General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Obama vs Hersh [View all]lovemydog
(11,833 posts)There are some Rashomon-type stories that are worth dissecting in great detail. Seymour Hersh's brilliant reporting on how the illegal bombing of Cambodia toward the end of the Vietnam War directly led to the rise of the horrific Khmer Rouge, Michael Lewis analyzing what led to the financial implosion in 2008, and more recently Niomi Klein's analysis of climate change and Thomas Pikkety's research on capitalism come to mind.
In this particular case, concerning all the aspects of the operation, I don't think the full truth will emerge in a stark and easily identifiable manner.
I respect Hersh as a writer but no writer does their best work every time out. This is an example of that. That's why David Remnick (editor of the New Yorker) didn't run the story and Hersh sold it to the London Review of Books. Exact undisputed details of the actual operation are impossible to achieve at this time. I do credit Hersh with bringing this to the public's attention.
I've seen and read some recent interviews with Hersh. He makes some good points, that his sources are known to his editors, and that he knows he can't reconstruct the entire story completely accurately. But the story itself is not that compelling, as journalism or entertainment.
What's of most significance to me is that the President and his team worked with a complex and rapidly changing dangerous situation and followed it through to the end. He did what he promised to do in his inauguration. Protect and defend our country from its sworn enemies. More may be revealed as time goes on, especially in books by key players in national security who may go on record. I think they will show the President and his team's precision, will and fortitude in executing a risky operation.