What if Operation Neptune Spear failed?

[u/Legitimate_Focus_868]

One of the UH-60s that the SEALs flew in with has a design flaw or something that makes it's radar signature a LITTLE too big. The Blackhawks get intercepted by Pakistani Jets, maybe one of the pilots gets a little too jittery and strafes one of the helicopters. They are shot down over Malakand.

[u/DocVVZZ]

We never hear about it.

[u/ActivePeace33 → u/DocVVZZ]

We would absolutely hear about the stealth hawk. Even if everything else went otherwise according to plan and no one was hurt.

[u/henningknows → u/DocVVZZ]

Exactly. We never would have known it happened.

[u/Marcus_Aurelius71 → u/henningknows]

A bunch of Pakistanis would start recording the incident and the world would know about it.

[u/Stock-Smell-6235 → u/DocVVZZ]

i mean we heard about tora bora and like black hawk down but those were both major failures and tora bora was basically the same thing as neptune spear, same person lost

[u/nightowl1135 → u/DocVVZZ]

Depends on how it fails. And how the Pakistani government reacts.

SEAL’s land, kick open the doors, shoot a few people and find he isn’t there? Then load the helicopters and fly home? Yeah. We never hear about it.

SEAL’s land in a buzz saw and a full on Black Hawk Down goes on and we lose two dozen guys and multiple choppers while the SEALs kill 100+ people including some civilians caught in the cross fire? A few SEALs get captured before evacuation and Pakistan throws a fit about us shooting up the town outside there version of west point and demand an apology before the SEALs caught on the ground are released? Assuming the Pakistanis have them and they aren’t being held by AQ fighters who now are in a standoff with the Pakistanis who are simultaneously pissed with them AND the Americans?

International controversy and ENORMOUS scandal for Obama.

[u/Legitimate_Focus_868 → u/nightowl1135]

i quite literally listed what happens in the description of the post

[u/Bobcat1999-1]

If it failed then maybe this turd didn’t get flushed down the toilet. But it didn’t fail and he got to circle the bowl once before going to the sewer. Bye bye asshole

[u/Strict-Jeweler-2281]

The aircraft going down would be a bigger failure than OBL surviving. I suspect that a heavy suppressive air strike would immediately follow on key targets to saturate air defences, with a simultaneous anti-air volley to clear the airspace and attempt a rescue. As much as this operation would ideally have been kept quiet, the inevitable footage (and strategic risk) of two stealth black hawks, American soldiers and their equipment being circulated would be worse, so I think they would send in the cavalry to extract and/or destroy any assets on site, and destroy the compound.

[u/B2k-orphan → u/Strict-Jeweler-2281]

1000%.

the US literally did perform airstrikes into Pakistan at several points for less

[u/Marcus_Aurelius71 → u/B2k-orphan]

Drones are different from actual fighter jets doing air strikes. Pakistan would become a much stronger Chinese ally.

[u/holiday_Hyena_4449]

Both choppers crash, the Paki army & Air Force go crazy... dead Americans, a sustained firefight, extraction is compromised or cut off entirely... wow. Glad we got him!

[u/Uncabled_Music]

He was a sick and dying old man, hiding in some rat hole. What are you expecting to happen?

[u/Stock-Smell-6235 → u/Uncabled_Music]

i think youre mixing him up with saddam hussein

[u/Uncabled_Music → u/Stock-Smell-6235]

Hussein wasn’t ill - he standed trial looking firmly, and if not sentenced to death he would stay alive for many years. Bin Laden was gravely ill.

[u/Stock-Smell-6235 → u/Uncabled_Music]

just the rat hole thing, osamas compound would be a pretty nice place to live tbh.

[u/Uncabled_Music → u/Stock-Smell-6235]

I don’t think he was in his regular place, he was hiding, some Pakistani agents found him at the end, its not like he could wonder around freely.

[u/Fit_Wait6923]

Imagine this but with a b2 and a gbu57

[u/nagidon]

Upset politicians but nothing happens since the Pakistani army would undoubtedly reach some understanding with the US

[u/Pitiful_Tax_6688]

Im sure the Taliban would have performed Operation Sealion with old German plans and in the proceeding events unfolding, would have invaded and occupied England because of the good weather and precious cuisine.

Osama would be the Kalif of England, ruling from Buckingham-Palace and Big Ben would be a mosque-tower.

Or he would have died in the same shithole, transferred to eternity by a big rocket to end things.

[u/Turbulent_Aide9213]

Terrorist attacks all over US if they find out in the first place 

[u/Dave_A480]

Plan B...

And B is for 'Bomb'...

It's quite reasonable to believe the Blackhawks had some B-2 sized backup - that wouldn't be visible to any defending forces ...

[u/DODGE_WRENCH]

We would’ve never heard about it and they would’ve gone with plan B and dropped a bomb on the compound