ALTERNATE HISTORY

Hersh: White House Lied About bin Laden

Article alleges different account of death.

A controversial report published Sunday contends that the White House lied about how the U.S. killed Osama bin Laden in a 2011 raid in Pakistan. Investigative journalist Seymour Hersh alleges President Barack Obama’s official account of how the Navy SEALs killed bin Laden in a firefight was fabricated. Citing an unnamed senior intelligence official with knowledge of the raid, Hersh claims that bin Laden was not in hiding when U.S. agents located him, but had been held captive by Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) since 2006. A former senior Pakistan intelligence officer allegedly alerted U.S. embassy personnel in exchange for $25 million, Hersh writes. The article also purports that “there was no firefight as they moved into the compound; the ISI guards had gone.” Hersh’s claims rely mostly on a single unnamed source, sources “inside Pakistan,” and two consultants to Special Operations Command who had access to corroborating information.