Pakistan Arrests Multiple C.I.A. Informants Involved In Bin Laden Raid, Say Sources (VIDEO)

WASHINGTON -- Pakistan's intelligence service has arrested the owner of a safe house rented to the CIA to observe Osama bin Laden's compound before the U.S. raid that killed the al-Qaida leader, as well as a "handful" of other Pakistanis, a U.S. official said late Tuesday.

In Pakistan, a Western official confirmed a New York Times report that five of the Pakistani informants who fed information to the CIA before the May 2 raid were arrested by Pakistan's top military spy agency.

The officials spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive intelligence matters. A spokesman for the Pakistani spy agency declined to comment.

The Times, in an article posted on its website late Tuesday, said detained informants included a Pakistani army major who officials said copied the license plates of cars visiting bin Laden's compound in Pakistan in the weeks before the raid.

The fate of the CIA informants who were arrested was unclear, but American officials told the newspaper that CIA Director Leon Panetta raised the issue when he visited Islamabad last week to meet with Pakistani military and intelligence officers.

U.S.-Pakistani relations have been strained over the raid by Navy SEALs on Pakistani territory, which was a blow to Pakistan's military, and other issues. Officials said the arrests of the informants was just the latest evidence of the fractured relationship between the two nations.

The Times said that at a closed briefing last week, members of the Senate Intelligence Committee asked Michael Morell, the deputy CIA director, to rate Pakistan's cooperation with the United States on counterterrorism operations, on a scale of 1 to 10.

"Three," Morell replied, according to officials familiar with the exchange, the newspaper said.

American officials speaking to the Times cautioned that Morell's comment was a snapshot of the current relationship and did not represent the Obama administration's overall assessment.

"We have a strong relationship with our Pakistani counterparts and work through issues when they arise," Marie Harf, a CIA spokeswoman, told the newspaper. "Director Panetta had productive meetings last week in Islamabad. It's a crucial partnership, and we will continue to work together in the fight against al-Qaida and other terrorist groups who threaten our country and theirs."

Husain Haqqani, Pakistan's ambassador to the United States, said in an interview with the Times that the CIA and the Pakistani spy agency "are working out mutually agreeable terms for their cooperation in fighting the menace of terrorism. It is not appropriate for us to get into the details at this stage."

___

Gannon reported from Islamabad, Pakistan.

Comments

[EagleFliesInSky]

10:56 AM on 06/18/2011

Why is it "crucial" to keep an open link to Pakistan? The Pakis are not interested in fighting terrorism! Giving them 13 billion DOLLARS and we're at their mercy? A hideous joke.

A must read...
Hitchens said it best: http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2011/07/osama-bin-laden-201107

[Susan Shaffer]

07:24 PM on 06/18/2011

there are 130,000 american troops that need food, water, munitions and gas for vehicles.
forget the word aid.
think toll.
or leave.
Afghanistan is landlocked. No other country surrounding Afghanistan will allow their country as a conduit for weapons.
You want to blame someone? Blame Richard Armitage who said to Pakistan "we will bomb you back to the stone age" How come he never threatened Iran with that? Iran who also borders Afghanistan and also has ports.
Get cranky and ask Richard Armitage what he thought he was going to achieve?
You might be right that Pakistan isn't helping as much as it could. I guess you could call it passive aggressive. But no one else is helping either. None of the central asian states will allow munitions through their country to Afghanistan.
Write your congressman or woman and ask them if they understand that Afghanistan is landlocked and if America stops giving "aid" how long it will take for the troops to starve?
The media also has to take some responsibility in all this and actually report what is the quagmire that America started back in 1980s and is still a headache for it.

[paul haugen]

10:40 PM on 06/16/2011

Let's see....stop all aid to corrupt Pakistan....they prevent us from resupplying Afghanistan...We are 'forced' to pull out of the war....Hey! It's a win/win!!!

[Susan Shaffer]

07:26 PM on 06/18/2011

look at a map and get back to me on how you expect to supply those american troops?

[carlbfree]

08:49 PM on 06/16/2011

STOP ALL US AID TO Pakistan !!!!!!!!

