Former Navy SEAL Comments on the Latest SEAL Controversy

Posted by By GeorgeM at 12 September, at 04 : 56 AM Print

“These are not normal times - the long and the short of it is I don’t fault the guy (Bissonnette)”

Former U.S. Navy SEAL Jim O’Neil

Late last week, on September 6, CNN published an article on its web site describing the criticism which has been directed at “Mark Owen”, the pseudonym for former Navy SEAL Matt Bissonnette who authored a recently-released book which provides an inside account of the operation to kill Osama bin Laden in Pakistan from the viewpoint of a member of the secretive SEAL team which conducted the operation.

 

Navy Seals: A battle for the conscience

By Barbara Starr

Active duty Navy SEALS at February premiere of “Act of Valor”

 

The CNN article contains the following statements:

“Deep inside the military’s special operations forces there is a crisis of conscience unfolding.

The publication of “No Easy Day,” a former Navy SEAL’s account of the raid that killed Osama bin Laden, is forcing many to rethink a fundamental point of military honor. How much should America’s commandos talk about what they do?

It’s a debate that goes beyond disclosure of classified information, which is a crime. The discussion now centers on honor, ethics and cultural values inside the ranks.

‘This is a battle for the conscience of the SEALs’, a recently retired senior SEAL told me…

The SEAL Commander, RADM Sean Pybus was quoted with the following comment: ‘For an Elite Force that should be humble and disciplined for life, we are certainly not appearing to be so. We owe our chain of command much better than this.

The article continues: “If service members want to write a book, the material has to be reviewed before publication. If a service member believes he or she needs to bring wrongdoing to light, there are procedures within the military for whistle-blowing. Bissonnette did not follow the rules, the Pentagon said.

In fact, in the book’s introduction, Bissonnette justifies his book, writing “It is time to set the record straight” and, “This book will finally give credit to those who earned it.” It’s odd phrasing, because so many, including Pybus and Adm. William McRaven, the head of all 65,000 special operations forces across the military, think the SEALs have received plenty of credit around the world for killing bin Laden.

Both admirals are agonizing over the emergence of SEALs as celebrities as well as political operatives.”

http://security.blogs.cnn.com/2012/09/06/navy-seals-a-battle-for-the-conscience/

 

Rear Admiral Sean A. Pybus

Commander, Naval Special Warfare Command

________________________________________________________

Charity Refusing Navy SEAL Donations

Monday, September 10, 2012

A second article was posted on the web site for local radio station KOGO in San Diego, where all Navy SEALS receive their basic (BUDS) training at the Coronado Naval Amphibious Base. This article discussed further the controversy engendered by Bissonnette’s book, indicating that the author has been the target of security threats, and that at least some former SEALS are supportive of the author:

“The agent for the author sent out an email to KOGO and other media outlets that scheduled interviews with the book’s author were being cancelled because of security threats.

Here is the email:

As you might have heard there have been a number of security threats since news of Mark Owen’s book, No Easy Day came out. Due to security purposes, we are cancelling all future TV and Radio interviews with Mark Owen. I thank you in advance for your understanding. Peter Marchese, Playback Producers, LLC

One retired SEAL told 10News he doubted Owen… would reveal any SEAL secrets or hurt U.S. intelligence.

He also doubted the SEAL was looking for a quick payday. ”You know it’s not about money because he’s donating all of the proceeds to the Navy SEAL Foundation,” said former SEAL Greg McPartlin told 10News.”

http://www.kogo.com/cc-common/news/sections/newsarticle.html?feed=125548&article=10391591#ixzz25iCja9lq

The author of ‘No Easy Day’ discussed the book on ’60 Minutes.’

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390443696604577645924269918282.html

 

___________________________________________________________________________________

Former SEAL Jim O’Neill: “These are not normal times”

“The long and the short of it is I don’t fault the guy (Bissonnette)”

When former SEAL and published writer Jim O’Neill was asked to share his thoughts on the new SEAL controversy, this was his response:

I have noted that the SEALs of today seem much “gabbier” than we were back in the day.  Nonetheless, I am conflicted about the message given here regarding total neutrality.  At what point does the oath to defend the US Constitution “against all enemies, foreign and domestic” come into play?  Are our military personnel supposed to stay politically neutral and silent in the face of egregious assaults on the fundamental framework of our republic?  I think not.

