“No Easy Day": book by SEAL who participated in Osama Bin Laden raid

[Jarnhamar]

Just finished reading the book, nothing very in depth about it but it was an entertaining read.  Much like most books of this type (Bravo Two Zero, The One that Got Away, etc) about have the book is the author recounting training and other missions.  It just about the seals point of view so not a lot of info on how they found Bin Laden (I will check out "Zero Dark Thirty" for their version of the story).  Overall a good way to spend a Saturday afternoon.  Whether or not you believe the information presented is up to you as I think it will be a long time (if ever) that the American Government will tell the whole story.

I considered going to see that movie but after hearing one of the SEALs accounts saying the official story on how osama was killed was BS I lost interest in hearing the official account of events.  I get the feeling this movie would just be an extension of that policy.

 

[George Wallace]

I considered going to see that movie but after hearing one of the SEALs accounts saying the official story on how osama was killed was BS I lost interest in hearing the official account of events.  I get the feeling this movie would just be an extension of that policy.

It's a movie.  A Hollywood scripted work of art.  It isn't "historical" other than it fictionalizes an actual event, and is by no means a "Documentary".  It is simply a movie.

 

[cupper]

Interesting find, I just bought Mark Bowden's book "The Finish - The Killing of Osama Bin Laden". The book comes with a card insert that explains that just before the book went to print, another book ("No Easy Day") written by one of the seals on the raid was released, and that the account of Bin Laden's death differs slightly from the version in Bowden's book. Even though the version reported by Bowden was reviewed and vetted by highest levels in Special Forces Command, Bowden feels that the other version is accurate, and plans to include a slightly expanded version of events in subsequent editions.

 

[dangerboy]

Interesting, I think I will have to look for Mark Bowden's book and compare them.

 

[George Wallace]

Interesting find, I just bought Mark Bowden's book "The Finish - The Killing of Osama Bin Laden". The book comes with a card insert that explains that just before the book went to print, another book ("No Easy Day") written by one of the seals on the raid was released, and that the account of Bin Laden's death differs slightly from the version in Bowden's book. Even though the version reported by Bowden was reviewed and vetted by highest levels in Special Forces Command, Bowden feels that the other version is accurate, and plans to include a slightly expanded version of events in subsequent editions.

I wouldn't think this unusual....Ask two people to describe any event, and you will always find variations on the theme.  Two different perspectives.

 

[daftandbarmy]

From deep within my armchair....

While I'm glad they killed him, I'm concerned that they didn't use the opportunity to keep him under surveillance over a period of years to determine more about his network.

It's easy to go and knock off the head guy. It's harder, and more effective in the long term, to run a long term covert op to seek out and destroy his entire network. We're seeing the results of some of that short term thinking in Africa right now, I would guess.

Having seen the movie 'Zero double dark and dirty', I assume that they had to whack him when they had the chance, otherwise short term politcal and bureaucratic imperatives would result in UBL getting away at some point.

Good work, but a shame.... the usual paradox one encounters when dealing with COIN ops. 

 

[cupper]

But what you assume is that there is a robust cohesive network to hunt down. In reality it is a loose association of groups that work under the name of Al Qaeda, but have little more than that in common.

As a comparison, it's more like the Militia Movement in the United States. A bunch of individual groups that have no formal connection between each other, but may briefly share information, logistics or personnel when it suits each groups purpose.

 

[mariomike]

Aug 19, 2016

Ex-SEAL to pay $6.6 million to settle case over book
http://www.680news.com/2016/08/19/ex-seal-to-pay-6-6-million-to-settle-case-over-book/
WASHINGTON – The former Navy SEAL who wrote a book about his role in the raid that killed Osama bin Laden will pay the government more than $6.6 million for violating non-disclosure agreements and publishing without getting the document cleared by the Defence Department, according to federal court documents.