Bin Laden Found Dead?

[shri]

Am I the only person who has to read these news articles twice, just to make sure I'm not mixing up the Osama with the Obama?

Has the be a horrible news cycle for speed readers.

[InigoMontoya]

This is great news - I was overjoyed that the prize cnut got his.

[Dreadnought]

Just who here is suggesting that bin Laden was on his own in Pakistan?


It has long been suggested that bin Laden had been hiding in Pakistan. It is well known that elements in Pakistan's military and intelligence services have been supporting him and his network. India has always accused Pakistan's ISI of supporting terrorist organisations in their campaigns against India (in Kashmir, New Delhi, Mumbai, etc.).

Yesterday's operation proved it not to be a conspiracy theory.

[gunsnroses]

Just who here is suggesting that bin Laden was on his own in Pakistan?


It has long been suggested that bin Laden had been hiding in Pakistan. It is well known that elements in Pakistan's military and intelligence services have been supporting him and his network. India has always accused Pakistan's ISI of supporting terrorist organisations in their campaigns against India (in Kashmir, New Delhi, Mumbai, etc.).

Yesterday's operation proved it not to be a conspiracy theory.

DN, do you think that USA with all it's intelligence capabilities, weren't aware of Pakistan's training camps and its govt/ISI involvement in recruiting and training terrorists? They of course did, and yet, they have been continuously giving them billions of dollars to "fight" the war on terror.
India being a soft state has basically has no voice that'd be heard in the corridors of the powers.

[luckycat]

Anyone see that Martin Luther King Jr quote being bandied around on twitter and facebook:

"I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy."

It's a fake quote! Unbelieveable Jeff.

Out of Osama's Death, A Fake Quotation is Born - Megan McArdle - National - The Atlantic

[Freetrader]

DN, do you think that USA with all it's intelligence capabilities, weren't aware of Pakistan's training camps and its govt/ISI involvement in recruiting and training terrorists? They of course did, and yet, they have been continuously giving them billions of dollars to "fight" the war on terror.
India being a soft state has basically has no voice that'd be heard in the corridors of the powers.

The Pakistanis have never had any reluctance cashing the checks the US writes them every year, but I think the US (including average folk like me) have long been aware that Pakistan is a messy, fragile, place with a lot of conflicting elements. It is quite a mess compared the increasingly rich and confident India. As I and others have noted above, there is clearly an element in the Pakistani intelligence apparatus that wasn't too thrilled about confronting Al-Qaeda and in other circumstances, the Taliban. Accordingly, any information shared with Pakistani intelligence was likely to be leaked to the target (unless, of course, Wikileaks didn't get it first). It was for that reason that the US made it clear as a publicly stated policy that if they had proof that Osama was in Pakistan, they would go in without asking or informing the Pakistanis beforehand, which is pretty clearly what happened. The US 'thanking' the Pakistanis for their assistance is just face saving, as is the Pakistanis attempting to make this look like it was a joint operation.

BTW Guns, India doesn't have too much right to complain. India always tried to play the US and the USSR off one another during the cold war, and resisted any talk of alliances. Since the Cold War ended, the US has given India lots of love especially for the past few years (such as the nuclear deal) even though that love isn't always reciprocated. There is no doubt though, that India and the US are basically on the same page when it comes to Islamic extremism. Being democracies, the US and India are going to be pals anyway, no matter how much political sniping goes on.

[gilleshk]

Since the Cold War ended, the US has given India lots of love especially for the past few years (such as the nuclear deal) even though that love isn't always reciprocated.

The US(and most other countries in a position to give) don't make gifts out of generosity. Whatever is given has great, big giant hooks so it's no surprise that countries don't always "reciprocate" and "cooperate" the way the US(or other givers) would like them to...

It's definitely not in Pakistan's interest to expose itself completely by completely siding with the US (or extremists). They are stuck between a stuck and a hard place. For them, it's a matter of walking a tightrope trying to maintain order in the country without pissing off the americans and extremists which are both threats to their stability.

[HKITperson]

As with the killing of OBL and that of Ghadaffi's sons and grandkids.... it does feel uncomfortbale that the US and Nato are dishing out summary justices and breaking International law.

Despite how much we hate these guys, shouldn't we abide by International laws... otherwise we just be as bad... the kids killed were innocent as may have been OBL wife.... should there be a proper inquiry into their deaths?

[HongKongFoot]

All countries at one time or another has given safe harbor for enemies of other states. USA,UK,FRANCE, etc has all guaranteed safe passage/safe harbor for political/economic reasons.

OBL was the flavor of the decade makes Pakistan look like crap.

[Freetrader]

The US(and most other countries in a position to give) don't make gifts out of generosity.

Even if that statement is correct (and actually, it is frequently untrue), so what? It's not relevant to my point.