At what point does remaining silent in the face of traitorous activity turn a patriot into a quisling, and a warrior into a coward?

If you do not see the betrayal of America by the ruling elites these days, then you are either willfully blind or an idiot.  As I wrote in one of my articles, are the troops supposed to “salute her while she sinks?”  Stay above the fray and not get their hands dirty?  The “I was just following orders” excuse didn’t fly at Nuremberg, and it won’t fly now.

At some point (granted, a point seldom reached) a troop must take upon their own shoulders the decision to hold true to their conscience come hell or high water.  At such times a comparison may be made to Nathan Hale — not Benedict Arnold.  If, as the author of this piece states, Matt Bissonnette (Mark Owen) is “the operator’s operator…a leader and a perfectionist… [and a] quiet professional completely dedicated to God and country,” then I doubt very much that his reason for writing his book was mercenary or selfish.

Although I concur with the need for silence regarding spec op missions and methods, I am far from convinced that political neutrality is the only choice open to service personnel.  As I said earlier, I’m conflicted — but I’m leaning heavily toward the belief that when our country’s survival is at stake, then neutrality is a luxury we cannot afford.

Under normal circumstances I would say that it would be a terrible idea for any spec ops guy to give a detailed account of what occurred during a mission — unless a sufficient amount of time had passed so that any of the information divulged would be unclassified and/or harmless.  But these are not normal times, and I tend to support the author of “No Easy Day” (which I imagine was inspired by an old Team saying, “The only easy day was yesterday”).

As you well know, the sort of bragging about military exploits for political gain that the Obama camp has indulged in would have been unthinkable back in the day – as would former SEALs talking out of school — but I really can’t blame Bissonnette for wanting to set the record straight; especially after former DEVGRU (SEAL 6) CO Chuck Pfarrer came out with the “NY Times” bestseller “SEAL Target Geronimo: The Inside Story of the Mission to Kill Osama bin Laden.”

Pfarrer was not directly involved with the operation, however, and Bissonnette may have simply wanted to set the record straight by giving an account by someone who (unlike Pfarrer and Obama) was actually there.  He may also have been spurred on by the upcoming release of the Obama/Hollywood big screen version due out in a couple of months.  The long and the short of it is I don’t fault the guy (Bissonnette).

 

As far as your other question goes (Any thoughts on how we can effectively refute the continuous repeating of the biggest lie of all – that Obama is ‘legally qualified to serve under the provisions of the United States Constitution’?), I would say that it’s in God’s hands.

The extent of the corruption within our legal system is simply stunning to me.  I would not have believed the extent of how badly perverted it is just four years ago  The judges have no integrity and no shame, so I doubt very much that any answers will be found there.  The DOJ is, of course, a sad joke these days, and will obviously be of no help.  Unfortunately, I don’t see any real hope of anything in this regard gaining traction until a conservative administration comes to power.  Heck, it might even be possible to get the ball rolling under a Romney Administration — although I wouldn’t hold my breath.

One avenue that might possibly prove fruitful is to attack Obama’s past history as a whole — in which his birth place is only one element among many.  I mean the guy is a complete cipher.  Nobody (at least nobody who will talk) knows who Obama really is. 

 

We do not know for certain that Stanley Ann Dunham was his mother, nor that Obama Sr. was his biological father.  We do not know if he ever legally changed his named back from Soetoro, or if he ever reclaimed his American citizenship after becoming a citizen of Indonesia.  We do not know why his Selective Service record was forged, or what the story is with his bogus SS#. Did he really attend Columbia?

 

The unanswered questions just go on and on.

Who is this guy, and what is he doing in our White House?

Godspeed,

Jim

Author ProfileJim O’Neill

EmailBorn in June of 1951 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Jim O’Neill (constitutionalwrites.com) proudly served in the U.S. Navy from 1970-1974 in both UDT-21 (Underwater Demolition Team) and SEAL Team Two.  A member of MENSA, he worked as a commercial diver in the waters off Scotland, India, and the United States. In 1998 while attending the University of South Florida as a journalism student, O’Neill won “First Place” in the “Carol Burnett/University of Hawaii AEJMC Research in Journalism Ethics Award.”  The annual contest was set up by Carol Burnett with the money she won from successfully suing the National Enquirer for libel.Jim can be reached at: letters@canadafreepress.com

 

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