Wednesday, May 04, 2011

Wikileaks: US Forces Yards Away From Osama In 2008

From the Guardian:

Abbottabad is home to the Pakistan Military Academy, the country's version of Sandhurst in Britain, and trains officers from across the nation. The academy is streets away from where Bin Laden was tracked down and killed.




The information about the US troops is contained in the account of a meeting in Washington between then deputy secretary of state John Negroponte and Pakistan's foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, discussing security co-operation and concerns across the country.



After both parties agreed the security plans lacked resources, Pakistan's national security advisor, Mahmud Ali Durrani, referred to the training co-operation.



"Durrani pledged Pakistan's support for the US Training-of-Trainers for the Frontier Corps starting in Abbottabad in October," the report read.



US forces may have visited the town for a second time, mere months later, according to the cable. "Due to the slow pace of construction, Durrani added he was doubtful that the more permanent training site at Warsak would be ready for the next iteration of training, scheduled in early 2009.



"Durrani thanked the US for its support of Pakistan's special forces, but requested more training and equipment to improve Pakistan's capacity, specifically citing lift capability and intelligence sharing."



Abbottabad is only infrequently mentioned in the 250,000 leaked embassy cables. The cables show the town, 50km north of Islamabad, also served as a distribution hub for US and UN aid in the wake of Pakistan's 2005 earthquake.

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