Who is Matt Bissonnette? Navy SEAL Author of bin Laden Book Outed

by NowPublic Staff | August 23, 2012 at 02:17 pm

14799 views | 2 Recommendations | 0 comments

Who is Matt Bissonnette? According to FOX, he is the author of a new book about the raid on Osama bin Laden.

A new book offering a first-hand look at the death of Osama bin Laden has raised more than a few eyebrows. The author, who wrote the book under the nom de plume Mark Owen, has been outed by FOX News.

According to FOX, the author's real name is Matt Bissonnette, a Navy SEAL who was a member of Seal Team Six, aka DEVGRU, that took part in the mission that killed Osama bin Laden.

Some sites have published what they claim is a Matt Bissonnette photo, which can be viewed here.

As you can imagine, some people aren't too thrilled to see the identity of a Navy SEAL become public knowledge.

Special Operations Command spokesman Col. Tim Nye said the retired SEAL could be endangered by being identified, which could also expose those active-duty SEALs the author worked with in the killing of bin Laden in Abbottabad, Pakistan last year.

However, some in the military aren't happy that the book was written in the first place.

One Navy SEAL told Fox News, "How do we tell our guys to stay quiet when this guy won't?" Other SEALs are expressing anger, with some going so far as to call him a "traitor."

One LA Times reporter suggested that the Pentagon may have leaked Bissonnette's name:

"Didn't take long for the Pentagon to out Matt Bissonnette, the Navy SEAL writing the bin Laden book. Was that a message?"

Who is Matt Bissonnette?

Bissonnette is from Wrangell, Alaska. In addition to the raid on bin Laden's compound, the 36-year-old was part of the mission to rescue an American kidnapped by Somali pirates.