''Situation Room'' is a photograph taken by

Pete Souza Peter Joseph Souza (born December 31, 1954) is an American photojournalist, the former chief official White House photographer for Presidents of the United States Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama and the former director of the White House Photogr ...

Chief Official White House Photographer The official White House photographer is a senior position appointed by the president of the United States to cover the president's official day-to-day duties. There have been twelve official White House photographers. Since the beginning of the ...

, at 4:05 p.m. on May 1, 2011. The photograph shows U.S. president

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

and his national security team in the White House Situation Room receiving live updates from

Operation Neptune Spear On 2 May 2011, the United States conducted Operation Neptune Spear, in which SEAL Team Six shot and killed Osama bin Laden at his " Waziristan Haveli" in Abbottabad, Pakistan. Bin Laden, who founded al-Qaeda and orchestrated the September ...

, which led to the killing of

al-Qaeda , image = Flag of Jihad.svg , caption = Jihadist flag, Flag used by various al-Qaeda factions , founder = Osama bin Laden{{Assassinated, Killing of Osama bin Laden , leaders = {{Plainlist, * Osama bin Lad ...

leader

Osama bin Laden Osama bin Laden (10 March 19572 May 2011) was a militant leader who was the founder and first general emir of al-Qaeda. Ideologically a pan-Islamist, Bin Laden participated in the Afghan ''mujahideen'' against the Soviet Union, and support ...

Abbottabad Abbottabad is a city in the Hazara Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan. It is the 40th largest city in the country and 6th largest in the province by population, and serves as the headquarter of its namesake tehsil and district ...

, Pakistan.

Background

Air Force Brigadier General Brad Webb was sitting at the table monitoring the raid on Osama bin Laden's compound when

Michael Leiter Michael E. Leiter is an American lawyer and the former director of the United States National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), having served in the Bush administration and been retained in the Obama administration. A statement released by the Wh ...

, then director of the United States National Counterterrorism Center, entered the room. Leiter does not appear in the photograph, but was followed by

Robert Gates Robert Michael Gates (born September 25, 1943) is an American intelligence analyst and university president who served as the 22nd United States secretary of defense from 2006 to 2011. He was appointed by President George W. Bush and retained b ...

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

, and others. Soon the president entered the room, commenting "I need to watch this," and sat down next to General Webb. According to journalist

Peter Bergen Peter Lampert Bergen (born December 12, 1962) is an American journalist, documentary producer, historian, and author, best known for his work on national security and counterterrorism. He has written or edited ten books—three of which were ...

, the group was watching a live feed from an unmanned drone flying overhead.

Leon Panetta Leon Edward Panetta (born June 28, 1938) is an American retired politician and government official who has served under several Democratic administrations as secretary of defense (2011–2013), director of the CIA (2009–2011), White House chi ...

said that Obama did not see bin Laden being killed. Clinton said: "We could see or hear nothing when he SEALswent into the house. There was no communication or feedback coming so it was during that time period everyone was particularly focused on just trying to keep calm and keep prepared as to what would happen." The picture was taken at 4:05 pm local time in Washington (16:05 EDT), which was 12:35 am local time in Afghanistan. President Obama later said he believed the picture was taken about the time the room's occupants were informed or realized that one of the raid's helicopters had crashed. White House photographer

commented on this photograph for ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'' in late 2012, writing:

People

Obama and Biden await updates on bin Laden annotated

The following people are pictured, from left to right:

Seated

Vice President of the United States The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest ranking office in the Executive branch of the United States government, executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks f ...

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

#Brigadier General Marshall B. "Brad" Webb, Assistant Commanding General of the

Joint Special Operations Command The Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) is a joint component command of the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) and is charged with studying special operations requirements and techniques to ensure interoperability and equip ...

Denis McDonough Denis Richard McDonough (born December 2, 1969) is an American government official who served as the 11th United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs from 2021 to 2025 under President Joe Biden. McDonough served in the Presidency of Barack Obam ...

Deputy National Security Advisor The United States Deputy National Security Advisor is a member of the Executive Office of the President of the United States and the United States National Security Council, serving under the President's National Security Advisor (United States), N ...

