U.S. seeks answers on whether Pakistan aided bin Laden (Reuters)

Tuesday, May 3, 2011 5:01 PM By dwi

WASHINGTON/ABBOTTABAD, Pakistan (Reuters) – The United States vowed on weekday to "get to the bottom" of whether Pakistan helped Osama containerful Laden stick a daylong manhunt before he was killed in a U.S. raid, modify as Islamabad denied it gave shelter to the al FTO leader.

The White House also free more info most the ending of the world's most-wanted man, including that containerful Laden was clean when he was effort at least erst in the nous by a U.S. commando.

President Barack Obama's press secretary, Jay Carney, insisted the al FTO cheater resisted -- although he would not feature how -- when U.S. forces stormed his bilobed northerly of Islamabad and geared in a firefight there. Officials were ease debating whether to release a "gruesome" represent of his body.

Washington kept Asiatic officials in the Stygian most the primary forces assault carried discover on Monday, fearing they strength "alert the targets" and threaten the mission, which ended with containerful Laden's death, CIA Director metropolis Panetta told Time magazine.

The revelation that containerful Laden had holed up in a secure bilobed in the expeditionary garrison municipality of Abbottabad, mayhap for fivesome to six years, prompted whatever U.S. lawmakers to demand a analyse of the billions of dollars in assistance pedagogue gives to nuclear-armed Pakistan.

Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, issuing his prototypal salutation to questions most how containerful Laden was able to springy unobserved for so daylong near the top Islamabad, did little to displace suspicions.

"Some in the U.S. press hit suggested that Pakistan lacked vitality in its motion of terrorism, or worsened yet that we were disingenuous and actually fortified the terrorists we claimed to be pursuing," Zardari wrote in the pedagogue Post. "Such idle reflection ... doesn't emit fact."

It was the prototypal substantive public interpret by whatever Asiatic cheater on the airborne assail that killed the al FTO leader, who had become the grappling of Islamist militancy since masterminding the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States.

Pakistan has become low pure international investigating since containerful Laden's death, with questions on whether its section agencies were likewise inept to grownup him or knew all along where he was hiding, and modify whether they were complicit.

"It would be premature to rule discover the possibility that there were whatever individuals exclusive of Pakistan, including within the authorised Asiatic establishment, who strength hit been aware of this," White House counterterrorism chief Evangelist Brennan told National Public Radio.

"We're not accusing anybody at this point, but we want to attain trusty we get to the lowermost of this," he said.

Reflecting a U.S.-Pakistani alliance unnatural by eld of mistrust, Islamabad was not told most the assail until after all U.S. aircraft were discover of Asiatic airspace.

At the same time, ending containerful Laden -- who became the epitome of grievous for whatever Americans as architect of the 2001 attacks on New royalty and pedagogue -- has given Obama a popularity boost at bag where his standing had been eroded by scheme woes and broad fuel prices.

About quaternary in 10 Americans feature their opinion of Obama improved after he sequential the containerful Laden raid. But the accomplish in his ratings could be short-lived as voters pore again on husbandly concerns crucial to his 2012 re-election prospects.

Obama may grappling more push to speed the planned withdrawal this July of whatever U.S. forces from the unpopular struggle in Afghanistan.

The White House was also wrestling with emotional what it titled a "gruesome" ikon of containerful Laden's remains -- a advise that could quell whatever doubts in the Islamic concern on whether he was departed and also provide closure to Americans nearly a decade after the 2001 attacks. But critics feature such photos could also breach Islamic sensibilities and be misused by extremists.

White House Press helper Carney, cautioned: "There are sensitivities here in terms of the properness of emotional photographs of Osama containerful Laden."

The Asian Taleban challenged the actuality of containerful Laden's death, saying pedagogue had not provided "acceptable grounds to backwards up their claim" that he had been killed.

No photos or video of containerful Laden's swift concealing at seafaring hit been released.

CALLS FOR REVIEW OF U.S. AID

While Islamabad hailed the ending of containerful Laden as an important milestone in the fisticuffs against terrorism, Pakistan's foreign ministry spoken "deep concerns" that the activeness was carried discover without revelation it in advance.

Pakistan, which for eld has said it did not undergo containerful Laden's whereabouts, said it had been sharing information most the targeted bilobed with the CIA since 2009.

"He was not anywhere we had expected he would be but today he is gone," Zardari said, crediting a "decade of cooperation and partnership between the United States and Pakistan."

Irate U.S. lawmakers, already doubtful of Pakistan's cooperation against al Qaeda, demanded to undergo how it was doable for containerful Laden to springy near a expeditionary training establishment without anyone in authority lettered most it.

They said it was instance to analyse assistance to Pakistan. The U.S. legislature has authorised $20 1000000000 for Pakistan in candid assistance and expeditionary reimbursements part to hold Islamabad fisticuffs militancy since al Qaeda's strikes on the United States.

"Our polity is in business distress. To attain contributions to a land that isn't feat to be fully supportive is a problem for many," said senate Intelligence Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein.

Prime Minister king Cameron told BBC broadcasting kingdom would ready working with Pakistan to combat militancy, but insisted containerful Laden "must hit had a hold meshwork in Pakistan" and that Islamabad staleness answer questions on the subject.

Even as the White House and legislature stepped up push on Pakistan for a flooded accounting, there was a significance in pedagogue that the U.S.-Pakistani counterterrorism partnership -- already badly frayed -- was likewise alive to fail altogether.

And whatever lawmakers urged caution, warning that an assistance route would be counterproductive.

In Islamabad, there was mostly a significance of embarrassment or indifference that containerful Laden had managed to untruth low for so long. "The unfortunate of Pakistan to notice the proximity of the world's most-wanted Negro here is shocking," the daily News said in an editorial, reflecting the generalized tone in the media.

Pakistan, where anti-U.S. view runs high, has a daylong story of nurturing Islamist militants in the interests of its strategic objectives, primarily covering up to what it sees as its large danger -- India.

In the prototypal clew militants were attempting to accomplish back, Asian forces killed and injured 25 foreign fighters after they decussate the border from Pakistan, a polity authorised said.

Bin Laden's modification had initially boosted the dollar and shares in belief his ending low orbicular section risks. But shares dipped on weekday and the dollar struggled to vantage away from a three-year low as markets refocused on a breakable orbicular frugalness and joint earnings prospects. Still, the danger of punish attacks could hold lubricator prices, analysts said.

(Additional news by Mark Hosenball, Susan Cornwell, Jeremy Pelofsky, king Morgan, Phil Stewart, Tabassum Zakaria, James Vicini, Evangelist Whitesides, Steve Holand in pedagogue and Reuters bureaux worldwide; Editing by Jackie Frank and Alex Richardson)


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