Author of No Easy Day indentified...

[kage69]

Well wtf.

http://news.yahoo.com/seal-wrote-bin-laden-raid-book-identified-183444595.html



First, let me start off by saying I'm simply aghast over this. I don't care who you are (or aren't) voting for in the damn election, when did keeping our clandestine folks clandestine fall out of style?! This former operator now has to go about the rest of his days wondering how much attention he (and those around him) will be getting from other foreign services, not to mention any crazy nutbag from over there who wants to exact some measure of revenge for OBL's killing. Unbelievable.

McRaven got dressed down not too long ago by his predecessor. The scolding was based around the level of presence the SEALs have in the media, and that someday it would have very real consequences. I think he was right and I couldn't agree more, it's always bothered me, ever since I saw Sheen's Navy SEALs movie. Now it's even worse. I fear this identity release could lead to bad things for brave people, and it pisses me off to no end to think that this guys personal safety wasn't considered before ratings or politics.

What do you guys think, was it an org like Fox that is really responsible, an Obama admin leak of some sort? Privateer doing some muckraking? I admit there is the potential for some really dirtbag stuff going on here. If someone in the Obama admin just kicked off a different flavor of Plamegate, well so be it, but that's assuming the book was really critical of Obama and it was discovered before hand. Whatever, who ever did it I hope prosecutors can heave whatever book they may find at them.

 

[OCGuy]

Um...this idiot wrote a book, and is trying to cash in other ways too. Sorry, you lose your protection at that point.

He should lose his pension as well.

 

[kage69]

Um...this idiot wrote a book, and is trying to cash in other ways too. Sorry, you lose your protection at that point.

He should lose his pension as well.

Please educate yourself on what he is doing with the proceeds before you make accusations. Thanks.

 

[OCGuy]

Please educate yourself on what he is doing with the proceeds before you make accusations. Thanks.

I don't care what he is doing with them, Special Forces should not be discussing anything "Black" mission related with media. Period.

 

[Gonad the Barbarian]

I am beyond angry about this. Identifying him does nothing but make him a target. I don't care that he wrote a book, that's no excuse for outing him.

 

[OCGuy]

I am beyond angry about this. Identifying him does nothing but make him a target. I don't care that he wrote a book, that's no excuse for outing him.

If something happened to him it would probably keep the next one from being so care-free with our national security.

 

[kage69]

I don't care what he is doing with them, Special Forces should not be discussing anything "Black" mission related with media. Period.

Preaching to the choir here dude, it's just that I don't consider that reason enough to throw caution to the wind.

Or to refer to SEALs as idiots. Did you miss the part about how he took part in the raid to kill Osama fucking bin Laden?

I think I can guess why some folks might want to ruin his parade before the book comes out, what with this phobia of the Dem president looking effective and successful against terrorists, Fox is "credited" with breaking this news after all.

Guy helped take out OBL (served honorably in other missions as well) and didn't use his real name, and changed the names of others. Call me crazy but I think keeping him out of the spotlight is not an unreasonable expectation.

 

[Gonad the Barbarian]

If something happened to him it would probably keep the next one from being so care-free with our national security.

If there was national security info in the book I'm sure the Pentagon could halt the release.

These news agencies will quote anonymous sources all day long but they feel the need to identify this guy despite being asked not to? It's BS and everyone involved should be flogged.

 

[kage69]

If something happened to him it would probably keep the next one from being so care-free with our national security.

Classy. I'm going to laugh if his book is mundane to the extreme and super critical of Obama and Panetta.

These guys are usually pretty circumspect with what they write about. One generally doesn't want to endanger the lives of his brothers-in-arms, or their families, which is what this kind of leak is best at doing, as opposed to the swift erosion of our national defenses that some fear.

 

[Matt1970]

Our Country couldn't keep a secret if our lives depended on it.

 

[Smoblikat]

Preaching to the choir here dude, it's just that I don't consider that reason enough to throw caution to the wind.

Or to refer to SEALs as idiots. Did you miss the part about how he took part in the raid to kill Osama fucking bin Laden?

I think I can guess why some folks might want to ruin his parade before the book comes out, what with this phobia of the Dem president looking effective and successful against terrorists, Fox is "credited" with breaking this news after all.

Guy helped take out OBL (served honorably in other missions as well) and didn't use his real name, and changed the names of others. Call me crazy but I think keeping him out of the spotlight is not an unreasonable expectation.

You mean the raid where OBL was shot while unarmed? Oh ya, this guy is a real hero? Takes a MANS MAN to kill women and unarmed people.

 

[kage69]

You mean the raid where OBL was shot while unarmed? Oh ya, this guy is a real hero? Takes a MANS MAN to kill women and unarmed people.

