Senator Bob Corker Presses Secretary Clinton for Details of Pakistani Cooperation on Osama bin Laden

With Osama bin Laden holed up no more than a Lance Armstrong afternoon ride from the capital of Pakistan, it seems absolutely laughable – if not impossible – that the Pakistani government was unaware that the world’s most wanted terrorist was “hiding in plain site” just down the goat trail. Nevertheless, bewildered and befuddled, Pakistani officials are standing steadfast in their claims that they had no knowledge of Osama bin Laden’s whereabouts and they explicitly reject assertions that their government assisted or was even complicit in allowing his compound to be constructed.

Hmmm… Call me a naysayer, but I’m not buying it; and neither is at least one senator. He, Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee, is asking for answers and calling upon the State Department to release and disclose details of Pakistani cooperation related to the kill operation that brought Osama bin Laden to justice.

From Senator Corker’s Website:

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Bob Corker, R-Tenn., a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, on Monday sent a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton requesting “details as to the extent of the cooperation received from the Pakistanis and their role in the final operation” that led to the death of Osama bin Laden given “the discovery that bin Laden was living in comfortable surroundings merely 35 miles from Islamabad.” This revelation about bin Laden’s whereabouts, Corker writes, “calls into question whether or not the Pakistanis had knowledge that he was there and did not share that knowledge.”

The attached letter reads:

“Osama bin Laden’s death finally puts an end to an unspeakable reign of terror carried out by the man responsible for the September 11, 2001 attacks and the deaths of thousands of Americans and innocent civilians around the world, but questions about the role of Pakistan and the true depth of our partnership remain.

“For some time, relations between the U.S. and Pakistan have been tense yet endured many trials. The United States is fighting a war in Afghanistan against terrorists largely based in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with little noticeable support from the Pakistanis to target those actors most harmful to our success.

“As I understand from President Obama’s speech last evening, the Pakistanis provided some cooperation in the operation that resulted in the death of Osama bin Laden. That said, the discovery that bin Laden was living in comfortable surroundings merely 35 miles from Islamabad calls into question whether or not the Pakistanis had knowledge that he was there and did not share that knowledge. The claim had been he was difficult to find because he was hiding in the mountains.

“I hope that in the coming days you will provide details as to the extent of the cooperation received from the Pakistanis and their role in the final operation.”

In a statement Monday, Corker said, “We’re tremendously proud of our military and intelligence services who successfully executed a dangerous operation that resulted in a major victory for the fight against terrorism. While the threats against the U.S. remain, bin Laden’s death sends a powerful message to the world that we will not rest until justice is done.”

So what’s to be gained from shedding light on the extent of Pakistani “cooperation” if they’ve already emphatically stated that they knew nothing about Osama bin Laden’s whereabouts?

I mean come on; just think about it. If the Pakistani government truly knew nothing about the compound its tenants – and the Obama White House or the State Department believed them – why didn’t we inform them that we were going to invade their sovereign airspace to conduct a kill mission just miles from their capital? The answer? We didn’t trust them.

To be fair, to say we didn’t “trust them” casts a rather large shadow; and perhaps, maybe even one that extends a bit too far. The White House and the State Department may very well “trust” the whole of the Pakistani government, but may simply have its reservations about specific entities – namely the ISI.

Remember this little news story that emerged just days before the assault on bin Laden’s compound…?

REUTERS: According to the documents published on Sunday, the U.S. military classified the Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate, or ISI, as a terrorist support entity in 2007 and used association with it as a justification to detain prisoners in Guantanamo Bay.

One document (link.reuters.com/tyn29r), given to The New York Times, says detainees who associated with the ISI “may have provided support to al Qaeda or the Taliban, or engaged in hostilities against US or Coalition forces”.

“I request you to rebut the propaganda being done against our intelligence,” Interior Minister Rehman Malik told reporters.

“Rebut it forcefully and defend your agencies as the other countries do. This is your national asset and the future of the country.”

According to the document, the ISI, along with al Qaeda, Hamas and Hezbollah and Iranian intelligence, are among 32 groups on the list of “associated forces”, which also includes Egypt’s Islamic Jihad, headed by al Qaeda deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri.

A mission in the works for half a decade; a Pakistani intelligence entity flagged for supporting terror groups; and a Pakistani government so derelict in its duty as a sovereign nation and a partner in the war on global terrorism that it was unaware that Osama bin Laden was living just miles from its capital… add that up and what to you get? I don’t think I’m grasping at straws here when I say – not exactly an environment ripe for “cooperation.”

