'May 1, 2011'

On the night of May 1, 2011, an image was transmitted throughout the world that is now considered a milestone for image politics, and has entered the collective memory of the U.S.’s campaign against al-Qaida and the war on terror. It shows a focused and tense president sitting among his national security team, as they stare at a large screen outside the image. President Barack Obama sits temperately on a chair in the corner of the Situation Room, next to him Vice President Joe Biden and Brigadier General Marshall B. Webb. On the right, Hillary Clinton clasps her hand to her mouth. Beside her sits former CIA Director and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, leaning back with his arms crossed. On the table there are open laptops, documents and photo prints that have been blurred. To-go cups may testify to a long night. Live footage of the assault on the archenemy of the U.S., al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, is broadcast live to the White House, but no photographic evidence is leaked to the public. The scene in the White House Situation Room, appropriately documented by official photographer Pete Souza, would come to represent and publicly symbolize this crucial moment in the history of the U.S.: the carrying out of Operation Neptune Spear.