Media | Navy SEALs Navy SEAL Who Wrote bin Laden Book Identified Pentagon officials confirm Fox News report By John Johnson Posted Aug 23, 2012 5:01 PM CDT Copied This book cover image released by Dutton shows "No Easy Day: The Firsthand Account of the Mission that Killed Osama Bin Laden," by Mark Owen (pseudonym) with Kevin Maurer. (AP Photo/Dutton) The former Navy SEAL who wrote a firsthand account of the Osama bin Laden raid did so under a pseudonym and was supposed to remain anonymous for safety reasons. That lasted less than a day: Military officials have confirmed that the author is 36-year-old Alaska native Matt Bissonnette, reports the New York Times. The development came after Fox News first reported his identity this afternoon. Some reaction: Daily Intel wonders whether Fox would have been outraged had a mainstream source ID'd the author. "Of course, if this particular Navy SEAL was super concerned about maintaining his privacy, he probably wouldn't have written a blockbuster book about the most famous special forces operation in American history." Politico blogger Dylan Byers understands the intent for anonymity, "but if you write a book about killing Osama bin Laden, the America public is going to want to know your name." Read These Next White House rolls with Trump's 'daddy' nickname. Trumps ends trade talks with Canada. New York Times ranks the best movies of the 21st century. A man has been deported for kicking an airport customs beagle. Report an error