Pakistan's Prime Minister Addresses Parliament on Osama bin Laden Raid

By Jeralyn, Section War on Terror
Posted on Mon May 09, 2011 at 09:24:38 AM EST
Tags: Osama bin Laden (all tags)

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Pakistan Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani addressed the country's Parliament today. He said the unilateral raid on Osama bin Laden's compound was regrettable. Pakistan will conduct an investigation into how Osama hid in Abbottabad for so long. He also said in the future, "any attack on strategic assets would be retaliated with full force."

Gilani said "the US used its technological ability to evade Pakistan’s radar system." He also called for more information sharing, and "an end to the blame game."

He also denied Pakistani ISI was in cahoots with Osama or al Qaeda: [More...]

"Allegations of complicity or incompetence are absurd," Gilani said in a televised address to parliament, adding that it was disingenuous for anyone to accuse Pakistan, including its spy agency, of "being in cahoots" with the al Qaeda network.

Update: The full text of the speech is here (scroll down).

< Obama Discusses Osama bin Laden Raid on "60 Minutes" | HAMP'd >

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Pakistan's Prime Minister Addresses Parliament on Osama bin Laden Raid | 18 comments (18 topical)

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So bin Laden was (5.00 / 1) (#1)
by Big Tent Democrat on Mon May 09, 2011 at 09:35:24 AM EST

a strategic asset to Pakistan?

Well, he was the reason we were (none / 0) (#4)
by jimakaPPJ on Mon May 09, 2011 at 09:40:53 AM EST

sending them $4 billion a year.


Well (5.00 / 1) (#6)
by Big Tent Democrat on Mon May 09, 2011 at 09:46:33 AM EST

Not entirely, but a good line nonetheless.


: Right (none / 0) (#12)
by ScottW714 on Mon May 09, 2011 at 01:12:48 PM EST

That spout is still on.

4 billion a year.. (none / 0) (#18)
by jondee on Wed May 11, 2011 at 01:26:44 PM EST

just in case we needed him again to help keep the Rooskies at bay.


I believe he also used the term (5.00 / 3) (#10)
by ruffian on Mon May 09, 2011 at 12:04:23 PM EST

'blame game' as in let's not let the blame game stigmatize Pakistan. My rule of thumb is that the first one to say 'let's not play the blame game' usually deserves the blame.

: I believe that what he's really saying (5.00 / 2) (#11)
by Militarytracy on Mon May 09, 2011 at 12:14:51 PM EST

is that inspite of the fact that we can only believe every third thing Pakistan tells us, we will still have a relationship with them (because we have to).

: Blame Game.... Cahoots ??? (none / 0) (#13)
by ScottW714 on Mon May 09, 2011 at 01:21:35 PM EST

This is why I don't believe any of it, expressions like 'blame game' and terms like 'cahoots' are American and can't translate to Urdu well. So either they are lying or the translators are taking liberties.

I believe he was referring (none / 0) (#2)
by Harry Saxon on Mon May 09, 2011 at 09:38:05 AM EST

to the city Obama 'hid' in, which of course is a military cantonment, and only highlights that Obama wasn't in a quiet civilian city or suburb.

As stated (5.00 / 2) (#5)
by Big Tent Democrat on Mon May 09, 2011 at 09:46:04 AM EST

Begs the question of how bin Laden was able to be in such a "strategic asset."

The entire Pakistani story is a joke.


: Too many fences to straddle, etc. (none / 0) (#8)
by christinep on Mon May 09, 2011 at 11:10:29 AM EST

I understand that--in addition to the Pakistani PM cautioning about any possible future US incursions, he simultaneously acknowledged bin Laden's terrorist status in the world & that the US raid resulted in "justice <being> done." So, the split Pakistani society, and how their leaders play to it, seem only to grow deeper cleavages since Benazir Bhutto (and her father before her.) Trying to build up one side and knock down the other in that riven state may take a magician.

I meant Osama, of course (none / 0) (#3)
by Harry Saxon on Mon May 09, 2011 at 09:38:25 AM EST

And how can Dubya... (none / 0) (#7)
by Dadler on Mon May 09, 2011 at 09:57:41 AM EST

...be living in comfort with a pension and we don't even care?

Pakistan's story is, like BTD said, a joke, but I'm not sure, in the whole scheme of things, that we aren't a bigger one.

How many innocents have we slaughtered without the slightest bit of national concern?

The bigger "joke" is how U.S. taxpayer (none / 0) (#9)
by oculus on Mon May 09, 2011 at 11:31:55 AM EST

money is expended to government's such as Pakistan, Egypt, etc.


: Egypts (none / 0) (#17)
by Socraticsilence on Tue May 10, 2011 at 03:49:27 PM EST

pretty simple, its one of the Carrots of the Camp David Accords.

Right (none / 0) (#14)
by ScottW714 on Mon May 09, 2011 at 01:25:09 PM EST

At least Pakistan took the official view Osama was bad, we can't even take that view. Just waiting for some public space to be names after GWB.


epidemic of irrationality (none / 0) (#15)
by diogenes on Mon May 09, 2011 at 10:05:12 PM EST

Bush haters have the same disease that Bill Clinton haters had in the 1990's. Slight mutation, that's all.


: But people who think (5.00 / 0) (#16)
by Harry Saxon on Tue May 10, 2011 at 12:09:02 AM EST

Obama is some sort of sekret Socialist are well-balanced political thinkers of all stripes.