National Cryptologic Museum opens exhibit on NSA's role in locating Osama bin Laden

The National Cryptologic Museum in Annapolis Junction, Maryland, has opened a permanent exhibition that showcases declassified artifacts from the September 11, 2001 attacks and the subsequent hunt for al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. Highlights include a jar of honey bearing a telefax number that led the NSA to an al Qaeda contact, a fragment of Pentagon debris, and a knife recovered from bin Laden’s bedroom after the Navy SEAL raid.

A detailed miniature replica of the Abbottabad compound allows visitors to view the layout from above. Curator Deana Bowles explained that the exhibit sheds light on the hidden work of NSA analysts, and a visitor-reflection area lets the public record where they were on 9/11. Guests are encouraged to fold paper cranes as symbols of hope, and historian Evan Rea of the Center for Cryptologic History emphasized the exhibit’s role in preserving the memory of the attacks. The museum also displays World War II encryption devices such as the German Enigma machine.