Kill Bin Laden: A Delta Force Commander's Account of the Hunt for the World's Most Wanted Man

Required reading for anyone looking to understand America's failure to kill bin Laden and take down al Qaeda soon after American military forces hit the ground in Afghanistan. The perspective is that of Delta Force commander "Dalton Fury" (pseudonym), whose men advanced against al Qaeda positions in the Tora Bora range alongside Afghan forces, coordinating American air strikes against al Qaeda positions until bin Laden was allowed to flee into Pakistan. Fury's book supplants Jawbreaker: The Attack on Bin Laden and Al-Qaeda: A Personal Account by the CIA's Key Field Commander as the authoritative account given that Jawbreaker had much more of its content redacted by the CIA than military intelligence does to Fury's book published a few years later. Fury's book is also superior since it was his men in the mountains with Fury close by providing what little logistical support they were afforded (one story shows that support was so scant he had officers carrying gear and supplies up the mountains on their back). We continue to hear our political leaders and media pundits laud our military for its prowess while ignoring the elephant in the room, pun intended - the almost complete lack of diplomatic effort and political support for our military that allows us to succeed rather than fail in our military efforts under President Bush. This book is Exhibit C (see below recommendations). Fury and his team and the story of their capabilities and efforts in Afghanistan provides a great look at America's best doing things in the field no other military can do with the possible exception of some elite British forces. Fury's exciting depiction of their adventure in Afghanistan makes for great reading and significant confidence in our capabilities if provided with a competent commander in chief and war tested generals, rather than a lazy president coupled to sycophantic generals like CENTCOM Commander Gen. Tommie Franks. On the other hand, Fury's book provides several examples of opportunities squandered due to decisions made above Fury's pay scale, some in the White House itself, that defy logic, like the lack of support for Fury's team by our ground military forces rather than Afghan forces whose capabilities are limited and loyalties are suspect. So while Kill bin Laden is as great a boots-on-the-ground non-fiction thriller that I've ever read; it's coupled with the frustration shared by Fury that our ground force special operations capabilities were never allowed to be cut loose and engage with the enemy in a manner commiserate with our military capability. For a more chronological review of American efforts on the ground in Afghanistan, I highly recommend first reading First In: An Insider's Account of How the CIA Spearheaded the War on Terror in Afghanistan. "First In" chronicles the first CIA commander and his team's insertion into Afghanistan after 9/11, weeks prior to any significant military insertions that sets the groundwork for Fury and

Having read many of the journalists reports on the action that took place in Tora Bora during November and December of 2001 this is the first account that I've read by someone with direct first hand knowledge of that fighting. What makes this account particularly valuable is that the author was the on the ground commander of the elite American and British units involved in the fighting. His perspective gives you probably the best overall picture and description of the events across the battlefield as well as what was going on behind the scenes. There aren't many books or written accounts of the operations involving Delta. So this is a rare look, post Operation Just Cause and the Acid Gambit operation (Kurt Muse rescue in Panama). Dalton Fury gives us a more recent look into Delta and their amazing abilities to take the fight to the enemy as well as his own story of Delta selection and ending with his retirement. I found the account of the hunt for the elusive Osama (Usama) bin Laden to be a fascinating story. Negotiating through the bureaucratic jigsaw puzzle of SOCOM and the Mujahideen warlords who's only real motivation seemed to be the solidifying of their local power and mattress banks accounts. The physical and mental stamina Delta and British SBS warriors have is mind boggling. Sherpa type mountain skills comes to mind what these men endured minus the high tech winter clothing and comforts. Humping hundred pound rucksacks in subfreezing conditions in the mountains wearing indigenous clothing and a thin blanket. I also found that the author's honesty and self criticism lent to the credibility of his account. This books is a must read for fans of the shadowy elite Army unit as well as those interested in military history and or battlefield accounts. It's honest, well written and presented.

