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Comment by csense | Hacker News Reader

> I would expect they would turn the criminal over to the US.

This expectation seems...poorly calibrated.

Pakistan didn't arrest Osama bin Laden, the terrorist mastermind behind an attack that killed thousands of innocent people and significantly altered the trajectory of world history. In what universe do you think they would deport a humble counterfeiter of stamps?

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Osama bin Laden had friends in high places. I doubt this is true for our stamp counterfeiter, although if he earned even a fraction of the US$126M loss USPS allegedly suffered, I'm sure he can buy some.

You're insinuating a lot here. Pakistan helped tremendously with the wars we were in in the Middle East. The govt did not partake in hiding Bin Laden, he was in an air gapped room in a secure compound and never ever went outside. It's pretty hard to find someone hiding like that. The US govt also did their own investigations and found the govt there did not take part in hiding him. He was hidden by sympathizers in the country

> Bin Laden...was in an air gapped room in a secure compound

...which was located less than a mile (1300m for the non-Americans) from Pakistani West Point[1]. That points to either mind-boggling incompetence or a deep and well-hidden conspiracy.

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osama_bin_Laden%27s_compound_i...

Robert Hanssen was a leader in US counterintelligence, who was a prolific spy for the Soviets and Russians.

Motivated people can accomplish things.

Yes it was located there. But it's not like they can raid every house in the city. So much of our nations power is located in DC which has a huge amount of criminal activity and ghettos right next to it. None of this is proof of conspiracy and the US (who found Bin Laden in that compound and needed to do fake vaccine drives to do so) never found any proof of a conspiracy either and they did an investigation into this

> So much of our nations power is located in DC which has a huge amount of criminal activity

Most of that isn't a national security priority. If Ted Kaczynski had been found hiding in DC or near West Point, instead of his cabin in the woods in Montana, they'd only be wrapping up the Congressional hearings by about now.

Not really. He could have very easily been hiding out anywhere, even DC. But I'd also add that Kaczynski was actively committing crimes while unable to be found. Bin Laden had not only not left his compound for years, he also wasn't really doing anything all that time either.

> That points to either mind-boggling incompetence or a deep and well-hidden conspiracy.

Why? I don't think military schools have a habit of invading nearby mansions and not much less was going to find him.

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