What exactly happened during the raid that killed Osama bin Laden? Mark Bissonnette, a Navy SEAL who participated in the mission, has written No Easy Day, his own account that differs from the official version from the Obama administration. Here's a further behind-the-scenes look at the military's elite unit in action.
In a world where enemies who agree to wear black hats are hard to come by, the military and President Obama have begun to lean on the highly trained, whip-smart services of elite Special Forces units. While other budgets are shrinking, funding for special ops has doubled since 2001; in the same time, the numbers of deployments has quadrupled. Admiral William H. McRaven, who heads the Special Operations Command, is seizing the moment, asking for expanded authority to conduct the lightning-fast, pinprick strikes that have laid low al-Qaeda operatives and Somali pirates alike. At the same time, McRaven is working to increase the Special Forces’ media profile, arguing for increased transparency and signing off on a feature film, ‘Act of Valor,’ that will star active Navy SEALs.