Since former U.S. Navy SEAL Robert O'Neill identified himself as the man who killed Osama bin Laden in an interview with the Washington Post, there have been competing narratives from members. The Intercept said that both O'Neill's and Bissonnette's accountings of the mission "contain multiple self-serving falsehoods. The other man to speak, Bissonette, is under investigation over money he has earned from the speeches he has made since publishing his tell-all book under the pseudonym Mark Owen, The New York Times revealed. Screenwriter Mark Boal said he had access to sources who had helped him with an unproduced screenplay about the 2001 raid on bin Ladens Tora Bora hideout, and that he spoke to people in the military and the CIA about details of the raid. It's not about who that one person was, it's about the team Who cares who the one person is. improve functionality and performance. We talk about the aftermath of Rob O'Neill coming out publicly, along with his fellow SEAL who was a part of the raid, Matt Bissonnette (AKA Mark Owen). And we can prove it.. The team spirit that previously characterized the SEAL team now appears to be a relic of the past as former members of the elite U.S. unit are now locked in a public dispute over which of them fired the fateful rounds that ended Bin Laden's life. subscription yet. Produced by Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Sarah Anthony. The SEAL feared the woman was wearing a suicide vest. ONeill began talking to writer Phil Bronstein as early as March 2012, while still a SEAL. Forty. Martin Gould for MailOnline MailOnline yesterday revealed that Rob O'Neill, a retired 16-year veteran of the elite squad is the man who says he shot bin Laden in the head to kill him. The narrative conflicted with many elements of Bissonnette's telling, and in his opinion it is the SEALs' story to tell. including Matt Bissonnette, who . 'Changing the kids' names, taking my husband's name off the house, paying off our cars. Former Navy SEAL Robert O'Neill said in an interview with The Washington Post that he was the one who fired the final shot to kill Osama bin Laden in 2011. . IBT Fast Start - Let the best of International News come to you. Free shipping for many products! Whatever he says, he says. It isnt a game and sometimes feelings gethurt., The Navy is part of your life. Monitor journalism changes lives because we open that too-small box that most people think they live in. Although he had previously been interviewed about the shooting of bin Laden, he remained entirely discreet about his role. SEAL Team 5 member, Matt Bissonnette is seen in this undated photo from the US Navy. Bissonnette had not submitted the book, which gives his account of the bin Laden raid, for prepublication review with the Department of Defense. "[13] In 2015, O'Neill and his family were allegedly threatened by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. Doesn't matter.. Anna Schecter is a senior producer in the NBC News Investigations Unit. He is one of the most distinguished members ever of the elite force - but now faces being frozen out of its circles for revealing its most closely-held secrets. This much we know: On May 2, 2011, a group of Navy SEALs helicoptered into Pakistan under the cover of night and ambushed a compound that U.S. intelligence indicated was the residence of the worlds most wanted manOsama bin Laden. However, another probe has been launched to investigate details disclosed at speeches across the U.S. Last year, he spoke at a golf club in Atlanta where visitors were instructed to deposit their phones at the door and were barred from taking notes. In late 2014, in the run-up to credited Fox News[9] and Washington Post stories on the same topic, O'Neill's name was leaked by other former special forces personnel who were protesting his violation of "a code of silence that forbids them from publicly taking credit for their actions." Some senior dudes wrote it and decided it was the law for the youngerguys.. Our work isn't possible without your support. Neither man is the SEAL who was first up the stairs at bin Ladens Pakistan compound and fired the first shot at Osama. Its hard for me to take when I've been reading books my whole life about former special operations warriors, Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines. In total he was deployed on more than a dozen tours of duty in active combat, in four different warzones, including Iraq and Afghanistan. Its obvious hes answered this question many times before: Im the only one coming out to claim I killed bin Ladenno one else is sayingthat., That, too, could have an alternative explanation. Bissonnette released his controversial book No Easy Day in 2012 - under the pen-name Mark Owen - and immediately faced the ire of the Pentagon and fellow SEALs. and Matt Bissonnette, . [3] O'Neill described his childhood in Butte as "idyllic". [9] O'Neill