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​On Twitter, CIA takes trip down memory lane to revisit Bin Laden raid

On the fifth anniversary of the raid that killed the terrorist leader, the US spy agency takes to the microblogging service to recount the attack.

Stephen Shankland Former Principal Writer
Stephen Shankland worked at CNET from 1998 to 2024 and wrote about processors, digital photography, AI, quantum computing, computer science, materials science, supercomputers, drones, browsers, 3D printing, USB, and new computing technology in general. He has a soft spot in his heart for standards groups and I/O interfaces. His first big scoop was about radioactive cat poop.
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Stephen Shankland
​Moment by moment, the CIA tweeted its attack on Osama Bin Laden five years ago.
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​Moment by moment, the CIA tweeted its attack on Osama Bin Laden five years ago.

Moment by moment, the CIA tweeted its attack on Osama Bin Laden five years ago.

Screenshot by Stephen Shankland/CNET

The CIA took to Twitter Sunday night to relive the 2011 raid on Osama Bin Laden's compound in Pakistan that killed the planner of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States.

There's not a word for live-tweeting an event five years old, but that's exactly what the US spy agency did. The re-enactment began with President Barack Obama's approval of the attack and ending five hours later with a self-congratulatory "team effort" tweet and link to its description of the event.

Twitter, with its ability to share distinctively short messages, is struggling to match the growth of social networking and communications services. But it remains an important publishing medium for celebrities, politicians and businesses.

Evidently the Central Intelligence Agency sees Twitter as a good way to toot its own horn, too. It mentioned the event on its Facebook page, but pointed to the Twitter page for the blow-by-blow recounting.