I don't recall calling anyone a hero here, sorry. I'm also having a hard time finding any sympathy for Osama hiding behind women, pissing himself like a coward too shit scared to grab a gun. The highest value targets don't do well in areas under "Shoot on Sight" care, and I wouldn't have it any other way. Remember, our guys had already been fired upon. Game on.
And since you brought it up, I feel the US doesn't get nearly the credit it deserves in it's desire and practice to avoid unnecessary causalities. This applies to both the tech and money we invest in that effort, and also the conduct of our frontline pros. If women and/or unarmed were shot in the middle of a firefight, I'm inclined to believe it was either necessary or unavoidable rather than malicious and/or incompetent.

I don't know that he's a hero. I do know that he is worthy of respect for his service, and that he'll have that from me regardless of what I think of his book once I finish reading it.

Are you Pakistani by chance?

 

[MooseNSquirrel]

Once he wrote the book he had to be aware that this might happen, and probably would.

Dont write the book, dont get exposed. Period.

 

[shira]

If there was national security info in the book I'm sure the Pentagon could halt the release.

These news agencies will quote anonymous sources all day long but they feel the need to identify this guy despite being asked not to? It's BS and everyone involved should be flogged.

Perhaps you didn't see:

U.S. military and intelligence officials say they do not believe the book has been read or cleared by the Defense Department. The Pentagon reviews publications by military members — both active duty and retired — to make sure that no classified material is revealed.

If the author didn't get the book pre-cleared, then he deserves every bad thing that happens to him.

 

[shira]

Classy. I'm going to laugh if his book is mundane to the extreme and super critical of Obama and Panetta.

These guys are usually pretty circumspect with what they write about. One generally doesn't want to endanger the lives of his brothers-in-arms, or their families, which is what this kind of leak is best at doing, as opposed to the swift erosion of our national defenses that some fear.

It's the fact that this book was written at all that endangers the lives of American soldiers. Perhaps you should read:

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articl...n-laden-raid-break-seals-code-of-silence.html

In the closed and close-knit world of current and retired U.S. Special Operations officers, the news that an unauthorized account of the 2011 Navy SEALs raid on Osama bin Laden’s compound was coming to bookstores next month hit like a ton of bricks.

The pending publication of the book, No Easy Day: The First Hand Account of the Mission that Killed Osama bin Laden, so stirred Admiral William McRaven, chief of the Special Operations Command, that he sent a letter Thursday to special-operations forces warning against using their elite military affiliation for personal gain, according to Pentagon officials who asked not to be named.

In the letter, McRaven said that while it was within the rights of former special-operations soldiers to “write books about their adventures, it is disappointing when these actions either attempt to represent the broader [special-operations forces] community, or expose sensitive information that could threaten the lives of their fellow warriors.”

McRaven also issued a veiled warning to the author: “Every member of the special-operations community with a security clearance signed a non-disclosure agreement that was binding during and after service in the military. If the U.S. Special Operations Command finds that an active-duty, retired or former service member violated that agreement and that exposure of information was detrimental to the safety of U.S. forces, then we will pursue every option available to hold members accountable, including criminal prosecution where appropriate.”

On Internet forums the special-ops community maintains to discuss their craft, the common response, according to two participants, was: “WTF.” “I am on a few list-servs,” said Roger Carstens, a former Army Special Forces officer and a senior fellow at the New America Foundation. “This topic has been a heavy and heated discussion with almost everyone asking WTF?”

The reason for the shock and outrage is that inside the world of the SEALs—the Navy’s premier Sea, Air and Land Team force that conducts sensitive missions that are rarely disclosed to the public—talking out of turn is almost never done. While other elements of the U.S. intelligence community has been wracked by leaks from insiders and turncoats like ex-CIA officer Philip Agee, the SEALs throughout their 51-year history have avoided such embarrassing disclosures. This is because the elite officers who comprise the secret SEAL Team Six practice a Mafia-like code of Omerta. In the case of the handful of books written about the SEALs, anything published was reviewed by the Pentagon to scrub the texts of any classified information.

A spokeswoman for the publisher of the book, Penguin Imprint, Dutton, said the book was vetted by a former special-operations attorney provided to the publishing house by the author. It was not, however, reviewed by the military, according to Pentagon spokesmen.

This is important, according to Don Mann, a former member of SEAL Team Six and the author of the book Inside SEAL Team Six, because any kind of information to identify the people in the team, the location of its compound, or any other details could be used by terrorists to target the families of the SEALs.

“I know for a fact, if somebody said SEAL Team Six is located where they are located, and (the enemy) knew nothing else, it would take a week to figure out where the schools are around that team, where the bars are and the neighborhoods that are around that team,” Mann said.

Mann said he himself was offered lucrative book contracts after the bin Laden raid to write about the illustrious team he served with, and he refused. “As soon as bin Laden was killed, it was known I was a member,” he said. “I got three lucrative offers. I told them, ‘What I know you would want to know, I am not going to let you know. When you leave the compound, you leave the secrets there.’” Mann eventually did write his book about the SEALs, but it was published only after he cleared it with the military’s publication-review board. It was published in December.