reported to Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training (BUD/S) at Naval Amphibious Base Coronado and graduated from BUD/S class 208. Directed by Nenad Cicin-Sain, written by Bill Carter. Accusations were flying on social media forums, lines in the sand have been drawn, and friendships have been ended, a post on the site said. Two more SEALs shot bin Laden in the chest, killing him. [1] Bissonnette and his childhood friend Steven Clark collaborated as codirectors and cowriters of the 2002 film Looking for Leonard. Bronze Stars with Valor are awarded for merit, signifying a heroic act and direct participation in combat operations. It follows last year's Esquire magazine interview by Sharon Stone's ex-husband Phil Bronstein in which his identity was kept secret. He then rushed past bin Laden's body to grab the two women in the room in case they were wearing suicide belts. And that's it,'" he said. Matt Bissonnette, the SEAL behind O'Neill when bin Laden was shot, made millions out of his book No Easy Day but was forced to hand over the cash after the Pentagon sued him for not getting. In his book, he does not identify the man who fired the fatal shots at Bin Laden, referring to him as simply the "Point Man". O'Neill's decision to speak out was prompted by losing some of his military benefits by quitting the SEALs after 16 years rather than staying for a full 20 years of service. Magaraci and commander Rear Adm. Brian Losey, made it clear that the vow of silence remains one of the most important tenets of SEAL life. There's how many former generals, how many former CIA directors, how many former secretaries of defense? Thank you Mr. SEAL's book shows bin Laden raid up close. The commander replied, Delete me., But another former SEAL, while acknowledging that public scrutiny of their actions was fair, defended both Bissonnette and ONeill. Matt Mervis is a 25-homer guy in the majors tomorrow with no change in approach. "We will get you home," the president said. . log out. And not one of those names did it for political gain or Hollywood., He said he still has plenty of friends in the SEAL community, and still gets messages of support. But the row is now set to become ugly and high-profile. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Robert J. O'Neill (born 10 April 1976) is a former United States Navy SEAL (1996-2012), TV news contributor, and author. Would she like to see the Oval Office? I dont want to touch that.. Bissonnette, who left the Navy in April 2012, was the first SEAL from the bin Laden mission to cut a business deal based on his participation. Nina was prepared with a question for press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre at the kids briefing that morning with offspring of White House reporters, but she wasnt called on. Matt Bomer is an American actor who, as of 2022, has appeared in 19 films, 22 television productions and 6 stage productions. I'm gonna walk through the streets and I'm gonna kill everyone I see, and I'm gonna grab the Americans. The real story of who killed bin Laden may have gone to the bottom of the ocean or been plowed back into the dirt in Abbottabad, writes Shane Harris, intelligence and national Security correspondent for The Daily Beast. matt bissonnette vs robert o'neillkpop idols who know martial arts; matt bissonnette vs robert o'neillhouses for rent by owner in calhoun, ga; matt bissonnette vs robert o'neilljim jon prokes cause of death; matt bissonnette vs robert o'neillcafe patachou nutrition information President. Conservative pushback on the rise. Matt Bissonnette, a former member of Navy SEAL Team 6 who wrote an account of the raid that killed Osama bin Laden, agreed on Friday to forfeit $6.8 million in book royalties and speaking fees. O'Neill was the man on the ground we have never heard of but know exists,' it read. I want her to write about her experience, but she says she cant remember anything.With time, details began to emerge. On Oct. 31, Rear Adm. John Kirby cited the final lines of the finished report to deny that the Pentagon had provided any sensitive information to Zero Dark Thirty filmmakers. After participating in May 2011's Operation Neptune Spear with SEAL Team Six, O'Neill was the subject of controversy for claiming to be the sole individual to kill Osama bin Laden. subscription. He had been accused of violating federal law after penning a tell-all memoir. Nobody ever signed it, and it isnt a binding document. He later claimed to have delivered the fatal blow to bin Laden himself, though this claim has proven controversial and has been disputed by another Navy SEAL who was involved. Thousands of . In the course of those tours he undertook more than 400 separate combat missions. -- Courtney Kube contributed reporting to this story. The first SEAL in the stack, the point man, sees a tall man stick his head out of the bedroom door on the third floor. "The most important thing that I've learned in the last two years is to me it doesn't matter anymore if I am 'The Shooter.' How can you be holding it against me?. matt bissonnette vs robert o'neill matt bissonnette vs robert o'neill. No executives at the three companies were available for comment. His identity had been a closely-guarded secret but he is due to reveal his account in an interview with Fox News next week. CNN's Pentagon reporter said that military officials concluded the account was inaccurate. 