Former Navy SEAL comes forward as bin Laden shooter

[Bosonic]

Source: AFP

Washington (AFP) - A former US Navy SEAL who served in Iraq and Afghanistan and once rescued a ship captain from Somali pirates revealed himself Thursday as the man who killed Osama bin Laden.

Robert O'Neill, 38, told The Washington Post that he fired the fatal shot that hit the Al-Qaeda leader in the forehead at his hideout in the Pakistani garrison city of Abbottabad in May 2011.

The former commando told the Post he decided to come forward ahead of planned media appearances next week when his identity was disclosed by SOFREP, a website operated by former SEALs.

SOFREP's revelation was in protest at O'Neill's decision to reveal his role in the mission.

Read more: https://news.yahoo.com/former-navy-seal-comes-forward-bin-laden-shooter-223737213.html;_ylt=AwrBJSAc.ltUWUoAN6TQtDMD

[louis-t]

1. Not a good idea.

[Voice for Peace]

6. somebody may wish to target him now.

moron.

[Reter]

16. Pretty sure he can handle himself

n/t

[madokie]

2. I'm not much for condoning killing someone but

in this case I'll take a pass on how I feel about that.
I went through SERE training with the Seals and UDT teams and spend a tour of duty there in the teaching of survival, evasion, resistance and escape. I know that these people are well trained and tough as nails and are ready for anything coming their way. I'm proud that the Navy has these groups in their ranks

[Reter]

17. Are you proud that he killed an un-armed man with his hands up?

The US government never wanted bin Laiden alive, because he would incriminate far too many people.

[madokie]

20. I don't believe bin laden could have been

even remotely seen as unarmed, nor do I believe he had his hands up to surrender.
you want to live in a fantasy land go for it but don't expect me to go there with you

[Paolo123]

39. Why do you believe that?

Just because?

[leftynyc]

22. How do you know he

had his hands up? And from what I read, there was weapon sitting next to his bed - you call that unarmed? Frankly, I don't give a fuck if he was unarmed. They could have killed him while he was taking a dump and I still would have cheered.

[JustAnotherGen]

26. I gotta agree with you on this

[Reter]

37. Next to bed is un-armed, unless he was reaching for it

All media reports at the time said he was surrendering.

[leftynyc]

45. I thought about it and

nope - still don't give a shit. Might be from watching 9/11 from my office window.

[GGJohn]

47. NOW you believe the media?

[Paolo123]

40. "there was weapon sitting next to his bed - you call that unarmed?"

I'd love to see DU apply that standard to cop-civilian shooting threads.

[luke102938]

43. on the battlefield the standards are different.

[leftynyc]

44. Thankfully this has nothing to

do with police behavior where the rules of engagement are completely different. And frankly, I'm getting nauseous watching people trying to bash the military for killing that piece of shit.

[GGJohn]

49. I could care less if Bin Laden was asleep and the SEAL put 10 shots into his head.

Fuck em, he deserved to die.

[still_one]

29. I have no problem with that.

[snooper2]

34. I know, they could have at least given him a 5 second head start

run bitch run!

[hack89]

41. In age of suicide bombers would you take the risk?i

I would have assumed he had an explosive belt on.

[GGJohn]

46. And just how the hell do you know he was unarmed and had his hands up?

Were you there with the SEAL's?
Wait, no you weren't.
I"ll believe the word of the SEAL's over an annonymous poster on a chat board.

[C_U_L8R]

3. What a self absorbed @sshole

Put his self-promotion over the safety of his family and comrades. What do the Seals have to say about this jerk.

[erpowers]

4. According to the Navy Seal Who Wrote "No Easy Day"

According to Mark Owen(fake name), the guy who wrote No Easy Day the Seals are not happy. I believe he said, in a 60 Minutes interview, that a number of the Seal members have shunned him.

[GeorgeGist]

9. Yup

[glinda]

10. Behold your next Republican office holder!

[Demeter]

24. We have no proof--just lie upon lie upon spin

that

1) that actually was bin Ladin
2) he was actually killed (I don't care how many SEALs say it---there's no body)

so the whole point is which liar do you choose to believe?

[still_one]

30. Actually AQ has admitted it themselves, so continue to believe in your conspirisy

[Demeter]

31. And you believe this because?

May I sell you some beachfront in Florida?

