Panetta: Someone in Pakistan knew about bin Laden's hideout

[AbhimanyuShrivastav]

Someone in Pakistan knew about bin Laden's hideout: Panetta - The Times of India

WASHINGTON: US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta has said he still believes someone in authority in Pakistan knew where Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was hiding before the US raid on his hideout.

Bolstering his hunch were intelligence reports of Pakistani military helicopters passing over the compound in Abbottabad, near the Pakistani capital of Islamabad, where Navy Seals found and killed bin Laden last May, he said in a TV interview to air Sunday.

"I personally have always felt that somebody must have had some sense of what -- what was happening at this compound. Don't forget, this compound had 18 foot walls....It was the largest compound in the area. So you would have thought that somebody would have asked the question, 'What the hell's going on there?'," Panetta told CBS News.

Explaining why Pakistan was not made aware of the US raid on the compound, Panetta said:

"We had seen some military helicopters actually going over this compound. And for that reason, it concerned us that, if we, in fact, brought [Pakistan] into it, that -- they might...give bin Laden a heads up."

Asked whether he knows for sure that the government of Pakistan knew where bin Laden was, he said: "I don't have any hard evidence, so I can't say it for a fact. There's nothing that proves the case. But as I said, my personal view is that somebody somewhere probably had that knowledge."

Panetta also acknowledged that Shikal Afridi, the Pakistani doctor conducting health tests in the village in an effort to collect DNA and verify bin Laden's presence, was in fact working for the US. Afridi was arrested and charged with treason by the government of Pakistan.

"I'm very concerned about what the Pakistanis did with this individual... who in fact helped provide intelligence that was very helpful with regards to this operation," he said.

"He was not in any way treasonous towards Pakistan... Pakistan and the United States have a common cause here against terrorism... and for them to take this kind of action against somebody who was helping to go after terrorism, I just think is a real mistake on their part," he said.

 

[Bobshouse]

This doctor should be given a suitcase full of money and a parade for what he did. There is no doubt some people within the establishment knew what was going on, no doubt whatsoever. Any strategic thinker would of done the same as the US, I dont believe there is any person here who could guarantee OBL would not have been tipped off if this raid was announced.

 

[rohailmalhi]

haha............. Now i totally believe that they are really controlling people thoughts.

Forget it there was no Osama . They did the operation but there was nothing there on the ground.

All this failed Topi drama and nothing more.

 

[v9s]

"We had seen some military helicopters actually going over this compound. And for that reason, it concerned us that, if we, in fact, brought [Pakistan] into it, that -- they might...give bin Laden a heads up."

Oooh! Could it be because of the nearby PMA?

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

I dont believe there is any person here who could guarantee OBL would not have been tipped off if this raid was announced.

Complete BS - as has been pointed out several times already - Pakistan was the source of critical evidence that led to the courier that in turn led to the compound, along with being the country responsible for neutralizing hundreds of AQ leaders and members, such as KSM and Libbi.

The US decision to not inform Pakistan was out of paranoia, a desire to malign Pakistan and pressure it, and at the end a deceitful and illegal act.

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

OBL hideout: US Embassy counters Panetta's statements

By Web Desk
Published: January 29, 2012


ISLAMABAD: The US Embassy in Islamabad issued a statement on Sunday countering Defence Secretary Leon Panetta’s statement about Pakistani officials being aware of Osama bin Laden’s hideout.

Defense Department spokesman George Little, in the statement, clarified that Panetta’s interview aired by CBS was old and was recorded at the time when the Defence Ministry was unsure whether the Bin Laden network was present in Pakistan or not.

Little further said that Panetta, in the same interview, had also said that there was no proof that Pakistani government and the higher authorities were aware of Bin Laden’s whereabouts.

He added that Panetta, along with other officials, are working for the betterment of ties with Pakistan that were strained after the US operation in Abbottabad that killed al Qaeda chief Bin Laden on May 2.

In an interview with CBS’s “60 Minutes”, Panetta said that he still believed someone in authority in Pakistan knew where Bin Laden was hiding before US forces went in to find him.

Intelligence reports found that Pakistani military helicopters had passed over the compound in Abbottabad, according to the interview.
OBL hideout: US Embassy counters Panetta’s statements – The Express Tribune

==============

And what exactly does a 'military helicopter passing over the compound' indicate?

Was it a surveillance flight or was the compound merely in flight path?

 

[cheekybird]

ARGHhhhh....leon panetta nobody knew abt obl hideout except ur cia....coz they were the 1 who hid him in 1st place so....stfu!!!!

 

[AbhimanyuShrivastav]

Complete BS - as has been pointed out several times already - Pakistan was the source of critical evidence that led to the courier that in turn led to the compound, along with being the country responsible for neutralizing hundreds of AQ leaders and members, such as KSM and Libbi.

The US decision to not inform Pakistan was out of paranoia, a desire to malign Pakistan and pressure it, and at the end a deceitful and illegal act.

But wasnt that information passed to CIA by ISI without realizing the importance of it. ? I remember reading a thread on this forum to that effect.

