Dianne Feinstein: Bin Laden Was At Pakistan Compound For Up To Six Years

WASHINGTON -- Senate Intelligence Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said Monday that Osama bin Laden had been living on the compound where he was killed for up to six years and expressed concern that the Pakistani government may have known.

“It appears that Osama bin Laden and his family could have lived there for up to six years,” Feinstein told reporters at the Capitol. “This compound has been around [for up to six years] and that’s the belief. I said up to six years.”

The California Democrat voiced concerns that the Pakistani intelligence agency, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), may have known bin Laden was there and not done anything about it, particularly given the compound’s massive size and proximity to Islamabad.

“It’s very hard for me to understand how Pakistani [leaders], particularly the ISI, would not have known that something was going on in that compound,” she said. “I’ve had a growing concern that the Pakistani government … is really walking both sides of the street.”

Feinstein stopped short of calling for cutting off $1.1 billion in U.S. aid to Pakistan for counter-insurgency efforts. But she floated the idea of restructuring those funds in a different way.

“Our government is in fiscal distress,” she said. “To make contributions to a country that isn’t going to be fully supportive is a problem for many.”

Feinstein noted that members of the Intelligence Committee had been briefed on the compound “for some time” and that fact that nobody leaked information about it is “very special.” She also gave President Barack Obama credit “for having the gumption to make the decision” to attack the compound when it still wasn’t 100 percent certain that bin Laden was there. Intelligence officials had been tracking the compound for a while and there was some “actionable intelligence” that bin Laden was there, but nobody had actually identified him yet, she said.

Feinstein isn’t the only key Democrat raising concerns about the Pakistani government's potential knowledge of bin Laden's whereabouts: Sen. Frank Lautenberg (N.J.), vice chairman of the Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee, said it may be time for “a review” of U.S. aid to Pakistan.

“I hate to take a phrase from the past, but someone once said, ‘Trust but verify,’” he said.

 

 

Comments

[travlindr]

11:10 AM on 05/04/2011

So why were we bombing innocent people along the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan?

[bccmeteorites]

11:09 PM on 05/03/2011

Of course she knew she's from California.

[Mitchman57]

08:34 PM on 05/03/2011

OBL in that walled prison for the past 6 years, then shot in the eye.... Priceless.

[greenskeeper]

07:36 PM on 05/03/2011

Only a wise and thoughtful President would make the decision to use the same Navy Seal team 6 that dispatched those Somali pirates.

Only a wise and thoughtful President would make the decision not to inform our Pakistani [allies?] about our operation.

Only a wise and thoughtful President would make the decision Not to bomb the house so we could positively ID Bin Laden corpse. [unfortunately grisly pictures will have to be released]

Only a wise and thoughtful President would make the decision Not to bomb the house so we could retrieve a "treasure lode" of intelligence. [computers, hard drives, dvds].

We took a giant step 2 days ago in our war on terrorism.

Thanks to our armed forces around the world and our Commander in Chief, President Barak Obama.

That Bush kid had all this talent and intelligence at his finger tips, but just couldn't put it together. He probably was too busy driving America off a cliff.

[judew777]

11:20 AM on 05/05/2011

Agree 100%

[HGfromOmaha]

07:28 PM on 05/03/2011

My Homeowners Association would have found OBL......This "association" has nothing better to do than dig in crevices and holes to find violators. The current jack-wagon in charge of the HOA where I live, can smell something out of place a mile away. Could have saved a ton of money if he was running the neighborhood where OBL was holed up.

[judew777]

11:22 AM on 05/05/2011

Mine too,they know whats in your back yard ,better then the Pakistan military.

[digiboxer]

07:18 PM on 05/03/2011

Anyone else see the irony in her observation that it was "very special" that no Senators on the Intelligence Committee leaked the info about the compound after being briefed on it?

I get all misty just thinking of the heroic restraint and discretion they showed.....

[mybeep1]

10:07 PM on 05/03/2011

Typical politician. If there are atta-boys being handed out, they/she wants some.

