US military calls controversial book on Osama's death 'a lie'

Washington - The US military has denounced a former Navy SEAL's book that describes the raid that killed Osama bin Laden, saying the book and the events mentioned are 'not true'.

Filled with conspiracy theories and attacks on the Obama White House, Chuck Pfarrer's SEAL Target Geronimo claims an alternative version of the raid in which the SEAL team shot Osama within 90 seconds of arriving at the Pakistan compound where the al-Qaeda mastermind was holed up.

Pfarrer, whose book broke into Amazon's top 20 book sales list last week, claimed the White House had issued a fictional and damaging account of the raid that made the SEALs looks inept.

US Special Operations Command spokesman Colonel Tim Nye, however, countered Pfarrer's claims, issuing an on-the-record denial on behalf of Navy SEAL Admiral Bill McRaven, who took command of all special operations this summer

"This is a fabrication. It's just not true," the Sydney Morning Herald quoted Colonel Nye, as saying.

He said Admiral McRaven was concerned the book would lead Americans to doubt the administration's version of events. He also disputed Pfarrer's portrayal of friction between the CIA and the military special operations forces who carried out the raid.

"We have never come forward and gone after an author and say that is a lie. That tells you how far off the mark we believe this book is," Colonel Nye said.

Colonel Nye said Pfarrer had no access to any troops connected to the mission, adding that there would be no investigation into whether individual SEALs spoke to Pfarrer because his 'account is so off-base'.