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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| The Shooter: the anonymous man who killed Osama bin Laden | The Shooter: the anonymous man who killed Osama bin Laden |
| (about 2 months later) | |
| Age: Classified. | Age: Classified. |
| Appearance: Classified. | Appearance: Classified. |
| Who is he? The Navy Seal who shot Osama bin Laden. | Who is he? The Navy Seal who shot Osama bin Laden. |
| I thought a lot of people shot Bin Laden? They did. But this guy shot him first, three times, in the forehead, at which point further shots were arguably redundant. | I thought a lot of people shot Bin Laden? They did. But this guy shot him first, three times, in the forehead, at which point further shots were arguably redundant. |
| And his age and appearance are classified? Yup. Along with anything that might result in his identity being revealed and him and his family being kidnapped and killed. | And his age and appearance are classified? Yup. Along with anything that might result in his identity being revealed and him and his family being kidnapped and killed. |
| Can you at least tell me his name? No, of course not. Just call him the Shooter. | Can you at least tell me his name? No, of course not. Just call him the Shooter. |
| Fine. What's the Shooter up to now? He has told all. Or plenty, at least, to journalist Phil Bronstein, who has written a short novel of an article about him for US magazine Esquire. | Fine. What's the Shooter up to now? He has told all. Or plenty, at least, to journalist Phil Bronstein, who has written a short novel of an article about him for US magazine Esquire. |
| Revealing what? His thoughts in the seconds before and after Bin Laden died; how he was struck by how tall the world's most wanted man was, and how skinny, and how short his beard was; and how, as the Shooter watched him die, he thought: "Is this the best thing I've ever done, or the worst thing I've ever done? This is real and that's him. Holy shit." | Revealing what? His thoughts in the seconds before and after Bin Laden died; how he was struck by how tall the world's most wanted man was, and how skinny, and how short his beard was; and how, as the Shooter watched him die, he thought: "Is this the best thing I've ever done, or the worst thing I've ever done? This is real and that's him. Holy shit." |
| Is the whole piece about killing Bin Laden? Far from it. | Is the whole piece about killing Bin Laden? Far from it. |
| Aww. Shame. Any other good killings in it? Not really. The focus is on the Shooter's life in the aftermath of that night in Abbottabad. | Aww. Shame. Any other good killings in it? Not really. The focus is on the Shooter's life in the aftermath of that night in Abbottabad. |
| Boring! Let me guess: a quiet mansion somewhere secret, safe and hot? Nothing like. He retired three years short of the threshold to qualify for a military pension. | Boring! Let me guess: a quiet mansion somewhere secret, safe and hot? Nothing like. He retired three years short of the threshold to qualify for a military pension. |
| Meaning what? Meaning the man who shot Osama bin Laden receives no income from the state, no health insurance and no protection, and leaves with little more to show for his service than "arthritis, tendonitis, eye damage and blown discs", a struggling marriage, a long wait to have his disability claims assessed, and a lifetime of looking over his shoulder. | Meaning what? Meaning the man who shot Osama bin Laden receives no income from the state, no health insurance and no protection, and leaves with little more to show for his service than "arthritis, tendonitis, eye damage and blown discs", a struggling marriage, a long wait to have his disability claims assessed, and a lifetime of looking over his shoulder. |
| Yeah, but he gets to say: "I killed Bin Laden, dude." True. But he can't put that on his CV. | Yeah, but he gets to say: "I killed Bin Laden, dude." True. But he can't put that on his CV. |
| Do say: "We will remember them." | Do say: "We will remember them." |
| Don't say: "But we won't help with their bills." | Don't say: "But we won't help with their bills." |
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