[Susan Shaffer]

07:27 PM on 06/18/2011

it isn't aid it is a toll
Look at a map and work out which country is going to help supply the troops
200-400 trucks per day transit through pakistan from karachi port to afghanistan
no other bordering country will allow usa to use their country as a conduit for munitions
educate yourself about what it really is and ask your congressman or woman to also look at the map.

[kent05r]

08:19 AM on 06/16/2011

U.S.-Pakistani relations have been strained over the raid by Navy SEALs on Pakistani territory, which was a blow to Pakistan's military, and other issues. Officials said the arrests of the informants was just the latest evidence of the fractured relationship between the two nations.
Nov. just before elections here in the US, Hillary went to Pakistan and gave millions of dolllars to goverment.
It would seem the money was a waste of the Tax payers money again.
What is this prez going to do about it. Nothing except give them more of the tax payer money,

[Susan Shaffer]

07:33 PM on 06/18/2011

Immediately after the OBL raid Pakistan's Prime minister Gilani went to China. China issued a warning to USA to respect Pakistan's sovereignty. Chinese troops have been allowed into Pakistan held Kashmir.
Last week Pakistan President Zardari went to Moscow.
The gossip in Pakistan is after the arrest of these CIA operatives (and expect more arrests) is that Iran will be invited to join a coalition of those fighting against the coalition on the war on terror
There are 130,000 americans in Afghanistan who will soon be without food, water, munitions and gas.
America is not giving aid to pakistan. IT IS A TOLL.
No other country bordering Afghanistan will allow the USA to transit munitions into afghanistan.
Lets say out of humanitarian needs the central asian states allow food and water into afghanistan via their borders. How long will it take the Taliban to pick of american troops with no munitions.
Arrogance does it every time.
Write to Richard Armitage and ask him why he threatened pakistan with "we will bomb you back to the stone age"
If there is to be a tribunal about the american troops picked off because they cannot get supplies then I want Armitage to answer some hard questions.

[Neets101]

07:47 AM on 06/16/2011

I wonder just how much money Pakistan govt. received from our govt.?

If we were to "get" the taliban, then that amount might be reduced?

The wiki leaked info that money from the U.S. was being funneled back to the taliban may be a factor, you think?

[EagleFliesInSky]

11:05 AM on 06/18/2011

We give Pakistan 3 BILLION dollars a year!! It used to be called hush money and 'let us play in your yard' money but not so much anymore, eh?

And we are training their soldiers? That is coming back to bite us in the arse big time.

[Susan Shaffer]

07:40 PM on 06/18/2011

do a search of wikipedia of the size of population of afghanistan, pakistan, army of afghanistan and army of pakistan
read my other posts to get an understanding of what deep doo doo usa is in at the moment.
I fully expect that $ 3 billion to explode to a much larger number unless the administration wants 130,000 americans slaughtered in afghanistan
if usa could not win a war in afghanistan then it cannot win a war in pakistan, ever, even with india onside because as soon as india gets involved then china will attack india's flank.
You have to understand the islamic mentality. Allah gives you life and allah decides when that life is taken from you. My father fought in the US airforce in the second world war. At that time half of all air missions didn't return. He said there were a few times he was taken off a mission at the last minute and those missions didn't return. He said "my number just wasn't up yet"
A lot of Americans are already sick of the war. Add in Libya. Do you really think the Americans have the stomach for a war against a country with a population that is 2/3 the size of USA and plenty of people with nothing to live for.

[Neets101]

07:53 AM on 06/19/2011

I agree with what you are saying, the U.S. in deep doo doo.

As for the nukes, well, it's a mad, mad, mad, world, and Mexican standoff time is most likely where it will all end up.

The corruptions, the fact that there is a war machine alive and well here in the states, the fact that the taliban are embedded in the very culture in many ways in many of these countries, trying to separate out the "bad guys" among civilians just trying to survive, and those playing both ends against the middle for financial gain.

