Ex Navy SEAL Osama Bin Laden Death Raid Book Jeopardizes National Security

Next month a controversial book written by a former member of the US Navy SEAL Team Six about the raid that killed Osama bin Laden will be released on the eleventh anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

No Easy Day: The Firsthand Account of the Mission That Killed Osama bin Laden, published under the penname, Matt Owen, is an eye-witness account of what happened the night the Al-Qaeda leader was captured and killed. Military sources say that the book has not yet been reviewed by the Department of Defense, which routinely analyzes books to guarantee that military secrets are not leaked to the public.

Fox News identified the writer as 36-year-old retired Navy SEAL Matt Bissonnette on Thursday. Now that his identity is out in the open, Bissonnette could face legal problems for releasing what could potentially be compromising military information.

The publisher Dutton, a branch of Penguin Books, took extra precautions to protect the author’s identity, considering the nature of the book. But voice-changing technology and name changes will not be necessary, as the author’s true identity has already been uncovered.

"It is time to set the record straight about one of the most important missions in U.S. military history," writes Bissonnette in the book.

But fellow SEALs worry that the book discloses sensitive information about past and future missions. A SEAL told Fox News, "How do we tell our guys to stay quiet when this guy won't?"   

Bissonnette has been criticized for the legality of the subject matter of the book. If the Pentagon decides that No Easy Day releases classified information about the military, Bissonnette could face prosecution.

Despite the negative backlash, Bissonnette met with director Steven Spielberg and HBO’s Richard Plepler to discuss adapting the book into a movie.

The former SEAL’s book chronicles the experience of training for one of the most important military operations in modern American history, but its announcement comes right after a campaign condemning President Barack Obama for releasing classified details of the operation and for using bin Laden’s death to his advantage in the election season.

Astoundingly, No Easy Day topped book sale charts on Amazon, and is currently the No. 1 bestseller on the site, outselling Fifty Shades of Grey in presales alone. Readers are anxious to get their hands on what could be the most authentic account of the night that bin Laden was killed by U.S. forces.