armyranger1988
05-03-2011, 11:01 PM
Defense Secretary Robert Gates and General David Petraeus may have unwittingly been in the same city as Osama Bin Laden last year. Via a tipster, some guy on Twitter has dug up reports of Gates and Petraeus at Pakistan Military Academy in January and February of 2010.
First, Gates (PDF). An unclassified document from the Department of Defense quotes Gates at the Pakistan Military Academy in January of 2010. That’s the same Pakistan Military Academy that’s within walking distance of Bin Laden’s compound in Abbottabad.
Next, Petraeus. Check out the first picture’s caption:
Gen. Petraeus shakes hands with officer training instructors at the Pakistani Military Academy, Feb 24, in Kakul near Abbottabad in the Northwest Frontier of Province, Pakistan.
And then the story:
ISLAMABAD, (Feb. 24, 2010) – U.S. Central Command commander Gen. David Petraeus visited Pakistan, Feb. 22-24, to consult with Pakistan leaders and U.S. Embassy officials here.
While in Pakistan, Gen. Petraeus met with Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari; Prime Minister Yousef Raza Gilani; Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, Chief of Army Staff; and several other senior Pakistani government officials. He also visited the Pakistan Military Academy in the North-West Frontier Province near Abbottabad and addressed students there.
Again, the same city — within walking distance — of the place where Osama Bin Laden was killed.
It’s unclear how long Bin Laden was living in the facility, though we know he was there since at least last August and the compound was built a few years (I think 5 years) ago. So it’s possible that Petraeus and Gates were in the same city as the world’s most wanted terrorist. At the very least, they were there just before he arrived.
UPDATE: Fox quotes officials saying Bin Laden had lived in the city for “years”. That basically confirms it. As Gates and Petraeus visited Abbottabad and paid tribute to its cadets, Osama Bin Laden was in walking distance of their presence.
First, Gates (PDF). An unclassified document from the Department of Defense quotes Gates at the Pakistan Military Academy in January of 2010. That’s the same Pakistan Military Academy that’s within walking distance of Bin Laden’s compound in Abbottabad.
Next, Petraeus. Check out the first picture’s caption:
Gen. Petraeus shakes hands with officer training instructors at the Pakistani Military Academy, Feb 24, in Kakul near Abbottabad in the Northwest Frontier of Province, Pakistan.
And then the story:
ISLAMABAD, (Feb. 24, 2010) – U.S. Central Command commander Gen. David Petraeus visited Pakistan, Feb. 22-24, to consult with Pakistan leaders and U.S. Embassy officials here.
While in Pakistan, Gen. Petraeus met with Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari; Prime Minister Yousef Raza Gilani; Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, Chief of Army Staff; and several other senior Pakistani government officials. He also visited the Pakistan Military Academy in the North-West Frontier Province near Abbottabad and addressed students there.
Again, the same city — within walking distance — of the place where Osama Bin Laden was killed.
It’s unclear how long Bin Laden was living in the facility, though we know he was there since at least last August and the compound was built a few years (I think 5 years) ago. So it’s possible that Petraeus and Gates were in the same city as the world’s most wanted terrorist. At the very least, they were there just before he arrived.
UPDATE: Fox quotes officials saying Bin Laden had lived in the city for “years”. That basically confirms it. As Gates and Petraeus visited Abbottabad and paid tribute to its cadets, Osama Bin Laden was in walking distance of their presence.