominates media agendas,

whilst there is more contestation in other regions (2003). Although Al Jazeera addressed the

fact that the killing of bin Laden was a violation of Geneva conventions, the lack of footages

of the raid which was monitored throughout the operation with government superiors, were

not published. Thus, the conclusion is that, both SEAL operatives and U.S government were

not charged with violation of international laws. Which in the end made people believe

neutralizing him was the right decision. Dietram Scheufele (1999) stated that, Thus, how

news readers interpret events can be systematically impacted by the framing and presentation

of news and events in the mass media (1999).

To sum up everything that has been stated so far, the killing of Osama bin Laden was a

milestone in the U.S’ war on terror. While CNN covered the news in a way that it was

patriotic. About how Tier 1 units conducted a surgical operation on foreign soil, finished the

mission, gathered crucial intelligence about al-Qaeda, and got out of there in the span of forty

minutes. Al Jazeera’s approach to the operation, consisted of humanitarian rights being out of

the picture in this raid, both in his death and burial. Although the violation of international

laws being broken is addressed. For U.S, taking him out of the game was the only thing that

counted; everything else was irrelevant.

References:

-Scheufele, Dietram. (1999). Framing As a Theory of Media Effects. The Journal of

Communication.

- Daya K. Thussu and Des Freedman (2003). War and the Media.

-Pippa Norris, Montague Kern and Marion Just (2003). Framing Terrorism the News Media,

the Government and the Public.

-Robert M. Entman (1993). Framing: Toward Clarification of a Fractured Paradigm