London: The new book penned by a member of the US Navy SEAL team, giving a first-person account of the killing of Osama bin Laden in a raid at his hideout in Pakistan, is not an ‘authorised narrative’ produced with the cooperation of government officials, White House and US military officials have said.
The book, ‘No Easy Day: The Firsthand Account of the Mission That Killed Osama bin Laden’, which is scheduled to be released on September 11 this year, triggered fresh questions about the possible public release of classified information, involving the assassination of the former al Qaeda chief in his Abbottabad compound, The Guardian reports.
“I haven`t read the book and am unaware that anyone in the Department has reviewed it,” Pentagon spokesman George Little told Politico.
Agencies like the CIA routinely review sensitive books by employees or ex-employees to avoid disclosure of material that could jeopardise national security, but in this case, no review by government officials took place, Politico said.
Pentagon officials claimed that they are aware of who the author was, adding that he was no longer on active duty with the US military.
“The author is no longer on active duty, however we remain concerned about the release of classified information and would defer to the [Justice Department] if it is determined that classified information is revealed in the book,” military spokesman James Gregory said.
The bin Laden raid in Abbottabad, Pakistan has emerged as a flash point for critics who have charged that the White House has politicised the raid by leaking selective details to reporters and filmmakers.
ANI
