Some elements in PAK army were in contact with Al-Qaeda – former US President Barack Obama said
Former US President Barack Obama has said that he refused to involve Pakistan in the campaign to raid Osama bin Laden’s hideout in Abbottabad because it was an “open secret” that Pakistan’s military, especially his Some elements in the intelligence service had links with the Taliban and possibly al-Qaeda and used them as strategic capital against Afghanistan and India many times.
Obama, in his book titled ‘A Promised Land’, gives details of the raids in Abbottabad during his tenure as President. The world’s most wanted terrorist, Laden, was killed on May 2, 2011, in this raid by American commandos. He said that this excessive intelligence operation was opposed by the then Defense Minister Robert Gates and former Vice President and current elected President Joe Biden.
The first black president of the US said several options were considered to kill the al-Qaeda chief after it became clear that Laden’s stay in a hideout outside the Pakistani military cantonment in Abbottabad. He said the need to maintain the secrecy of the campaign had increased the challenge.
Obama said, “We knew that if anyone got a little clue of our action about bin Laden, the chance would be lost, that’s why only a few people in the entire federal government plan to campaign.” Was informed. “He had another obstacle in front of us: Pakistan could not be included in whatever option we chose.”
Obama said, “Although the government of Pakistan cooperated with us in many anti-terrorism operations and provided vital supply routes for our forces in Afghanistan, it was an open secret that some elements in Pakistan’s military, especially its intelligence services, There were also links with the Taliban and possibly Al Qaeda. They sometimes used them as strategic capital to ensure that the Afghan government remained weak and that Afghanistan did not come close to India, Pakistan’s biggest enemy. ”
He wrote that the Pakistan Army was just a few miles from the Abbottabad compound, raising the possibility that information about the operation might be leaked by informing Pakistanis about anything. Obama wrote that no matter what choice he made in Abbottabad, he would have had to enter the territory of his ally without permission in the most dangerous way, and this also put diplomatic relations at stake and added to the complexities.
In the final stages, two options were considered whether to carry out an airstrike or to authorize a particular mission, under which a team would secretly fly to Pakistan, raid the premises and be there before the Pakistani police or army could react. Will come out Obama and his national security team chose the second option.
Obama said that after this campaign, he spoke on the phone to many people domestically and internationally, the most difficult of which was to talk to the then President of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari, who was criticized for his criticism of Pakistan’s sovereignty Had to hunt. He said, “However when I spoke to him, he congratulated and assured me of cooperation.”