News / National
Obama lied over Osama bin Laden's death
11 May 2015 at 19:05hrs | Views
A top journalist has claimed that Barack Obama lied over Osama bin Laden's death to make himself look better.
Pulitzer prize-winning Seymour Hersh said that the facts surrounding the Taliban leader's death were actually glorified to help Obama win a second term.
He suggests that the Pakistani government actually held bin Laden in the Abbottabad compound for years.
It is widely believed that tracking of couriers led to the discovery of the compound, but Hersh writes in the London Review of Books, that it was actually 'a former senior Pakistani intelligence officer who betrayed the secret in return for much of the $25 million reward offered by the U.S.'
He does not dispute the fact that Obama ordered the raid, but adds that 'many other aspects of the administration's account were false'.
Hersh published the allegations this weekend and he quotes an unnamed source, saying that there was actually no firefight. The only gunshots were those that killed bin Laden.
His article also says that he was buried in Afghanistan and not at sea.
Hersh wrote that the 'most blatant lie' was the involvement of the Pakistani military. The White House says the most senior military leaders were never informed, Hersh disputes this.
He also says that bin Laden was actually being used as a bargaining chip against the Taliban and Al Qaeda and Pakistan's intelligence service had held him since 2006.
Hersh wrote: 'The White House had to give the impression that bin Laden was still operationally important. Otherwise, why kill him?
'A cover story was created - that there was a network of couriers coming and going with memory sticks and instructions. All to show that bin Laden remained important.
'The SEALS should have expected the political grandstanding. It's irresistible to a politician. Bin Laden became a working asset'
Pulitzer prize-winning Seymour Hersh said that the facts surrounding the Taliban leader's death were actually glorified to help Obama win a second term.
He suggests that the Pakistani government actually held bin Laden in the Abbottabad compound for years.
It is widely believed that tracking of couriers led to the discovery of the compound, but Hersh writes in the London Review of Books, that it was actually 'a former senior Pakistani intelligence officer who betrayed the secret in return for much of the $25 million reward offered by the U.S.'
He does not dispute the fact that Obama ordered the raid, but adds that 'many other aspects of the administration's account were false'.
Hersh published the allegations this weekend and he quotes an unnamed source, saying that there was actually no firefight. The only gunshots were those that killed bin Laden.
His article also says that he was buried in Afghanistan and not at sea.
Hersh wrote that the 'most blatant lie' was the involvement of the Pakistani military. The White House says the most senior military leaders were never informed, Hersh disputes this.
He also says that bin Laden was actually being used as a bargaining chip against the Taliban and Al Qaeda and Pakistan's intelligence service had held him since 2006.
Hersh wrote: 'The White House had to give the impression that bin Laden was still operationally important. Otherwise, why kill him?
'A cover story was created - that there was a network of couriers coming and going with memory sticks and instructions. All to show that bin Laden remained important.
'The SEALS should have expected the political grandstanding. It's irresistible to a politician. Bin Laden became a working asset'
Source - Metro
