Steppin' Out Magazine - Vol. 13 - Issue #652

How to Kill Bin Laden

by: Chaunce Heyden

The following is a very candid chat with this true American hero and military expert...

Christian is also the author of Victor Six (a remarkable autobiography that documents his harrowing Vietnam experiences) and has been profiled in the media - in particular, the New York Times, Good Morning America, Today Show, EXTRA, CNN's "Sonia Live", and hundreds of TV and radio talk shows across the country and around the world. 

Chaunce Heyden: America has finally returned fire at Osama bin Laden and his band of thugs. Are things going as you anticipated? 

David A. Christian: Well, I knew a strike was coming, but I know some people felt it took too long. However, compared to Desert Storm, it only took us weeks to get our coalition in place. Desert Storm took months. Of course, we all would have liked to have seen it happen September 12th. When you lose as many loved ones as we did, you'd like to have your pound of flesh almost immediately. 

Chaunce Heyden: Before we get into Osama bin Laden, let's talk briefly about your past as one of America's most respected and decorated war heroes. You were awarded an amazing seven Purple Hearts during the Vietnam War, and were wounded in battle numerous times. 

David A. Christian: Right. I had gunshot wounds across my chest, I was stabbed in the left arm, I was paralyzed in my right hand, my right shoulder was almost ripped off by shrapnel, and I also took a hand grenade to the left side of my body, and a light anti-tank weapon exploded into my stomach and my crotch. Then I had 44 percent of my body burned with napalm. So from that whole list of injuries, I had to undergo a lot of surgery. I had a neurological disorder. I couldn't walk at first. I had to go from an electric wheelchair to a regular wheelchair to crutches. I finally ended up running the Skyline International Marathon in Buffalo, New York. I guess I was like the original Forrest Gump (Laughs). 

Chaunce Heyden: Amazing. But knowing your past and what you've survived, what does going to war mean to you? 

David A. Christian: It's kind of a breakdown in society when you have war. It means that all diplomatic negotiations have failed. Unfortunately, people don't realize that not every country is like the rest of the civilized world. There are some countries that may not even be third-world countries. Some are fourth-world countries, and they have few televisions. A whole family or village will gather around a TV and see western TV. They'll see teenagers driving around in cars and having a wonderful life, and that builds jealousy and resentment, and out of jealousy sometimes comes hatred. You just can't prevent bad guys. There's always going to be Hitlers', Mussolinis', and Stalins'. We're trying to stop these evildoers in terrorism from creating more evil and destruction. 

Chaunce Heyden: You were part of an elite group during the Vietnam War called "The Butchers." Many of your battle experiences consisted of hand-to-hand combat and special ops missions where you did things that would be considered "extreme" for lack of a better word. With that said, are you capable at this time of going into Afghanistan and taking out Osama bin Laden?

David A. Christian: In the intelligence field, we call it "neutralizing the individual." In civilian field, we call it "killing the individual". If you're asking me if I could kill bin Laden the answer is yes. I could do it very clearly, very coldly, and very calculated. I would do it with great honor.

Chaunce Heyden: It's been reported that Special Forces are already in Afghanistan. Can you give some insight as to what is going through these special troops that will be fighting this war deep inside Afghanistan? 

David A. Christian: Special Forces are really a unique group. In the '60's it started with JFK's special warfare center, which was the Green Berets. The emphasis was strongly on the Green Berets to go and work in poor lands, so that the people there don't hate the United States of America, and to teach them everything from personal hygiene to how to live without the corruption and disruption and killing and maiming. These people were sent around the world to accomplish this, and now they're being sent to Afghanistan. 

Chaunce Heyden: Can you tell me what they'll be doing in Afghanistan? 

David A. Christian: What happens is that these guys go in and some of the members of the team will be able to speak the dialect of that region, which will be Arabic in this case. And make sure they get weapons and they will train them. They'll teach them military tactics and things like not going to the bathroom upstream and then using water from downstream for cooking. It seems simple, but some people still do that. That's why the life expectancy of most Afghans is approximately 45 to 50 years of age. They don't live a very long life. So these Special Forces guys will go in there and correct this. The last thing that they will do is lead them into battle against the Taliban. 

Chaunce Heyden: Who exactly is our enemy in Afghanistan?

David A. Christian: Well, the Taliban is a repressive regime, and it's also a very fertile regime for terrorists. the United States, we would consider a situation like the one that took place on September 11th a conspiracy. Everybody that's involved in a conspiracy is guilty of the crime. Everybody. I use the poisonous tree concept. Wherever the roots took place and wherever this tree grew, the tree as well as the fruit that it produced should all be given rightful punishment. Now that tree must come down and the fruit of that tree, which is the Taliban government, must be neutralized, reeducated, or captured and imprisoned. The Special Forces have the role to go forth and do what must be done. Aside from the conventional guerilla warfare roles, they'll also have to confirm the satellite pictures of potential targets. 

