US-Pakistani Theater

[barking_iguana]

The operation could not have happened without Pakistani foreknowledge and acquiescence. Likely (but not necessarily) they even knew who the target was. They may even have provided the intelligence. But for domestic reasons, they don't want to appear to have played a role. They're now being criticized in the US media because, it's asserted, they must have known he was there and not told the US. Some of those doing the criticizing have thought through everything I just wrote and by criticizing are doing their propaganda part to make Pakistan seem more antagonistic to the US, as an underhanded favor to the Pakistani government that needs to assert its independence for a domestic audience.

Now, it's also quite possible that the Pakistani government (or SOME aspects of the Pakistani government) knoew where he was for a long time and kept quiet about it. And raising that question is legitimate. But there is more here than usually meets the eyes and ears.

Comments

[chemoelectric.livejournal.com]

I think the main clue was the sign in front of the compound that said ‘Nobody suspicious lives here’, in Urdu and Arabic. Keeping quiet wouldn’t have been helpful. :)

[barking-iguana.livejournal.com]

There are lots of folks with money in Pakistan who have reason to spend that money on physical protection. Sure, it was suspicious, but not identifying.

[chemoelectric.livejournal.com]

I didn't mean it seriously. :)

[bensong1.livejournal.com]

You'll find some support for what you're saying at http://www.democracynow.org/shows/2011/5/2 particularly at around 18:45 (during which Jeremy Scahill discusses an agreement between General McChrystal and then-Pakistani President, Pervez Musharraf, that U.S. Special Ops could go into Pakistan in "hot pursuit" as long as Pakistan could deny it) and at around 29:00 (a phone interview with Mosharraf Zaidi and then further discussion including Scahill).

I think you'd find most of the show interesting, actually. There's also a fair amount of discussion about the subject of your previous post.