 

[AbhimanyuShrivastav]

OBL hideout: US Embassy counters Panetta's statements

By Web Desk
Published: January 29, 2012


ISLAMABAD: The US Embassy in Islamabad issued a statement on Sunday countering Defence Secretary Leon Panetta’s statement about Pakistani officials being aware of Osama bin Laden’s hideout.

Defense Department spokesman George Little, in the statement, clarified that Panetta’s interview aired by CBS was old and was recorded at the time when the Defence Ministry was unsure whether the Bin Laden network was present in Pakistan or not.

Little further said that Panetta, in the same interview, had also said that there was no proof that Pakistani government and the higher authorities were aware of Bin Laden’s whereabouts.

He added that Panetta, along with other officials, are working for the betterment of ties with Pakistan that were strained after the US operation in Abbottabad that killed al Qaeda chief Bin Laden on May 2.

In an interview with CBS’s “60 Minutes”, Panetta said that he still believed someone in authority in Pakistan knew where Bin Laden was hiding before US forces went in to find him.

Intelligence reports found that Pakistani military helicopters had passed over the compound in Abbottabad, according to the interview.
OBL hideout: US Embassy counters Panetta’s statements – The Express Tribune

==============

And what exactly does a 'military helicopter passing over the compound' indicate?

Was it a surveillance flight or was the compound merely in flight path?

Actually I agree to the helicopter thing.. 3 Days back about 20 planes of IAF flew over my house (for being on the flight path for 26th Jan flypast). That doesnt prove a thing. What is though interesting is that the house in question was within a km radius (within the range of infantry weapons) of the place where Kayani used to go frequently. What is hard to believe is that the sterilization drive that generally precedes such high profile visitors, missed this house time after time for so many years..

 

[fd24]

I think Panetta is attempting to deflect attention from other matters that are getting under the US skin. There is no need for him to go down old info that's already been covered. They would have never found out his whereabouts without the involvement of the Pakistani forces. It doesn't require a genius to point the obvious out...
I note he didn't have so much to say on the death of the troops on 26/11. - why the desire to talk crap now i wonder?

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

But wasnt that information passed to CIA by ISI without realizing the importance of it. ? I remember reading a thread on this forum to that effect.

If the ISI was sheltering OBL, then how could the ISI not know the importance of the information it was passing on?

Even the US did not know the importance of the information until it further developed the intelligence - any way you look at it, the conclusion is the same, the PA/ISI was not involved in hiding OBL, because if it had been, no such intelligence would have been shared with the US.

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

Actually I agree to the helicopter thing.. 3 Days back about 20 planes of IAF flew over my house (for being on the flight path for 26th Jan flypast). That doesnt prove a thing.

It actually does 'prove' that senior levels of the US leadership are incompetent ******** who have no qualms about bandying about such inane arguments in support of their 'beliefs' about Pakistani complicity in hiding OBL.

What is though interesting is that the house in question was within a km radius (within the range of infantry weapons) of the place where Kayani used to go frequently. What is hard to believe is that the sterilization drive that generally precedes such high profile visitors, missed this house time after time for so many years..

Were the remaining houses in the area subjected to 'sterilization drives'? How often and of what kind?

This house was not the only civilian residence around the academy or in the flight path of VIP visitors to the academy - see image below:

Why, out of all those houses, should this one have been searched, and were all of the rest searched/sterilized?

 

[Solomon2]

If the ISI was sheltering OBL, then how could the ISI not know the importance of the information it was passing on?

Easy. The ISI was told to shelter OBL dead or alive but the bosses didn't want to know details. They could thus tell the U.S. they didn't know where OBL was or even if he was alive with a cleaner conscience.

Even the US did not know the importance of the information until it further developed the intelligence -

Perhaps the ISI didn't realize what the U.S. could eventually do with such information.

any way you look at it, the conclusion is the same, the PA/ISI was not involved in hiding OBL, because if it had been, no such intelligence would have been shared with the US.

Ah, the games Pakistanis play because they are under the guns of terrorists! The confusion! Such courage displayed by the political class...how can one teach a nation courage? Clearly it isn't enough to give them weapons or enable its leaders with wealth.

 

[Hulk]

If the ISI was sheltering OBL, then how could the ISI not know the importance of the information it was passing on?Even the US did not know the importance of the information until it further developed the intelligence - any way you look at it, the conclusion is the same, the PA/ISI was not involved in hiding OBL, because if it had been, no such intelligence would have been shared with the US.

Easily possible, there would be few people in ISI who might know OBL's hiding the other person passing the information might not be one of them. Very much possible scenario and AM it sounds more convencing that someone was sheltering him.

 

[AbhimanyuShrivastav]

If the ISI was sheltering OBL, then how could the ISI not know the importance of the information it was passing on?

Even the US did not know the importance of the information until it further developed the intelligence - any way you look at it, the conclusion is the same, the PA/ISI was not involved in hiding OBL, because if it had been, no such intelligence would have been shared with the US.

Its safe to assume that even if ISI was sheltering OBL, everyone in ISI wouldnt be in the know of something so sensitive. So the fact that a pointer to a person of interest was shared by ISI which over a period of 12 months led to the operation Geronimo does not go a long way to prove that there was no one complicit in hiding OBL in Abbotabad.