The greatest most expensive manhunt in history, employing man and material resources far beyond anything else in recorded times, culminated at about 3 am on Sunday May 1, 2011. With a shot to the head over the left eye, and maybe another one in the chest, Osama Bin Laden’s decade-long successful evasion of those seeking him “dead or alive” came to an abrupt end. US President Barrack Obama, who earlier had given the definitive “kill” order and watched the whole operation by live video feed, said, “Justice has been done”! Bin Laden met his end very much like he lived, violently. Belatedly but ultimately, the US got its point across to those who harm their interests, you can run, you cannot hide, not forever!
A “Hideout” less than a kilometer away from the Pakistan Military Academy (PMA), Kakul was mortifying for someone who graduated nearly 46 years ago from this revered institution. In hindsight, given the utter incongruity of it, it was extremely clever for the most wanted man in the world to take deep cover literally a stone’s throw away from where Gen Kayani had only recently addressed the graduating cadets being commissioned into the Army. The isolated fortified villa was not suspicious by itself, many such high-walled entities exist all over the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa Provinces, for security reasons but also to keep prying eyes of neighbours away from the womenfolk. Allegations of such impropriety having often led to deadly firefights, not surprising that neighbours tend not to be as nosy as in other areas. Given the proximity to possible Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) support further up in the mountains, Abbottabad was well chosen. Conversely one may ask, if there was indeed Pakistani collusion which moron would be so stupid to hide Bin Laden in a major garrison town, albeit one proliferating with foreign NGOs in the aftermath of the 2005 earthquake?
Four US helicopters took part in the surgical operation, lifting an elite US SEAL unit to repel down ropes onto the roof of the compound. The firefight lasted only a few minutes, the commandos stayed on the ground for nearly 45 minutes? collecting a virtual intelligence treasure trove of computer hard drives, a hundred or so storage discs, documents, etc. Before extracting with Bin Laden’s body and one captive they carried out a quick screening of the dozen plus left alive, mainly women and children.
From Jalalabad in Afghanistan to the target location would have taken the raiders over (or near) three Air Force bases, including the very active Army helicopter base at Tarbela engaged in ongoing operations in Swat. Having myself flown extensively in the area as a helicopter pilot beyond Abbottabad along the Karakoram Highway (KKH), it was most surprising that PAF radar units, fixed and mobile, failed to pick up all this aerial activity even slipping through radar blind spots, particularly at that time of the night. Obviously the radars were jammed, that does not bode well for our air defences, the frequencies were compromised. From Jalalabad to Abbottabad and back, with 45 minutes hovering time at the target location, is quite an extended time for choppers to go without refuelling, even with disposable fuel tank. Where was the “forward base” located where fuel bowzers refueled the choppers? Somebody has to take full responsibility for this atrocious operational failure in not scrambling our fighter aircraft, has anybody the conscience to fall on his sword?
Grudgingly acknowledging Pakistani collaboration helping US close in eventually on Bin Laden’s hideout, the extent of the “actionable intelligence”, if any, is unknown. Being kept out of the loop for “security reasons” in the actual operations is embarrassing for our self-respect as a nation, that we remained totally oblivious militarily of either Bin Laden or the operation both smack of gross incompetence suggested by the outgoing CIA Chief Leon Panetta.
The 9/11 atrocity against the highly symbolic “Twin Towers” and the Pentagon, the 3000 plus US victims (including passengers in United Airlines Flight 93) left a permanent scar on the American psyche, nurturing a deep psychological yearning for revenge, ironically a very Islamic concept of “an eye for an eye”. Obama reiterated this Presidential diktat to “kill or capture” the perpetrator of the 9/11 atrocity, soon after taking office. The spontaneous reaction of widespread joy on Bin Laden’s death was evident among the citizens thronging the streets across the US at midnight, congregating symbolically at “Ground Zero” in New York and outside the White House in Washington DC. Maybe not for crass political reasons but (the Presidential stakes were high for Obama if anything went wrong) for psychological ones it was important that the finger on the trigger had to be American. A rambling Osama Bin Laden in the dock would have been a symbolic living martyr fomenting more terrorism. The calculated risk in the human element notwithstanding, a physical operation was the pragmatic choice rather than a missile attack. That revenge was derived ultimately by US hands satisfied its ecstatic citizens, even the most diehard Republicans weighed in to praise the Democrat President, the one they had been labeling “weak and indecisive”.
A very significant vocal minority in Pakistan remains enamoured by Bin Laden despite his brutal excesses. The US said for reasons of operational secrecy, Pakistani participation was not feasible. Certainly no one would have trusted anyone in the civilian government about the impending operations, might as well announce it on CNN or BBC! But keeping the military hierarchy in the dark shows a lack of respect about our tremendous sacrifices. By far most Pakistani citizens (5000 plus military and over 30000 civilian ones making for roughly 10 times the American losses) have died in this war. However highlighting Pakistani involvement would have force-multiplied terrorist retaliation in the heartland. It probably made good political sense to let Americans take credit for dealing with this “hot potato”.
One may not agree with what all the ISI does or its motives and methods, it still happens to be one of the prime institutions protecting the country’s core interests. We have to stand firmly behind the soldiers dying everyday in counterinsurgency operations, notwithstanding the many times more collateral civilian damage suffered by those killed in the streets, mosques, etc. There will be extraordinary pressure within the US to exit Afghanistan now that Bin Laden is dead, a long struggle against terrorism looms ahead of us and we need the US, and they do need us. Bin Laden alive or dead does not matter, the fight is far from being over!
Pakistan’s detractors are having a field day converting conjuncture into a fact, scurrilous speculation being bandied about our intelligence agencies. The data collected as well as the captive’s interrogation report assumes great importance. For Pakistan’s future as a credible entity in the comity of nations, the real truth, whatever it may be, must come out. Anybody cooperating with terrorists needs a short shrift. On the other hand, the US has all the evidence to either clear or indict “Pakistani collaboration”, official or unofficial. The blunt message to our US allies must be unequivocal, either put up or shut up!
Courtesy: The News
