by Capricorner
Osama Bin Laden lives in what looks like a Fort surrounded by a tall wall which hides the compound. To get to it one has to go through more than one Pakistani Army check point. The Bin laden “Fort” is close to the Pakistani Military Academy. The Pakistani Intelligence is so dumb that it does not bother to check the owner and the occupants of this Fort-like house so close to one of its military installations, although it frequently conducts checks in that area. Is this what the Pakistanis want the world to believe?
That the occupants of the house never socialized with their neighbors. That the gate of the compound would open to let, what looked like bulletproof cars, in or out and then shut barely two seconds after. That the man assumed to be Bin Laden’s most trusted courier, who was the owner of the place, would politely greet but discourage conversation with neighbors. That in a small town like Abottabad where everybody knew everybody nothing was known about the owner, about the residents of this well guarded fort-like home with the tall wall and barbed wire protecting it. That this shroud of mystery did not intrigue the Pakistani ISI to investigate the reason why the owner and its residents were so reclusive. Is this what the Pakistanis want the world to believe ?
It is evident that Bin Laden living in a town about one hundred kilometers from Islamabad, in an area most unlikely for a wanted man to move about, did not attract the attention of those whose job is to know everyone and everything in a well guarded area like that of his residence. The very high, by Pakistani standards, ransom the US would pay for Bin Laden was not a sufficient motive for the Pakistani ISI to do what it is meant to do … check what appears to be a conspicuous presence. Is this what the Pakistanis want the world to believe?
Instead of apologizing for the supposed oversight, or at least say nothing, the Pakistanis complain for what they claim is an infringement to their sovereignty.
Why did the Americans keep all the intelligence they were gathering watertight? Why did they not share any of it with the Pakistanis? Why have the Americans indicated on more than one occasion dissatisfaction with the Pakistani ISI? Why did they not plan this operation in collaboration with the Pakistanis? Why did they not seek the help of the Pakistanis in the execution of the : Get Bin Laden : operation? Why did they advise them that they were carrying out an anti-Taliban operation only in the last hour?
Because the Americans had understood that the Pakistanis were selective in the Intelligence they were sharing with the Americans and they had also come to understand that the Pakistanis were actually harboring Bin Laden.
Why did the Pakistanis shelter Bin Laden is not clear. Was it the Government? The ISI? or sections of it? Who “calls the shots” in Pakistan? The fact is that Bin Laden had a great number of sympathizers in Pakistan, a Moslem country, who took to the streets in thousands to demonstrate their feelings for B.L and their feelings against the US. Officially, Pakistan is embarrassed (but for what exactly?) and angered for the American intrusion. America is also annoyed with Pakistan. The three Billion Dollars aid Pakistan was due to receive from the US will not even be considered, according to the press.
The US has practically invented communications. Why does it not come out in a loud and clear fashion to explain why it took the action it did. Why, also, does it not tell the world that Bin Laden’s belief in the violent overthrow of regimes has been proven wrong. The overthrow of despots like those of Tunisia and Egypt and the likely overthrow of those in Syria, Libya and Yemen, is proof that change can come about peacefully. Why does it not tout the fact that what the Arabs manifestedly want is not a radical Islam governed by the Sharia, but a western type of Democracy, which is the very antithesis of what Bin Laden’s successor and his followers want. The answer probably lies in the fact that America’s closest ally in the Arab world is Saoudi Arabia, the ultra conservative regime of which considers Democracy an anathema.
This is a problem the US must solve, one way or another. What should be kept in mind is that the young Arabs are a generation ahead of their parents, in terms of mentality, they are the WEB generation, with a different mind set. America has the expertise to show to the world that it lives by and indeed acts with its principles.