[rchwel]

10:43 PM on 05/03/2011

But she didn't wear a Navy Seal uniform and have a large Missioj Accomplishd sign behind her !

[LoneRangerDude]

07:08 PM on 05/03/2011

Eighteen foot walls ... burning garbage ... in a populated area ... don't find anything strange about that.

Pakistani Intelligence may not have too much intelligence, but they're not THAT stupid.

[ArchbishopBenevolent]

06:59 PM on 05/03/2011

Of course, the Pakistanis knew. Terrorism and nuclear proliferation are their racket for foreign aid.

[canarypapers]

06:48 PM on 05/03/2011

I have great respect for Feinstein. Which makes it all the more perplexing when she says, “I’ve had a growing concern that the Pakistani government … is really walking both sides of the street.”

Are we supposed to pretend that this is new news? More importantly, are we supposed to pretend we don't know that the US has been "walking both sides of the street" all along in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq and, now, Libya?

[bccmeteorites]

07:03 PM on 05/03/2011

Not news WIKILEAKS disclosed this infomration in the State Dept cables long ago.

[canarypapers]

07:22 PM on 05/03/2011

My point exactly.

[Frank Brenner]

06:36 PM on 05/03/2011

Looks like the CIA finally got an invite to cruise over to Tim Osman's house for a little tete a tete.
It must be hard to kill one of your own. It is a shame he did a good job with those fake videos in the 00s, and he did rally the troops against the Soviets in the 80s, but when you got to go, you got to go. It is a shame that the Bush family is still friends with the Bin Ladens, they never got Tim's penchant for the dramatic.

[AxelDC]

06:10 PM on 05/03/2011

That's about the same time Bush quit on the job after dismantling the CIA Bin Laden Search Team.

[Frank Brenner]

06:37 PM on 05/03/2011

It is a shame that the Bush family is still friends with the Bin Ladens, they never got Tim's penchant for the dramatic.

[Cold in Michigan]

05:35 PM on 05/03/2011

After reading a lot of the posts in this thread I discoverd a few of things.

1. People that spew hatred are still doing it.
2. Those that love conspiracy theroys have found more.
3. Everyone is an expert on forgein affairs and knows without a doubt what we should do.
And by far the most important...
4. No one is willing to wait until we hear all the details before decideing what actions we should take

Like Obama or not, at least he is waiting for information and not giving into speculation and rumor.

[synergie]

05:45 PM on 05/03/2011

Have the 8 years previous to Obama really have set our standards so low? He's the president of course he's waiting for information, only an idiot acts on speculation and rumor.

[AxelDC]

06:11 PM on 05/03/2011

Like invading Iraq on faulty intelligence to get revenge for your daddy.

[SuperMoncho]

05:28 PM on 05/03/2011

Amazing, lets cut those bsterds off

[Erdgeist]

05:20 PM on 05/03/2011

Since 2001 the U.S. has spent over 400 billion bucks in Afghanistan trying to get Osama bin Laden, when much of the time he was probably safe in Pakistan—our great ally. Is there anyway the taxpayer can get this money back, since it was used for a wild goose chase?

[synergie]

05:45 PM on 05/03/2011

It's not like it wasn't well known that he was in Pakistan, so we chased that goose because we felt we knew best. Our mistake.

[AllyCat7]

05:48 PM on 05/03/2011

Nope. It's in the private bank accounts of the Pakistani elites. Can you believe that?

[bessielil]

05:18 PM on 05/03/2011

At the very least, could we use this event to get out of Afghanistan? Our invasion, way back when, was ostensibly to capture or kill OBL. Apparently, Al Quaida has dispersed over the past few years and there is no 'winning' in Afghanistan.

Our military focus must be tactical, finely honed, and based on excellent intelligence aimed at small specific targets. Invasion should no longer be our modus operandi. It should not have been since 9/11. or perhaps since Viet Nam. Iraq? Oh, the waste and slaughter. Just think of all the money, lives lost, not to mention the wear and tear on our national fabric. Remember, our lives were changed forever by box cutters.