According to the Associated Press, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta believes retired U.S. Navy SEAL Matt Bissonnette, who grew up in Alaska, should be prosecuted for his role in the just-released bestseller, "No Easy Day."
"I think we have to take steps to make clear to him and to the American people that we're not going to accept this kind of behavior," Panetta said in an interview with "CBS This Morning" about the book recounting the Pakistan raid in which Osama bin Laden was killed. "No Easy Day" is the top-selling e-book, according to Digital Book World.
"When someone who signs an obligation that he will not reveal the secrets of this kind of operation, and then does that and doesn't abide by the rules . . . it does indeed jeopardize operations and the lives of others that are involved in those operations," Panetta said.
Bissonnette, who goes by the pen name of Mark Owen, grew up in the southwest Alaska village of Aniak before joining the military.
Panetta told CBS' Norah O'Donnell that if the Defense Department failed to take action, "then everybody else who pledges . . . is gonna get the wrong signal that somehow they can do it without any penalty to be paid."
Penguin Group publicist Christine Ball says Bissonnette isn't doing interviews.
"Once his name broke, we decided not to pursue other media due to security reasons," The Washington Times reported.
See Panetta's interview with "CBS This Morning" here.