SEALs and Usama
bin Laden
By Jim
ONeill
CanadaFreePress.com
Many in the community are…infuriated, [O’Neill]
says. “There’s a shitstorm around this.”—Rob O’Neill
referring to SEALs going public, “The
Man Who Killed Osama bin Laden…Is Screwed”
“Frankly, a week ago
Sunday, in the Situation Room, we all agreed that we
would not release any operational details from the
effort to take out bin Laden. That all fell apart on
Monday—the next day.”—Then Defense Secretary,
Robert Gates 5/12/11
Our present POTUS tells
lies like they are an art form he is determined to
master. God knows he has shown a remarkable flair
for it—although if ObamaCare architect John Gruber
is correct, and the
American people are stupid, then Obama’s “flair”
is somewhat less impressive. (I am sorely tempted to
discuss the difference between the terms “stupid”
and “ignorant”
at this point, but that would lead us too far astray
from this article’s focus).
Be that as it may, if you
believe that “you
can keep your doctor,” that there is “not
even a smidgeon of corruption” in the IRS, that
a video caused the attacks in Benghazi, and
other such fairytales, then you may want to stop
reading this article and tune into NPR, read the
“New York Times,” or otherwise engage yourself in
the realm of fantasy.
For those of us living in the real world,
however, the fact that the federal government has
lied to “we the people” repeatedly, blatantly, and
egregiously is taken as a given, and it comes as no
surprise that there are many people who question the
veracity of the killing of Usama bin Laden (UBL)
narrative. This article will look into that
question, and also on the fallout from former SEALs
going public with their accounts of the operation.
There are a number of people who believe that UBL
died
some time before the SEAL raid in Abbottabad,
Pakistan (5/1/11
in the USA—5/2/11 in Pakistan). The majority of
them believe that UBL died of
kidney failure.
Such opinions are based on
pretty threadbare evidence and what amounts to
rumor, but given the track record of our federal
government vis-a-vis the truth, their
skepticism is understandable, even warranted. (I
will not delve into the many lies told to “we the
people” by the federal government, as it would take
us too far afield—but
the lies are there, and they are
numerous).
To cut to the chase, do I believe that UBL was
killed by the SEALs during the Abbottabad raid?
First let me say that I am convinced, and have been
for some time, that the raid indeed took place—but
the question remains: was UBL killed in that raid?
Regarding that I am less than certain.
I say that I am less than
certain simply because these days, I automatically
distrust anything that the government and
their lap-dog media present as being “the truth.”
They have earned that distrust
many times over, in
many different areas. Again, exploring the
reasons for my distrust would take us too far off
message.
Let me just say that I am about 90% convinced
that UBL was killed in the Abbottabad raid. The case
remains open to me simply because of my mistrust of
the federal government. Being 90% certain, however,
is enough for me to say that I believe that UBL was
killed in that operation.
This brings me to the controversy surrounding the
various “kiss and tell” books put out by former
SEALs (also the numerous radio broadcasts, newspaper
and magazine articles, and TV interviews as well).
“Speaking out of school” is
nothing new for SEALs. The same magazine (Esquire)
that in 2013 published O’Neill’s account of the
Abbottabad raid, interviewed several members of SEAL
2 in 1974 for Richard Hill’s article “Mean Mothers
with Dirty Faces” (headlined on the cover as “The
roughest, toughest men in the U.S.A.”). I knew, or
knew of, everyone interviewed. I also knew a number
of SEALs who declined to be interviewed for that
article.
My CO in SEAL 2, Robert
Gormley, wrote an excellent book on his Team
experiences (”Combat
Swimmer: Memoirs of a Navy SEAL”), and many
people know of the books written by former SEAL
Richard
Marcinko (who would probably take issue with my
use of the word “former”).
There are a number of other examples I could
mention, but my point is that there have been
numerous SEAL memoirs, TV appearances, articles and
other recorded/published offerings in the past—so
why all the brouhaha over the recent spate of books
written by former SEALs?
First and foremost there is the issue of secrecy.
To be specific, OPSEC (Operational Security) is the
main concern here, by which I mean information that
may aid and abet America’s enemies. Not every SEAL
was happy when the “Esquire” article came out in
‘74. Back in those days not many people had even
heard of the SEALs, and the majority of SEALs
preferred it that way. Nevertheless the article
mostly dealt with bravado and generalities and
personally I saw no harm in it.
