Bin Laden

Pakistan Agreed to U.S. Raid 10 Years Ago

But Obama insisted force be able to fight its way out.

Tensions may be rising with Pakistan over the raid that killed Osama bin Laden—and President Obama apparently insisted that the Navy SEALs team be large enough to fight its way out against Pakistani police and troops—but had Pakistan agreed to allow exactly such a raid? The Guardian says that in 2003, Pakistan, under the leadership of Pervez Musharraf, agreed to let the U.S. kill bin Laden, Ayman al-Zawahiri, and the al Qaeda No. 3 in unilateral raids—and that both sides even agreed Pakistan would loudly protest the action afterward. "As far as our American friends are concerned, they have just implemented the agreement,” a Pakistani official says. A U.S. official says Pakistan’s protests are just the "public face" of the deal, adding "We knew they would deny this stuff."