Image by Omer Wazir via Flickr
If you've been following the coverage of Bin Laden's raid, you might want to check out Jack Shafer's 'How to Read the Bin Laden Coverage' at Slate.
And from overseas, I have collected the following reactions mostly from Pakistani newspapers and a couple from CBS and NYT:
The Nation| American Troops Kill Osama
Osama bin Laden was killed in an early Monday morning operation carried out by 35 US Marines. About 200 Pakistan Army men provided ground support, top level official sources told The Nation. During the operation, four helicopters of the Pakistan Army hovered over the fortress-like hideout of al-Qaeda chief at Thanda Choh, a relatively isolated area of Abbottabad’s otherwise posh locality Bilal Town that is barely a kilometre away from the Pakistan Military Academy, Kakul. After completing aerial assessments, the four Pakistan Army helicopters were replaced by two US helicopters, ten minutes later. Initially, the US military personnel opened fire at the outer wall of Osama’s hideout, which was retaliated by the house inmates with heavy gunfire. After almost twenty minutes of cross-firing, the US forces directly targeted the house with sophisticated bombs, eventually killing Osama, his eight bodyguards, seven close aides and an unspecified number of family members including a young son, children and two wives.
[...]
Meanwhile, Sahir Elahi, an eyewitness who lives a few yards from the place where the operation took place, doubted if any helicopter had crashed. “We were the first to reach the spot – by that time the security forces had not cordoned off the area. The wreckage of any helicopter was nowhere to be seen. I think it was a bomb that was dropped by the US forces,” he said. “It was like Dooms Day, we heard heavy explosions that shook us. It was followed by heavy gunfire and similar explosions; we couldn’t sleep till dawn,” he added.
The Dawn | The Truth Will Out by Kamran Shafi
[W]e are being told to believe that no one in Pakistan, not the Hazara police, not the IB, not the ISI, not MI, had the slightest idea just who lived in that absurd house located not far from the Pakistan Military Academy where officer cadets, the future leaders of the Pakistan Army, are trained. (Incidentally, where, not a week ago, the COAS asserted that the army had broken the back of the terrorists!) Indeed, one should have thought that a cantonment with not only this academy but three regimental centres which train recruits and turn them into soldiers should have been a most sensitive station. I can only say if they didn’t know, why didn’t they know? The truth will out one day.
[...]
We should be aware that Osama being run to ground in Abbottabad will heighten American suspicions of us, regardless of what we might say. We should also take very serious note of what American leaders are saying about us. While some people might be right in characterising congressman Dana Rohrabacher’s saying we have been playing the Americans for suckers as the view of just one conservative, we must recall Secretary Clinton saying: “I’m not saying that they’re at the highest levels, but I believe that somewhere in this government are people who know where Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda is, where Mullah Omar and the leadership of the Afghan Taliban is, and we expect more cooperation to help us bring to justice, capture or kill those who attacked us on 9/11.”
Truth will out, only this time it will bring great peril to us if we don’t shape up.
The Daily Times | Editorial
Pakistan has found itself in quite the embarrassing situation. Osama bin Laden was found in a military town just a mile or so away from the Kakul Military Academy. How he was able to hide there without any action on our part is going to be a hard sell to the Americans. So far, we have been milking the same excuse: joint intelligence and a willingness on our part in counter-terror operations led to this victory. Scratching beneath the surface may reveal other truths entirely. Whilst we have been allies of the US, we have been very trying partners, picking and choosing the militants we wanted to root out and the ones we wanted to protect. No doubt, in the coming days, Pakistan’s exact role in the war on terror and Osama’s death will become clearer. It is hoped we will not be on the receiving end of a negative fallout with the Americans, who are in this war for the long haul.
The News International | Editorial
Bin Laden, and it appears that at least two other persons including a woman, were killed in what the US says was a gun-fight, as helicopters swooped towards the palatial house where he, his guards and some family members apparently lived. This estate stood not in some remote, mountain valley but in a peaceful Abbotabad suburb, only kilometres away from the Kakul Military Academy. The failure of Pakistan to detect the presence of the world’s most wanted man here is shocking – though there is still a lack of clarity as to what role, if any, our security and intelligence apparatus played in the whole affair. It is hard to believe that foreign aircraft could have flown so deep into our territory undetected and unanticipated.
