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US, Pakistan struck bin Laden search deal
US forces were given permission to conduct unilateral raid inside Pakistan if they knew where bin Laden was hiding, writes Declan Walsh in Islamabad.The US and Pakistan struck a secret deal almost a decade ago permitting a US operation against Osama bin Laden on Pakistani soil similar to last weeks raid that killed the al-Qaeda leader, the Guardian has learned. The deal was struck between Pakistan's military leader, General Pervez Musharraf, and President George Bush after bin Laden escaped US forces in the mountains of Tora Bora in late 2001, according to serving and retired Pakistani and US officials. Under its terms, Pakistan would allow US forces to conduct a unilateral raid inside its borders in search of bin Laden, his deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri; and the al-Qaeda No.3. Afterwards, both sides agreed, Pakistan would vociferously protest against the incursion. "There was an agreement between Bush and Musharraf that if we knew where Osama was, we were going to come and get him," a former senior US official with knowledge of counter-terrorism operations said. "The Pakistanis would put up a hue and cry, but they wouldnt stop us." Posted by: tipper 2011-05-10 |
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