http://edge.********.com/80281E/s/s/19/media19/2012/Feb/27/********-dot-com-7da1081fe150-osama-bin-laden.jpg.resized.jpg?d5e8cc8eccfb6039332f41f6249e92b06c91b4db65f5e99818bad4964944dcdeb552&ec_rate=300
Osama Bin Laden was in routine contact with several senior figures from Pakistan's military intelligence agency while in hiding in the country, according to a large cache of secret intelligence files.
The
disclosure was contained in emails from the private American security company, Stratfor, which were published by WikiLeaks website yesterday (Monday) after being obtained by the Anonymous hacking group.
Stratfor provides analysis of world affairs to major corporations, military officials and government agencies and was once likened by an American business magazine to a "shadow CIA".
According to one of the emails,
the company was shown the information papers collected from bin Laden's Abbotabad compound after the US special forces attack last May that resulted in his death. The e-mail, from a Stratfor analyst, suggested that up to 12 officials in Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency knew of the al-Qaeda leader's safe house.
The internal email did not name the Pakistani officials involved but said the US could use the information as a bargaining chip in negotiations with Islamabad after the raid.
American officials have always believed it was impossible for the ISI not to have known that Bin Laden was sheltering in a garrison town so close to Islamabad. Pakistan has repeatedly dismissed the charge.
"Mid to senior level ISI and Pak Mil with one retired Pak Mil General that had knowledge of the OBL arrangements and safehouse," the email said of the officers involved. "I get a very clear sense we (US intel) know names and ranks."
WikiLeaks claimed to have five million Stratfor emails that it would publish in collaboration with media outlets. HOnly 200 were released in the first lot.
Other revelations from the emails included the suggestion that Hugo Chavez, Venezuela's president, may have less than a year to live after his cancer spread to the colon and bone marrow.
Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks founder, accused Stratfor of involvement in wide range of legally or morally questionable research activities for corporations.
Stratfor rejected claims that there was anything improper in the way it handled information gathered. "Stratfor has worked to build good sources in many countries around the world, as any publisher of global geopolitical analysis would do," the company said. "We have done so in a straightforward manner and we are committed to meeting the highest standards of professional conduct."
Revealed! Osama had frequent contact with senior Pak intelligence & military figures - World - DNA
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Here is the original email exchange that was hacked by Anonymous from Stratfor
http://wikileaks.org/gifiles/docs/1146487_re-obl-take-quick-response-needed-.html
Re: OBL take -- quick response needed
Email-ID 1146487
Date 2011-05-14 01:47:27
From
burton@stratfor.com
To
bokhari@stratfor.com,
sean.noonan@stratfor.com,
secure@stratfor.com
ISI should know by now since they have the homeowner. There is much more
to the story on The Courier which ISI doesn't know.
On 5/13/2011 6:18 PM, Kamran Bokhari wrote:
You know this reminds me of a discussion I had on NPR's Diane Rehm Show
back in July '07. I was on with Peter Brookes (former deputy assistant
secretary of defense for Asian and Pacific affairs in the second Bush
administration) and the State Dept's current CT Coordinator, Daniel
Benjamin. These two guys kept saying how ObL was in the tribal belt
while I argued that he was much deeper in K-P province. God knows how
many years were wasted chasing the sob in the tribal belt.
On 5/13/2011 7:04 PM, Fred Burton wrote:
The investigative key would be two prong to uncover the links to ****
ISI and Mil:
1) The Homeowner
2) The Courier
Both are known quantities.
On 5/13/2011 5:56 PM, Kamran Bokhari wrote:
Could be anyone of Lt. Col or below rank. Then again it could be a
retired military officer still serving as a civie in the
directorate. Or a consultant/contractor who work in the field. Or
even a civilian official (60 percent are civilians in the ISI).
Since most army officers including the chief are deputed to the ISI
for a max of 3 years, we are really talking about people who are
career intel officers. Then there is a large cadre of retired army
personnel outside the security establishment. Good luck sifting
through the jungle.
On 5/13/2011 5:29 PM, Fred Burton wrote:
Not further specified. But, it may help explain why the ISI chief
has offered to resign, which is the noble way out. He can be the
fall guy for domestic consumption. It would be best if he
defected.
On 5/13/2011 4:23 PM, Kamran Bokhari wrote:
What does source mean by mid to senior level. As for retired, I
can think of a number of them. So, that is not really
surprising.
On 5/13/2011 2:27 PM,
burton@stratfor.com wrote:
Same response as before:
Mid to senior level ISI and Pak Mil with one retired Pak Mil
General that had knowledge of the OBL arrangements and safe
house.
Names unk to me and not provided.
Specific ranks unk to me and not provided.
But, I get a very clear sense we (US intel) know names and
ranks.
I also do not know if we have passed this info to the GOP.
If I was in command, I would not pass the info to the GOP,
because we can't trust them. I would piece meal the names off
and bury in a list of other non-related names for internal ISI
traces in a non-alerting fashion, to see what the Pakis tell
us.
I may also trade one or two names for the captured tail
rudder.
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Fred Burton
Date: Fri, 13 May 2011 12:22:31 -0500 (CDT)
To: Kamran Bokhari
Cc: Sean Noonan; Secure
List
Subject: Re: OBL take -- quick response needed
I may be able to get that, let me ask.
On 5/13/2011 12:21 PM, Kamran Bokhari wrote:
No surprises here. We will never find out their departments
but their ranks would be very telling.
On 5/13/2011 11:19 AM, Sean Noonan wrote:
awesome. Please see what you can find out about what kind
of department they are in, or area they cover.
On 5/13/11 9:58 AM, Fred Burton wrote:
More on # 3 --
Several w/in ISI and Pak Mil, less than 12.
More on this later.
On 5/12/2011 3:26 PM, Sean Noonan wrote:
1 specific operational plans
2 communications with franchise groups (like AQAP)
3 connections to anyone associated with the Pakistani state
------Original Message------
From: Fred Burton
To: Secure List
Subject: OBL take -- quick response needed
Sent: May 12, 2011 15:25
I can get access to the materials seized from the OBL safe house.
What are the top (not 45) questions we want addressed?
--
Sean Noonan
Tactical Analyst
Office: +1 512-279-9479
Mobile: +1 512-758-5967
Strategic Forecasting, Inc.
www.stratfor.com
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