'But again, the code of secrecy with these special operators would preclude that.'. It's likely why the SEAL Admiral and Master Chief sent out a stern letter seemingly directed at Matt Bissonette and Robert O'Neill with regards to their media blitz. Former US Navy SEAL Robert O'Neill, identified in news accounts as the member of SEAL Team Six who killed Osama bin Laden. By the time Robert O'Neill entered Osama bin Laden's bedroom in the Abbottabad compound . 'Members of SEAL Team Six havent discussed it publicly so theres a reasonable chance hes not being truthful. One of them asked ONeill, Are youokay?, Almost from the moment he returned home, ONeill says, he was the subject of jealousy and derision. If approved by a federal judge in Alexandria, Va., the royalty settlement would bring an end to more than two years of civil and criminal investigations into Mr. Bissonnette, who won several awards for valor in Iraq and Afghanistan before writing No Easy Day, his best-selling book on the Bin Laden raid, under the pen name Mark Owen. Sources who know and worked with ONeill said his version of events showed cracks almost from the night of the raid itself, The Daily Beast reported back in 2014 when the Fox News special on ONeill aired. Copyright 2023 IBTimes LLC. In an interview with the Washington Post this week, former Navy SEAL Robert O'Neill, 38, publicly identified himself as the man who shot Bin Laden. Bap! I'm just gonna call him Tiny.". ONeill stood there frozen as more SEALs made their way into the room. contact customer service Magaraci and Losey wrote. If you have questions about your account, please His account did not match the story that ONeill was telling Esquire magazine around the same time. But deciding to speak publicly may surprise some. "And that's how you should feel. Matt Bissonnette, the SEAL who published a book on the bin Laden mission titled No Easy Day under the pen name Mark Owen, . In a letter to past and present SEALs, Force Master Chief Michael. Our ethos is a life-long commitment and obligation, both in and out of the service. In his book Bissonnette said that bin Laden was on the floor having already been shot when he and other SEALs entered his room, having been fired upon by another SEAL when he craned his head into the hall as the team approached. 'I represent thousands of individuals whose lives were forever scarred by the tragedy of Sept. 11, and Mr. ONeills private words to the families who lost loved ones brought a remarkable comfort to them.'. Who shot Osama bin Laden? Several accounts have claimed that an unnamed point man fired the fatal bullets that put down the Al-Qaeda leader. or call us at 1-617-450-2300. In a letter last week, the admiral and senior enlisted man who run the United States Naval Special Warfare Command reminded all present and former SEALs that a critical tenet of the organizations ethos is: I do not advertise the nature of my work, nor seek recognition for my actions., Violators of our Ethos are neither teammates in good standing, nor Teammates who represent Naval Special Warfare, Rear Adm. Brian Losey and Force Master Chief Michael Magaraci wrote. I was part of the greatest [SEAL] team ever assembled. And then there was 'Zero Dark Thirty,' the Oscar-nominated story of bin Laden's killing. According to senior Navy officials, Bissonnette recruited his fellow SEALs to spend two days as paid consultants for Electronic Arts. "And Tiny told me the response: 'Here's how you get the Americans out. 'He was one of the quiet professionals performing the most difficult tasks in the most difficult circumstances, serving his remarkable career in the shadows and keeping America safe in the process.'. What theyve done is dishonorable, he said. The interview, which was published in March 2013, began with a meeting in April 2012 as he prepared to leave the Navy. The only other account by a named SEAL was given by Matthew Bissonnette, who wrote an inside account of the mission. O'Neill has gone. Robert O'Neill has relived the moment he shot Osama Bin Laden in a viral TikTok video: The former Navy Seal was discussing the historic moment on The . MailOnline yesterday revealed that Rob O'Neill, a retired 16-year veteran of the elite squad is the man who says he shot bin Laden in the head to kill him. On your last trip to Poland, what was your favorite thing there? 