I suppose there are some interested parties in Pakistan who want the gravy train to keep running, we are mired in Afghanistan and your observation about it being "toll" money is most likely the case. I have a very low opinion of war, any war pretty much, and the twists and turns in the trauma and dramas costing lives, causing heartbreak, are simply turns of the worm as it consumes what is good for profit.

[Observer111]

12:41 AM on 06/16/2011

Foreign spies need to be arrested...in any country... plus they didn't pay income tax.

[spytheweb]

01:23 AM on 06/16/2011

True!

[ex-eye-in-the-sky]

08:50 PM on 06/15/2011

Could they tell us any plainer, how they do not want to help us at all. Its a scam. They want us to keep sending them tons of money. What more would Pakistan have to do to us, for us to stop giving them bunches of money? Now they're arresting the guys that helped us find bin Laden....the guy who's supposed to be the whole reason we're fighting in Afghanistan & Iraq in the first place. But the mission(s) changes so often...I'm not really sure what we're supposed to be doing over there anymore. The Pakistani's look us square in the eyes and lie to our face about needing our help so bad. And if we keep giving all that money to them, they'll help us out over there. Bull. We've got to tie off this arterial flow of cash. We're supposedly broke. Bring our troops home. And quit giving away money for no reason other than that's how we've always done it. That's no reason. Those people over there will be fighting over there forever. Its what they've done since the dawn of time. We don't need to be there to watch them kill one another.

[Susan Shaffer]

07:44 PM on 06/18/2011

it isn't aid
it is a toll to use pakistan as a conduit for supplies for the troops in afghanistan.
no other bordering country will allow it.
think iran would allow munitions to be ferried through to the afghan border? i doubt they would make it there.
Not sure how old you are but after iran and iraq fought for 8 years and then called a truce. When operation desert storm started with the intention to kick saddam out of kuwait the iraqis sent their planes to iran for safe keeping. The Iranians said we are keeping them as reparations for the war you started.
America has made a lot of enemies. Further a lot of countries just want to try and get their economies going and allowing munitions through means there could be a spill over into that country.

[ex-eye-in-the-sky]

11:53 PM on 06/18/2011

Thanks for the reply Susan. Its certainly a very complicated mess. We do need access to roads to get our equipment into Afghanistan. Since we're still there after 10 years. And no matter what we'll ever do over there, if and when we ever do leave, the whole place is going to revert back to its previous primitive ways. Seems we just love to stick our noses into bees' nests. Instead of bees, we were looking for oil. By the way, regarding how old I am?...I'm a 60 year-old disabled Vietnam Army combat veteran.

[vrbtmnt]

07:20 PM on 06/15/2011

Why am I thinking of "beggars can't be choosers" when the US-Pakistani co-operation to fight terrorism is so often exposed as lacking uniformity of purpose?
One can blame Pakistan for much of the double-crossing going on with the so-called war on terrorism, but can you blame them for having succeeded for so many years to fool our own luminaries who call them friends? A retired chief of ISI put it best for an article published by Time: "We did not have the same objectives". Surely, it must have been evident long time ago.

[theHOLEtruth]

07:08 PM on 06/15/2011

The Pakistanis are getting what they deserve-unfortuantely it's target are civilians. Pakistan has no problem using civilians as diversions. Like the rest of you, I've followed the events in Pakistan, and just like clockwork, every time the US makes any noise of zeroing into connecting the dots with the bad guys and the other bad guys-Pakistan, SUDDENLY, there's a major bust.

Pakistan is getting it's butt handed to them by their brethren terrorist for OBL getting a free trip to paradise and a thousand virgins. So know keep your eyes open, Pakistan has to release some sensitive info to the bad guys to kill a US/Western battalion to prove they're still a game player. Hopefully, Obama and his La La Land advisers will have enough sense not to feed them, but I just don't trust Obama... just don't trust him at all. I don't think he's on our side

[Susan Shaffer]

