SEALs debate merits of bin Laden book

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WASHINGTON, Sept. 7 (UPI) -- A controversial book on the raid in Pakistan to kill Osama bin Laden has prompted a debate among special forces about their public image.

"No Easy Day," an account of the now-famous operation to kill the al-Qaida leader, has military officials debating a fundamental question: How much should be said publicly about what they do? A CNN report highlighted the argument.

Senior officials in the Navy SEAL outfit were outraged at the book's author, Matt Bissonnette, for seemingly taking a bow and breaking a long-held code of silence about their work.

"We do not advertise the nature of our work, nor do we seek recognition for our actions," said Rear Adm. Sean Pybus in a letter to the 2,500 SEALs in his command after the book came out.

Other military leaders focused on the breach in trust within the chain of command -- all the way up to President Barack Obama, about of whom Bissonnette's book says SEAL team members did not always speak fondly.

"That's just 'team talk' around the fire," an unidentified Army special operations leader told CNN, arguing those conversations should have been kept private.

Others in the CNN account took umbrage with what they see as the Obama administration leaking classified details of the bin Laden raid for political gain. In the introduction to his book, Bissonnette writes, "This book will finally give credit to those who earned it."