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On Thursday, the Pentagon warned that it might pursue legal action against a retired U.S. Navy SEAL for breach of non-disclosure agreements and providing first-hand account of the raid that killed Osama bin Laden.
The Pentagon also warned of moving against anyone acting in concert with the author. While the author of the book was using the pseudonym “Mark Owen,” his identity was revealed and confirmed by Reuters as Matt Bissonnette. With the Pentagon warring against him on one front, Matt is also facing threats against his life from the al-Queda. Last week, an official al Queda website posted his photograph and real name, calling him “the dog who murdered the martyr Sheikh Osama bin Laden.”
The Pentagon has reasons to be angry as apparently the Navy SEAL’s account of bin Laden’s death at the Abbottabad compound differs significantly from the accounts previously offered by the Obama administration. Also, according to service agreements signed by the author before releasing the book “No Easy Day,” he is required to have the manuscript vetted by government agencies, which has not yet been done. However, according to the Pentagon, a few copies of the book has already been distributed on Wednesday for review purposes.
The book portrays an entirely different version of bin-Laden’s death, claiming that he was shot in the head by the SEAL team as soon as he peered out of the doorway, and when commandos made their way into the room, he was already bleeding from his mortal wound and twitching on the floor while two women cried over his body. The SEAL team pushed away the women and pumped bullets into his body. The author mentioned in the book, “The bullets tore into him, slamming his body into the floor until he was motionless.”
Previous public accounts of the incident had claimed that bin Laden had appeared in a doorway and ducked back, leading the commandos to suspect he might be trying to retrieve a weapon.
According to Fox News, the author also took part in the 2009 operation that rescued Captain Richard Phillips from Somali pirates.
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The Obama administration considers the killing of Osama bin-Laden a major triumph and the Pentagon, in its letter to the author warned, “Further public dissemination of your book will aggravate your breach and violation of your agreements.”
Seems the author’s situation is precarious with both the Pentagon and the al-Qaeda after him.
The Pentagon also seemed to warn Penguin’s Dutton, the publisher, as the letter to the author warned all “acting in concert with you.” The publisher has brought forward the scheduled release date of the book from September 11 to September 4, considering the situation.
