This is one of the better accountings of US officials and finally special forces finally took the Islamic terrorist down. Remember folks, it was due to enhanced interrogation methods that Bin-Laden was finally put down like the rabid, pious Muslim dog that he was. KGS
The story of how our intelligence services and special forces tracked down and killed Osama bin Laden is one of extraordinary dedication and in the end, a risky riverboat gamble that almost blew up into tragedy. For despite all the hard work of the intelligence professionals who were pursuing the leads that eventually led to bin Laden’s hideout, when Navy SEALs burst through the door of the mansion they were “not certain” that the terrorist was even there.
What was certain was that the painstaking process that led to a “high degree of certainty” that Osama bin Laden was hiding in that compound in Abbottabad spanned 4 years, two administrations, and dozens of CIA analysts following up hundreds of leads. They eventually tracked one lone man across the entire expanse of Pakistan, zeroed in on his location, and developed the “actionable intelligence” to give policy makers the choice to attack or stand pat.
All of this with no thanks to the Pakistanis — who must now be viewed with even more suspicion about their cooperation with America’s enemies. Osama bin Laden was not hiding in a cave somewhere in the Northwest Frontier Province as many believed. Instead, he was ensconced in relative comfort in an upscale neighborhood in a city — Abbottabad — where an entire regiment of the Pakistani army was based and the country’s military academy was headquartered. The area in which the terrorist was hiding out had many retired Pakistani army officers.
The house was built in 2005 and was designed to house someone of great importance, intelligence analysts believe. One report from Gulf News says that the house was actually a former safehouse for the Pakistani intelligence service, the ISI. Given the location of the structure, that is not beyond the realm of possibilities.
The US government did not trust the ISI, as Wikileaks documents show. One document says that “In Pakistan, Osama Bin Laden wasn’t an invisible man, and many knew his whereabouts in North Waziristan,” but whenever security forces approached, the ISI tipped bin Laden off.
Deputy National Security Adviser John Brennan flatly told reporters that it was “inconceivable” that bin Laden did not have the support of at least some elements of the Pakistani government. This suspicion led the US to keep the attack a secret from President Zardari and his government until the SEALs were safely out of the country.