Let’s just be real about it…

We have no respect for their “intelligence” apparatus and suspect they’re at least complicit in letting terror groups operate within their borders. The Pakistani government has proven itself incompetent by not detecting bin Laden’s presence on a massive compound just outside its capital. So, after years of “connecting the dots” we finally have Osama bin Laden in our cross-hairs, would really pick up the phone and give them the rundown of what we’re about to do? Probably not.

Scratch that. Absolutely not.

I think the fact that the Pakistani military scrambled its jets and deployed its troops to the compound once it caught wind of the assault is probably the only evidence one needs to draw the conclusion that the Pakistani government was none-the-wiser. Add that to the fact that White House counter-terrorism chief John Brennan stated that not only did they not know we were coming, but also that we didn’t even inform them until our choppers were out of Pakistani airspace. Nope, not even a head’s up that the helicopters they were tracking belonged to the USA. But why? Perhaps, because we were worried they would attempt to intercept the package?

As is the case with any mission this sensitive in nature, there are always going to be questions that go unanswered. There’s a reason why the word “classified” is common place in our vernacular. While I certainly understand that certain aspects of this operation will go “unreported”, I do believe the American People have every right to know whether Pakistan was a blissfully ignorant “partner” in achieving this mission’s objective; or if they were seen as a potential roadblock and liability to its ultimate success.

If either is true, and certainly if the latter is the more likely scenario; I think it would be more than prudent to begin the process of reevaluating our “partnership” with Pakistan in the days, weeks, and months to come.

CBS NEWS: The U.S. has a delicate alliance with Pakistan. The nuclear-armed nation is a critical partner in the United States’ counter-terrorism efforts and receives billions in aid from the U.S. In his 2012 budget, President Obama requested nearly $3 billion in foreign assistance for Pakistan, including $1.58 billion in funds for security-related programs.

Yet White House counterterrorism adviser John Brennan said yesterday that “it’s inconceivable that bin Laden did not have a support system in [Pakistan] that allowed him to remain there for an extended period of time.”

So again, what is to be gained from shedding light on the extent of Pakistani involvement in Osama bin Laden’s extraction and termination? Oh I don’t know, perhaps to answer the question of why we’re cooperating with Pakistan in the first place?

What exactly is it that billions of tax payer dollars are buying us again? Someone please refresh my memory. Cooperation? What could they possibly give us that could be more valuable than that which Seal Team 6 took Sunday night – for free?

I think the reality that most are hoping will be ignored here is that Pakistan is no longer a “partner” at all – in the war on terror or in Afghanistan. Instead, it has become the target. Perhaps, “target” is a bit too harsh. Pakistan is now the “interest” in the region. Our endeavors in Afghanistan no longer serve an end in pursuing terrorists and other threats therein, but they do provide a “justifiable” explanation for our continued presence just across the border from Pakistan – a nation quickly looking more and more like a state-sponsor of terrorism; and one that also happens to possess nuclear weapons.

With Osama bin Laden now removed from the conversation, questions will begin swirling about our continued presence in the region. Is Afghanistan an undertaking worth its “cost” with OBL removed from the picture and Al Qaeda now tucked away in Pakistan? While I am certain many of these questions will be rooted in long-standing political positions, I do believe it is absolutely essential that they are asked. What is, what what will be, our new role in Afghanistan? As nation-builder? As a safeguard against the return of the Taliban and Al Qaeda? Or as something else? Perhaps, as the a balancing force in the region to offset the potential threat posed by a new and rising state-sponsor of terrorism; albeit masked in the befuddled cloak of ignorance and information unbeknownst – gone unchecked under the guise of a global “partnership?”

I suppose we shall see. But in the mean time, we deserve to know that Pakistan knew regarding Osama bin Laden’s capture/kill. Without it, we are ill-equipped to both achieve a firm grasp of these events and to prepare for how to proceed in a continued partnership with a nation we seem to increasingly have absolutely no confidence in.

So, in sum… I commend you Senator Corker. Keep fighting the good fight. There are far too many unknowns related to this ongoing “partnership” to simply rest on the news that Osama bin Laden has finally been brought to justice. And if your inquiry proves what most already believe – that we didn’t trust the Pakistani government with the intelligence – I think this may be one “partnership” we now and henceforth, consider severed.

—-

For more… there’s an seemingly endless chain of commentary up at Memeorandum.