03-05-2011, 02:36 AM
More from Tariq Ali.
Quote:http://www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2011/05/02/tar...re-he-was/
Who told them where he was?
Tariq Ali 2 May 2011
A US Special Forces operation in Pakistan has taken out Osama bin Laden
and a few others. He was in a safe house close to Kakul Military Academy
(Pakistan?s Sandhurst). The only interesting question is who betrayed
his whereabouts and why. The leak could only have come from the ISI and,
if this is the case, which I?m convinced it is, then General Kayani, the
military boss of the country, must have green-lighted the decision. What
pressure was put on him will come out sooner or later. The event took me
back to a conversation I had a few years ago.
In 2006 on my way back from Lahore I encountered an acquaintance from my
youth. Shamefacedly he confessed that he was a senior intelligence
officer on his way to a European conference to discuss better ways of
combating terrorism. The following conversation (a lengthier version can
be found in The Duel: Pakistan on the Flightpath of American Power) ensued:
?Is OBL still alive??
He didn?t reply.
?When you don?t reply,? I said, ?I?ll assume the answer is yes.?
I repeated the question. He didn?t reply.
?Do you know where he is??
He burst out laughing.
?I don?t, and even if I did, do you think I?d tell you??
?No, but I thought I?d ask anyway. Does anyone else know where he is??
He shrugged his shoulders.
I insisted: ?Nothing in our wonderful country is ever a secret.
Someone must know.?
?Three people know. Possibly four. You can guess who they are.?
I could. ?And Washington??
?They don?t want him alive.?
?And your boys can?t kill him??
?Listen friend, why should we kill the goose that lays the golden
eggs??
Now the Americans have killed the goose themselves. What was the bounty
promised and to whom? Would that they also now brought to an end the war
and occupation that was supposedly fought to take out Osama and that has
already led to civilian casualties that are, at the very least, four
times higher than the casualties of Twin Towers. Will they? Like hell
they will.
"The philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways. The point, however, is to change it." Karl Marx
"He would, wouldn't he?" Mandy Rice-Davies. When asked in court whether she knew that Lord Astor had denied having sex with her.
“I think it would be a good idea” Ghandi, when asked about Western Civilisation.
"He would, wouldn't he?" Mandy Rice-Davies. When asked in court whether she knew that Lord Astor had denied having sex with her.
“I think it would be a good idea” Ghandi, when asked about Western Civilisation.