Sen. Levin: Pakistan Has Tough Questions to Answer

Senators wonder how much nation's intelligence services knew
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted May 3, 2011 1:19 AM CDT
Carl Levin: Pakistan Has Explaining to Do Over bin Laden
Reacting to the death of Osama bin Laden, Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich. talks to reporters yesterday.   (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Pakistan is going to have to answer some tough questions about whether members of its military and intelligence services knew where Osama bin Laden was, warns Sen. Carl Levin. The Democrat, chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, suggested that the security arms of the Pakistani government may have known where bin Laden was living since last summer, Politico reports. The location, the length of time bin Laden was there, and the fact that the Abbotabad compound was built specifically for bin Laden all raise suspicions, Levin said.

Levin's sentiments were echoed by other top senators including Joe Lieberman, who noted that Pakistani officials had insisted for years that bin Laden was not in their country. John Brennan, President Obama's top counter-terrorism adviser, said it was "inconceivable" for bin Laden not to have had a support network inside Pakistan, but he declined to comment specifically on whether he believed the government was involved in any way, reports Reuters. Analysts predict that tensions between the US and Pakistan are set to rise. Click here for that story. (More Osama bin Laden stories.)

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