Reply to Is the "Bin Laden Raid" Story Fake?

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[quote=jsteele][quote=Anonymous]I will take a look at the article.  But it would seem to me that if the Bush Administration got him, they would have sounded it to the high heavens.  Or at least leaked it when Obama took credit for it.

I also find it odd that no one in Al Qaeda would have disclosed this after the raid.  It is however plausible that Pakistan aided us in the extraction but don't want to take the heat for selling him out.

It seems to me the key facts he's working from were verified from a Pakistani who said "and what you’ve told me is essentially what I have heard from former colleagues who have been on a fact-finding mission since this episode."

So basically the story's confirmation rests of "I heard that too". [/quote]

One clarification, Hersh was not suggesting that the Bush Administration or even the Obama Administration knew that the Pakistanis captured bin Laden in 2006. Rather, he says that the Pakistanis considered bin Laden too valuable simply to hand over (which they would have to do if they disclosed his capture), so they kept his capture secret.  Also, the Saudis had an interest in bin Laden not falling into American hands because of Saudi payments to bin Laden and paid the Pakistanis to keep him under arrest. Hersh says the Pakistanis also wanted to use bin Laden to pressure the Jihadist to not attack Pakistan. However, 2010 was the most violent year in Pakistan so that could mean that bin Laden has out-lived his usefulness in that regard.

Your point about al-Qaida not disclosing bin Laden's capture is a good one. Before bin Laden was killed, I could understand al-Qaida having an interest in maintaining the illusion that  UBL was still running the show. But, afterwards, revealing UBL's capture would be a good tool to help undermine the Pakistanis. 
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