As I compiled video assets for this piece, I came across something unusual. I searched for a video of the Wolf Blitzer interview with Admiral McRaven that has been widely quoted here and by others.
There is video of the interview, but the section where McRaven compliments Obama and sets Blitzer straight on the fact that the president ordered the raid is not included.
Missing from the online CNN video:
MCRAVEN: I mean, and this is not a small point. The fact of the matter is it was the president of the United States that ordered the raid.
...
And of course the president gave me ample time to prepare once the concept was approved. But at the end of the day, make no mistake about it, it was the president of the United States that shouldered the burden for this operation, that made the hard decisions, that was instrumental in the planning process, because I pitched every plan to him.
So any indication that Bill McRaven ordered this raid, led this raid was, you know, the key piece of this raid is just patently false.
Perhaps an intern accidentally (cough, cough) deleted the first part, or all of the cameras at CNN were broken for just that moment (nudge nudge, wink wink),
or Wolf Blitzer is a tool.