The National Security Agency, known for its secrecy, recently launched a podcast, "No Such Podcast," detailing the agency's role in the hunt for Osama bin Laden, the mastermind of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
The agency was responsible for intercepting the calls that identified an associate of bin Laden that led the CIA to his compound in Pakistan.
"It's time for NSA to take some credit," said Jon Darby, a retired NSA official who shortly after 9/11 was put in charge of figuring out new ways to go after al-Qaida's communications, The Washington Post reported.
The goal of the NSA's podcast is to detail the role of SIGINT, signals intelligence, in keeping Americans and its allies safe, according to the Post.
It took two years of NSA wiretapping that led to identifying bin Laden's courier. The NSA pored through transcripts, tracked foreign associates, and listened in on hundreds of conversations, the Post reported. The NSA used its linguists, fluent in Arabic and Pashto, to figure out the identity of Ibrahim Ahmad Saeed, bin Laden's courier.
In late 2009, the NSA was convinced Saeed was associated with bin Laden as his courier and began to track his phone to help pinpoint his location, working in concert with the CIA, according to the Post. The NSA was then able to determine his location and prove Saeed was still working with al-Qaida, the Post reported.
On the night bin Laden was killed in 2011, Darby was at a command center in Fort Meade, working as the agency's counterterrorism chief.
He worked through until the next night, he said, and when he got home, he was flooded with emotions.
"I literally cried my eyes out, you know, shoulder shaking, let it all out, just crying my guts out," Darby told the Post. "It was just such an emotional release."
Sam Barron ✉
Sam Barron has almost two decades of experience covering a wide range of topics including politics, crime and business.
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