Built in 2005, the three-story[36] mansion was located in a compound about 4 km (2.5 mi.) northeast of the center of Abbottabad. [34] While the compound was assessed by US officials at a value of USD 1 million, local real-estate agents assess the property value at USD 250 thousand.[37] On a lot about eight times the size of nearby houses, it was surrounded by 12- to 18-foot (3.7-5.5 m)[35] concrete walls topped with barbed wire.[34] There were two security gates and the third-floor balcony had a seven-foot-high (2.1 m) privacy wall.[36] There was no Internet or telephone service coming into the compound. Its residents burned their trash, unlike their neighbors, who simply set it out for collection. The compound is located (34°10′09″N 73°14′33″E) and 1.3 km (0.8 mi.) southwest of the closest point of the sprawling Pakistan Military Academy. [38] President Obama met with his national security advisors on March 14, 2011, in the first of five security meetings over six weeks. On April 29, at 8:20 a.m., Obama convened with Thomas Donilon, John O. Brennan, and other security advisers in the Diplomatic Room, where he authorized a raid of the Abbottābad compound. The government of Pakistan was not informed of this decision.[34]

LordofHats wrote: This faction is known to have actively supported Al Qaeda in Pakistan, and its foolish to think that they didn't know where Bin Laden was.

Ouze wrote:Maybe this is a better way of putting it.

OBL was found 1 mile from the Pakistani equivalent of West Point, yes? Either they were complicit in hiding him, in which case they are untrustworthy double-dealers who are undeserving of our foreign aid largesse.

Alternately, they didn't know he was there, honest injun. In which case they are so incredibly incompetent that they are an utterly useless asset to us in the Global War on Terror™, and undeserving of our foreign aid largesse.

By Ehtisham Amir
Exclusive Article

In Hollywood style commando operation, USA has finally hunted Osama Bin Laden. The Hunt, spread over almost a decade has come to an end. Globally, media is discussing every possible fact of this operation. Exact detail of this operation may come out in Public arena little later but all kind of speculation are being aired in the name of “considered opinion”. Pakistan, ironically and unfortunately is again in the centre of storm. It appears as there is no let up for Pakistan from the revenge of cosmic forces.

Immediately after the news of operation broke out, whole world media is pointing an accusing finger towards Pakistan and shouting and “intelligence failure” course. Since its human Psyche that it tends to turn blind eye on facts and logic during euphoric moments, it appears natural. But there is need to take stock of things with cool mind and sift fact from fictions. What is an intelligence failure? In the Osama’s case, well, it would perhaps mean that Pakistani intelligence agencies were unaware of his presence in Pakistan. But was Osama a high value target for Pakistan or USA? Since we joined the global war on terror, he would have automatically been designated as High value target for us. But realistically, our intelligence agencies have more than enough on their hands already is shape of Tehnik Taliben and cohorts like them who are a bigger and more sinister threat to our national security than Osama. Moreover, we had been made to believe by persistent and over hostile media and intelligence establishments of the world that Osama and his lieutenants were hiding in no man’s land of FATA and adjoining areas. Unless we refuse to accept the fact, Pakistan had been effectively coerced to deploy majority of its military and intelligence assets in FATA. When a country of Pakistan’s resources is coerced to comply to the wishes of a Super Power, there is not much left with country to guard the rest of the territory. Pakistan does not have infinite resources. Nor it has had any previous intelligence tentacles in FATA. In order to meet the demands of USA led coalition in Afghanistan, we were compelled to focus on FATA alone, leaving a huge void of intelligence in other areas.

Of course, it is not what one would wish to see. We are into midst of a home grown, foreign sponsored, religiously motivated violence. It requires concerted efforts of the state and all of its organs to root this violence out. Corruption touching horrendous proportional shows focus of our ruling political masters. They have perhaps no interest in putting things right. And worst, it appears as if the war on terror has been sublet to security apparatus alone without any political direction. In such a situation, where our civilian intelligence setups like IB and FIA are perhaps forced to devise cover-ups for wrong doings of political masters, gathering operational intelligence has suffered a big body blow. Kind of ingress IB and FIA has into society is not matched by any other agency of state.

That’s said, we of course can not absolve our intelligence agencies of their responsibility. But it also reflects a reality about which no serious comment has been made in print and electronic media as yet. Is this a first intelligence failure in the history of world? Ancient history tells us of an interesting intelligence failure. Trojan Horse was such a failure to anticipate usage of new technology or tactic. It was a monumental failure and gave English language an idiom. But a cursory look at recent history would reveal that all nations have suffered one failure or another.

Israel boasts of its intelligence prowess. But despite known history of hostility with its neighbors, with whom she had fought the latest war in 1967, Israel was surprised at strategical level on the eve of Yom Kippur war of 1973. Israeli intelligence agencies could not foretell a war, despite massive military movements across Suez Camel. Who can forget the Munich Olympic Games and failure of German and Western intelligence agencies? Palestinians did not plan the abduction and subsequent assassination of Israeli athletes over night. Such covert operation require deliberate planning and extensive recconissance of target area. But all this happened in the heart of Europe on the eve of mega sport event like Olympic. Indra Gahndi was assassinated by her own Sikh body guards. Men deputed on such sensitive security assignments are usually kept under 24/7 surveillance to monitor their activities, trend and state of mind. But body guards still managed to surprise every one on the morning of 31 October 1984. Egyptian intelligence agencies could not unearth plot to assassinate President Anwar Sadat. Military Parades are usually kept under strict security intelligence agencies since soldier are carrying weapons into close proximity of dignities, but President Anwar Sadat paid the failure of his intelligence staff with his life.

Coming to more recent history, one is surprised as to how advance European countries can fail so miserably on intelligence operation.

