The Pakistani government, after being hammered by most western countries about the fact that Osama bin Laden was found just 100 miles from the nation's capital and in a city filled with military personnel, lashed out today with a claim that they reported the suspicious compound that housed bin Laden to U.S. intelligence officials all of the way back in 2009. Leon Panetta was put in charge of the CIA in February 2009.
From the report at DAWN:
Pakistan alerted the US to its suspicions about a compound where Osama bin Laden was found hiding as far back as 2009, Pakistani Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir said on Wednesday.
Bashir also hit out at “disquieting” comments by CIA Director Leon Panetta that US officials had ruled out informing Islamabad in advance about Sunday’s US raid on the Pakistani compound which led to the al Qaeda chief’s death.
Asked in a BBC radio interview about the compound in Abbottabad where the al Qaeda chief was discovered, Bashir said: “This particular location was pointed out by our intelligence quite some time ago to the US intelligence.
“Of course they have a much more sophisticated equipment to evaluate and to assess.”
“We had indicated this compound as far back as 2009 as a possible place,” Bashir added, although he added it was not known at the time bin Laden was hiding there and there were “millions” of other suspect locations.
I find it hard to believe that the CIA would dismiss a lead from Pakistani intelligence but if this claim isn't handled well by the Obama administration, it could lead to some serious egg on their face.
What Barack Hussein Obama is finding out is that being President isn't easy. Sure, he's basking in his new found role as a gunslinger and hero at the moment but these are the kind of allegations that can turn that into shit in a minute. Imagine if we had a legitimate lead for this compound and never followed up on it.
At the same time, the Pakistanis can be known to fudge things just a tad when people are putting the screws to them. The idea that they suspected the compound had terrorists in it and it sits in the same area as a military academy is ludicrous - that would be like the FBI suspecting a terrorist safehouse being located next to West Point and never doing anything about it.
Pakistan alerted US about compound in 2009: Bashir
LONDON: Pakistan alerted the US to its suspicions about a compound where Osama bin Laden was found hiding as far back as 2009, Pakistani Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir said on Wednesday.
Bashir also hit out at “disquieting” comments by CIA Director Leon Panetta that US officials had ruled out informing Islamabad in advance about Sunday’s US raid on the Pakistani compound which led to the al Qaeda chief’s death.
Asked in a BBC radio interview about the compound in Abbottabad where the al Qaeda chief was discovered, Bashir said: “This particular location was pointed out by our intelligence quite some time ago to the US intelligence.
“Of course they have a much more sophisticated equipment to evaluate and to assess.”
“We had indicated this compound as far back as 2009 as a possible place,” Bashir added, although he added it was not known at the time bin Laden was hiding there and there were “millions” of other suspect locations.
On Panetta’s comments, the Pakistani official said: “I know for sure that we have extended every cooperation to the US including the CIA as well as to other countries so far as the campaign against terror is concerned.
“In terms of success in what is called global anti-terror, Pakistan has played a pivotal role so it is a little disquieting when we hear comments like this.”
On the decision not to inform Pakistan about the raid, Panetta told Time magazine that “it was decided that any effort to work with the Pakistanis could jeopardise the mission: They might alert the targets.”
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