World

White House 'Situation Room', famous for Osama raid, gets $50 million upgrade

White House conference room is where President Obama watched the raid that killed Osama bin Laden

By Web Desk
September 08, 2023
The main meeting room table is seen in the newly renovated White House Situation Room, in a White House handout photo taken in the West Wing of the White House in Washington. U.S. August 16, 2023. The White House
The main meeting room table is seen in the newly renovated White House Situation Room, in a White House handout photo taken in the West Wing of the White House in Washington. U.S. August 16, 2023. The White House

The White House Situation Room— the room where President Barack Obama watched the US SEAL team raid that killed al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in Pakistan's military academy town Abbottabad — has been renovated at a cost of around $50 million.

The changes include digging five feet below ground to make modern technological and other changes.

The project took a year to complete and was finished in August. The conference room where President Barack Obama and his aides watched the raid that killed Osama bin Laden was dismantled during the renovation and is being stored for use at Obama's presidential library.

President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and other members of his national security team as they monitored the mission that ended with the death of Osama bin Laden in May 2011.—The White House
President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and other members of his national security team as they monitored the mission that ended with the death of Osama bin Laden in May 2011.—The White House 

The Situation Room now provides round-the-clock surveillance from a low-lit room where representatives from intelligence, all US military branches and other agencies work 12-hour shifts watching feeds of intelligence, social media updates and video.

A phone booth that President Joe Biden and others had used while in the Situation Room was also removed and is being stored for Biden's future presidential library.

The main feature of the upgraded space is a large conference room with leather-bound seating for 14 and video screens on the walls.

President Biden used the new conference room for the first time on Tuesday when he received an intelligence briefing. He and Vice President Kamala Harris enter through a special VIP entry door.

The official seal for the president, vice president and National Security Council is placed on the wall to designate the most senior official in the room at the time.

The renovation of the Situation Room was necessary to update the technology and make it more secure. The new space will better enable the White House to respond to global events, such as the Russia-Ukraine war.