07:48 PM on 06/18/2011

read more widely
gilani went to china
china said usa should respect pakistan's sovereignty
china has troops massed in pakistan held kashmir
zardari went to russia last week
the latest rumor is that iran will be asked to join a coalition of the unwilling and 130,000 american troops could be picked off if they do not have munitions.
I fully expect that the 3billion will balloon to a bigger figure
it isn't just obama, the congressmen and women actually think the 3billion is aid. go read a map and do some logistics numbers

[Observer111]

04:46 PM on 06/15/2011

These people broke the law and have no place in Pakistan except for in jail. Likewise, US gov would not tolerate foreign spies from France running around in US. In all likelihood, they will be allowed to emigrate to US. It's interesting how US mass media and politicos talk about Pakistan...we pay them 1.5 bn a year and they don't cooperate enough in the "war against terror". In reality US pays this money for ensuring safe supply line for 120,000 US force in Afghanistan. Most of cargo gets there through Pakistan. US pays a fortune to local trucking companies who share with Taliban. Without paying all this mega $$ to Pakistani gov ("financial assistance") and local truckers/Taliban US can't provide adequate supplies to the troops. An alternative would be to airlift everything and that's a lot more more expensive.

As to so called "war on terror"Pakistan lost 3,000 military personnel (that's more than 2,500 NATO staff ki.lled in Afghanistan) fighting insurgents. Note that Insurgency in Pakistan is heavily driven by continuing US occupation of Afghanistan and constant civilian casualties due to US drone democracy. NATO forces have to business to occupy Afghanistan, it's another useless and lost war just like Vietnam. US already paid a high price for the mistakes of misguided potuses and supporting corrupt regime of Karzai.

[igotbanned6]

02:25 PM on 06/16/2011

They didnt break the law. There were informants...not spies. Pakistan was also in agreement to be after Osama Bin Laden. They were regular citizens who told authorities where Osama was.

And do you have a reference link to 3000 dead Pakistanis? I cant find anything through Google, but if Pakistan did lose over 3000 personnel, wouldnt you think they would try harder to get rid of the Taliban there as opposed to helping them?

Your post seems more like a rambling of ideology than fact.

[Observer111]

04:11 PM on 06/16/2011

FBI would disagree with you. There is no difference between spies and informants of foreign intelligence services. The biggest problem for Pakistan is US occupation of Afghanistan that incites insurgency and terrorism. Plus drone democracy is not popular around there. Pakistan doesn't need misguided potuses tell them what to do because they actually know it better being local.
have you been banned in google?
http://www.abc3340.com/Global/story.asp?S=14913054

[blessedfrog]

04:35 PM on 06/15/2011

And the message goes out to everyday people in the MIddle East :

Help the USA at your own peril.

And expect the worst.

[hpblue5011]

04:17 PM on 06/15/2011

Who cares what "our Pakistani counterparts" think.

[Susan Shaffer]

07:51 PM on 06/18/2011

worry about the 130,000 american troops if they do not have food, water, gas and munitions
read a map and come up with another route.
no other country has allowed munitions through their country
no one wanted the blowback from the afghan war

[ghostcommander]

03:29 PM on 06/15/2011

What a friend, what an ally! We are being defeated by Pakistan, the corrupt Karzai pseudo government, corrupt contractors and no tby Al Qaeda and the Taliban.

[brokerallen]

02:51 PM on 06/15/2011

What a great friend Pakistan is to the United State. Giving them foreign aid is a travesty of justice.

[hpblue5011]

04:18 PM on 06/15/2011

Why are we giving any country "foreign aid"?

[brokerallen]

05:31 PM on 06/15/2011

I should have added that.

[locnar69]

05:40 PM on 06/15/2011

A very good question I and many others would like a answer to,so far it cant be explain well enough for me

[American 69]

01:36 PM on 06/15/2011

This is outrageous ! We should end the "afghanistan adventure" immediately ! $3 billion a year ? to a bunch of ungrateful and cowardly pseudo-friends that support terrorism and can't even see that the biggest threat to Pakistan is Pakistan !

[Susan Shaffer]

03:37 AM on 06/19/2011

no
it costs 1million a year per soldier in afghanistan
130,000 us service personnel
the 3 billion to pakistan is a small part of the logisitics of supplying those troops