Fmr. Navy SEAL Reveals He Was the One to Kill Osama Bin Laden
A former U.S. Navy SEAL has come forward to reveal that he's the one who shot dead former al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden on May 2, 2011. The details behind his claim contradict other SEAL accounts, however, while former operatives have criticized breaking the code of silence.
Robert James O'Neill, 38, told The Washington Post on Thursday that he was the one to make it into bin Laden's bedroom in the compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, during the night raid, before firing the shot that hit the jihadist leader in the head, killing him instantly.
Although Navy SEALs follow a code of silence, O'Neill apparently told the publication that his identity as "the shooter" had become known on Capitol Hill, with the military community aware of his role in the operation.
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BBC News pointed out, however, that details of O'Neill's account contradict the story of Matt Bissonnette, another former SEAL involved in the raid, who published the book No Easy Day.
O'Neill, who had previously told his story anonymously to Esquire magazine, is set to reveal his identity in a Fox TV interview later next week.
His decision has been criticized by former special forces operatives on the website SOFREP, who said that an important tenet of their profession is to "not advertise the nature of my work nor seek recognition for my action."
"We do not abide willful or selfish disregard for our core values in return for public notoriety or financial gain," the former operatives said.
O'Neill admitted that he expected criticism over his decision to go forward with his identity. He said that he decided to go public following a private encounter with relatives of 9/11 terror attack victims over the summer.
"The families told me it helped bring them some closure," O'Neill said.
In an interview with NBC News on Thursday, Bissonnette did not dispute the claim that O'Neill was the one to shoot Bin Laden, but disagreed about some of the key details behind the operation.
"Two different people telling two different stories for two different reasons," the author and ex-Navy SEAL said. "Whatever he says, he says. I don't want to touch that."
Bissonnette has also faced criticism for the revelations made in his book, and is under federal investigation for potentially disclosing classified information.
There have been no photos of bin Laden's body released to the public, and the U.S. government has not revealed any specific details about the night raid. The former al-Qaeda leader was confirmed dead, and the Obama administration said and buried at sea.
