More assistance from our friend and ally Pakistan. From the Telegraph, with thanks to Sr. Soph:
Prevarication by the Pakistani government cost America the chance to kill Osama bin Laden in an airstrike near the Afghan border two years ago, the Sunday Telegraph has been told.
A CIA lead that the al-Qaeda leader was hiding in a remote province was squandered because the Pakistani government delayed giving permission for the attack on its soil, according to a senior Western diplomat.
By the time US officials got the go-ahead, bin Laden had left the suspected hideout in Zhob, in the Baluchistan province of south-west Pakistan.
The near-miss was cited by the diplomat as the reason why America chose not to consult Islamabad before the US missile strike in Pakistan’s Bajaur region two weeks ago. The January 13 attack, prompted by a tip that bin Laden’s deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, was hiding in a local village, killed 13 civilians.
Speaking of the Zhob attack, the diplomat, who asked not to be named, said: “For unknown reasons, Pakistani officials delayed in giving permission…which ultimately gave these militants time to move to an unknown location.”
For unknown reasons. Maybe because there are so many supporters of the jihad within the Pakistani government and military? But this, of course, cannot be acknowledged or even discussed — and this PC lack of focus is costing us dearly.