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Seymour Hersh report: WH lied about Bin Laden raid

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by Dick Whitman, May 11, 2015.

  1. Baron Scicluna

    Baron Scicluna Well-Known Member

    Bush lies= 4,8oo+ American soldiers die

    Obama lie= 1 terrorist who killed 3,000 die.

    IMPEACH!
     
  2. LongTimeListener

    LongTimeListener Well-Known Member

    You have to take a long hard look at George Zimmerman for this.
     
    doctorquant likes this.
  3. YankeeFan

    YankeeFan Well-Known Member

    Ya think?

    BTW, his byline has only appeared in the New Yorker three times in the last three years:

    Seymour M. Hersh - The New Yorker

    I think they're pretty careful about publishing his bs.
     
  4. YankeeFan

    YankeeFan Well-Known Member

    NBC up with some of their own reporting:

    Two intelligence sources tell NBC News that the year before the U.S. raid that killed Osama bin Laden, a "walk in" asset from Pakistani intelligence told the CIA where the most wanted man in the world was hiding - and these two sources plus a third say that the Pakistani government knew where bin Laden was hiding all along.

    The U.S. government has always characterized the heroic raid by Seal Team Six that killed bin Laden as a unilateral U.S. operation, and has maintained that the CIA found him by tracking couriers to his walled complex in Abbottabad, Pakistan.

    ...
    The NBC News sources who confirm that a Pakistani intelligence official became a "walk in" asset include the special operations officer and a CIA officer who had served in Pakistan. These two sources and a third source, a very senior former U.S. intelligence official, also say that elements of the ISI were aware of bin Laden's presence in Abbottabad. The former official was emphatic about the ISI's awareness, saying twice, "They knew."

    Another top official acknowledged to NBC News that the U.S. government had long harbored "deep suspicions" that ISI and al Qaeda were "cooperating." And a book by former acting CIA director Mike Morrell that will be published tomorrow says that U.S. officials could not dismiss the possibility of such cooperation.

    None of the sources characterized how high up in ISI the knowledge might have gone. Said one former senior official, "We were suspicious that someone inside ISI … knew where bin Laden was, but we did not have intelligence about specific individuals having specific knowledge."


    Pakistanis Knew Where Bin Laden Was, Say US Sources - NBC News
     
  5. Twirling Time

    Twirling Time Well-Known Member

    Of course the Pakistanis knew. I don't know if this is news, though. I recall some deep embarrassment on their part in 2011.

    It's also possible that the U.S. could have developed its intelligence independent of the ISI whistleblower, if that's the right word.
     
  6. Neutral Corner

    Neutral Corner Well-Known Member

    I don't have any problem believing that the ISI knew where OBL was. That said, $25m is a lot of money. Someone who knew decided to cash in? I'm so surprised. That's why you put that big money on his head to start with, right?

    I have zero problem with the SEALS punching his time clock, especially if he made any move at all toward a weapon.
     
  7. Baron Scicluna

    Baron Scicluna Well-Known Member

    I remember some Pakistani officials were outraged that we went in there without them knowing and without their permission. Our response was, well duh, you had him, you knew we wanted him, and why should we trust you with anything?
     
  8. trifectarich

    trifectarich Well-Known Member

    Maybe some of this has merit, and maybe not. Maybe we'll never know for sure. But if we've learned anything over the last few years, it's that the government isn't always forthright about what it tells the American public.
     
  9. MisterCreosote

    MisterCreosote Well-Known Member

    Neither is Seymour Hersh.
     
  10. Dick Whitman

    Dick Whitman Well-Known Member

    I can't believe - well, yes, I can - how many of my left-leaning friends are announcing that they are fine with this, even if it's true.

    It's not OK for the White House to lie to the public.
     
  11. YankeeFan

    YankeeFan Well-Known Member

    Andrea Mitchell was pretty funny today.

    Her reporting is that the it was a "walk in" that provided us the info about where Bin Laden was. So, the government story about tracking couriers was a cover story to protect the walk in.

    But, she swears that the rest of Hersh's reporting is wrong, because none of her sources has told her what Hersh is reporting.

    Now, Hersh's reporting does look to be thinly sourced, and some of it sounds implausible. But, to say he's wrong because the government, which has just been shown to have lied about other aspects of the story can't confirm these aspects, is a little silly.

    Confirm that the government's story is true Andrea, or show us why Hersh is wrong. Don't just tell us, "well the Government says it isn't true."
     
  12. YankeeFan

    YankeeFan Well-Known Member

    I get that you have to protect intelligence gathering techniques and sources.

    I don't think you need to trot John Brennan out to spin tall tales, with he and the President in the starring role of this incredible drama.

    You can't tell us everything? Fine. Say that. But make up false narratives. The lying in particular is what makes the public lose trust in government, and in our leaders.
     
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