Representative Press Blog

Beheadings.

I am watching the History Channel and they just said that the order to deliver bin Laden's head on a silver plater was taken literally. Dry ice was ordered in order to deliver the actual head to the White House.

"One scene reveals a previously unreported fact. Before the first CIA team of secret paramilitary soldiers was sent into Afghanistan, Bush signed an intelligence order on Sept. 17, 2001, authorizing the assassination of Osama bin Laden and al Quaeda leaders.
Cofer Black, head of the CIA's counterterrorism center, tasked the team leader, identified only as "Gary" by Woodward, with very direct orders. "Go and find the al Quaeda and kill them. We're going to eliminate them. Get bin Laden, find him. I want his head in a box."
Gary asked Black, "You're serious?" Black responded, "Absolutely," repeating that he wanted bin Laden's head in a box. "I want to take it down and show the president."
The CIA team took Black's order literally, and after landing, Gary sent back a cable to request these items: "heavy-duty cardboard boxes and dry ice, and if possible some pikes."

Remember that many in the US love to point to the beheadings in Iraq as evidence of their savagery. What does that make us? 'Bush at War' reveals a young President's passion