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May 3rd, 2011
07:34 PM ET

Raid sparks question: Is Pakistan doing enough?

(CNN) - The revelation that al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden hid in "plain sight" at a house in a bastion of Pakistani military power has touched a nerve in the United States, which relies heavily on the Islamabad government in its grinding war against terrorism.

Many Obama administration officials, lawmakers and observers from across the political spectrum want to know how bin Laden - based at a compound in the military garrison city of Abbottabad - could have eluded Pakistani capture, or whether the government or elements of it harbored bin Laden.

They want to know whether Pakistan is firmly backing the fight against terror or is supportive of militants fighting against troops in Afghanistan.

The United States has a "complicated but important relationship" with Pakistan, White House press secretary Jay Carney said Tuesday.

Carney told reporters that U.S. officials need to learn more about the "support network" that sustained bin Laden in Pakistan. But he also warned against "tarring" everyone in Pakistan's government because of the revelation that bin Laden had been living so close to Islamabad.

There has also been "a great deal of important cooperation" in the fight against Islamic extremism, he said. "The idea that these kinds of complications exist is not new."

But Rep. Peter King, the New York Republican who is chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, said "this can't be allowed to go on."

In comments Tuesday at a House subcommittee hearing on Pakistan, King noted that bin Laden's compound was near a headquarters for the Pakistani intelligence services.

"There are two possibilities and one answer," King said. "One is that it was a direct facilitation by elements of the Pakistani government, or Pakistani intelligence is entirely inept, and that has not proven to be the case over the years."

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Filed under: 360° Radar • 360º Follow • Osama bin Laden • Pakistan
soundoff (10 Responses)
  1. Tom

    If we can do it we need More type of Seal Forces to do work for us.......They are Great!

    May 3, 2011 at 11:49 pm |
  2. Tom

    Our relationship with the nation of Afgagabstab(spelling ?) realy needs to be look into.

    May 3, 2011 at 11:41 pm |
  3. Tom

    We need to use the Elite team in more ares if needed.

    May 3, 2011 at 11:38 pm |
  4. Tom

    There is no need to show pictures.

    May 3, 2011 at 11:37 pm |
  5. michael

    Aid should immediately be cut off from Pakistan. One Billion a year spent on our own people would be much more appreciated by a hurt nation.

    We have avenged 9/11 – now lets get back to work and fix our nation. We don't need Pakistan.

    May 3, 2011 at 11:17 pm |
  6. Gary

    Is it possible that the US did receive intelligence from Pakistan regarding Bin Laden being at this compound, but that the Pakistani government does not want this information made public, because of the potential for violent protests and terrorism against the government? I could imagine that the "shame" of having not known about his presence there might be the lesser of two evils for a government with a tenuous hold on power, and that the US could agree to play this story.

    May 3, 2011 at 10:29 pm |
  7. Tony

    AC,
    Don't forget that we need Pakistan, because Afganistan is a land locked country. We need them in order for us to get supplies and fuel to our troops! We should look beyond Pakistan and concentrate our intel toward network's around Israel's border's in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Egyptian Sinai and in the Gaza strip, harbored by Hamas, where al-Qaeda operative's are probably hiding out in Villa's constructed like the model of OBL'S compound in Pakistan!

    Tony
    Tacoma, WA

    May 3, 2011 at 8:36 pm |
  8. aliceNYC

    They knew he was there and they were protecring him, and thats why their airforce and their army took its time arriving to the compound.... they knew the gig was up and left him to dry. If they did not the government would be saying that the actions of the U.S. that night was an act of war and they would be complaining to the international community. But they know what they did and now President Obama has a hold on them.. they will owe us for a very long time.. I will bet that within the next few months they will offer up some important PERSON as a way to apologize.

    May 3, 2011 at 7:55 pm |
  9. chet

    I'd like proof Bin laden is dead. But the only part I regret is that I didn't get to be there.
    Where i come from we like to do things ourselves, especially something this important.

    May 3, 2011 at 7:53 pm |
  10. Nancy

    I do not for the life of me, know how no one could find a 6 ft. 6in. tall man? That is incredulous!!!

    May 3, 2011 at 7:47 pm |