You're acting like the author is some kind of hero, endangered by those who revealed his name. In fact, it's the author who is the one endangering others, by not getting pre-clearance for the contents.

 

[Matt1970]

How did Fox news know who wrote the book?

 

[Gonad the Barbarian]

Perhaps you didn't see:



If the author didn't get the book pre-cleared, then he deserves every bad thing that happens to him.

I saw it. Just because it wasn't cleared doesn't mean the Pentagon can't get access or halt the release if it has concerns. Whether it was appropriate for the author to write this book or not does not excuse the media outing him like this.

 

[blankslate]

From what I understand this person didn't let his superiors read the manuscript for possible security concerns before going to his publisher...

That speaks of either stupidity or something along the lines of greed and wanting to put in more details than he thought his superiors would allow.

*If* the above is the case and he didn't show his manuscript to his superiors before hand I have less sympathy for him specifically because he recklessly disregarded the rules.

However, I'm very concerned that his family members may be in danger and that his identity being know may endanger other people on his team who may have been photographed in public with him.


So most people are saying it was Fox News? Well, if so they're just taking after Scooter Libby who was involved with the reveal of a CIA asset.

Maybe this will show their willingly ignorant viewers, who watch fox news and only fox news, that this news organization isn't somehow magically more patriotic than others.

 

[her209]

Where are the former Special Ops guys to criticize the guy for leaking classified information?

 

[kage69]

You're acting like the author is some kind of hero, endangered by those who revealed his name. In fact, it's the author who is the one endangering others, by not getting pre-clearance for the contents.

No, I'm not. Try to understand that holding respect for someone does not automatically confer hero status. I reserve that term for people who unequivocally deserve it. The SEAL in Iraq who jumped on a grenade to save his buddies is a worthy example of a hero. I do not use that term often, or without real cause.

Not sure why there is still some confusion about how I feel about this but I'm going to try and clarify my position one more time.

I don't like the notion of Spec Ops writing books, acting in movies, doing documentaries on missions, releasing work out or training videos, etc. Even though I don't subscribe to the notion that any book written by these guys, regardless of content, is automatically damaging, the Navy should have the final say in what can be published. Please refer to literature written by Marcinko and Boehm for examples. Both commanders engaged in stringent self-editing and had their works cleared. I was expecting a similar arrangement with this book, but if that isn't the case then yes, I don't like that one bit and am very surprised the author proceeded without that approval.

But I consider that a separate issue to someone releasing the name of an operator who obviously wished to remain anonymous. He is endangered by that (as well as others), and I think we should be able to advocate or criticize him and his work without the fear of reprisals from religious fanatics catching up to him and others.

His designs for the proceeds don't strike me as the actions of a greedy fuck looking to cash out his career, but I'm not going to pretend I know the whole story concerning him and his book. I do find it suspicious that this unapproved book is coming out shortly before an election. There are politics wrapped around this story somehow. I too would love to know how Fox discovered this, and why they felt the need to release it.


Anyway, I am guilty of not knowing about the author not bothering to appease the Navy's review panel. I was under the impression that was a prerequisite, sorry. I expect that we won't be seeing many more books from former SEALs in the future, the fallout from this could be huge.

 

[Thump553]

I'm pretty damn shocked it was Fox News that leaked his identity as I agree with the OP that this is basically giving him a death sentence. Argue all you want about him cashing in on his service, the fact is he DID render a very tough and important service while in the US military and Fox News has no business throwing him under the bus. Pretty surprising from the network that always wraps themselves in the flag and their support the troops mantra.

Fox News must be pretty PO'd at this guy for bringing up the OBL death at a stage when Fox News wants 100% of the public's focus on complaints about the economy.

I reserve judgment as to whether this book should actually be published until it has been APPROPRIATELY vetted, apparently the author or publisher hired their own tame expert to claim it is OK.

 

[blankslate]

Pretty surprising from the network that always wraps themselves in the flag and their support the troops mantra.

Maybe because this "most patriotic" cable news network meme is a full of holes as Glenn Beck's conspiracy presentations were.

 

[Gonad the Barbarian]

Maybe because this "most patriotic" cable news network meme is a full of holes as Glenn Beck's conspiracy presentations were.

I'm guessing the book isn't as critical of Obama as they'd like. Or they're trying to get the guy targeted to give them an excuse to flag-wave. Or they've secretly been infiltrated by the Muslim Brotherhood.

 

[waggy]

FOX was in the wrong for outing him and fuck them for it.


Books like this need to be written. people need to know what happened, why and how.

 

[Rastus]

FOX was in the wrong for outing him and fuck them for it.


Books like this need to be written. people need to know what happened, why and how.

You know they payed him big money to publish his name, don't you?