Having the US NAVY SEALs "brand" nowadays seems to be a gold mine ever since the DEVGRU/SEAL Team Six took down Osama Bin Laden during their much praised raid in Abbottabad, Pakistan this year. We have anticipated movies, reenactments, merchandizing (with Disney copyrighting SEAL Team Six), and of course books. There's a rush to have all things related to the unit profitable, and it's not really a wonder that even if one year has not passed, an "insider's story" of the take down has been written.

In this case "SEAL Target Geronimo: The Inside Story of the Mission to Kill Osama bin Laden" is the book in the spotlight. Written by Chuck Pfarrer, the book is touted to be an authoritative account of the raid. It's hard not to ignore this book, especially for avid readers of military history, Chuck Pfarrer is former US Navy SEAL, having spent 8 years with the unit and was an Assault Element Commander of DEVGRU, and was one of leaders of the SEAL Team who were tasked to cpature the PLF hijackers of the italian cruise liner Achille Lauro in 1985, in which one American hostage was killed.

Except that this book has become controversial, with the US Special Operations Command calling it as a work of fiction, and more of being a book of conspiracy theories and a political swipe at President Obama and the White House. I cannot say much about the book as I was held back to purchasing it with this controversy. But what is said by some of those who have been involved in the operation say that what the book says is not exactly what happened.

The spokesman of the US Special Operations Command, Col. Tim Nye, says that it is a fabrication as he spoke on the record for Navy SEAL Admiral Bill MacRaven and who is now the overall commander of special operations this year. Unfortunately for Pfarrer, special operations leaders do not support his account. Moreso, the Associated Press found some errors in the book:

"But Pfarrer gets a multitude of facts wrong in describing events that are part of the public record. For instance, Pfarrer states that Obama appointed McRaven as the first Navy SEAL to head JSOC in April of this year. McRaven was actually appointed to that post in early 2008 by President George W. Bush. He states that the Army Special Forces Green Berets were established in 1962, instead of 1952. When U.S. special operations forces rehearsed for the famous Son Tay Raid in Vietnam in 1970, they trained at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida, not Offutt in Nebraska."

Is it profiteering on the part of the author to come out with an "insider's story" of the raid to take down Bin Laden? It can be as the author himself is now more of a screenwriter and author of books and thus, writing his bread and butter. While he does some contract work with the NSWC for training with his security company, Acme Ballistics, that's the only credential he has left after leaving the service. With the DEVGRU being a tight-lipped group while in active service, it would be such a disrespect to them if this books is really confirmed to be a work of fiction.

Surely the controversy would bring more attention to the book. As to it will become a bestseller, I cannot say, though controversies usually bring about more sales. So far, it only has 2 and half stars from customer reviews at Amazon.com as of this writing.

Will I buy the book? No. Some military events usually clear up after several years or even decades. The takedown of Bin Laden, while there are official stories about it, there will still be a lot of accounts that will remain classified and hidden away from the public. Even military historians will have to wait until such files will be declassified. I am not here to say to you that you should not buy the book, but if you do, keep an open mind. If you know your military history, then it's wise to compare the author's accounts to what you know are definitive facts in military history.

Apart from that, finding out that Pfarrer is the screenwriter of the movie "Navy SEALs" starred in by Charlie Sheen, is also  one reason that set me back from buying it.