Situation Room (photograph) facts for kids
The Situation Room is a famous photograph taken by Pete Souza, who was the main photographer for the White House. He took it on May 1, 2011, at 4:05 p.m.
The picture shows U.S. President Barack Obama and his team in the White House Situation Room. They were watching live updates about a special mission. This mission led to the death of Osama bin Laden, a leader of al-Qaeda, in Pakistan.
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What Happened During the Mission?
The photograph captures a very important moment. Air Force General Brad Webb was already in the room, watching the mission to find Osama bin Laden. Other important people then entered, including Robert Gates, Hillary Clinton, and Joe Biden.
Soon, President Obama came in and sat next to General Webb. He said, "I need to watch this." The group was watching a live video feed from a drone flying over the area. Leon Panetta later said that President Obama did not actually see bin Laden being killed. Hillary Clinton mentioned that they couldn't see or hear anything when the special forces went into the building. Everyone was very focused and trying to stay calm.
The photo was taken at 4:05 p.m. in Washington, D.C. This was 12:35 a.m. in Afghanistan, where the mission was happening. President Obama later thought the picture was taken around the time they learned that one of the mission's helicopters had crashed.
White House photographer Pete Souza explained more about the photo. He said the White House Situation Room has several meeting rooms. For this important mission, the group moved to a smaller room. President Obama chose to sit next to General Webb, who was in charge of the communications. Because there weren't many chairs, others stood at the back. Souza himself was squeezed into a corner and took about 100 photos from that spot.
Who Is in the Situation Room Photo?
The photograph shows several important people. They are listed below from left to right.
People Who Are Seated
- Joe Biden, who was the Vice President of the United States
- Barack Obama, who was the President of the United States
- Brigadier General Marshall B. "Brad" Webb, a leader from the Joint Special Operations Command
- Denis McDonough, who was the Deputy National Security Advisor
- Hillary Clinton, who was the Secretary of State
- Robert Gates, who was the Secretary of Defense
People Who Are Standing
- Admiral Mike Mullen, who was the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
- Tom Donilon, who was the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs
- William M. Daley, who was the White House Chief of Staff
- Antony Blinken, who was the National Security Advisor to the Vice President
- Audrey Tomason, who was the Director for Counterterrorism for the National Security Council
- An unidentified person in a beige shirt behind Tomason (only a small part of their shoulder is seen)
- John O. Brennan, who was the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism
- James R. Clapper, who was the Director of National Intelligence
- A man in a black suit with a white tie. His head is not fully in the picture, but he was a CIA analyst. He was known as "John" and was the first to suggest that the CIA might find bin Laden.
How Was the Photo Changed by Some Newspapers?
A Hasidic newspaper from Brooklyn called Di Tzeitung (The Journal) changed the photo. They removed Hillary Clinton and Audrey Tomason from the picture. They did this because of their newspaper's rule not to show photos of women, due to their modesty beliefs.
The newspaper later said sorry for changing the photo. Another Hasidic magazine, Dee Voch (The Week), also edited out the women. Changing photos to remove women is common in some Haredi newspapers. Di Tzeitung stated that this practice is only for modesty reasons and does not mean they disrespect women.
Other Ways the Photo Has Been Used
The Situation Room photograph has been used in different ways.
- The magazine Private Eye used the photo on its cover in a funny way. It suggested the people were watching a political event in the United Kingdom.
- In the TV show House of Cards, a scene in the White House Situation Room looked very similar to Souza's photo. The camera angle, where the actors stood, their clothes, and even items on the table copied the original picture.
- The movie Okja also had a scene that copied the photo, but it showed a company instead of the U.S. government.
See also
- List of photographs considered the most important
