Bin Laden and Pakistan

One of the critical questions in the aftermatth of the Abbottabad raid that killed bin Laden is whether any Pakistani intelligence or government officials knew of his location, and if so, how high did such knowledge go.

Today, Mark Mazzetti of the The New York Times reports that documents seized in the Abbottabad compound show bin Laden and his aides discussed seeking Pakistani protection in exchange for al Qa'ida refraining from attacking targets within Pakistan.  Although the proposal apparently never got beyond the "discussion phase," it suggests the Pakistani government was not complicit in hiding bin Laden.  Secretary of State Clinton explicitly stated this yesterday as she arrived for an unannounced visit in Islamabad.  This in itself is interesting, as in the past Secretary Clinton -- to her credit -- was never shy about saying she thought bin Laden was hiding in Pakistan.  Secretary Clinton's statement follows Secretary Gates' remarks last week that there was no evidence "current Pakistani leaders" knew bin Laden was there, although Gates' also suggested his gut told him somebody had to know.

This is likely not the last word on this topic, as skeptics and conspiracy theorists will inevitably chime in on the subject.  But although we have a number of reasons to be frustrated with our Pakistani allies, hiding bin Laden in defiance of our strategic manhunt for him does not appear to be one of them.