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| India-Pakistan |
| Heat on Pakistan as bin Laden killed near capital |
| 2011-05-02 |
| [Yahoo/Reuters] Pakistan declared the killing of Osama bin Laden a "major setback" to global terrorism, but it will inevitably come under pressure to explain how the al Qaeda leader was holed up in a mansion near a military facility. Within walking distance of a military facility, in fact... Bin Laden was killed in a dramatic night-time raid by U.S. helicopters and troops on his hideout in Abbottabad, home to Pakistan's main military academy and less then two hours' drive from the Pakistani capital, Islamabad. ... with no Pak involvement and certainly no prior tip-off. Mahmoud the Weasel gut nuttin', as Joe would say... "Osama bin Laden's death illustrates the resolve of the international community, including Pakistan, to fight and eliminate terrorism," the government said in a statement. "It constitutes a major setback to terrorist organisations around the world." "We're... ummm... happy. Yes, of course we're happy. Glad he's dead and all that..." However, it was not clear whether the Pakistan military was involved in the operation and there was no official comment from the government for several hours, raising the possibility that Islamabad was taken by surprise. I'd call it a probability, a virtual certainty, in fact... That bin Laden, mastermind of the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, was not hiding in mountains along the border but in relative comfort in a town hosting the main military academy and home to scores of retired and serving officers will bolster those who have long argued that Pakistan has been playing a duplicitous hand. It is kinda hard to explain, isn't it? Just 10 days ago, Pakistan's army chief addressed cadets at that very academy, saying the country's military had broken the back of militants linked to al Qaeda and the Taliban. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #7 Maybe the Pakistani soldiers at the military base are only armed like American soldiers inside bases in America (or even A'stan?) |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2011-05-02 16:10 |
| #6 Nonetheless, there must have been a few clenched butts on that chopper (and in the Situation Room) when they lifted out - hoping that no one had managed to round up a couple of MANPADs in the last 40 minutes. |
| Posted by: KBK 2011-05-02 16:07 |
| #5 I doubt that Mullah Richard. I think Obama gave the Paks an ultimatum and the Paks gave the only acceptable answer. The Paks have probably been using OBL as a bargaining chip and the US finally got tired of the haggling. We gave them our Best and Final Offer ("We'll let you breathe") and the Paks said "OK". |
| Posted by: Frozen Al 2011-05-02 15:41 |
| #4 Had he stopped paying the rent? That could indeed be an excuse. He may have also quit having everyone over for croquet parties or declined their latest dinner invitation (which may have gotten their moustaches spinning). Either way, he (or one the minions) severely p*ssed someone off within the Paki military 'superstructure'. |
| Posted by: Mullah Richard 2011-05-02 14:35 |
| #3 Had he stopped paying the rent? |
| Posted by: Bulldog 2011-05-02 13:04 |
| #2 That raises a very pointed issue. Imagine what would happen if the Mexican military did a similar op just outside the USMC Air Station in Yuma? Within minutes, the place would look like Har Megiddo (apocalypse), with heavily armed Marines blowing the snot out of anything armed that wasn't them. But the Pak army did nothing, even though they are technically in the middle of a civil war of sorts. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2011-05-02 12:45 |
| #1 "Within walking distance of a military facility, in fact..." You know, hadn't thought of this until now - given the size of the facility and the number of troops there...you know there had to be a contingency plan, just in case. And it would have been a beaut. Mike |
| Posted by: Mike Kozlowski 2011-05-02 12:23 |