Saturday, November 08, 2014

IF YOU GET PAID ENOUGH, WHO CARES IF YOUR STORY'S DEBUNKED?

The new Sharyl Attkisson is self-proclaimed bin Laden killer Robert O'Neill. O'Neill, like Attkisson, is getting debunked all the way to the bank:
On Tuesday, Fox News will air a highly-anticipated documentary about a former Navy SEAL named Robert O'Neill, who claims to be the man who fired the shot that killed Osama bin Laden. Several of O'Neill's former brothers-in-arms are coming forward to say his story is way, way off....
Read the linked story (from the Daily Beast) for the details. The short version is that those who know the truth believe the "point man" -- the first man up the stairs in the compound -- fired the shot that killed bin Laden, and has since stuck to the SEAL code and remained anonymous, while many in the SEAL community grumble about O'Neill's grandstanding and declare his version of events "complete B-S.”

You might think that a guy like O'Neill would be reluctant to put a debunkable story like this out there -- but hey, presumably his check from Fox for that special has already cleared. And, of course, Fox's audience will believe whatever makes them feel good or self-righteously angry, so they'll watch the special anyway, however much its facts have been disputed, the same way they continue to buy Sharyl Attkisson's book (#34 at Amazon as I type this), even though her alleged video evidence of computer hacking has been widely debunked.

Attkisson released her video, then said she wasn't really sure it showed hacking after all. Who cared? Her book was already a bestseller. O'Neill made his claim, but now says this:
"The most important thing that I've learned in the last two years is to me it doesn't matter anymore if I am 'The Shooter.' The team got him," Robert O'Neill said in an audio interview with freelance journalist Alex Quade, a former CNN correspondent....

The killing of bin Laden will go down in history, O'Neill said. "But I don't care if I'm 'The Shooter,' and there are people who think I'm not. So whatever."
Yeah -- if the Fox check cleared, it's all good.

2 comments:

Ken_L said...

The trivia that people get agitated about never ceases to amaze. BTW I noticed over at "Daily Caller" that lots of conservatives believe the Obama got Osama narrative is a big fat lie. He died years before. Or he's still alive. Where's the photo of his body? And so what if members of Congress saw photos, like they'd be able to tell if they were genuine.

Their hatred of Obama is so deranged they'll even disrespect Heroes Who Served. Extraordinary.

Victor said...

Personally, I'd have preferred to have bin Laden brought here for trial.

But I understand why that probably wasn't ever going to happen.

As for this guy taking the credit for killing him, well, the fact that the other SEALS called BS on him, means that he did what he did for the money, while there was still money out there for a story.

People do, have done, and always will do, terrible things for money - and power.

As I read this, I realized that his story is far, far, from the most egregious example.

He was there, and that's enough for a book to sell - but the money is in the 'money shot' that killed Osama.

I won't read it.
I'm sure others will.