Netflix is Doing a Docuseries About the Manhunt for Bin Laden That Looks Pretty Frigging Amazing

This footage is from May 2, 2011. The night the United States military took out Osama bin Laden half a world away. 

First of all, it's one of those surreal moments that somehow manage to feel like a lifetime ago and yesterday at the same time. I'll admit that sentiment is completely illogical. But the whole period of history was one where logic never seemed to apply.

I don't think it's a stretch to say this was the last time America felt anywhere close to being a united country. The 13 years since have seen too many lies by the government. Too many powerful people from both parties acting in their own best interests at the expense of the rest of us. Too many times the greater good was ignored in favor of benefiting small groups of elites. Too many people getting rich while - and because - they screwed over the working class. Too many people who legitimately need help through no fault of their own (businesses shut down by Covid, natural disaster relief than never came, etc) while untold trillions were being sent everywhere else. 

But on that May night, we were one. Or as close to being one as a massive, geographically and culturally diverse nation can be. Only the fringest lunatics on the ends of the ideological spectrum weren't some combination of proud, joyful, and relieved that the manhunt was over at last and vengeance was ours at last. And I say this not just because some in the crowd outside The White House were chanting "Viva la Stool." The fact is we played just a minor role. The real credit goes to the men and women who tracked bin Laden down, and the ones who laid their lives on the line to put a bullet in his bonnet. 

With that said, there's no better time than the present to take a deep dive into how the operation went down. Something beyond all the books that have been written and movies like Zero Dark Thirty.  And Netflix has released the trailer of a series that appears to be doing exactly that:

YouTube - This three part docuseries from directors Mor Loushy and Daniel Sivan gives an in-depth look at how the world mobilized to hunt down Osama Bin Laden after his orchestrations of the September 11th, 2001 attacks on the United States. Featuring interviews with key people within the US government who helped in the global chase, this series focuses on the decade-long mission to capture one of the world’s most notorious terrorists. 

Truth be told, there's a lot of cynicism in the comments section under this trailer. And as I'm writing this, just 1.8K likes despite almost 38,000 views. Which is understandable given all we've already talked about, as well as the outright lies that led us into two endless wars. I get the healthy dose of skepticism.

What I'm hoping is that this series does a good job of honoring the people who carried out the search. Planned the operation. Flew into harm's way. And executed the mission (and their target) to perfection. More of them, and less of bureaucrats taking a bow for the work other people did would be great. Just what America could use right now in order to restore some semblance of the national pride we had that night 13 years ago. I just hope that's not too much to ask for.