On May 2, 2011, when (US) President Barack Obama broke the news that “the United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama bin Laden” in a televised address, he did not name any of the servicemen or women involved in the strike. And while more and more details were revealed in the ensuing days—the photo of the president and commanders as they watched a live feed of the event, the helicopter that crashed in Abbottabad—the identity of the Navy SEAL who pulled the fateful trigger was never revealed.
That changed this week. Robert O’Neill has emerged to take credit for personally shooting bin Laden. Fox News planned an exclusive interview with O’Neill, a highly unusual occurrence in a special-forces community known for discretion. SOFREP, a military and special-forces news Web site, reported O’Neill’s identity on Monday, and an anonymous Gawker reader also dropped O’Neill’s name in that site’s comments. On Wednesday afternoon, the Daily Mail published an extensive interview with O’Neill’s father, confirming the news.
O’Neill is 38 years old. He lives in Washington, D.C., and is a motivational speaker. His biography on the Web site of the agency that handles his bookings describes him as “one of the most highly-decorated combat veterans of our time.” “O’Neill was the man on the ground we have never heard of but know exists,” his description reads. “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.”
Tom O’Neill, Robert’s father, brushed aside concerns of a retaliatory attack. “People are asking if we are worried that ISIS will come and get us because Rob is going public,” he said. “I say I’ll paint a big target on my front door and say, ‘Come and get us.’”
The decorated former soldier grew up in Butte, Montana, where his father still lives, in a house the Mail described as full of taxidermy animals that Tom and Robert hunted.
In an Esquire profile, during which he remained anonymous, Robert O’Neill expressed his dismay at the way veterans were treated, and said he did not receive the medical attention he needed. After the profile was published, some sources took issue with O’Neill’s account, and questioned whether he actually shot the rounds that ended bin Laden’s life.
Ahead of O’Neill’s Fox News interview, and in the wake of disclosures by Matt Bissonnette, the former Navy SEAL who wrote about his role in the bin Laden strike under a pen name, two of the SEAL’s highest commanders reportedly issued a stern October 31 letter. “At Naval Special Warfare’s core is the SEAL ethos,” Rear Admiral Brian Losey and Force Master Chief Michael Magaraci wrote. “A critical tenant [sic]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, 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,” the commanders wrote. “We will actively seek judicial consequence for members who willingly violate the law, and place our Teammates, our Families, and potential future operations at risk.”
The elder O’Neill told the Daily Mail that he felt such criticisms of his son’s decision to speak publicly are unfounded: “What are you supposed to do when you come out of the military after such service—become a greeter at Walmart?”
Bissonnette, who published No Easy Day under the pen name “Mark Owen” in 2012, said this week that the intervening two years have been hellish, as the government and his former fellow SEALs express outrage at his disclosures. “I would go back overseas today and deal with fighting ISIS face-to-face rather than deal with the last two years again,” he said in a 60 Minutes interview. Bissonnette, who submitted his second book to the Department of Defense for approval, remains under investigation. He maintains, however, that if secretaries of defense and generals are permitted to write memoirs, enlisted soldiers should be allowed to do so as well.
O’Neill’s interview with Fox News airs on November 11 and 12. The Navy said it will wait to respond to the news of O’Neill’s identity being revealed until after the interview airs.
(Vanity Fair)
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