The firefight took place in Abbottabad, Pakistan:
Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abbottabad
Maps: http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&client=safari&q=ab...
Google Earth (copy/paste): 34° 8'48.00"N 73°12'59.00"E
Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abbottabad
Maps: http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&client=safari&q=ab...
Google Earth (copy/paste): 34° 8'48.00"N 73°12'59.00"E
Just amazing - harbored by friends in the Pakistani military for years while they received billions in aid from the US.
Edit: From the BBC - "Syed Riaz Hussain in Abbottabad, writes: "Last night, at around 0100, there was heavy gunfire about 300 metres from our house, which was followed by a huge blast. There was little in terms of military activity during the day to suggest something even remotely close to what happened. The exact spot where this incident took place, is a stone's throw from the Pakistan Military Academy, Pakistan's equivalent of West Point."
This is completely normal, and it's long been the case for the Taliban too. The Taliban operate, and sometimes govern, fearlessly and openly in parts of Pakistan. This includes proper towns and city districts, not just remote regions in the mountains. The old guard of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence is largely pro-Taliban and provides political protection, funding, supplies, training, etc. Other parts of the Pakistani government help them too.
The relationship between Al Qaeda and the Taliban is also complicated, and I'm probably in the dark as much as you are. My understanding is that they've never seen eye-to-eye, but apparently bin Laden was responsible for bringing the groups closer together. Al Qaeda has often resided in Taliban territory, with the latter's permission and protection.
Taliban: group of people looking to form a government.
Both have the goals of some kind of extremist Wahhabi-law region.
small area means that you are noticed right away by the locals, since they spend their days waiting for something out of the ordinary to happen. big cities you have surveillance and large media. you need mid sized
besides, in the case of bin laden, there was far too much heat in the tribal areas with daily drone attacks and military incursions etc. for him to be hiding there. the big cities are full of CIA agents, so it was always going to be somewhere in between.
Next up, Zawahiri (edited.) Considering that Osama was in a mansion outside of Islamabad, I would expect Zawahiri (edited) to be in a beach house outside of Karachi.
Edit: Imagine being the guy who pulled the trigger. I will never cheer anyone's death, but Osama would likely not allowed himself to be taken alive. Buy a beer / coke / shot (whatever he prefers) for the shooter. These guys are military hackers, maybe they read this as well.
Edit: Whoops, got wrong name of #2. blush
I think you're misunderstanding me, I don't want it to be true (or false, frankly, don't give a crap either way), I am just sharing what is a widely held belief there, in contrast to what is believed here.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CIA-Osama_bin_Laden_controversy
Dunno if I'd go as far as saying they were still pals in the last decade but I would warn you that jingoistic fervor is a terrible reason to suspend critical thought or curiosity. Boogeymen are enormously useful tools to those who have power. Skepticism is as valuable to apply to one's government as to conspiracy theorists. It's never "the time" to turn off your brain.
This is the same organism, mind you, that once called Iraq an imminent threat. Keep your salt handy.
Here's a great book by a former CIA field agent that explains just how complicated the reality of our middle east relations can get:
http://www.amazon.com/Sleeping-Devil-Washington-Saudi-Crude/...
Get through that book and even the most outlandish claims about our foreign policy or intelligence services will seem worth considering.
SO Pakistan ISA brokered US help by accepting US weapons and training and passing those weapons and training onto Afghan freedom fighters..
The source of the US help was the CIA..
So there was no direct knowledge in the sense that Osama did not know any CIA officers to contact, etc..but yes an indirect linkage of stuff yes..
BTW, why Pakistan? When Pakistan got the nuke bomb US policy makers reasoned that it might be helpful to support and help Pakistan to prevent use of the nuke bombs they had and those weapons falling into hands of someone else other than Pakistan..Pakistan's nuke bombs indirect result of China's political help to offset India ambitions.
update: here it is. add your review. http://bit.ly/kP0DCq
PMA Kakul (Pakistan Military Academy) is 200m South East of that, again matching the news reports.
* Surrounded with very high walls with a single entrance
* The compound was eight times larger than other houses in the area
* When it was built it was only accessible via a dirt road
* It has a field and grassy area to the side of it, which is what is shown in the Pakistan TV footage
* The compound had a clear view of anybody approaching by road, and escape routes out the back
It is amazing that they built this place only 5 years ago for the purpose of housing bin laden, and nobody in the area really asked any questions. It seems that the compound didn't have a cover story either - it had no phone or internet connection
It would have been a lot smarter to find a rich arab and his family to use as a cover. Say that it is his holiday home and get all the regular services hooked up. Having such a big building with high walls that doesn't have a phone or internet service must stand out so much that it only further leads me to believe that some in Pakistan knew what it was for and who was there.
Apparently there were ISI agents on the scene at the time of the gun battle, even though the USA didn't tip anybody off in pakistan about the compound or about the operation
I think the official US line of the pakistan government helping is just a way of placating skeptics. All the official statements from the government talk about a foreign operation and they seem to be distancing themselves from it