SEAL Team 6 New Book on Death of Osama bin Laden: Dead in 90 Seconds

A new book on the death of Osama bin Laden by SEAL Team 6 will be released tomorrow, written by the former Team's commander, Chuck Pfarrer. The SEALs take the opportunity to express their disdain at how the Obama administration released details, and when they released them.  The quick announcement gave other al-Qaeda leaders a chance to find "a bolthole." Military "intel" was devalued by the way the announcement was made, and Pfarrer said SEAL Team 6 was treated "shabbily."

Chuck Pfarrer

Here are a few details from TheTelegraph.au:

1) bin Laden was dead within 90 seconds. Only 12 bullets were fired.

2) The mission was not a "kill" mission.

"I've been a Seal for 30 years and I never heard the words 'kill mission'. It's a fantasy word. If it was a kill mission you don’t need Seal Team 6; you need a box of hand grenades."

3) The Seal's referred to bin Laden as "Bert," and asked if they were going to Pakistan for "Bert" or "Ernie." "Ernie" referred to Ayman al-Zawahiri.

4) The death:

Bin Laden’s bedroom was along a short hall. The door opened; he popped out and then slammed the door shut. “Geronimo, Geronimo, Geronimo,” radioed one Seal, meaning “eyes on target”.
Two Seals kicked in Bin Laden’s door. The room, they later recalled, "smelt like old clothing, like a guest bedroom in a grandmother’s house". Inside was the al-Qaeda leader and his youngest wife, Amal, who was screaming as he pushed her in front of him.
"No, no, don’t do this!” she shouted as her husband reached across the king-size bed for his AK-47 assault rifle. The Seals reacted instantly, firing in the same second. One round thudded into the mattress. The other, aimed at Bin Laden’s head, grazed Amal in the calf. As his hand reached for the gun, they each fired again: one shot hit his breastbone, the other his skull, killing him instantly and blowing out the back of his head.

Remember that the wife lived, the children were protected by the SEALs. Had bin Laden or his followers walked into the home of any American, everyone would have been dead. Our Military are the defenders of each of us. They are not mercenaries. They do not form kill teams. They defend.

From the preview at Amazon, Pfarrer says the men who into for bin Laden were members of the smallest, most elite force in the U.S. military. You can read the preview online, including the miracle that happened before the SEALs made it into the compound. The book title is SEAL Target Geronimo by Chuck Pfarrer, released on November 8, 2011. The Kindle addition (just ordered mine) is $12.99, hardcover $15.18. Visit Pfarrer's website.

Posted by Maggie @ Maggie's Notebook