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Navy SEAL Who Killed bin Laden Speaks on ’60 Minutes’

Matt Bissonnette is a former Navy SEAL who took part in the raid on Osama bin Laden’s hideout in Pakistan last year. Bissonnette is the Navy SEAL who wrote the book about the raid that could face legal action from the federal government. Bissonnette was going by a pseudonym for a while, as Mark Owen, so as to protect his identity. Bissonnette says that he was one of the SEALs that shot bin Laden to death instead of capturing him. The reason for shooting him was that his arms were hidden from sight, posing a danger.

Bissonnette appeared on the show ’60 Minutes’ on CBS Sunday to talk about the raid that killed bin Laden. The SEAL said that one SEAL had to open fire when a man’s head poked into the hallway of the hideout. Then, when Bissonnette and another SEAL discovered bin Laden on the floor of his bedroom they shot a bullet into his skull because the terrorist’s hands were hidden from sight. The book written by Bissonnette as Mark Owen is called ‘ No Easy Day.’ The detail provided by Bissonnette on TV was much more in depth than what is in the book.

According to officials from the Pentagon, bin Laden was shot because he fled to his bedroom during the raid. Bissonnette has had legal action threatened against him because he possible released classified details. The videos from the interview are embedded in this post.

Jim Vassallo: Jim is a freelance writer based out of the suburbs of Philadelphia in New Jersey. Jim earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications and minor in Journalism from Rowan University in 2008. While in school he was the Assistant Sports Director at WGLS for two years and the Sports Director for one year. He also covered the football, baseball, softball and both basketball teams for the school newspaper 'The Whit.' Jim lives in New Jersey with his wife Nicole, son Tony and dog Phoebe.

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