, Secretary of State #

, Secretary of Defense

Standing

#Admiral Mike Mullen,

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS) is the presiding officer of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). The chairman is the highest-ranking and most senior military officer in the United States Armed Forces Chairman: appointment; gra ...

Tom Donilon Thomas Edward Donilon (born May 14, 1955) is an American lawyer, business executive, and former government official who served as the 22nd National Security Advisor in the Obama administration from 2010 to 2013.Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs #

William M. Daley William Michael Daley (born August 9, 1948) is an American politician and former banker who served as the 24th White House Chief of Staff from January 2011 to January 2012 under President Barack Obama. Before this, he served as the 32nd U.S. ...

White House Chief of Staff The White House chief of staff is the head of the Executive Office of the President of the United States, a position in the federal government of the United States. The chief of staff is a Political appointments in the United States, politi ...

Antony Blinken Antony John Blinken (born April 16, 1962) is an American lawyer and diplomat who served as the 71st United States secretary of state from 2021 to 2025. He previously served as Deputy National Security Advisor, deputy national security advisor ...

, National Security Advisor to the Vice President #Audrey Tomason, Director for Counterterrorism for the

National Security Council A national security council (NSC) is usually an executive branch governmental body responsible for coordinating policy on national security issues and advising chief executives on matters related to national security. An NSC is often headed by a n ...

#An unidentified person in a beige shirt behind Tomason (only a fragment of the person's shoulder is visible) # John O. Brennan, Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism #

James R. Clapper James Robert Clapper Jr. (born March 14, 1941) is a retired lieutenant general in the United States Air Force and former Director of National Intelligence. Clapper has held several key positions within the United States Intelligence Community. ...

Director of National Intelligence The director of national intelligence (DNI) is a Cabinet of the United States#Current Cabinet and Cabinet-rank officials, cabinet-level Federal government of the United States, United States government intelligence and security official. The p ...

#A man in a black suit with a white tie. Though his head is out of frame, he has been identified as a

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...

analyst, publicly known only as "John", who was "the first to put in writing n summer 2010that the CIA might have a legitimate lead on finding bin Laden."

Reception

The photograph received much publicity after the news of Bin Laden's death was announced.

CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...

called it a "photo for the ages" and drew comparisons to other famous images of U.S. presidents such as ''

Dewey Defeats Truman "Dewey Defeats Truman" was an erroneous banner headline on the front page of the early editions of the ''Chicago Daily Tribune'' (later ''Chicago Tribune'') on November 3, 1948, the day after incumbent United States president Harry S. Truman ...

''. Former White House photographer Eric Draper said that the photo captured "a defining moment in history very well." The photograph has also been the subject of commentary by historians and body language analysts. Because the photograph was taken during the raid, it has been most noted for its intensity. Hillary Clinton, pictured in the photograph, described the moment as "the most intense 38 minutes of my life" while Obama commented that it may have been the longest 40 minutes of his life, possibly excepting when his daughter Sasha had

meningitis Meningitis is acute or chronic inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, collectively called the meninges. The most common symptoms are fever, intense headache, vomiting and neck stiffness and occasion ...

as an infant. Brennan said "the minutes passed like hours and days" and Clapper said that "the tension in the air was palpable". Particularly of note was Clinton's facial expression, holding her right hand over her mouth in apparent anxiety over the outcome of the raid. She later said that she was suffering from a spring allergy and was likely suppressing a cough. Regarding the photograph, Clinton said that she was unaware of the photographer in the room as she was so focused on the situation.

Analysis

Some historians have commented on the historical significance of the photograph, particularly its depiction of the crossing of gender and racial boundaries.

Lehigh University Lehigh University (LU), in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, United States, is a private university, private research university. The university was established in 1865 by businessman Asa Packer. Lehigh University's undergraduate programs have been mixed ...

political science professor Saladin Ambar said that the picture suggests "a new American landscape that we're still crossing into." He continued, "When Obama was elected, there were some people who thought that we had crossed a racial threshold. What his presidency is revealing is that there are many crossings." The photograph has also been noted to depict a change in presidential leadership style. Historian Clarence Lusane said that past presidents have felt a need to project "machismo" and "swagger."