[...]
For Islamabad, the whole business is something of an embarrassment. Despite years of fervent denial, Bin Laden has been found on Pakistani soil. And now that the brazen US action in Abbotabad has happened, there may be other attempts to go after key militant figures in different urban centres. The thought is not a comforting one, considered in light of its implications for national sovereignty. Security has been stepped up at US consular buildings and in all cities. There have been reports of sporadic protests – but it is not known if these will expand. A lot may depend on how the operation and Pakistan’s role in it are perceived.
Pakistan Today | Hundreds join first rally to honour Osama
QUETTA - Hundreds took to the streets of Quetta on Monday to pay homage to Osama Bin Laden, chanting death to America and setting fire to a US flag, witnesses and organisers said. Angry participants belonging to a religious party in Quetta, were led by federal lawmaker Maulawi Asmatullah. They also torched a US flag before dispersing peacefully.
It was the first rally in Pakistan after the United States announced that Bin Laden had been killed in an overnight commando mission in Pakistan. Organisers said between 1,000 and 1,200 people attended the rally, but witnesses put the figure closer to 800. “Bin Laden was the hero of the Muslim world and after his martyrdom he has won the title of great mujahed (Muslim fighter),” Asmatullah said.
The Washington Post | Pakistan did its part by President Asif Ali Zardari
Some in the U.S. press have suggested that Pakistan lacked vitality in its pursuit of terrorism, or worse yet that we were disingenuous and actually protected the terrorists we claimed to be pursuing. Such baseless speculation may make exciting cable news, but it doesn’t reflect fact. Pakistan had as much reason to despise al-Qaeda as any nation. The war on terrorism is as much Pakistan’s war as as it is America’s. And though it may have started with bin Laden, the forces of modernity and moderation remain under serious threat.
[...]
Only hours after bin Laden’s death, the Taliban reacted by blaming the government of Pakistan and calling for retribution against its leaders, and specifically against me as the nation’s president. We will not be intimidated. Pakistan has never been and never will be the hotbed of fanaticism that is often described by the media.
Those 200 men -- it must have been quite a battle! It's a good thing top level official sources went unnamed or that would have been some crow to eat with a dash of salt.
The NYT quotes a retired Pakistani general today, also unnamed, btw: “It’s a double embarrassment,” said a retired general.
The NYT quotes a retired Pakistani general today, also unnamed, btw: “It’s a double embarrassment,” said a retired general.
“They didn’t know Bin Laden was there, or knew and didn’t act. And then the Americans came, got him, and went.”
Well, it seems to me that there are two-three choices for the Pakistani Government at this time, and all of them bad from their side of the window. 1) Admit that they did not know Bin Laden was living inside their country for years, which would make us all think their intel service is incompetent at best, a joke at worst. (Frankly, I don't know which is the least complimentary moniker in the gambling table, incompetent or double-face dealer?); 2) Conduct an investigation on OBL's Pakistani protectors, which could result on investigators being targeted by Bin Laden's groupies and more Pakistanis killed by ultra-extremists groups within the country. 3) Just do a Musharraf, the louder, the better, too:
“American troops coming across the border and taking action in one of our towns, that is Abbottabad, is not acceptable to the people of Pakistan. It is a violation of our sovereignty.”
In a CBS interview with Mr. Musharraf, Lara Logan asked the former President of Pakistan:
"Do you know of any other terrorist leaders wanted by the U.S. that are sheltering in your country?" Musharraf responded, "Well, there may be more. Yes, there may be. Yes."
Musharraf: "Why you continuously saying that? I think instead of wasting time on this issue, let us agree to disagree on this point. I don't agree."
NYT has an update on this today: The Pakistani government lashed out at the American raid that killed Osama bin Laden, saying Tuesday that the United States had made “an unauthorized unilateral action” that would be not be tolerated in the future. Using tough language, a statement by the Foreign Office said “such an event shall not serve as a future precedent for any state, including the United States.”
No comments:
Post a Comment