The accounts of SEAL ops written by former SEALs
recently, however, come awfully close to breaking
OPSEC in my opinion—too close, I would say. Mainly I
blame our current political “leaders,” who have set
the tone for our military in many ways. That is to
be expected, as cues for what is considered proper
behavior tend to trickle down from the top. For
example, I have a hard time imagining the sort of
loquaciousness we see today happening during the
Bush Administration.
[Sidebar: I stand guilty
myself of possibly causing some friction within the
ranks. I am unapologetic about my opposition to the
federal government’s
social
engineering ploys—I generally detest them. And
such ploys have been put on the fast track since
Obama became POTUS. There are numerous other areas
where I strongly disagree with Obama and his
administration, and I have not been shy about
letting my feelings be known. Nonetheless, I have
never encouraged any person actively serving in the
US military to rebel against their CINC (Commander
IN Chief), no matter who it is. If they wish to air
any grievances through the proper channels that is
something else entirely (good luck with that),
and what they do once they are separated from the
military is, of course, up to them.]
I never thought that the
Clinton Administration’s allowing (nay, encouraging)
SEALs “sneaking” into Somalia to be filmed and
broadcast on live TV would be topped, but the Obama
Administration
proved me wrong—which just goes to show that you
can never underestimate the cluelessness of
professional politicians who never served in the
military.
Michael Been’s phrase “corporate
criminals playing with tanks” springs to mind.
...just after midnight, a CBS-TV crew that had
been permitted by the Pakistani U.N. forces
controlling the airport for many weeks to camp out
on the beach with night-vision scopes actually had
filmed the arrival of the Navy’s super-secret Seal
frogmen, as well as an advance reconnaissance team
of U.S. Marines. All of it was broadcast live on
national television back home.
Oy vey. Below is an excerpt from a message
recently sent out to members of the UDT/SEAL
Association:
Teammates,
At Naval Special Warfare’s core is the SEAL
Ethos. A critical tenant of our Ethos is “I do not
advertise the nature of my work, nor seek
recognition for my actions”. Our Ethos is a
life-long commitment and obligation, both in and out
of the Service. Violators of our Ethos are neither
Teammates in good standing, nor Teammates who
represent Naval Special Warfare. We do not abide
willful or selfish disregard for our core values in
return for public notoriety and financial gain,
which only diminishes otherwise honorable service,
courage and sacrifice. Our credibility as a premier
fighting force is forged in this sacrifice and has
been accomplished with honor, as well as humility.
The most important credit we can garner is the
respect of our Teammates and Partners.
“Loose Lips Sink Ships”
and all that. In addition to the question
of secrecy there’s the discordance between the
various accounts of what happened in Abbottabad.
Mark Owen’s (”No
Easy Day”) account differs from Rob O’Neill’s in
certain particulars, and neither of those accounts
jive with the one given by former Assault Element
Commander of SEAL 6,
Chuck Pfarrer
(“SEAL Target Geronimo”), whose book was in turn
dismissed as pure fabrication by
SEAL Admiral McRaven (USN Ret.). And if that
were not bad enough, we have had the very public
legal battle between former Team members, the late
Chris Kyle (”American
Sniper”) and Jesse Ventura, both of whom
had/have their
supporters and
opponents in the Team community. Hooyah…or
rather hoo boy.
What’s to be done? First of
all I would suggest that the Kyle/Ventura imbroglio
be dropped like a hot potato.
Nobody came out a winner, and nobody will
come out a winner no matter how long it is dragged
out. Team unity is what is at stake here, and that
is not something that the Teams can ever afford to
lose. If Team cohesion is lost it will not just be a
shame, it will be catastrophic, it will be fatal.
As far as the books,
movies, TV appearances and radio interviews go, I
would suggest that members of the Team community
back off from discussing operational details, at
least for the time being. Give things a chance to
cool down. I am not saying that the books should not
have been written, the TV appearances made, or the
interviews given—but enough is enough. If there is
any question that discussing something might
aid and abet America’s enemies, or endanger those in
the field, then please err on the side of caution
and remain silent.
