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Operation Silent Night Case Study

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Subject: Operation Silent Night
This memorandum reviews the president’s decision regarding US action against Ayman al-Zawahiri. Last week US intelligence received information from a credible informant which identified Zawahiri’s plan to meet several high-level al-Qaeda operatives, including an American operative, tomorrow at 2:00 am in a compound in Pakistan. The intelligence agencies also identified al-Qaeda’s plans to attack US Capitol and the CIA headquarters. While the president’s policy properly addresses the immediate issues, it fails to outline long-term strategic concerns. Therefore, the president should revise his policy to address steps to repair and strengthen US-Pakistani relationship.
Options and Analysis:
During the National Security Council (NSC) deliberations, principals primarily discussed advantages and disadvantages of using drone strikes as opposed to using special operations to bring Zawahiri and his accomplices to justice. While divided in the type of intervention, the council unanimously agreed to exclude Pakistan out of the mission due to the nature and urgency of the mission. Ultimately, the president ordered a special operations raid on the compound. He also ordered for an emergency reaction force to remain on stand-by and authorized use of lethal …show more content…

During the 2011 raid in Pakistan to capture bin-laden, the navy seals had several months of training to successfully carry out the mission, however, that is not true for this mission. Our seals have not had the time to prepare, so this mission may not be carried out effectively. Most importantly, post bin-laden mission Pakistan declared that raids by the US will be received as an act of war. Furthermore, US-Pakistan relations will further deteriorate if the US forces and Pakistani military exchange fire during the mission. Therefore, a raid is more likely to bring the two countries to the brink of

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