Bravo for the author Fury... I see that other reviewers have highly detailed the gist of the story, so I'll state little more than I found the book to be excellent. I received it yesterday and I got so caught up in the story that I read it through to the last page at 3AM this morning. A gripping read that I could not postpone finishing...for sure, any reader should come away in awe at the life and death adventures of these physicial supermen! While reading, I kept thinking: I'm surely glad Fury and his team were on our side! If you enjoy learning about the inner-workings of our commandos, or discovering what really happened in the mountains of Tora Bora during the great hunt for Ossama Bin Laden, then this is the book for you. CLARIFICATION from original review regarding my question which I am now editing: Mr. Dalton kindly answered my question regarding Afghani Gul Ahmed: The reason readers did not get a report of Gul Ahmed's interrogation is because Mr. Dalton was not privy to the results. This makes sense as I assume such interrogations remain confidential for a time for good reasons to do with security. Hopefully we will get an update in the future. (HERE'S THE QUESTION I AM REFERRING TO: I would like to know if other readers were left wondering about the information gotten from Afghani Gul Ahmed, whose thrilling capture was revealed in the first chapter. I failed to find the outcome of his interrogation -- Did Gul Ahmed reveal important information? Was Bin Laden wounded? Did Gul Ahmed shelter him? Where is Gul Ahmed today?) Lastly, author Fury has written an excellent account of a very important event. I commend him to the highest and hope that we hear more out of Mr. Dalton. I'm sure he has a lot of thrilling adventures in his DELTA past, and I, for one, would love to read a book about them. Mayada, Daughter of Iraq: One Woman's Survival Under Saddam Hussein.

It is rare that readers are provided a first hand, accurate, contemporary, non politically constrained account of a major special operation by US Army Special Forces Detachment Delta. Many organizations claim the title, "special operations;" it takes more than a title. Major Dalton Fury's book explains in complete detail what real special operations are about. Readers may pound the book on the table as they learn that Fury, the team leader, was given the mission but not provided the total command dexterity needed to get bin Laden. Higher echelons unexplainably constrained his alternatives. When will we learn? Nevertheless, Fury writes a lucid description of this most special operation. The understandably unanswered question is why were other alternatives requested by Fury not permitted? Our nation is privileged to have leaders, men, and a unit like this in its military. The continued strong relationship between SAS and Delta is obvious. The book is a great read for active and retired military of all ranks and services, civilians, and academic readers alike. It will be a case history for future generations of special operators. Thank you to Major Fury and your team for trying and for writing the book.

I thought we'd learned some expensive lessons in Vietnam. Apparently I'm wrong, and the proof of that is the book Kill bin laden (lower case intentional) by Dalton Fury (not the real name) and Col. David Hunt. In Vietnam there was constant interference by Washington in the conducting of operations in the field. I thought we'd learned to turn command of combat operations over to field commanders, define, in advance, the rules of engagement and then step out of the way and let them go. I also thought we'd learned that international borders couldn't always be respected, especially when those borders provide aid and comfort to foreign fighters. This is especially true when the host government knows they are providing cover for these fighters and takes no steps, or weak ones at best, to put an end to that cover. Boy, was I wrong. Wrong, Wrong, Wrong. Fury was the leader of an elite Delta Force unit inserted into Afghanistan with the sole mission of finding bin laden and then killing him. Not an easy mission but certainly clear enough. No ambiguity here. As Dalton and Hunt point out, not only was there interference from up the chain of command in disallowing mission options, but the Delta Force was paired with Afghan fighters that were very thin in their commitment of finding bin laden. It is a paradox that the mission seemed doomed almost from the start and yet came very close to succeeding. Dalton maintains that they may have come within a few meters of actually killing b. l. The cave the team thought b. l. was in was targeted and successfully bombed. Later, teams searched the area for b.l. body parts but none was ever found. After reading Kill bin laden, one has to wonder whether our leaders really wanted b. l. found and dispensed with. Kill bin laden is well written. Why shouldn't it be? The man who wrote it was there. As a veteran, I've never doubted that the U. S. military is the finest in the world. There's not another soldier in the world that can stand toe to toe with the American fighting man. Our combined forces are simply the best. However, it seems clear that even after the hard lessons learned in the past, we seem doomed to repeat the same mistakes over and over. Will we ever learn? Dalton and Hunt deliver a masterfully written inside story about the failed attempt to get b. l. Kill bin laden is not a partisan read but it is one that should make you angry. I highly recommend. Semper Fi