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NO EASY DAY

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jhmd2000

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Anybody read this yet? I am about 1/2 way through. Curious to see the Board's thoughts on the book as a whole and the decision by news outlets to release his real identity.
 
Haven't read it yet, but I plan too. Let me know what you think.

I don't think he has much of beef about publicity regarding his name, since he wasn't supposed to write a book in the first place. If you try to cash in on your secret access to something, you can't expect to retain anonymity.
 
ArlingtonDeac said:
Haven't read it yet, but I plan too. Let me know what you think.

I don't think he has much of beef about publicity regarding his name, since he wasn't supposed to write a book in the first place. If you try to cash in on your secret access to something, you can't expect to retain anonymity.
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He opens with all of the steps he's taken to obscure tradecraft, classified info, etc. He says he hired outside counsel frequently retained by DoD to scrub the book prior to publication, but I have no idea why he didn't run it through the stovepipe. He probably thought they would sit on it until after the election, which, while almost certaintly true, is no excuse.
 
I've read about a third of it and it was surprisingly less politically slanted than I expected. The typical military griping about bureaucracy, but not the scathing indictment of President Obama that some portrayed it to be.
 
Liquid Karma said:
I've read about a third of it and it was surprisingly less politically slanted than I expected. The typical military griping about bureaucracy, but not the scathing indictment of President Obama that some portrayed it to be.
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That's my impression so far as well. First, this guy and his buddies are absolute bad asses. If 1/3 of this stuff he says is true happened, holy cow. Second, he's true to his promise that the book isn't designed to scathe anyone. This book isn't going to last the night.
 
I gotta get this one and the book by the sniper. I'm still slugging through the last Dragon Tatt book, ugh. He's adding new characters and shit, wtf dead Swede.
 
Just finished it. His account of the coup-de-grace was much more low key than the initial official versions. I was surprised how little defenses they had set up at the compound. I guess they figured that ten years out, hundreds of miles from the nearest US base and under cover of Pakistani radar, they were either a) completely safe or b) completely f'ed, depending. He said OBL had about 20 minutes notice from the time of the crash and breaching of the interior, two guns in the room and didn't even have a round chambered. <insert feline epithet here>

The author went easy on the President, but it's not hard to tell how he feels. POTUS had made a passing reference to having the guys to the residence for a beer, and he (the author) wanted to do it. A few weeks later he started asking around, "Hey, did anything ever come of that beer?" Response: "You probably voted for change, too, didn't you? Sucker."

This book also features a pretty amusing supporting role played by a marital aid. You'll have to read that one for yourself.
 
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Just finished the book. If you like to read war stories, this is a great book to read. The OBL raid is only about half of the book. The other parts are about his training and several other accounts of different raids. He does an excellent job of painting a vivid picture in your head as you read with many details.

Also, I must say after reading, I don't know what Washington is bitching about. Other than telling the obvious things like Seals calling their moves as they enter a building or whatnot, nothing he said sounded secret. All of the raids he talked about were stuff we already knew about (like the capt. Phillips rescue) or raids where we'd see the headlines reading "US Military conducts raid that leaves 17 enemy fighters dead".
 
piratedeac92 said:
Just finished the book. If you like to read war stories, this is a great book to read. The OBL raid is only about half of the book. The other parts are about his training and several other accounts of different raids. He does an excellent job of painting a vivid picture in your head as you read with many details.

Also, I must say after reading, I don't know what Washington is bitching about. Other than telling the obvious things like Seals calling their moves as they enter a building or whatnot, nothing he said sounded secret. All of the raids he talked about were stuff we already knew about (like the capt. Phillips rescue) or raids where we'd see the headlines reading "US Military conducts raid that leaves 17 enemy fighters dead".
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Ditto on that. Amazing what happens when you let the facts roll in, isn't it?
 
Yeah. I think if someone up there even read the book past the front cover they would shut up.
 
Generalize much Bob? War history and recounting it is part of what helps the general populace maintain perspective on war when a vast majority of US citizens live a 100% civilian life. I love war history, it is a hobby I am most passionate about. I'm also an anti-war/anti-violence advocate.
 
bobknightfan said:
How and why has this nation become so fascinated with war, killing, violence, weapons, etc? There was a time when things like the Peace Corps engendered pride in our country. These days, people are more interested in how powerful our military firepower can become. We are more interested in killing our perceived enemies than we are in feeding our friends. To me, that is sad....and does not speak well for us as a nation.
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Peace Corps 2: The Food Drop would be a sucky video game.
 
bobknightfan said:
How and why has this nation become so fascinated with war, killing, violence, weapons, etc? There was a time when things like the Peace Corps engendered pride in our country. These days, people are more interested in how powerful our military firepower can become. We are more interested in killing our perceived enemies than we are in feeding our friends. To me, that is sad....and does not speak well for us as a nation.
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:tard:
 
Where are you getting that these people that "practically have orgasms" are representative of the US population? Where is your survey data?
 
I completely disagree that anywhere close to a majority of the US population has that mindset. But I don't have any data on that, just a "gut" feeling.
 
bobknightfan said:
How and why has this nation become so fascinated with war, killing, violence, weapons, etc? There was a time when things like the Peace Corps engendered pride in our country. These days, people are more interested in how powerful our military firepower can become. We are more interested in killing our perceived enemies than we are in feeding our friends. To me, that is sad....and does not speak well for us as a nation.
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Thank God this is a recent development and the literary classics from ancient times like the Iliad, Odessey, Beowulf, and the Bible are devoid of war, killing, violence, and weapons. Furthermore, who knows how humanity would have ever evolved if hyrogliphics and cave drawings depicted weapons and violence.
 
jhmd2000 said:
Ditto on that. Amazing what happens when you let the facts roll in, isn't it?
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I have always sensed that the outrage over this stems from him trying to make a buck off Bin Laden (at the expense of his fellow SEALS) and talking about shit he just shouldn't be talking about.
 
DEACisGO said:
Generalize much Bob? War history and recounting it is part of what helps the general populace maintain perspective on war when a vast majority of US citizens live a 100% civilian life. I love war history, it is a hobby I am most passionate about. I'm also an anti-war/anti-violence advocate.
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Hemingway, Heller, Vonnegut, Crane, Shaara.

Americans didn't just start writing about war in 2003.
 
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