Obama: ‘Getting our man’ outweighed risks of raid

Photo by: Jae C. Hong

AP

Photo

Pres. Barack Obama (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Associated Press

WASHINGTON

President Barack Obama ordered the commando raid that killed terrorist leader Osama bin Laden after deciding the risks were outweighed by the possibility “of us finally getting our man” after a decade of frustration, he said in a Sunday broadcast interview.

The helicopter raid “was the longest 40 minutes of my life,” Obama told CBS’ “60 Minutes,” with the possible exception of when his daughter Sasha became sick with meningitis as an infant.

Monitoring the commando raid operation in the White House Situation Room a week ago, Obama said he and top aides “had a sense of when gunfire and explosions took place” halfway around the world, and knew when one of the helicopters carrying Navy SEALs made an unplanned hard landing. “But we could not get information clearly about what was happening inside the compound,” he said.

Public-opinion polls have shown a boost in Obama’s support in the days since the raid, and his re-election campaign was eager to draw attention to the interview.

Jim Messina, the president’s campaign manager, emailed supporters encouraging them to watch the program. The note included a link to a listing of all of the network’s local affiliates around the country — and another one requesting donations to Obama’s re-election effort.