Chaunce Heyden: What is the Taliban?

David A. Christian: The Taliban are mostly youths. The word means "student". It's this group of young students who have come together, and I think they can fall apart as quickly as they came together. They can be very hateful. Youth doesn't always give you wisdom or compassion. So their youth and lack of wisdom makes them very hateful people. They're destroying art and religious things, and putting marks on people whose religion is different than their own. It brings back haunting memories in history of how the Jews were marked during World War Two.

Chaunce Heyden: Obviously, it's incredibly dangerous. How does one do the things you mentioned in such a rugged terrain that is really nothing more than a wasteland? 

David A. Christian: You're absolutely correct. It's a vast wasteland, and it's hostile. Compounding these factors is that people are shooting and trying to kill one another which makes it even more dangerous. It's acutely dangerous. It's the highest level of danger you can imagine. And if you wear the traditional clothing of the Afghan people in an effort to blend in and you get captured, you can be executed as a spy. So you're correct, it's very very dangerous. It's antiseptic when you drop a bomb from 20,000 feet. You don't feel it as much. But when you see these things eyeball to eyeball, it brings it a little closer to home for the men who have to wear the war paint and blend into the terrain. 

Chaunce Heyden: We've dropped our bombs and leveled many Afghan targets. Yet it seems Osama is alive and well. What should be done to kill him? 

David A. Christian: You can personally kill him , or you can call in a strike on his location if your numbers are small. Traditionally, Special Forces operate in small teams. Often times these small teams can engage up to 1,000 men with arms. So they may have to call in air attacks and/or artillery. Then they would go in afterward and do what is called a BDA, Bomb Damage Assessment. They would see if in fact the bombs killed bin Laden or if he was injured. They would then capture bin Laden. That would be the best way to do it. To sneak up in his tent and cut his throat would be unthinkable because he knows the whole world is tightening the screws against him. So his defenses are up. People are saying that he has an army of 3,000 that he's traveling with. He supposedly has approximately six wives and has as many as 15 children. The man is six foot four, which is very tall for these people. So we should be able to spot him. I don't think our Special Forces will have any trouble spotting him. So to answer your question, the best way to kill bin Laden is to have Special Forces verify his location and call in a missile strike, and then go in and locate his body and show it to the world. But keep in mind, that is just the head of the snake. We have to reeducate his children, who have been told Americans are bad. I think the humanitarian aspect of dropping food to these people is very important.

Chaunce Heyden: Do you think it's odd that we're dropping both bombs and food on Afghanistan at the same time? 

David A. Christian: I know it seems like a paradox, but there's only a small group that's in control. Traditionally when bad guys come into power, it starts as a small group and it suppresses the majority of the population, and anybody of that majority who speaks out gets killed. It happened with Hitler, Stalin, and so many other people. We just have to hope for the best and try to reeducate these young children and families and explain to them that America is very tolerant of all religions. We went to war in Kosovo to help the Muslims. The Christian Serbs were killing Muslims and we went to war to help them. We did the same thing in Bosnia, and for the Muslims in Kuwait. 

Chaunce Heyden: Now that we've started our attack on Afghanistan, everyone here is worried about the threat of another attack, especially that of chemical warfare, namely anthrax. Are we in danger? 

David A. Christian: I think we've never been safer in our lives than we are right now because of the types of security. On the home front, I feel that we've never been so secure. Even with the threat of chemical warfare. 

Chaunce Heyden: Is there any way on an individual basis we can protect ourselves against anthrax? 

David A. Christian: You can protect yourself against anthrax with home remedies. You can take simple household bleach and wash down your arms. There's actually a booklet that is being put out by Dr. Charles Simone that's about 50 pages on how to protect yourself. We have to get the Defense Department to get this booklet out and sent to every house in America so they know what to do if they feel they've come into contact with biological substance. 

Chaunce Heyden: What about going out and buying a gas mask. Is it a waste of money? 

David A. Christian: Unfortunately, it is a waste of money. That's not going to save you at this stage of the game. Almost everybody in Israel has a gas mask in their house for fear of biological attack. But the gas mask is just a filter that takes out impurities in the air, such as the dust you saw over people's bodies when the World Trade Center collapsed. But it's not going to stop chemicals like anthrax from entering your body.

Chaunce Heyden: Finally, will you be going to Afghanistan to participate in "Operation Enduring Freedom"?

David A. Christian: There's a very good possibility, yes. I went over there in the early '90's on behalf of President Bush to try to help Russian Afghan veterans organize and establish some understanding of what they went through at the end of the Afghan war with Russia. I also have a very good understanding of guerilla warfare and I've been an advisor for our great government to four different presidents. I advise the U.S. Senate right now as we speak. I would advise the Northern Alliance on how to establish some form of government, whether it's wrapping themselves around the former king until they truly fill the void of leadership. The last thing you want to happen is for the Taliban to crumble and just have a great big void in leadership. You need to get someone in there that knows how to lead.