10-year-old NinaWakuska shouted to President Joe Biden as he headed into the White House.The president stopped, peeked inside, then gestured to Nina. He's not young, so, ya know, he should already be in the majors, if the Cubs didn't want to waste him for no reason. Key Background O'Neill told The Washington Post in 2014 that he was the U.S. special operator who fired the shot that killed al-Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden during a 2011 raid. Just a week ago, the two officers who run the Naval Special Warfare Command fired off a stern warning letter to all SEAL teammates about seeking fame. Ex-SEAL Member Who Wrote Book on Bin Laden Raid Forfeits $6.8 Million, https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/20/us/bin-laden-book-seal-team-6.html. Two different people telling two different stories for two different reasons, said Matt Bissonnette in an interview with NBC News. By continuing to browse the site who could lift a house with his bare hands, but he was this normal guy. But as is often said at the Pentagon, No plan survives contact with the enemy a quote variously attributed to Napoleon, Dwight Eisenhower, or George Patton. Said Kirby, I'll just read for you the last paragraph: Within the Department of Defense, we did not identify instances whereby any Special Operations tactics, techniques and procedures-related information was provided to filmmakers., So, no. For instance, ONeills narrative has been dubbed FUBAR by other members of SEAL Team Six. Navy SEALs, the . O'Neill's father says he cannot understand the fuss. His decision to talk came nearly two years after another team member, Matt Bissonnette, published a controversial account of the raid in the book titled, "No Easy Day."It also follows what O . And I was talking to another SEAL Team Six operator with whom I've served for 20 years. 'We were going hunting and a friend asked us to take a guy who was a Navy SEAL with us,' said Tom O'Neill, 65. A selection of the most viewed stories this week on the Monitor's website. The U.S. government has never confirmed which individual killed bin Laden. [14], Fellow SEAL Matt Bissonnette claims in No Easy Day that the unnamed point man actually fired the killing shots. But the killing of terrorist leader Osama bin Laden by SEAL Team Six who was the shooter is causing considerable public debate within the SEAL community. According to the book No Easy Day, written by former SEAL Matt Bissonnette, under the pseudonym Mark Owen, the SEALs refused to tell the president which of them it was. ", at least 30 generals and admirals that haven't resigned, SCOTUS Now Just Another Congressional Committee, Secret Chinese Police Stations in Europe Are 'Tip of the Iceberg', Trump's Attorney Just Blew Carroll Rape Case, King Charles Says Royals Require 'Acting Ability', Ukraine Will Regain 'Significant Territory' From Russia, Florida GOP Paves the Way to Help Ron DeSantis Challenge Trump. He decided to tell them about his actions. IE 11 is not supported. "But we won't because we have a commander-in-chief that was put there through whatever happened at four in the morning on election night. But he has been heavily criticized for speaking out. Details of three of his missions have been turned into Hollywood action hits. He is not, however, being investigated by the Pentagon. They havent done anything leadership wouldnt have done, said James Hatch. [10], In 2013, O'Neill told The Montana Standard that he helped rescue SEAL Marcus Luttrell in Afghanistan, and that he was SEAL Team Six's "lead paratrooper" in the rescue of Richard Phillips from the Maersk Alabama hijacking; these missions were the bases of the 2013 films Lone Survivor and Captain Phillips, respectively. This message will appear once per week Matt Bissonnette (director), Canadian film director and screenwriter. [5], A fan of the Washington Redskins,[5] O'Neill was able to meet the team[6] a week after his claim of shooting bin Laden was publicized in 2014. He was one of three SEALs - the other two being Bissonette and 'the point man', whose identity remains secret - to make it to the top floor. Stay up to date with our daily newsletter, Navy SEAL Who Claimed He Shot Bin Laden Identified: Report, Navy SEAL Author Of Bin Laden Raid Book Under Investigation, Children Account For Majority Of Kenyan Cult Deaths - Interior Minister, Brazil's Lula Recognizes Indigenous Territories Halted By Bolsonaro, DNA Study Of Famed US Sled Dog Shows What Made Him So Tough, Clouds Carry Drug-resistant Bacteria Across Distances: Study, US Sub To South Korea Has Enough Warheads To Destroy Entire North Korea. In the end, though, O'Neill did asserted that his shots were the ones that killed Osama bin Laden, counter to other accounts of the raid, including the one retold in fellow SEAL Matt Bissonnette's . It is the fourth-highest combat award of the U.S. Armed Forces and the ninth highest military award overall. Robert J. O'Neill (@mchooyah) September 