Osama Bin Laden was the Millionaire Next Door: Who Knew?
Was Pakistan Incompetent, Ignorant or Insincere?
Whether or not Osama was invited to neighborhood barbecues we'll never know, but it seems strange that his neighbors either failed to suspect or neglected to report the number one most wanted man in the world's whereabouts to authorities.
Or does it?
Abbottabad, a suburban city of Pakistan's capital Islamabad, was home to a large Pakistan military academy -- a Pakistani West Point -- that was "crawling with military officials, cadets and active military personnel," according to CBS News reporter Lara Logan. Unless the intelligence of its military was like that of the clueless German soldiers on TV's "Hogan's Heroes," surely the Pakistani government knew as far back as 2005 that a security compound for a high-value target was being built right under its military's nose.
The bin Laden hideout stuck out like a sore thumb in the neighborhood. The home was eight times larger than others in the community and lacked both television and Internet, an anomaly in this affluent part of Pakistan. Even more curious, the reclusive residents had no garbage to collect on pick-up day; they burned their own garbage inside the house. Surely such eccentricities would raise some suspicion.
The "I know nothing" line may have worked for Sergeant Schultz of "Hogan's Heroes," but American officials, including President Barrack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, will not likely buy the excuses of incompetence or ignorance. As Ricky Ricardo might have said to his misbehaving wife Lucy, "Pakistan, you have some 'splaining to do."
Published by Nancy Tracy - Featured Contributor in Arts & Entertainment
Nancy Tracy is a Yahoo! Featured Contributor for arts & entertainment. She enjoys writing about a variety of topics from psychology to politics to popular culture. Her article on "Transient Global Amnesia" w... View profile
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11 Comments
Post a CommentIf the Pakistani leaders want to remove themselves from knowledge of bin Laden, they must at least admit there were enough untrustworthy people among their population that the nation deserved no prior notice of the raid. It is almost a certainty that, if the U.S. had done the polite, diplomatic thing, Uncle Binny would have been gone when the seals came to call.
I agree with your last sentence. Some people are very adept at ignoring the elephant in the room, but when that elephant affects the entire world, sweeping it under the rug is impossible.
Yeah, the location of the home next to military training base screams that Pakistan knew bin Laden was there / protected him.
fantastic writing
They knew he was there.
Moderates from and in Pakistan don't dare speak out. Good article, Nancy.
Good article, Nancy.
Sometimes the best place to hide is the most obvious...right in the public eye.
So true, but thank God he finally has been taken out, now let him face his judgement.
I agree Nancy. The Pakistanis are angered that that the U.S. violated their sovereignty and though I think it is wrong to do this, it seems clear that some within the Pakistani military were covering for bin Laden. To let them know we were going to do a strategic takeout would have ruined it, allowing bin Laden to slip through our fingers again.