The day they killed Laden
Farida Shaikh goes back to an old question
No Easy Day touches criminality. The book is a first person account of the killing of an unarmed man at point blank range. The killer takes the man by surprise in a raid on 1 May 2011. If this was a game, it was foul, sans rules, to play the game. This was all wild! "We just killed the number one terrorist in the world," writes ex-Navy SEAL Matt Bissonnette, using the pseudonym Mark Owen. The book describes the planning and execution of Osama bin Laden. It is a detailed account of the mission carried out by the man (criminal?) who confronted the (terrorist?) and witnessed its final moments. It was a special operation by the special welfare development group of the US navy, known as navy SEAL. "The last thing we needed was our names attached to it. We simply wanted to fade back into the shadows." But then why did Mark Owen write this first hand account? Probably, as Owen said: The focus should not be on him but rather on the book. "I am not trying to be a hero. I am trying to tell the bigger story… is a tribute to hundreds of Americans, (sounds hypocritical!) who gathered intelligence, planned and trained in the 10 years pursuit of the world's most wanted man." The book was released on the eleventh anniversary of the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon. Penguin has described the book as ' a blow by blow narrative of an assault by 24 hand picked men that made the team, starting with the helicopter crash to the radio message that Osama bin Laden is dead.' And the publisher's spokesperson said the book was '…a piece of living history.' The book is a detailed account of America's on going war on terror, the selection and training process of the military. SEALs aim at a high level of mental and physical endurance. It is a chronicle on events after September 11, a true story of SEAL and many unreported operations. SEAL trained for the mission through using a full size replica of Osama bin Laden's compound. A dress rehearsal was held for the military top brass. The success of SEAL has been termed as the greatest victory in the war on terror. Mark Owen is in disguise for his own security. What concerns him is that '… the enemy has a long memory.' Nearly four hours were spent by an artist changing the appearances of Mark Owen using shadows. His voice was altered for identity protection during the interview. There are significant differences in major parts of the book and the White House's version on the same subject. The publisher moved the print number of the book to 575,000 and the release date to September 4. In the meantime, at the Pentagon, defence department lawyers probably sent out a letter accusing the author of violating non-disclosure agreements. In reply, Bissonnette's lawyers have denied such charges on behalf of their client. Chief petty officer Owen was in the navy for 14 years. Since 9/11 he has been in 13 combat deployments in Afghanistan and Iraq and 'all over' (Pakistan?) Before retirement, Owen rose to a top position in SEAL. According to the script released on 9 September 2012, in the helicopter that crashed into the compound, he was the second man in Laden's bedroom. He took pictures of the body that no one has seen. Owen was awarded the Silver Star for valour and the Purple Heart for a wound he suffered. Al- Qaeda has threatened to kill the man who killed Osama. While refuting charges that he was trying to make a political statement with No Easy Day, Owen said: "This was absolutely not a kill only mission. The training was not for an assassination. It was to capture him alive if possible. It was not for murder, but rather, 'Hey, kill or capture!' This was what he said in reply when he was asked in an interview if the mission plan was to kill or capture? Even though the Pentagon is displeased, many readers find the book thrilling. It is, as close as you can get, real life account of the battle in Abbottabad between a single unarmed man and a super-equipped many-member team. The book in parts reads like a gripping novel written in polished prose, with Kevin Maurer (author of Gentleman Bastard: On the Grounds in Afghanistan with American Elite Special Forces and a second book on the Valley of Death--- Memoir of the Korean War (with Bill Richardson) It is an intense read on the agonizing wait for the go-moment, the crash of the Black Hawk and the spine-chilling instance in front of bin Laden's lifeless body, bleeding; the reason for fighting during the past decade! Marking this chain of event is investigative journalist Richard Miniter's new book Leading from Behind: The Reluctant President and the Advisers Who Decide for Him. The book is a character study in leadership, specifically on how and why Barack Obama makes the decision he does in the White House. Based on an interview, (only Democrats) Miniter informs readers of a one noteworthy incident: the raid to get Osama bin Laden. Obama cancelled the mission to kill Osama bin Laden three times in 2011 and compromised further special operations on the mission and leaks on mission details. Miniter also informs the readers of his book on the raging debate on the raid within the White House. The timing of the raid, whether it was necessary and what would be the political gain from such a military operation was also debated. The author claims that the Pakistan army informed the CIA on the whereabouts of bin Laden. Earlier Pervez Musharraf received the news. Yet another book on the same topic is Manhunt by Peter Bergen of the New York Times. The writer gives circumstantial evidence of Osama bin Laden's presence within the compound of a three storied building in Abbattabad and it was a Pakistani courier that let out the news first.
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