12, 2014. American Trapped in Kabul Explains 'Bogus' Visa Email Sent to Thousands. [8] O'Neill claimed in 2014 that he left the military because he no longer felt "adrenaline when people are shooting, and I knew that that could lead to complacency because if I am not afraid of, that I might wind up doing something stupid thinking that I can't get hurt". He has been traveling the country giving paid motivational speeches on the unspoken understanding that hes the man who killed bin Laden. Somebody fired first, but others shot bin Laden too including, apparently, a number of SEALs who arrived seconds or minutes later, firing into bin Ladens body. The Christian Science Monitor has expired. O'Neill was arrested for driving under the influence Friday, April 8, 2016. , updated "But we have these people who are in charge that are a disgrace. It doesnt describe SEALs or combat. A SEAL whose identity still remains secret was the first man to reach the top of the stairs leading to the third floor of Bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. Bin Laden's wife was screaming and O'Neill realised that a child was present too - bin Laden's youngest son. The entire episode was over in 15 seconds. He even says he could feel the tension when he and the rest of SEAL Team Six flew to Fort Campbell a few days later to meet President Barack Obama. Who Fired the Shot That Killed Osama bin Laden. (Update: Robert ONeill has now said in an on-the-record interview with the Washington Post that he killed bin Laden with a shot to the forehead. Violators of our ethos are neither teammates in good standing, nor teammates who represent Naval Special Warfare. You can renew your subscription or The member of SEAL Team Six claiming to have shot and killed Osama bin Laden in a daring night raid in May 2011 is Robert O'Neill, multiple news sources have confirmed. The CNN source said that it would have been impossible for The Shooter - O'Neill - to have seen a gun because the only two recovered from the bedroom were sitting on a shelf above the frame of the door, so invisible to someone rushing in the door. He was especially worried about losing healthcare and pension benefits because he was leaving the service early. According to another SEAL, O'Neill merely walked over to the immobile al-Qaeda leader and shot him twice in the head. We change lives. by . Because this version of events differs from the account that the White House and other U.S. officials have given, Adm. William McRaven, the head of U.S. Special Operations Command personally went back to the head of Team Six to examine the contradicting claims. Ex-Navy Seal Robert O'Neill, 38, has told the Washington Post in an interview that he fired the fatal shot. He showed that in a biography prepared for a course in hostage rescue he was instructing in his home state of Montana. He added:'People are asking if we are worried that ISIS will come and get us because Rob is going public. This is nonsense. A SEAL source told MailOnline: 'The real shooter would never discuss it publicly. The team got him," Mr. O'Neill said in an audio interview with freelance journalist Alex Quade, a former CNN correspondent that aired Friday on CNN's "AC360.". Follow NBC News Investigations on Twitter and Facebook. 'I support him in everything he is doing,' said the twice-divorced older man. O'Neill was personally congratulated for killing bin Laden - in his account at close range with three shots to his forehead - during the SEAL raid on Abbottobad, in Pakistan, on 2 May 2011. Some Republicans charged that the Obama administration had provided secret access to the filmmakers. Get stories that empower and uplift daily. Two different alumni of SEAL Team Six, the secretive group of highly trained warriors that killed Osama bin Laden three years ago, have been profiting off their role in the terror leaders death since leaving the military. He says hes sorry he didnt submit the book for legal review, but says there are inconsistencies about who is allowed to talk and who isnt, since higher ups were apparently speaking freely. Everybody and their brother was talking about this, said Bissonnette. He was decorated 52 times, leaving as senior chief petty officer. In the Esquire version of the raid, ONeill is second in the stack. The Pentagon sent him a letter threatening legal action, and said he had revealed classified information. Bin Laden stood to ONeills right, near the door of an adjoining room, with his hands on a womans shoulders and a calm expression on hisface. Mr. Luskin also noted that a number of high-level officials have assisted other authors writing about the Bin Laden raid as well as the creators of the movie Zero Dark Thirty. But, he said, only Mr. Bissonnette has paid any penalties for the disclosures. These special forces operators, meant to be silent-but-deadly in their shadowy forays around the world, arent supposed to be popping