India Claims: We Told Youse Guys Twice Bin Ladin Was Nearby Islamabad

This would be a bit of a black eye for Bush's team, if true, because India said they told us once in mid-2007 and again in 2008.

But not much of one. Giving someone an informed hunch/opinion that someone is in the vicinity of a 4.5 million metro center isn't super-helpful, even if believed and true. (To clarify: Islamabad has a population of 1.3 million or so, but the metro area -- of which Abbottabad would be counted -- is 4.5 million.)

They did specify "in a cantonment area," which is what Osama's area was. But I don't know how much that helps, because I don't know 1, how many cantonment areas are in that area, or 2, what the hell a cantonment area even is.

So maybe I should look that up.

a temporary or semi-permanent military or police quarters.

Well that does narrow it down. But they didn't know Abbottabad, as they make no specific claim about that. And also, Abbottabad is known more as a "tourist town" than a cantonment area.

I Should Have Read The Article: Like Joncelli did, who points me to this quote:

“The urgency with which Zawahiri visited Islamabad or the area in its vicinity suggested that he was there for some purpose. We told them about Zawahiri visiting Islamabad and we also told them that we believed Osama may not be hiding in caves but in a highly urbanized area somewhere near Islamabad. Of course, nobody had spotted him and it was a conclusion we drew on the basis of the information we got,” said a top intelligence official involved in processing the information."

Yeah, that's a real "maybe, maybe not" situation. The conclusion turns out to be likely true, but before we knew bin Ladin was in Abbottabad, we really didn't know if Zawahiri was visiting him or some other person. Like someone with money to donate to the cause, or a Pakistani official who could help out, or a gay brothel, etc., etc., etc. -- a thousand other likely possibilities spring to mind, none looking less plausible than India's conclusion.

Pakistan: We Totally Had It Covered. They had Osama's compound being watched under "sharp focus" since 2003.

Since 2003? You had it under sharp focus for eight years and still didn't move the ball beyond that?

This word "sharp focus" you keep using. I dunna think it means what you think it means.

Either that, or you knew, and just refused to tell.

posted by Ace at 04:32 PM

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