[snooper2]

35. can I sell you some cool CGI software?

[still_one]

38. lol. He is on a island with John Kennedy and Elvis

[Dyedinthewoolliberal]

7. I'm not sure any one person was designated the 'shooter'

though I could be wrong. He was just in the right place at the right time................

[FiveGoodMen]

8. And what a debt we owe him.

Americans have felt safe since that day!



(if you need the smilie I don't know what to tell you)

[oldandhappy]

11. Silence is a virtue many times.

He wants recognition. I hope the recognition does not cost him more than he wants to pay.

[flamingdem]

12. O'Loudmouth

[sorefeet]

13. Butte Montana, he is on the news out here

His mom and dad live in Butte, I think he has just endangered there lives. What an arrogant creep. But FOX will pay him big bucks for this.

[onehandle]

14. I thought Condoleezza Rice shot Bin Laden?

Oh wait... She's the scumbag who ignored the advice of the Clinton administration and looked the other way while he attacked America on George W. Bush's watch.

My bad...

Oh wait... Her bad.

[kacekwl]

15. So much for the SEAL

code of honor.

[Union Scribe]

18. I wonder if he was looking forward to this day

the moment he pulled the trigger. Maybe I'm just really jaded, or I just don't understand the "I did something now gimme a book deal and a movie" mindset that has taken hold in our culture.

[CanSocDem]

23. It's like the 'end-zone' dance....

...that used to be reserved for those actually scoring a touchdown. Now, everybody on the team gets to strut and posture for merely doing their job.

I apologize for the sports metaphor if you're not a fan.


.

[MillennialDem]

42. That's crapitalism for you. I'd take my out on working for the idiots who elected

Scott Walker in a heartbeat.

[Shoonra]

19. This sort of showboating will damage future teamwork

The head of the SEALS program has sent out a public letter to all current and former SEALs emphasizing that this sort of attention-grabbing is absolutely forbidden to SEALs - for the duration of their lives. It runs absolutely counter to the cohesivenss of the teamwork that makes the SEALs so effective.

By trying to grab the limelight as the One Who Fired the Fatal Shot -- and it's worth mentioning that at least three different SEALs have each claimed that with regard to Osama -- the value of all the other members of the team is slighted and diminished. In the future, team members may give something less than 110% if they expect that someone else will grab the limelight, the credit, and the applause. In fact, applause is something that people in such covert operations should never expect, should never angle for, but this with the killing of Osama suggests that such an effort to grab the glory is possible and even acceptable.

[JustAnotherGen]

28. I thought it was ten years?

My father (Green Beret) was forbidden from speaking for 20 years.

I don't agree with the lifetime of silence. But 10/20 years is acceptable to me.

[Paladin]

21. This guy is pissing on the integrety and reputation of the SEALs.

He's going for the money and personal advancement. Asshole.

[atreides1]

25. So what!

He shot a man who was trapped in room with no where to go...he did his duty!

Besides this was like a caged hunt, and he wasn't by himself!

[itsrobert]

27. Shooting Bin Laden was the easy part, Obama pulled the trigger on the operation

Obama killed Bin Laden. Don't you forget it freepers that are lurking.

[Jester Messiah]

32. Nice shot, but it would've been better to bring him in alive. [nt]

[sendero]

33. For a good close look at where America is going...

... all you have to see is the lack of character in this person.

[myrna minx]

36. O'neill = $ over honor and team work. Contrast this showboating with Rep Seth Moulton

And one can tell the measure of a man of character.

[Shoonra]

48. This can breach serious security measures

One of the details that was so hush-hush, even now - years after the killing of Osama, are the names of the members of the SEAL team that raided Bin Laden's lair. This was partly standing SEAL policy (similar to other Elite corps policies) and partly, and very importantly, to protect these men and their families from reprisals from other Muslim terrorists.

But now we have at least three claimants for firing the fatal shot - two of them are now publicized by name, the third remains anonymous. This dispute will surely lead to the outing of other team members who are going to be brought forward as eyewitnesses to attest to which SEAL was that shooter. The purported shooter, the grandstander, might have thought that the fame - and probable money - resulting from his claim would be worth the risk --- but the other SEALs whose identities are revealed when they are pulled in as witnesses get no such choice and no such compensation for the resulting risk.