I think what SEALs are good at is what I consider pickup basketball. We all know how to play the game. You know, our- you hear the saying in the team says can you shoot, move, and communicate? So we all know how to shoot. We all know how to move efficiently and tactically. And we can communicate clearly. So when something goes sideways, we’re able to play the pickup basketball and just kind of read off each other.“Mark Owen” • Describing what makes a Navy SEAL team efficient under pressure, such as in the shooting of of Osama bin Laden, which he took part in. The pseudonymed Owen, who is facing the threat of a lawsuit from the Pentagon over his book “No Easy Day,” showed up on “60 Minutes” for the full hour this evening — and CBS has a massive interview to prove it. Thirteen pages. That should keep you defense nerds busy for a while.
“No Easy Day” for Pentagon: The Pentagon wasn’t quite ready for an unauthorized biography written by an anonymous Navy SEAL. “Sensitive and classified information is contained in the book,” says Pentagon spokesperson George Little. The book, “No Easy Day,” describes the fateful mission that led to the death of Osama bin Laden last year. The author wrote the book under an anonymous guise, but Fox News revealed his identity last month. The man’s lawyer says the Pentagon “invites but by no means requires” publication review, though Little suggests the author violated a non-disclosure agreement. (photo by Peter Foley/EPA)
If this facility is so secret that the name cannot even be seen by the public, then why in the world would the Obama administration allow filmmakers to tour it?Representative Peter King • Expressing his dismay over news that director Kathryn Bigelow and screenwriter Mark Boal were given access to Seal Team Six and information about the death of Osama bin Laden for their upcoming movie Zero Dark Thirty. Information which the Obama Administration has steadfastly defended from Freedom of Information Act inquiries, Congressional committees, and anyone else not involved in making movies about war-zones. Oh, and they received a tour of the complex that Seal Team Six used to prepare for the operation. You know, nothing special. source (via • follow)
Jessica Buchanan was rescued and she is on her way home. As commander-in-chief, I could not be prouder of the troops who carried out this mission.President Barack Obama • Making a pre-dawn statement on the rescue of American Jessica Buchanan and Dane Poul Hagen Thisted, two aid workers captured in Somalia back in October. The rescue was carried out by SEAL Team 6, the same group that killed Osama bin Laden eight months ago, so you know they’re good. All nine of their captors, rumored to be pirates holding the humanitarian workers for ransom, were killed in the rescue effort. Thisted and Buchanan were safe, however. Speaking about the rescue effort on the Today Show this morning, Vice President Joe Biden put it like this: “We wanted to act, and we did.” Well-put. source (via • follow)
White House photo of President Obama learning about the helicopter crash in Afghanistan that claimed 31 U.S. lives, including over 20 members of SEAL Team 6, the same unit that killed Osama bin Laden.
Update: Now the AP reports that “that none of the Navy SEALs who died in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan had participated in the raid that killed Osama bin Laden, although they were from the same unit that carried out the bin Laden mission.” Additionally, ABC News Senior Foreign Affairs Correspondent Martha Raddatz tweets that: “There are only about 2000 SEALS. Losing more than 20 is unbearable.”
Worth noting. (Earlier report here)
» And they weren’t just any Navy SEALS, either: These are some of the guys who took out Osama bin Laden in Pakistan back in May. (Edit: There are conflicting reports.) This is horribly sad, and we’ll keep you posted as we learn more. The AP has received word of this but nothing official has been noted due to the fact that families are still being notified. (h/t ProducerMatthew)
The Walt Disney Company has secured the trademark to the phrase “Seal Team 6,” according to documents uncovered by NY Fishbowl.
While the rest of the world was congratulating the Navy SEALS, Disney was taking away their trademark rights. What a load of it, Disney.
The Secret Team That Killed Osama Bin Laden:
Were it not for this high-value target, it might have been a routine mission for the specially trained and highly mythologized SEAL Team Six, officially called the Naval Special Warfare Development Group, but known even to the locals at their home base Dam Neck in Virginia as just DevGru.
This HVT was special, and the raids required practice, so they replicated the one-acre compound at Camp Alpha, a segregated section of Bagram Air Base. Trial runs were held in early April.
Read the rest at The Atlantic.
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