There's actually a few stories and reports out there that contradict a lot of what O'Neill says in his book and interviews, chief among those that he was the first one to shoot Bin Laden. There's no disputing that O'Neill shot Bin Laden but the supposed real story is he shot Bin Laden after Bin Laden had already been put down and shot a couple of times by another operator. It was not Bissonnette but the operator O'Neill described as having jumped on the two women to protect the other operators. Basically that O'Neill's shots were more trophy hunting than anything else, and against orders to not shoot Bin Laden in the face unless left with no choice. So while O'Neill and Bissonnette sought limelight and profit from something that should've been anonymous, the guy who really dropped Bin Laden remains anonymous. That Intercept article from a few months back had this to say:
Two different SEALs, Robert O’Neill and Matthew Bissonnette, have publicly taken credit for killing bin Laden. According to multiple sources, both of their accounts contain multiple self-serving falsehoods. The texture of those accounts reveals much about what went wrong with the most celebrated special operations command in the U.S. military. The falsehoods, both significant and slight, demonstrate that even when conducting the most important missions, SEAL Team 6 was unable to rise above the culture of deceit, personal enrichment, and self-aggrandizement that has corrupted a fighting unit legendary for its discipline and code of honor.
“The beauty of what they have constructed,” said a former teammate about how Bissonnette and O’Neill cornered the market on the bin Laden raid, “is that there is only one guy, essentially, who can come forward and say they’re lying — and he won’t ever talk.”
All that stated, I liked O'Neill's interview with Stern despite him possibly getting loose with some of the facts. He was very likeable. Dude took part in some serious badass stuff during his time with the SEALs, but I'm squarely in the camp that he should remain silent and anonymous. Then again, he did do something ultra famous and unprecedented so monetizing that is something I'd not debate him about.
Quote:
Two different SEALs, Robert O’Neill and Matthew Bissonnette, have publicly taken credit for killing bin Laden. According to multiple sources, both of their accounts contain multiple self-serving falsehoods. The texture of those accounts reveals much about what went wrong with the most celebrated special operations command in the U.S. military. The falsehoods, both significant and slight, demonstrate that even when conducting the most important missions, SEAL Team 6 was unable to rise above the culture of deceit, personal enrichment, and self-aggrandizement that has corrupted a fighting unit legendary for its discipline and code of honor.
“The beauty of what they have constructed,” said a former teammate about how Bissonnette and O’Neill cornered the market on the bin Laden raid, “is that there is only one guy, essentially, who can come forward and say they’re lying — and he won’t ever talk.”
All that stated, I liked O'Neill's interview with Stern despite him possibly getting loose with some of the facts. He was very likeable. Dude took part in some serious badass stuff during his time with the SEALs, but I'm squarely in the camp that he should remain silent and anonymous. Then again, he did do something ultra famous and unprecedented so monetizing that is something I'd not debate him about.