Bin Laden Death Story Stirs Controversy

Seymour Hersh is among the most legendary investigative journalists. So it was no surprise that Hersh's latest story, which claims the U.S. government lied extensively about the circumstances of Osama Bin Laden's death, drew a great deal of attention — spurring further reporting, and changing the landscape of what we know about the killing. Hersh said he spoke with anonymous sources in both the American and Pakistani intelligence communities — who told him that Pakistan had been holding Bin Laden for a considerable amount of time, and that Pakistan had given the raid its blessing after negotiations over U.S. military aid packages. The story received widespread criticism from administration officials and other national security journalists. But part of it was later backed up by a report from four of NBC's most respected reporters, which corroborated the story of a "walk-in" leading to the Bin Laden mission.