World had changed beyond recognition in the wake of 9/11. State has come down heavily on her own citizens. Personal space has shrunk drastically in USA and Western world. Powers of intelligence agencies to conduct eavesdropping and peep into privacy have been enhanced significantly. But despite all the technological advantages, UK suffered its own 9/11 on 7 July. To us and rest of the developing and underdeveloped world, it may have been shock. But imagine for a while, and we are right now in correct perspective to imagine as to how humiliating it must have appeared to an ordinary citizen of Great Britain. A country of great history and greatest of the imperial powers, in whose empire sun would not set. But it happened and happened in her capital and not some remote, obscure town.

Story of ugly intelligence failure does no end here. In fact, most of the keen reader would be anxiously waiting for a mention of 9/11. USA the sole super power of globe, with over a million people working in nearly 17 different intelligence agencies, failed miserably on account of effective intelligence gathering. What happened on that fateful day is history now. But it leaves a lot to probe as to how and why USA intelligence apparatus could not nip the evil plot in bud. And when the plot went into action, and that action was spread over three different states of America, the state apparatus was caught with its pants down and no effective response was mounted.

Moral of al what has been said earlier is not that we should keep quiet and accept it as a fait accompli. In stead, we should do more soul searching and make a resolve not to let it happen again. Out intelligence agencies may be very effective and competent but there are not omni potent. These are composed of humans from our own society and not staffed by people from Mars. More than ours, this was intelligence failure at part of American. They, with their technological edge, had been pushing us to search Osama in vast stretches of FATA. It proves American propaganda of the past as heap of lies about “Al Qaeda” being controlled by Osama. There were no telephone or internet connections in Abottabad mansion. Without these basic gadgets of communication, how can one run or direct a feared entity like “Al Qaeda”. The world had been fed on concocted stories and lies for last decade. It is natural for an intelligence agency of developing country like Pakistan to misled by in cessent propaganda of western powers, who are master at selling half baked truths as “gospel truth”.

We must accept that if there have been intelligence successes in the past, a failure can also occur. Let us not accept hostile propaganda against our state and its apparatus. We must put our own house in order on our own will and not under any coercion.[url]

ArbeitsSchu wrote:I'm still amused by the competence (or frightening level of surveillance) that people seem to believe the US government agencies have, or that they use that as a bench-mark by which to judge other nations. As if the CIA knows exactly who is living in every house in the vicinity of West Point, or precisely why any given building is being constructed in that area?

ArbeitsSchu wrote:I'm still amused by the competence (or frightening level of surveillance) that people seem to believe the US government agencies have, or that they use that as a bench-mark by which to judge other nations. As if the CIA knows exactly who is living in every house in the vicinity of West Point, or precisely why any given building is being constructed in that area?

Mr. Burning wrote:

Story of ugly intelligence failure does no end here. In fact, most of the keen reader would be anxiously waiting for a mention of 9/11. USA the sole super power of globe, with over a million people working in nearly 17 different intelligence agencies, failed miserably on account of effective intelligence gathering. What happened on that fateful day is history now. But it leaves a lot to probe as to how and why USA intelligence apparatus could not nip the evil plot in bud. And when the plot went into action, and that action was spread over three different states of America, the state apparatus was caught with its pants down and no effective response was mounted.

Seaward wrote:

Also, what's with the Brits sandbagging us so hard about friendly fire? You throw around the sheer, Herculean amounts of ordnance we've thrown around in the past decade, and yeah, you're going to screw up now and then.

Seaward wrote:

ArbeitsSchu wrote:I'm still amused by the competence (or frightening level of surveillance) that people seem to believe the US government agencies have, or that they use that as a bench-mark by which to judge other nations. As if the CIA knows exactly who is living in every house in the vicinity of West Point, or precisely why any given building is being constructed in that area?

I'd say the chances of being able to run a worldwide terrorist network out of a compound in Annapolis are pretty slim, yeah.

LordofHats wrote:

ArbeitsSchu wrote:I'm still amused by the competence (or frightening level of surveillance) that people seem to believe the US government agencies have, or that they use that as a bench-mark by which to judge other nations. As if the CIA knows exactly who is living in every house in the vicinity of West Point, or precisely why any given building is being constructed in that area?

No, but if the CIA knows your organization supports terrorist organizations they will be keeping track of what you're doing, and setting a nice fancy complex just outside a military facility that seems to serve no military purpose does kind of stand out.

Monster Rain wrote:Wow, he's trying really hard isn't he?

It's unlikely that someone didn't know that OBL was living right down the street from a military base. Possible, surely, but unlikely.

ArbeitsSchu wrote:Running a world-wide terror network from a house anywhere must be pretty damn hard when lacking a decent communications set up. That or Al Quaeda have created a pigeon-post renaissance.

or rely on easily-detectable radio transmissions which have also gone wireless in the past 125 years.

mattyrm wrote:

Seaward wrote:

Also, what's with the Brits sandbagging us so hard about friendly fire? You throw around the sheer, Herculean amounts of ordnance we've thrown around in the past decade, and yeah, you're going to screw up now and then.

Those Brits are ignorant hippy types and pinko's.

British veterans love the American air force, and entirely appreciate that when you drop thousands and thousands of bombs whilst supporting our troops, occasionally some might go amiss, gak happens.

If we weren't given the air support provided to us by the Americans, we would be down a couple thousand more soldiers, so you cant really whinge too much about the occasional blue on blue, sad as that is.

Lux_Lucis wrote:

The issue isn't so much that it happens, people in the know know it will at some point inevitably. The issue is more that the US is entirely uncooperative in the subsequent enquiries and has a habit of shielding the people responsible.

infinite_array wrote:Huh. I didn't think the Pakistanis could throw rocks high enough to hit the drones.

Maybe they've come up with some sort of super-stretchy slingshot?