A Scheme to kill Osama bin Laden at a remote “falcon hunting camp” in the desert in southern Afghanistan is hatched, when the camp is identified by satellite imagery. The camp is used by members of the United Arab Emirates royal family and other high-level officials, who also quietly pledge to assist in U.S. efforts to kill the al Qaeda head.
On February 10, as the United States considered striking the camp because it believed bin Laden was present, imagery identified another group – “high level UAE officials” the 9/11 Commission report would subsequently say, also present. The scheme is called off.