This past February, many people read an exclusive story in Esquire magazine called "The Man Who Killed Osama bin Laden." Well, it was true, but perhaps only partly.
Esquire sat down with a Navy SEAL to hear his harrowing tale of the night SEAL Team 6 took down one of the most prominent terrorists ever to live. The man recounting that night was called simply "The Shooter", and his story painted a glorious scene that most any proud soldier would dream of being involved in.
The Shooter was behind the operation's "Point Man" as the two navigated their way up the stairs to the top of Bin Laden's compound. Bin Laden pokes his head out the door and the Point Man fires at him, but at best is only able to graze his target. Suddenly, two women appear with what look to be suicide vests on. The Point Man peels off and tackles them both, and The Shooter ascends to the top-level bedroom.
It's there that he finds Bin Laden in the bedroom. As he squares up to the terrorist, The Shooter sees that his target is using a woman, perhaps one of his wives, as a human shield. There's a gun laying just within reach of Bin Laden, and not a second to hesitate. Instinctually, The Shooter raises his gun and with flawless accuracy sends two bullets through the terrorist's forehead. Mission accomplished.
Pretty great story, isn't it? Too bad it is probably not true, and is instead just another example of media sensationalism. Another member of the secretive SEAL Team 6 has since come forward and told CNN that the claims made in this Esquire article, which was written by Phil Bronstein, are "complete B.S."
So what actually happened? It's possible that we may never know. Before the Esquire story, a SEAL who went by the name of Mark Owen (real name: Matt Bissonette) had already written a best-selling book titled "No Easy Day," whose account already differs substantially from the one released by Esquire. The SEAL interviewed by CNN has another account as well.
In his version of events, the Point Man, The Shooter, and Bissonette all were making their way to the top of the compound. Suddenly, the Point Man saw Bin Laden stick his head out of a door, and delivers a critical shot to his target. Bin Laden stumbles back into the room and the three Navy SEALS storm in. There the Point Man sees two women inside and tackles them both to absorb the blow if they had suicide vests on. The Shooter and Bissonette then walk over to a crippled Bin Laden and put two bullets into his head to finish off the job.
Still an enthralling story, but it doesn't have quite the same level on intensity to it. What really drives this whole controversy of events is how The Shooter has been cashing in on his story in Esquire. He has already received checks from various donors and is now on the public speaking circuit as well. The SEAL gets paid, Esquire gets readers, everybody wins right?
All we know is that two SEALs have so far told to very different accounts of that heroic night, and both have gotten paid for it. And the truth is, they did kill Bin Laden, and the SEAL team commander has already gone on record as saying that every member of that 23-man SEAL team is responsible for killing Bin Laden. Good for them, they deserve to be compensated. But what about Esquire? If these other SEAL members are correct, how can they justify telling such a fallacious story just to make a quick buck? The onus is on them for good journalistic practices, and we should all hold our media outlets to a higher standard, at least in this humble journalist's opinion.
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