Speculation about the Osama raid

I’ve been reading about the raid that killed Osama bin Laden a couple of days ago. There are a number of elements that aren’t clear from official and quasi-official accounts, and I’ve been looking for answers.

First, there’s the question of whether the helicopters carrying the assault team came from Afghanistan, or a Pakistani air base. A photograph is circulating of wreckage from a crashed helicopter left behind at the scene.

The horizontal stabilizer on the tail identifies it as a Sikorsky MH-60, almost certainly a -K or -L model, highly modified variants built for US Special Forces.

These models have additional sensors built into the nose, as shown below.

They can also carry additional weapons.

Their long-range external tanks, visible in the first picture above, give them an operating radius of almost 400 miles – plenty of range to operate from Afghanistan into the target area of Pakistan (circled in red), if necessary.

These helicopters are operated by the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne) of the US Army. That unit is deployed in Afghanistan. There’s been no official mention of it being in Pakistan . . . but then, there probably wouldn’t be, would there?

Then there’s the construction and layout of the compound itself. It was clearly built to ensure privacy, and to be as defensible as possible.

As the Daily Mail points out, it’s inconceivable that bin Laden’s hiding-place wasn’t known to the Pakistani authorities.

Relations between Pakistan and the West were under intense strain last night amid widespread incredulity at Islamabad’s claim that it knew nothing of Osama Bin Laden’s whereabouts.

Politicians and experts said it beggared belief that no one in Pakistan’s notorious intelligence service had any idea the terrorist leader was living in a vast, custom-built compound only 800 yards from the country’s military academy.

Critics said the circumstantial evidence suggested that instead, Bin Laden was effectively being housed under Pakistani state control.

There’s more at the link.

Given the billions of dollars in military and economic aid that the USA is giving to Pakistan each year in return for its “co-operation” in the War On Terror, I suspect that issue is going to be raised rather firmly in the not too distant future . . . Indeed, I’d go so far as to suggest that it might have been in Pakistan’s best interests to keep bin Laden safe and secure from American retaliation, precisely because every year that he wasn’t found brought in more US financial and military aid. Makes you think, doesn’t it?

Finally, I must congratulate President Obama on the way in which he handled this affair. From the information released so far, he seems to have taken very sound decisions and handled the political aspects of the operation very well. I don’t approve of most of his policies, but I’ll gladly give credit where credit is due. Kudos, too, to those advisers who helped develop and implement the plan that led to this success.

Unfortunately, those congratulations do not extend to some of his more sycophantic advisers and inner circle. At least one commentator, writing in the Los Angeles Times, feels likewise.

According to another one of those White House briefings of reporters designed to suck up all available credit for good news, President Obama’s homeland security advisor reveals that it was a really tense time in the air-conditioned White House as unidentified U.S. Navy SEALs closed in on the world’s most wanted man after midnight a half a world away.

“Minutes passed like days,” says John Brennan, who bravely stood with press secretary Jay Carney before reporters and TV cameras today chronicling his boss’ weekend heroics.

. . .

Sunday was, Brennan revealed to his eager audience, “probably one of the most anxiety-filled periods of times in the lives of the people assembled here.” Poor poor bureaucrats. Extra Tums all around. Did someone order dinner?

There may have been a little anxiety aboard those combat choppers. Who knows? We can’t hear from them. And, as every day, anxiety in the kitchens, hearts and mind of thousands of military families who put up with the terrifying uncertainty of the dangerous deeds their loved ones have volunteered to secretly do for their country. During his 49 minute presentation Brennan did squeeze in one reference to the mission’s “very brave personnel.”

But the emphasis, with 2012 just around the calendrical corner, was on the boss’ valor. “There was nothing that confirmed that bin Laden was at that compound,” Brennan related as if such uncertainty is uncommon in war.

“And, therefore,” Brennan continued, “when President Obama was faced with the opportunity to act upon this, the president had to evaluate the strength of that information and then made what I believe was one of the most gutsiest calls of any president in recent memory.”

According to early reports of the incident, detailed here in The Ticket, 24 SEALs rappelled down ropes from hovering Chinooks in post-midnight darkness Monday Pakistan time with Osama security forces shooting at them. Brennan didn’t have much time to go into all that today, the goal is to elevate the ex-state senator to at least a one-star commander-in-chief.

Again, more at the link. The author appears to denigrate the President with his remarks, something that, under the circumstances, I don’t think is deserved. However, I totally agree with him that those doing the talking were doing the President a disservice, to put it mildly!

The real heroes of this incident are the US servicemen (and, possibly, women) who planned and executed this raid. To them a grateful nation directs its thanks and congratulations. They’ve done us proud.

I think the last word on Osama’s death should go to Adam, who commented about it on Larry Correia’s blog in these immortal words:

Adam, that’s sick, twisted . . . and hilarious!

Peter