That being said, I hope
that the Navy brass has enough smarts to not attempt
punishing former SEALs for publicly speaking about
Team ops, at least up to this point. It would cause
even more rancor in a community that is
already divided. If the flow of SEAL “inside
stories” continues unabated though, and certainly if
those stories break OPSEC, then I suppose that the
brass will have no choice but to drop the hammer—I,
for one, hope it does not come to that.
If the brass wants to throw
the book at someone they should start with Vice
President Joe Biden IMO.
He was the one who first touted the SEALs
involvement in the Abbottabad raid and opened the
floodgates.
After discussing the
somewhat fractious state of the Teams these days, it
may sound odd for me to say that I am proud of
today’s SEALs, but I am. I am extremely proud
of the way that today’s SEALs have conducted
themselves in what are essentially uncharted waters.
America’s military had
never relied on unconventional warfare operations
and operators to the extent that it has since 9/11,
nor had it been saddled with the onerous ROEs of
today.
Bravo Zulu indeed. (I should add that I am proud
of the US military as a whole).
In any event, it has been quite some time since I
was in the Teams—decades—but I still remember and
value the Team camaraderie and élan. I have never
experienced anything remotely like it in the
civilian world. One of Rob O’Neill’s anecdotes about
his BUD/S experience hit especially close to home (I
explain why in the sidebar immediately below the
following quote).
“One of the tests is they make you dive to the
bottom of a pool and tie five knots,” [O’Neill]
says. “One guy got to the fifth knot and blacked out
underwater. We pulled him up and he was, like, dead.
They made the class face the fence while they tried
to resuscitate him. The first words as he spit out
water were ‘Did I pass? Did I tie the fifth knot?’
The instructor told him, ‘We didn’t want to find out
if you could tie the knots, you #, we wanted to know
how hard you’d push yourself.’ ‘You killed
yourself.’ ‘You passed.’”—Phil
Bronstein “The
Man Who Killed Osama bin Laden…Is Screwed”
[Sidebar: I also had an
experience with a BUD/S trainee (tadpole) passing
out underwater. It took place during our long
free-style underwater swim. Having already
successfully finished my swim, I was standing along
the edge of the pool watching the guys still
swimming, when I noticed one of them jerking
spasmodically and doing “The Funky Chicken”
underwater. The instructors noticed as well, and
immediately jumped into the pool, brought the guy
up, placed him on the concrete next to the pool and
resuscitated him. He passed. That incident became a
benchmark in my BUD/S training; in my life really,
because it became my definition of giving it your
all, giving 100%. If I was still conscious then
obviously I had not given 100%. That is a pretty
high bar to set for yourself, and perhaps
unrealistic, but it helped me make it through some
tough times, both during BUD/S and after. “Mother
Moy” told us we would never forget our time in
BUD/S, and he was right.]
In closing, I wish to recognize
the price that has been paid by the Teams during
America’s fight against radical Islam. Below is a
list of the SEALs who have fallen in service to our
country since 9/11. I did not know any of them
personally, but I did know them, if you know
what I mean. I am humbled by their sacrifice, and
honored to consider them my
brothers-in-arms.
SEALs who have fallen in service
to our country since 9/11
|
Neil C. Roberts |
Lance M. Vaccaro |
Caleb A. Nelson |
I
compiled the above list from the
Navy Seal Foundation website. I apologize in
advance for any misspellings or omissions I may have
inadvertently made. In addition to the men listed
above, there are numerous individuals who died while
supporting SEAL operations who, while not themselves
SEALs, were invaluable assets to the Teams. Their
inclusion would have unfortunately extended the
above list far too much. I, of course respectfully
salute their service and sacrifice.
Born June 4, 1951 in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania. Served in the U.S. Navy from 1970-1974
in both UDT-21 (Underwater Demolition Team) and SEAL
Team Two. Worked as a commercial diver in the
waters off of Scotland, India, and the United
States. While attending the University of
South Florida as a journalism student in 1998 was
presented with the “Carol Burnett/University of
Hawaii AEJMC Research in Journalism Ethics Award,”
1st place undergraduate division. (The annual
contest was set up by Carol Burnett with money she
won from successfully suing a national newspaper for
libel). Awarded US Army, US Navy, South
African, and Russian jump wings. Graduate of
NOLS (National Outdoor Leadership School, 1970).
Member of Mensa, China Post #1, and lifetime member
of the UDT/SEAL Association.
Jim can be reached at:
lausdeo.jim@gmail.com