Meredith College Meredith College is a private women's liberal arts college and coeducational graduate school Postgraduate education, graduate education, or graduate school consists of academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qu ...

sociology professor Lori Brown said it is significant, however, that Obama is neither in the center of the room nor in the tallest chair. Political analyst Cheryl Contee said "Obama's willingness to be photographed without the typical Oval Office swagger gives birth to a new type of swagger." She said that the image shows Obama's leadership style as a collaborator. The ''New York Times'' commented on Clinton's expression in the photograph, writing, "She is what the French critic

Roland Barthes Roland Gérard Barthes (; ; 12 November 1915 – 25 March 1980) was a French literary theorist, essayist, philosopher, critic, and semiotician. His work engaged in the analysis of a variety of sign systems, mainly derived from Western popu ...

called the 'punctum,' the not necessarily conspicuous detail that gives a photograph its emotional resonance." They also stated the mystery of the photograph—what are they looking at?—was analogous to the uncertainty of Western democracy's relationship with Islamic militant terrorism. – Also in print: May 8, 2011, New York Edition WK4 Ambar stated that the photograph also shows how entrenched women have become in U.S. politics; Clinton and Audrey Tomason are in the photograph, while the similar photograph of

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...

and his staff during the

Cuban Missile Crisis The Cuban Missile Crisis, also known as the October Crisis () in Cuba, or the Caribbean Crisis (), was a 13-day confrontation between the governments of the United States and the Soviet Union, when American deployments of Nuclear weapons d ...

does not show any women. Lori Brown said in a

article that the photograph also shows how women have made progress in U.S. political life, although Brown said that Clinton's visible reaction dulled the impact somewhat, because women "are often more physical in their emotional responses and in a 'power situation' it may not seem as acceptable." Until the publishing of the photograph, Audrey F. Tomason, a woman identified by the White House as the Director for Counterterrorism, was unknown to the public. After the publication of the photo, because of the apparent proximity to President

seen in the photograph, various rumors appeared regarding what her role was. She was the only woman, other than

, in the photograph. She also appeared to be the only person in the photograph under 40 years of age.Stone, Daniel.
Audrey Tomason: Situation Room Mystery Woman
" ''

The Daily Beast ''The Daily Beast'' is an American news website focused on politics, media, and pop culture. Founded in 2008, the website is owned by IAC Inc. It has been characterized as a "high-end tabloid" by Noah Shachtman, the site's editor-in-chief ...

''. Tuesday May 3, 2011. Retrieved on May 10, 2011.

Alexis Madrigal Alexis Madrigal (born 1983/84) is an American journalist. He co-hosts the daily '' Forum'' program on California Public Radio for KQED in San Francisco. In 2010, Madrigal began working for ''The Atlantic''. In 2014, he was promoted to deputy e ...

, a senior editor at ''

The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher based in Washington, D.C. It features articles on politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 185 ...

'', said that Tomason "appeared to be an outlier in a room filled with the administration's heaviest hitters." Tommy Vietor, a

United States National Security Council The United States National Security Council (NSC) is the national security council used by the president of the United States for consideration of national security, military, and Foreign relations of the United States, foreign policy matter ...

spokesperson, said that there were other young staffers in the room, but Tomason was the only one in the photograph. Vietor said " ere were at least half a dozen people with similar profiles in the immediate vicinity where that photo was taken." Madrigal added "The luck of the camera's gaze means that history will be able to place Tomason at a decisive moment in the war on terrorism, but not her colleagues."Madrigal, Alexis.
The Other Audrey Tomasons in the Situation Room
" ''

''. May 10, 2011. Retrieved on May 10, 2011. Little information is publicly available about Tomason, although

Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university in Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts, United States, with additional facilities in Boston and Grafton, as well as Talloires, France. Tufts also has several Doctor of Physical Therapy p ...

later confirmed that she is a Tufts graduate.

Robert Cardillo Robert Cardillo is a Distinguished Fellow at Georgetown University’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology. Prior to this appointment, he was the sixth Director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and was sworn in October 3, 20 ...

, deputy director of national intelligence, was cropped from the photo and was seated to the right of Vice President Biden.

