Posted on 05/09/2011 4:49:13 PM PDT by Bad~Rodeo
US forces were given permission to conduct unilateral raid inside Pakistan if they knew where Bin Laden was hiding, officials say
The deal was struck between Pervez Musharraf and George Bush in 2001 and renewed during the 'transition to democracy' – a six-month period from February 2008 when Musharraf was still president but a civilian government had been elected.
The US and Pakistan struck a secret deal almost a decade ago permitting a US operation against Osama bin Laden on Pakistani soil similar to last week's raid that killed the al-Qaida leader, the Guardian has learned.
The deal was struck between the military leader General Pervez Musharraf and President George Bush after Bin Laden escaped US forces in the mountains of Tora Bora in late 2001, according to serving and retired Pakistani and US officials.
Under its terms, Pakistan would allow US forces to conduct a unilateral raid inside Pakistan in search of Bin Laden, his deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, and the al-Qaida No3. Afterwards, both sides agreed, Pakistan would vociferously protest the incursion.
"There was an agreement between Bush and Musharraf that if we knew where Osama was, we were going to come and get him," said a former senior US official with knowledge of counterterrorism operations. "The Pakistanis would put up a hue and cry, but they wouldn't stop us."
The deal puts a new complexion on the political storm triggered by Bin Laden's death in Abbottabad, 35 miles north of Islamabad, where a team of US navy Seals assaulted his safe house in the early hours of 2 May.
Pakistani officials have insisted they knew nothing of the raid, with military and civilian leaders issuing a strong rebuke to the US. If the US conducts
(Excerpt) Read more at guardian.co.uk ...
Sounds about right...and explains Karzai’s behavior.
so much for this being some new bold risky move by Obama.
I would like to know how many opium poppy farmers owe the legacy of Osama bin Laden a favor.
Musharraf’s fault.
I wouldn’t trust one person from this culture as far as I could throw them. They aren’t the same as (most of) us. I have dealt with them in business - they have their own rules and don’t give a hoot about ours, even if they sign on the dotted line. Sadly, I never started out thinking this way.
This makes sense. There is no way they crash a helo, blow it up, and have a fire fight and still manage to stay there for 40mins with no Pakis showing at least to see what’s going on.
With a military base right up the road.
And the SEALs took no fire at all.
Meanwhile, civilians are tweeting about the raid real time.
No. The Pakis had to be in on it.
Everything Obama says and does is a lie.
Thank you, George Bush, for negotiating such a deal. Not that it would have prevented us from doing it anyhow, but it hopefully set terms which will limit negative fallout as a result.
One report I read stated that the Paks Radar’s were off when our choppers were coming in....interesting.
“Thank you, George Bush, for negotiating such a deal”...
how does THAT happen?
Bush`s fault
Obama`s glory
Yes, very interesting.
P-stan welched on their part of the deal; not vociferous enough.
I give BHO2 credit, at least during the campaign he said he would do something like this. He must have been happy to find George W Bush had negotiated it for him!
It makes sense now. The guy that was tweeting from a coffee shop nearby kept talking about roads being blocked off. I didn’t get it at the time but now I understand. The Pakis had the place cordoned off.
Gutsy call!
It was all just a big ‘show’, a spoof, a live action theater.
No wonder they were all sitting around eating popcorn and watching it on TV.
W was gutsy.
BTTT!
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