Not according to Mark Owen, the pen name of a Navy SEAL who wrote 鈥淣o Easy Day,鈥� which detailed his role in the operation to kill Mr. bin Laden.
His book describes 鈥淛en鈥� (a pseudonym) as a 鈥渨icked smart, kind of feisty鈥� agent recruited by the agency out of college.
Jen had been working on the bin Laden task force for the past five years. 鈥淎nalysts rotated in and out of the task force, but she stayed and kept after it,鈥� Mr. Owen writes. 鈥淪he had been our go-to analyst on all intelligence questions related to the target.鈥�
鈥�Zero Dark Thirty鈥� stars Jessica Chastain as CIA officer 鈥淢aya,鈥� who tracks and ultimately finds bin Laden.
Owen writes that some Navy SEALs worried that Jen was overconfident after she told them that she was 鈥渙ne hundred percent鈥� certain that bin Laden was 鈥渢he Pacer.鈥� This was the nickname that agents had given to the person they believed to be bin Laden for the way he would walk around a small area of his compound in Pakistan.
In the Showtime series 鈥�Homeland,鈥� actress Claire Danes is widely believed to have based her portrayal of her CIA agent character on Jen as well.
Ms. Danes told The Wall Street Journal that she had the chance to meet a young female CIA operative at the agency鈥檚 offices in Langley, Va., upon whom she 鈥渓oosely modeled鈥� her role.
Like Danes鈥檚 character in 鈥淗omeland,鈥� 鈥淛en wasn鈥檛 afraid to share her opinion with even the highest officers,鈥� Owen writes. 鈥淭his was her baby. Jen and her team spent five years tracking [bin Laden] to get us where we were now.鈥�
Ms. Chastain says that the woman she portrays is based on a real person and is still active in the CIA. According to The Washington Post, the agent is now in her 30s, remains undercover, and was awarded the agency鈥檚 highest medal 鈥� but was denied a promotion.
