Thursday, June 23, 2011

Bin Laden linked to Pakistani ISI ? Inconclusive, like death and taxes.

Of course nothing is conclusive, ever.  His death is not conclusive.  The moonwalk is still wondered about by a few die-hard souls, even Bigfoot is a question mark, aliens most assuredly are viable.  But this - this is not conclusive.





June 23, 2011 10:24 PM



Cellphone links Bin Laden to Pakistan intelligence agency asset



A cellphone taken by U.S. commandos during the raid last month that killed Osama bin Laden points to contacts between Pakistan's intelligence agency and a militant group used by the al-Qaeda leader "as part of his support network inside the country," according to a report in The New York Times.

However, the sources who briefed the Times said that the group, Harakat-ul-Mujahedeenn, were in contact with Pakistani intelligence and may have also met in person. There was no indication that the contacts were necessarily about Bin Laden, the story noted, adding that there "was no "smoking gun" showing that Pakistan's spy agency had protected Bin Laden."

Still, the disclosure is bound to raise more questions about how much Pakistan knew about Bin Laden's presence on its soil and whether it extended a protective umbrella. The topic has been another irritant in the increasingly fragile relationship between the United States and Pakistan, which was further frayed by fallout from the secret bin Laden raid in Pakistan. For their part, the Pakistanis have bridled at American suggestions they looked the other way.

For U.S. investigators, seeking to learn why Pakistani authorities failed to detect Bin Laden's arrival in Abbottabad, where the military has a major presence, it's another clue - and potentially a big one.

"It's a serious lead," according to an unnamed American official, who spoke with the TImes. "It's an avenue we're investigating."

Harakat-ul-Mujahedeen, which has strong support in the region, is believed to have several thousand armed supporters. The United States has designated the group, which has tight links with Pakistani intelligence, as a foreign terrorist organization.

The story notes that the group's leader, Maulana Fazlur Rehman Khalil, described as having a longstanding and close relationship with Bin Laden, "lives unbothered by Pakistani authorities on the outskirts of Islamabad."















isi

Make Mine Freedom - 1948


American Form of Government

Who's on First? Certainly isn't the Euro.