海角大神

The public squabble among supposedly zip-lipped US Navy SEALs over who, exactly, killed 9/11 mastermind and al Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden has taken another turn.

Robert O鈥橬eill, the former SEAL identified in several news accounts as the 鈥渟hooter鈥� who fired the fatal shot to bin Laden鈥檚 head at close range, now says 鈥渋t doesn鈥檛 matter鈥� who did so during that US raid on bin Laden鈥檚 compound hideout in Abbottabad, Pakistan, in 2011.

"The most important thing that I've learned in the last two years is to me it doesn't matter anymore if I am 'The Shooter.' The team got him," Mr. O'Neill said in an audio interview with freelance journalist Alex Quade, a former CNN correspondent that aired Friday on CNN's "AC360."

No doubt Fox News will try to pin him down on this point in its two-part interview with O鈥橬eill to be aired this coming week.

鈥淥ffering never before shared details, the presentation will include 鈥楾he Shooter鈥檚鈥� experience in confronting Bin Laden, his description of the terrorist leader鈥檚 final moments as well as what happened when he took his last breath,鈥� according to Fox.聽

There are two main threads to the story.

These special forces operators, meant to be silent-but-deadly in their shadowy forays around the world, aren鈥檛 supposed to be popping off publicly about their exploits 鈥� certainly not boasting for credit or financial gain.

In a letter last week, the admiral and senior enlisted man who run the United States Naval Special Warfare Command reminded all present and former SEALs that a critical tenet of the organization鈥檚 ethos is: 鈥淚 do not advertise the nature of my work, nor seek recognition for my actions.鈥�

鈥淰iolators of our Ethos are neither teammates in good standing, nor Teammates who represent Naval Special Warfare,鈥� Rear Adm. Brian Losey and Force Master Chief Michael Magaraci wrote. 鈥淲e do not abide willful or selfish disregard for our core values in return for public notoriety and financial gain, which only diminishes otherwise honorable service, courage and sacrifice.鈥�

Then there鈥檚 the 鈥渇og of war鈥� that envelopes any combat mission of the type that took down bin Laden: at night, deep inside foreign territory, and with the high likelihood of unknown events 鈥� such as the crash of one of the SEAL鈥檚 helicopters in Abbottabad. (It was the collision of two US aircraft at a staging point in the Iranian desert that catastrophically ended the attempted rescue of 52 American hostages in 1980, killing eight US servicemembers 鈥� likely a factor in former President Jimmy Carter鈥檚 reelection defeat that year.)

The Navy SEALs sent to Pakistan were experienced combat veterans and highly trained for the mission, which included a mockup of bin Laden鈥檚 compound.

But as is often said at the Pentagon, 鈥淣o plan survives contact with the enemy鈥� 鈥� a quote variously attributed to Napoleon, Dwight Eisenhower, or George Patton. (But probably dating back to Prussian Field Marshal Helmuth Von Moltke, whose rather less pithy remark was, 鈥淣o operation extends with any certainty beyond the first encounter with the main body of the enemy.鈥�)

As the 23 SEALs (and a combat dog) dashed off the helicopters toward their planned positions, several barreled upstairs toward what was thought to be bin Laden鈥檚 living quarters, according to several accounts, including this in Esquire magazine published last year. 鈥淭he Shooter鈥� (the piece鈥檚 title) is not identified, but is now generally assumed to have been O鈥橬eill 鈥� who now works as a motivational speaker.

Bin Laden鈥檚 guards and several other household members were shot and killed. The point man rushed upstairs, along with O鈥橬eill and fellow SEAL Matt Bissonnette (whose book 鈥淣o Easy Day,鈥� published in 2012 using the pseudonym 鈥淢ark Owen,鈥� became a New York Times bestseller).

Somebody fired first, but others shot bin Laden too 鈥� including, apparently, a number of SEALs who arrived seconds or minutes later, firing into bin Laden鈥檚 body. Bin Laden鈥檚 body was flown to a US Navy ship, where DNA testing confirmed his identity. There was no autopsy, and he was buried at sea following traditional Islamic procedures to prevent any burial site from becoming a place for would-be militants to gather.

鈥淭he real story of who killed bin Laden may have gone to the bottom of the ocean or been plowed back into the dirt in Abbottabad,鈥� writes Shane Harris, intelligence and national Security correspondent for The Daily Beast. 鈥淏ut if the anonymous 鈥榩oint man鈥� comes forward, O鈥橬eill won鈥檛 have the last word.鈥�

So the mystery of 鈥淭he Shooter鈥� and the flap within SEAL ranks is likely to continue.