[GaReb770]

<p>I suspect the Pakistani government captured and/or made a deal with OBL several years ago that if he would stay out of sight and leave them alone they would "hide" him.   I just can't believe that no one in their intelligence, military and government did not know where he was.  Especially considering OBL lived with virtually no security, thus minimizing any attention to the compound he was living in.  Actually a very smart idea from a Pakistani military/political standpoint. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>It gave the Pakistani government a way to keep Al-Quaeda out of their problems for the most part without the political issues and possible uprising among Pakistani's  they would have had to deal with if they turned him over to the U.S.    Who would have thunk the U.S. military could launch such a precision attack and get the one person for whom we invaded Afghanistan for after all these years so deep in Pakistan.  If the U.S. had simply bombed the compound to bits the Pakistani could forever deny OBL was among the dead and no one would have been the wiser or at least able to prove otherwise.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Despite everything that has transpired this week both Pakistan and the U.S. need each other so I don't see any reductions in aid barring some hard proof that Pakistan hid OBL all these years.  So Pakistan will continue trying to save face with its people warning the U.S. against any further incursions into their country without consulting them.  The U.S. will continue with no further comments as we have successfully captured the person most responsible for 9/11.  Politics makes such strange bedfellows sometimes.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>

 

[fox-runr]

It is definitely very hard to believe that the govern,net did not know. This huge compound just crops up sometime between 2003 and 2004.. And no one knows who lives there??? Right.<br><br>
I think it's much like the militia that exists about 60 miles from my house. Everyone knows they are in that town...but unless they do something, the law just leaves them be. My friend has a practice in that town and he says his patients are nice, quiet people that pay their bills, but he does know the patients that belong to the militia. I think there was a raid a few years ago, and the police confiscated weapons...but I am sure they are back to stockpiling and living like good neighbors to the other townsfolk. The townsfolk know they exist!!!

 

[Brutal]

<p>They should be absolutely no doubt that Bin Laden was a guest in Pakistan. There should also be no doubt that Pakistan has to play the..."he was here????????????"  What else can they play?</p>

 

[fox-runr]

so, why not apprehend OBL, turn him over to the Pakastani government and tell them to "take care of it"? Our hands are clean and Pakastan is forced to play their hand.

 

[tigger]

<p><br>
Interesting theory, but there is little if any evidence to support it and much to suggest otherwise.  Since and including 9/11 Pakistan has suffered far more terrorist casualties than any other nation except perhaps Afghanistan.  If OBL was being protected by Pakistan I would think he could have some influence over Taliban attacks that have killed thousands of Pakistanis..</p>
<p> </p>
<p>On the issue of his security, I'm sure OBL would have been far less vulnerable if he had placed pillboxes on his perimeter fence and surrounded the place with Al Qaida fighters.  On the other handI can't think of a better place for him to hide than in the middle of his foes with only a couple of trusted confidants.  Who would have thunk it?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>A better explanation is that the Pakistani military are corrupt and innefficient at, if not incapable of decent intelligence.  When you look at the incredible effort it took to tie the intelligence threads together I tend to think there are only one or two nations with that sort of capability.  All hail the CIA.  Their people deserve an attaboy for the incredible work they did.<br>
 </p>
<div class="quote-container"><span>Quote:</span>
<div class="quote-block">Originally Posted by <strong>GaReb770</strong> <a href="/forum/thread/73740/pakistan-and-obl#post_1998134"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style="border-bottom:0px solid;border-left:0px solid;border-top:0px solid;border-right:0px solid;"></a><br><br><p>I suspect the Pakistani government captured and/or made a deal with OBL several years ago that if he would stay out of sight and leave them alone they would "hide" him.   I just can't believe that no one in their intelligence, military and government did not know where he was. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Especially considering OBL lived with virtually no security, thus minimizing any attention to the compound he was living in.  Actually a very smart idea from a Pakistani military/political standpoint. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>It gave the Pakistani government a way to keep Al-Quaeda out of their problems for the most part without the political issues and possible uprising among Pakistani's  they would have had to deal with if they turned him over to the U.S.    Who would have thunk the U.S. military could launch such a precision attack and get the one person for whom we invaded Afghanistan for after all these years so deep in Pakistan.  If the U.S. had simply bombed the compound to bits the Pakistani could forever deny OBL was among the dead and no one would have been the wiser or at least able to prove otherwise.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Despite everything that has transpired this week both Pakistan and the U.S. need each other so I don't see any reductions in aid barring some hard proof that Pakistan hid OBL all these years.  So Pakistan will continue trying to save face with its people warning the U.S. against any further incursions into their country without consulting them.  The U.S. will continue with no further comments as we have successfully captured the person most responsible for 9/11.  Politics makes such strange bedfellows sometimes.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
</div>
</div>
<br><br><p> </p>

 

[GaReb770]

<p>I agree with you that it's just my theory with absolutely no proof.  But I really do not believe the Pakistan military and/or intelligence are as incompetent or corrupt as we think.  For OBL to simply hide in the open surrounded by a military post very near to the capital strikes me as rather ingenious.   I'm certainly not accusing the Pakistani's of being dumb in that regard.   Pakistan has had internal quarrels among tribes and other groups for many years even before OBL.  When you consider that even with a $25 million price tag on his head not one person was willing to rat OBL out, I don't find it difficult there is a possibility of Pakistani/OBL cooperation.  But once again I have zilch proof of my theory.  It's just some thinking out loud of how OBL could have lived in a compound right next to a military base and so close to the capital without being found sooner.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>And it seems to me, although it may be that I've simply become numb over the years to violence in Pakistan, that there has been a decrease in fighting along the Pakistan/Afghanistan border the last few years.   Which is why I'm thinking the Pakistani Military and OBL could have had an alliance with each other.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Kudos to the CIA indeed for following through on the courier(s) that led them to the compound. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>@fox-runr:  Do you really believe that if we had simply apprehended OBL and turned him over to the Pakistani Government, they would have "handled it".   What would happen if Pakistan tried him before a "court" and found him innocent?  Or maybe you're using a little bit of sarcasm?</p>

 

[Aslowhiteguy]

<p>the only reason i think pakistan wasn't hiding him is because it would take several people to be in on it and someone would want that reward money.  </p>
<p> </p>
<p>the lack of security could be  because he didn't think the US would attempt the type of raid they did and a bomb attack in that town was highly unlikely.  </p>
<p> </p>
<p>i agree that living in a compound that size and with many of his kids and at least two wives makes you wonder how he could have done it without gov't help. </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>

 

[GaReb770]

<p>In this country money is almost a god, whereas in the Middle East not quite so much.  If money was an object someone would have turned in OBL much earlier even if they had to go live in another country.  I think we make a big mistake in this country thinking that everyone else thinks the same way we do about material things. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>One of the interesting criticisms I read among the citizens of the city in which OBL was living was that despite the obvious wealth of the house compared to the every day citizen the owners did not contribute to any charities, which is often expected in Muslim countries of people that have money.   On the other hand the entire point of the compound was to keep any attention away from its primary inhabitant but there is a different thought process.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>On the other hand for $25 million I would probably rat out the entire PRT. <span id="user_yui_3_3_0_8_130494373655917"><img alt="biggrin.gif" id="user_yui_3_3_0_8_130494373655916" src="http://files.kickrunners.com/smilies/biggrin.gif" style="width:16px;height:16px;"></span></p>