Former Navy SEAL Robert O'Neill Reveals Himself As Shooter Who Killed Osama Bin Laden

 

Joby Warrick at the Washington Post offers a piece on the former U.S. Navy SEAL who revealed himself as the shooter who took out terrorist number 1, Osama bin Laden.

The Navy SEAL who fired the shot that killed Osama bin Laden is a highly decorated veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan who agonized for months over whether to publicly reveal his role in one of the most storied commando operations in U.S. history.

Robert O’Neill, 38, a Montana native, was near the head of the column of U.S. commandos who burst into bin Laden’s Pakistan hideout on May 2, 2011.

In a recent interview, O’Neill confirmed to The Washington Post that he fired the fatal shot that struck bin Laden in the forehead. He also acknowledged that shots were fired by at least two other SEAL team members, including Matt Bissonnette, who famously described the raid in the book, “No Easy Day.”

His impending decision had also fostered anger among colleagues.

In an Oct. 31 letter to the Naval Special Warfare ranks, B.L. Losey, the commanding officer, and M.L. Magaraci, the force master chief, emphasized that a “critical” tenet of their profession is to “not advertise the nature of my work nor seek recognition for my action.”

“We do not abide willful or selfish disregard for our core values in return for public notoriety or financial gain,” the letter said.

O’Neill said he confirmed his decision to go public after a private encounter with relatives of victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, attack on New York’s World Trade Center. During an emotional meeting with victims’ family members before the recent opening of the National September 11 Memorial Museum, the former SEAL decided spontaneously to talk about how bin Laden met his end.

“The families told me it helped bring them some closure,” said O’Neill, whose identity as the shooter was independently corroborated for The Post by two SEAL team members.

You can read th rest of the piece via the below link:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/ex-seal-robert-oneill-reveals-himself-as-shooter-who-killed-osama-bin-laden/2014/11/06/2bf46f3e-65dc-11e4-836c-83bc4f26eb67_story.html?wpisrc=nl-eve&wpmm=1

Details Of Bin Laden Raid Leaked First By Obama Administration Aides

Rowan Scarborough at the Washington Times reports that Obama administration officials already leaked much of the information contained in No Easy Day, an account of the bin Laden raid by a former U.S. Navy SEAL.

The Obama administration has gone to extraordinary lengths to publicize details of the raid that killed Osama bin Laden, even as it threatens to file criminal charges against a former Navy SEAL because he provided the same type of mission rundown in his recently published book.

An examination by The Washington Times shows that several details in the book “No Easy Day” already have appeared in print based on interviews with administration officials and likely will be included in an upcoming movie and another book.

You can read the rest of the story via the below link:

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/sep/16/details-of-bin-laden-raid-leaked-first-by-aides/?page=all#pagebreak

Former Navy SEAL Offers First-Hand Account Of Bin Laden's Killing on '60 Minutes

 

Mark Owen, the pseudonym of the former U.S. Navy SEAL who wrote No Easy Day, appeared on 60 Minutes  tonight.

His voice and face disguised and using the pseudonym Mark Owen, one of the Navy SEALs who participated in the raid that killed Osama bin Laden gives an exclusive interview to Scott Pelley. Owen, now retired, says the SEALs trained for the mission using a full-size replica of the bin Laden compound, and that a dress rehearsal was held for military top brass. And Owen refutes charges that he's trying to make a political statement with his book, "No Easy Day."

You can watch the interview via the below link:

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18560_162-57508646/seals-first-hand-account-of-bin-laden-killing/?tag=contentMain;cbsCarousel

'No Easy Day: The Firsthand Account Of The Mission That Killed Osama Bin Laden'

Peter Bergen at the Washington Post reviewed No Easy Day.

Even before the book went on sale, the announcement by the publisher Dutton that the pseudonymous Mark Owen, one of the SEALs on the mission that killed Osama bin Laden, would be publishing an account of his role in the raid quickly propelled “No Easy Day” to the No. 1 slot on Amazon, displacing “Fifty Shades of Grey.”

It was inevitable that one of the men on the bin Laden mission would eventually write a book about it. After all, we live in an open society. Anyone involved in this history-making mission would want to set the record straight about what exactly happened — given some of the nonsense that has been written about it — and also make a little money on the side. (To his credit, Owen — whose real name has been revealed to be Matt Bissonnette — is donating most of the proceeds of his book to charities that help the families of fallen SEALs.)

... Owen’s account of the raid fits almost exactly with my own understanding of the operation, based on being the only outside observer allowed inside the bin Laden compound before it was demolished and interviewing dozens of American officials familiar with the details of the operation, as well as interviews with Pakistani officials who investigated the aftermath of the raid.

The only surprising thing, perhaps, given the code of silence that exists among the men of SEAL Team 6 — a small, tightknit covert unit that prides itself on being the “quiet professionals” — is how soon this tell-all book was published. After all, it’s been only a little over a year since bin Laden’s body was dumped from the deck of the USS Carl Vinson as it cruised off the coast of Pakistan.

You can read the rest of the review via the below link:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/book-review-no-easy-day-the-firsthand-account-of-the-mission-that-killed-osama-bin-laden/2012/08/29/4e4b9302-f20f-11e1-adc6-87dfa8eff430_story.html
 

New Navy SEAL Book Raises Questions About Bin Laden Death

Kimberly Dozier at the Washington Times offers a piece on the new book about the Navy SEALs' raid on bin Laden.

A firsthand account of the Navy SEAL raid that killed Osama bin Laden contradicts previous accounts by administration officials, raising questions as to whether the terror mastermind presented a clear threat when SEALs first fired upon him.

Bin Laden apparently was hit in the head when he looked out of his bedroom door into the top-floor hallway of his compound as SEALs rushed up a narrow stairwell in his direction, according to former Navy SEAL Matt Bissonnette, writing under the pseudonym Mark Owen in “No Easy Day.” The book is to be published next week by Penguin Group (USA)’s Dutton imprint.

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/aug/29/seal-book-raises-questions-about-bin-laden-death/?page=all#pagebreak