Zero Dark Thirty is a 2013 movie directed by Kathryn Bigelow that tells the story of the decade-long hunt for Osama bin Laden, the al Qaeda leader behind the September 11, 2001 attacks. The film focuses on a determined CIA analyst, played by Jessica Chastain, who tracks clues leading to bin Laden’s hideout in Abbottabad, Pakistan, and ends with the real-life raid that killed him.[2][3][6]
The story starts right after 9/11, when al Qaeda bombs U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998, killing nearly 300 people, and attacks U.S. forces in Saudi Arabia in 1996. Bin Laden goes into hiding along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border after the Taliban falls in 2001. He stays out of sight for over 10 years, living with three wives and up to 12 children.[3][6]
CIA teams chase leads, including the 2004 video where bin Laden claims responsibility for 9/11. The big break comes from tracking a courier who leads them to a large compound in Abbottabad. This walled-off home is tall and private, matching local styles for safety and family privacy. Bin Laden worries about contact with Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence agency, or ISI, due to past arrests like that of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and rumors of corruption over his $25 million reward.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inter-Services_Intelligence[1][3]
On May 2, 2011, President Barack Obama approves an eight-month plan led by CIA Director Leon Panetta. About two dozen elite U.S. Navy SEALs from DevGru, once called SEAL Team Six, fly in on stealth helicopters for Operation Neptune Spear. They raid the compound at night. Bin Laden, over 6 feet 4 inches tall, is shot several times and killed. His body is taken for DNA tests to confirm his identity.[3][5]
The movie builds tension through years of work, showing the raid’s high stakes in Abbottabad as the climax. It mixes real events with a fictional analyst to explain the patient hunt.[2][4][6]
Sources
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inter-Services_Intelligence
https://www.oreateai.com/blog/unraveling-the-tension-a-deep-dive-into-zero-dark-thirty/2630e7eef9b7e7192b4cc0dca3f08b70
https://www.app.tankersinternational.com/8797219/biography-terrorist-al-qaeda-leader/
https://www.oreateai.com/blog/unraveling-the-shadows-a-deep-dive-into-zero-dark-thirty/2dcf4045789230bc7e8f17b888c1f49b
https://en.namu.wiki/w/%EC%98%A4%EC%82%AC%EB%A7%88%20%EB%B9%88%20%EB%9D%BC%EB%8D%B4
https://www.oreateai.com/blog/zero-dark-thirty-a-gripping-tale-of-tenacity-and-truth/91e9e0d851276e9f779881ebec087b61
