Dear Mr. President,
It was only a matter of time. All the secrecy surrounding the bin Laden assassination disappears on 9/11 2012 when No Easy Day goes on sale. A blockbuster, the publisher calls it. The author, a member of Navy SEAL Team 6, one of the leaders on the raid that blew away bin Laden, wrote it under a pen name and changed the names of SEAL team members for “security reasons.” But within 24 hours his real name, Matt Bissonnette, was all over TV and the internet. Of course, Bissonnette’s not a real author—his “co-author” has actually written books before—and I wouldn’t call him a hero either since he and his comrades killed an unarmed 64-year-old man in the middle of the night along with 3 other men and one woman and only one of those killed was armed. But never mind. The myths grow along with a hunger for heroes. Publicity, timing, hype for the book, all perfectly coordinated. Interest so great that even before it’s published, it’s number two on the Amazon best-seller list and with a print run of 400,000 copies. Never mind that the Pentagon never vetted the book, never even knew about it. Never mind that national security was breached and regulations ignored. Once again, the almighty buck trumps everything, even “national security.” Besides, how could you possibly prosecute an American hero? one of the guys who assassinated Terrorist Number One? maybe THE guy who put the fatal bullet right between his eyes? a guy with 5 Bronze Stars and a Purple Heart? one of the guys you personally met with behind closed doors and congratulated – high fives all around, back slaps, maybe chest bumps? I bet you even brought out some of your home-brewed White House beer for the occasion. Medals, commendations, and then charge him with exposing secrets that “aid and abet the enemy?” Toss him in the brig with Bradley Manning? Not a snowball’s chance in hell. Bad publicity. But it all makes me wonder: bin Laden dead 18 months and it doesn’t make a bit of difference. The wars rage on with no end in sight. According to this morning’s paper, “Early Friday, C.I.A. drones fired at least six missiles [$408,000] at three locations in the Shawal Valley, destroying mud-walled compounds and at least two vehicles.” 18 people were killed but only two identified as terrorists. My questions is, who were the other 16? How many lifelong haters of America did you create in that attack, Mr. President? Meanwhile, Matt Bissonnette’s going to make out like a bandit. Ain’t America great?
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