Confusion Growing About Details Surrounding Bin Laden's Death

This is a rush transcript from "Hannity," May 4, 2011. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

SEAN HANNITY, HOST: Aside from the debate over the proof of the death photos, confusion is growing about the details of the raid that resulted in bin Laden's death. White House Press Secretary Jay Carney pretty much summed up the administration's position yesterday.

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JAY CARNEY, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I apologize, even I'm getting confused.

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HANNITY: Well, Jay, we share your frustration. In particular, administration officials have said repeatedly that a fire fight took place at bin Laden's Pakistani compound. And Jay Carney himself echoed that story.

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CARNEY: They were engaged in a fire fight...

CARNEY: Following the fire fight, the noncombatants were moved to a safe location...

CARNEY: And in the aftermath of this fire fight...

CARNEY: And there was a fire fight...

CARNEY: Again, it was a highly volatile fire fight...

CARNEY: But there was a fire fight.

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HANNITY: All right. But today, Carney seemed a little confused when reporters raised questions about the consistency of their narrative.

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UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Jay, you talked yesterday a lot about fire fight. Who was it that was shooting back at the U.S. commandos?

CARNEY: We have, as you know, since the moment this operation became public, been as helpful as we can be to provide as much information as we can. And, in terms of the operational details, we have gotten to the point where we cannot cross lines because of the necessity for -- to preserving the methods and operational techniques and capabilities of the kinds of forces that were used in this case.

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HANNITY: Can you decipher that? Looks like somebody learned a thing or two from Robert Gibbs.

So, if no fire fight took place what exactly are the circumstances surrounding bin Laden's death? And joining me with analysis, the host of War Stories right here on this network, Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North.

Colonel, welcome back, sir.

OLIVER NORTH, HOST, "WAR STORIES": Good to be with you, Sean.

HANNITY: It's a good day. I see that smile on your face.

Look, I don't know how much -- I don't care. We got bin Laden. That to me is important.

NORTH: You got it.

HANNITY: But they did say that he was hiding behind a woman. They did say he was reaching for weapons. They did say they were being fired upon. All these things now have shifted and changed that I'm having a hard time understanding it. Your thoughts.

NORTH: Well, I think there is a lot of filters between the guys who actually carried this out and the folks that have to stand up and talk about it. The bottom line of the entire operation is, and it's a good one, that we no longer have to face any kind of a threat from bin Laden and retribution has been effective. Justice has been served.

Now, under the exact width circumstances, I have been on a lot of these kinds of missions, Sean, and there is a lot happening and a lot of different people see things very differently.

HANNITY: All right. I want to go to the issue the White House has made this decision not to release this photo. They don't want to spike the football in the end zone but, yet, the president will take a victory lap at Ground Zero tomorrow. And, by the way, I support his decision. And we should tell the world. We need to show the world.

Like, we are looking at these photos that Reuters had tonight. Now, they are gruesome. We warn children not to watch them. A lot of blood. It's gory. I know he was shot in the head. But the rationale is what bothers me the most, Colonel, and the rationale seems to be that by releasing this photo, we will incite people that already hate us. And we put a bullet in the guy's brain. I think they already hate us.

NORTH: Well, there is no doubt that they hate us. And there is no doubt that we have got people like United States Army soldier, Bowe Bergdahl who is currently being held by the Taliban. I would not want to be the reason why they used to show us the video of his head being removed. And they are certainly capable of doing that kind of thing.

Second of all, if I were one of those U.S. Navy SEALs on that operation, I would not want to have evidence that they would use against me in some kind of international criminal court. And you and I both know that that's a kind of thing that happens in this crazy world we live in.

So, not releasing the photos of bin Laden, quite frankly, I think to satisfy the -- and interest of a lot of different people, when we know he is dead, and there is no need to go any further about it, I don't think you need the photos.

HANNITY: Well, I actually think the world does need the photos. And by the way, I have full confidence. I have every belief, 100 percent sure that they got him. I think it would send a message to every two bit dictator around the world.

You know, one of the things that frustrate me though is they already -- the enemy already hated us. And it seems like this hypersensitivity as it relates to the photo, America can handle the photos we showed. Even if he is shot in the face, and it's gruesome, we handled Uday and Qusay, and Saddam Hussein's hanging.

But when you look at the burial on a warship where they say he is not a Muslim but he gets, you know, Islamic custom, buried within 24 hours, dumped at sea after his body is washed. He is put in a shroud, 45 minute funeral translated into Arabic, seems overboard to me.

NORTH: Well, but, again, you are dealing with an administration that is very, very politically correct. And so I'm glad that there is not a body in some memorial, you know, garden some place where people can go and rally around it and use that to instill, perhaps, more terrorism for decades to come. I'm glad the body is gone. I don't think, quite frankly, we needed to have it, you know, parked in some, as I say, memorial garden somewhere.

Second of all, we know that this is a very politically correct administration. We know that he is going to take the victory lap up at ground zero tomorrow. We should have expected he would capitalize on this.

Let me make an observation about the mission itself. There has been a lot of credit given and I think appropriately so, for a bold decision. It was not a courageous decision, quite frankly, a jay dam being dropped in the midst of 75,000 Pakistani soldiers and more than 100 retired and active duty military officers in the Pakistani army would work seriously to our disadvantage.

So, the options he had was, one, do nothing, or, number two, do this. I'm glad he did it.

HANNITY: But he had to rely on policies he himself opposed.

NORTH: And he still opposes.

HANNITY: This wouldn't have happened. You know, enhanced interrogations. We will get into this later at Gitmo. You know, the black sites, et cetera, et cetera, rendition.

NORTH: Look, and he is still opposed to it apparently according to his -- he still does not think it's an appropriate thing. We ought to be thanking George W. Bush for having implemented those enhanced interrogation procedures, which by the way, are not torture but, nonetheless, were effective in making sure this information got started so we can conduct this operation.

HANNITY: Colonel North, great to see you. I appreciate your time, your insight.

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