America is buzzing about “No Easy Day”, a book written by ex-Navy SEAL Matt Bissonnette under the pseudonym Mark Owens. Bissonnette was a member of Navy SEAL Team 6—part of the team that performed the Geronimo operation, during which Osama bin Laden was killed. The book is about his experience as a Navy SEAL, including his account of the raid. Sounds like the story of an American hero, right?
The Pentagon doesn’t think so. Bissonnette’s account included references to and photos of Navy SEAL training and tactics, which caused some outrage. In fact, the Pentagon is threatening to sue Bissonnette for breach of contract.Upon enlisting, he agreed not to share information like that in his book for 80 years. George Little, spokesperson for the Pentagon, has stated that “Sensitive and classified information is contained in the book[…]and we have very serious concerns after having reviewed the book.” Officials also claim that the author didn’t submit his manuscript for review early enough in the publication process. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have been released in its current form. By the time the Pentagon became aware of Bissonnette’s work, 575,000 copies had been pre-ordered on Amazon—it was too late to stop “No Easy Day” from hitting shelves.
Government officials also face another dilemma: how to prosecute. Since Bissonnette is no longer on active duty, any trial would be handled by the Department of Justice. In all likelihood, Bissonnette would leave a trial by jury with only a slap on the wrist—jurors are likely to think him a hero—making punitive action difficult. Instead, the Pentagon may choose to seize the profits from his book.
Furthermore, with Americans growing more and more interested in “commando culture”, officials will probably crack down on similar accounts of military operations. “No Easy Day” could spur a movement to change policies regarding operator’s freedom to write about their experiences, making public access to firsthand descriptions effectively obsolete. So the question is: does the public have a right to the type of information contained in Bissonnette’s book? or are some secrets better kept secrets?