off publicly about their exploits certainly not boasting for credit or financial gain. The leadership created that double standard.. Military officials said that Mr. ONeill is writing a book of his own and has asked the Pentagon to vet it. Mr. Luskin said that Mr. Bissonnette and the federal authorities reached a nonprosecution agreement in May in which Mr. Bissonnette forfeited $180,000 in fees for advising three equipment manufacturers who were doing business with SEAL Team 6 while he was on the team. There was no active participation by the Department of Defense in that movie to reveal any tactic, technique or procedures or classified information to the movie's filmmakers.. You should feel gross. Mr. Luskin said that Mr. Bissonnette and other SEAL members also received consulting fees from companies that designed tactical clothing and gear for other parts of the military or for sales to outdoor enthusiasts. However CNN did not say whether its senior SEAL team operative was actually on the raid itself. Some of Bissonnettes peers also took issue with the book, which became a No. Bissonnette's book claims that when he entered the room bin Laden's body was already lying at the foot of the bed, twitching and convulsing and that the SEALs, including Bissonnette shot him in the chest until he was motionless. The former US navy Seal Robert O'Neill, who has claimed to be the shooter of Osama bin Laden. 'Personally I feel more threatened by a potential retaliatory terror attack on our community than I did eight years ago,' his wife said in 2013. Later, according to the story, the point man seems to accept that he didnt hit bin Laden. By No doubt Fox News will try to pin him down on this point in its two-part interview with ONeill to be aired this coming week. A draft report of the internal investigation later showed that CIA Director Leon Panetta had revealed some classified details during an event at CIA headquarters. Latest book reviews, author interviews, and reading trends. He thinks he might have.. 'He insisted on doing this anonymously to honor his unit, however the incredible interest in this story made this difficult,' she told the Washington Post. How many of them all get out and write books?, The bin Laden mission was just another day at the office, said Bissonnette, though being a SEAL is the kind of job not everyone survives. It's All About Money', "A Marine Medal of Honor recipient and the Navy SEAL who shot Bin Laden are writing a self-help book", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Robert_J._O%27Neill&oldid=1150667288, Short description is different from Wikidata, Pages using infobox military person with embed, Articles containing potentially dated statements from August 2020, All articles containing potentially dated statements, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 19 April 2023, at 12:37. 'We were expecting someone who was 6 ft. 8 in. O'Neill grew up in Butte, Montana, a former copper mining boomtown that has now fallen on hard times. We want to bridge divides to reach everyone. Bomer went on to appear in several television shows in the 2000s, including the soap operas All My . ONeill told Esquire that ultimately there were many more wounds on the body than the ones he inflicted. Benedict Matthew Bissonnette, usually credited as Matt Bissonnette, is a Canadian film director and writer. Robert ONeill, the former SEAL identified in several news accounts as the shooter who fired the fatal shot to bin Ladens head at close range, now says it doesnt matter who did so during that US raid on bin Ladens compound hideout in Abbottabad, Pakistan, in 2011. It was his youngest wife, Amal.'. continue to use the site without a Matt Bissonnette doesnt appear at all in this telling. ', A critical tenant (sic) of our Ethos is 'I do not advertise the nature of my work, nor seek recognition for my actions' SEAL commanders in angry letter to members of the service after O'Neill's decision to go public was annoounced. We need her. O'Neill has said the basic reason he became a SEAL was a teenage romance gone wrong. The Washington Post said that it had planned to reveal his identity along with Fox News later this month. The Christian Science Monitor is an international news organization offering calm, thoughtful, award-winning coverage for independent thinkers. Personal life [ edit] CNN National Security Analyst Peter Bergen, who might not have been on the ground like Bissonnette, but who is deeply, deeply sourced on such matters, has reported something similar. It also could be the case that more than one SEAL is responsiblee.g., bin Laden was shot numerous times in the chest after he first wentdown. Robert O'Neill says he shot bin Laden in the head Credit: AP:Associated Press 16 Navy SEAL Matt Bissonnette wrote a book claiming he killed bin Laden Then there is SEAL Team Six's most.
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