Pulitzer Prize winner Seymour Hersh has responded to the criticism he has received over an essay he wrote about the May 2, 2011 assasination of al-Quaeda founder Osama bin Laden that contradicted major White House claims.
In the 10,000-word essay for the London Review of Books, Hersh wrote that everything U.S. President Barack Obama told the entire world regarding the assasination was a lie, in that bin Laden was actually handicapped and the U.S. and Pakistan worked together to conceal what really took place, according to a report from News.com.au.
Hersh then accused both Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence Agency director general and the Pakistani army chief of staff of having full knowledge of the mission as well as receiving restitution so they could participate in the cover-up.
Hersh spent four years writing the essay, with his primary source being a retired senior intelligence official whose name was not disclosed to the public.
Since then a multitude of people have responded to Hersh's claims, from the White House to social media users.
Hersh seemed unaffected by the backlash, telling CNN, "I've been around a long time. I understand the consequences of saying what I'm saying." But he added he would not mind it if he was proven wrong. "Nobody's perfect. Of course everybody's done bad stories."
