Driving Directions from Pakistan Military Academy to Bin Laden's Compound
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Now, that doesn't mean that some elements of the Pakistani government were not cooperating with OBL; it just means that talking about the presence of a military academy in the same town is silly.
Its just not reasonable to think they didn't know what that giant compound down the road was.
Maybe you should consider changing the title to talk about a military base with (apparently) many ISI staffers as opposed to a military academy.
You raise a valid point. If this were any minor base it wouldn't be such a big deal. PMA is where Pakistan trains its special ops and intelligence guys. Its their elite academy.
The base is commonly called Kakul, and the main road leading to it is Kakul Rd. The purpose of this map is to show its literally a quick right off the main drive.
The military/intelligence distinction is a lot fuzzier in Pakistan than the US or Britain. I'm thinking of a report describing ISI recruitment at PMA Kakul. I'll track it down tomorrow when I get home.
For now:
Former ISI Head, current Chief of Army Staff visit last September:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lSEcu3TWM0
The town is inside a cantonment, which is an area surrounded by checkpoints.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-13257330
Pakistan Army website:
"Abbottabad, at 1220 meters (4000 feet) is named after James Abbott, a British Administrator, who served in Hazara Division, part of North West Frontier Province of present Pakistan, in the 1840’s and 50’s. It is known as the military town, full of soldiers exercising, parading, playing polo and practicing the bagpipes. "
http://www.pakistanarmy.gov.pk/AWPReview/TextContent.aspx?pI...
EDIT: Here's a pretty decent rundown. http://docstalk.blogspot.com/2011/05/indian-media-reports-on...
""A senior Pakistan military official has told India Today that it was impossible for the army to have not known that Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden was in Abbottabad. This has further fuelled speculation that Osama was killed in an ISI safehouse. Bin Laden was killed in the operation late on Sunday night at a mansion in Abbottabad, 80 kilometers north of Islamabad.
"The cantonment [military camp] town houses many military institutions, including Pakistan's Military Academy at Kakul, where most of its military elite - including present [Pakistan Army] chief General [Ashfaq Pervez] Kayani - have passed through."
(Indian source on Pakistan issue, so take it with a grain of salt)
In fact, I have read stories about the area I grew up in (suburb of DC) with CIA safehouses, etc.
It's fairly well documented that there are sympathizers within the Pakistani govt. It's all quite corrupt and the world views from that vantage point are quite different than the world views from the US.
Er, I never said anything was shocking....
There's plenty of documented history of US and Russians spies in eachother's agencies.
I don't tend to think of West Point as equivalent to the CIA....
In fact, I have read stories about the area I grew up in (suburb of DC) with CIA safehouses, etc.
Sure, and if the claim is 'OBL was hiding right under the noses of the ISI', I'd have no problem with it. What I disagree with is the notion that 'OBL was hiding right under the noses of the Pakistani equivalent of West Point'.
Its odd because OBL wasn't a low level clandestine agent. It's like if we had found Saddam Hussein next to a military base in Jordan.
The guy was six and a half feet tall and on kidney dialysis. How was he not noticed for this long?
I heard BBC reporter John Simpson describe his one encounter with OBL which occurred in 1989 in Afghanistan during the war against the Soviets. Simpson was interviewing some Mujahadeen when OBL rode in on a horse and tried to persuade them to shoot Simpson and his crew. They refused.