Alteration in Hasidic newspapers

Di Tzeitung ''Di Tzeitung'' (; ''the newspaper'') is a Yiddish weekly newspaper published in New York City, founded in 1988 and edited by Abraham Friedman, a Satmar Hasidic Jew, from Borough Park, Brooklyn, New York. It is published weekly, on Wednesdays ...

'' (''The Journal''), a

Satmar Satmar (; ) is a group in Hasidic Judaism founded in 1905 by Grand Rebbe Joel Teitelbaum (1887–1979), in the city of Szatmárnémeti (also called Szatmár in the 1890s), Kingdom of Hungary, Hungary (now Satu Mare in Romania). The group is a b ...

Hasidic Hasidism () or Hasidic Judaism is a religious movement within Judaism that arose in the 18th century as a spiritual revival movement in contemporary Western Ukraine before spreading rapidly throughout Eastern Europe. Today, most of those aff ...

newspaper from

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, edited the image to remove Clinton and Tomason due to its policy of not running photographs with women because of modesty laws. The newspaper apologized for altering the image in breach of the terms of its release. ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' issued a correction, noting that ''Di Tzeitung'' had not violated any White House copyright because the photograph was "in the public domain from the moment of inception". In addition, '' Dee Voch'' (''The Week''), a weekly Hasidic magazine from Brooklyn, also edited out the women. The editing of images of women out of photographs is a common practice of

Haredi Haredi Judaism (, ) is a branch of Orthodox Judaism that is characterized by its strict interpretation of religious sources and its accepted (Jewish law) and traditions, in opposition to more accommodating values and practices. Its members are ...

newspapers. While some interpreted this practice as a result of inequality to women's rights in

Hasidic Judaism Hasidism () or Hasidic Judaism is a religious movement within Judaism that arose in the 18th century as a Spirituality, spiritual revival movement in contemporary Western Ukraine before spreading rapidly throughout Eastern Europe. Today, most ...

, ''Di Tzeitung'', in its statement, said it was done only because of modesty reasons, and should in no way be seen as degrading of women.

Other uses

The photograph was used satirically on the cover of the May 13, 2011 issue of ''

Private Eye ''Private Eye'' is a British fortnightly satirical and current affairs (news format), current affairs news magazine, founded in 1961. It is published in London and has been edited by Ian Hislop since 1986. The publication is widely recognised ...

'' magazine, suggesting that the people present were witnessing a massacre of the Liberal Democrats party in British local elections. In the 2017 season five finale of the

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

TV show ''

House of Cards A house of cards (also known as a card tower or card castle) is a structure created by stacking playing cards on top of each other, often in the shape of a pyramid. "House of cards" is also an expression that dates back to 1645 meaning a struc ...

'', fictional President

Claire Underwood Claire Underwood (née Hale) is a fictional character in '' House of Cards'', played by Robin Wright. She is the wife of the show's protagonist Frank Underwood (Kevin Spacey) and the main protagonist in the final season. She is a lobbyist and ...

and her cabinet conduct a military operation in the White House Situation Room. The angle of the camera shot, placement of actors in the scene, their clothing, and even the placement of computers and coffee cups on the table, directly mimic Souza's photograph. The photograph was also mimicked in a shot in

Bong Joon-ho Bong Joon Ho (, ; born September 14, 1969) is a South Korean filmmaker. Bong Joon Ho filmography, His work is characterized by emphasis on social and class themes, genre fiction, genre-mixing, black comedy, dark comedy, and sudden tone shifts. ...

's 2017 film ''

Okja ''Okja'' (, ) is a 2017 science-fantasy action-adventure film directed by Bong Joon Ho with a screenplay by Bong and Jon Ronson from a story by Bong. The film is about a teenage girl who raised a genetically modified "super pig" (the titular Ok ...

'', only with a corporation taking the place of the U.S. government.

References

External links and further reading

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Situation Room, The 2011 works 2011 in art 2011 in Washington, D.C. 2010s photographs May 2011 in the United States Killing of Osama bin Laden Works about Barack Obama Works about Hillary Clinton Works about Joe Biden History of the White House Color photographs United States National Security Council Photographs of the United States Military history of Washington, D.C.