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Abbottabad, Pakistan (CNN) -- Pakistan reacted with dismay Wednesday at CIA Director Leon Panetta's assertion that it had not done enough to bring Osama bin Laden to justice.
"What worst statement can come than that we heard from Panetta?" a senior Pakistani intelligence official said. "I am afraid this statement is totally regrettable. (Panetta) of all people knows how much we have been doing."
The official was reacting to reports that Panetta had told House members Tuesday that Pakistan's role determining bin Laden's whereabouts was troubling.
According to two sources in a closed door briefing, Panetta told lawmakers "either they were involved or incompetent. Neither place is a good place to be."
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The Pakistani official, who did not want to be named, said his country had been generously sharing intelligence with their American counterparts.
"We have been sharing everything with them, but they have been selectively sharing with us," the official said. "They are entirely dependent on what we provided them. Why were details (of the operation) not shared with us?"
Meanwhile, Americans - and the rest of the world - await the possible release of a post-mortem photo of bin Laden, which could both silence skeptics and inflame passions against the United States.
In Indonesia, the hardline Islamic Defenders Front planned a prayer service for bin Laden Wednesday, two days after the world's most wanted terrorist was killed in attack at his compound in Pakistan.
In a text message to the media, the Islamic Defenders Front announced its service will take place in Jakarta. The radical Indonesian Muslim group is known for attacking Jakarta nightclubs and threatening Westerners, according to Terrorism & Security Monitor.
But elsewhere, there has been relatively little sympathy for bin Laden this week. Muslim political leaders, like others, have welcomed the news.
Sardar Latif Khosa, governor of Pakistan's populous Punjab province, said Wednesday that bin Laden was not only responsible for deaths in the United States but also those of thousands of Pakistanis.
"Osama's hands were colored with the blood of innocent people. How could we give shelter to him?" he said.
Panetta said Tuesday he thinks a photograph of bin Laden's body will be released at some point, but that it is up to the White House to make the final call.
"I just think it's important, they know we have it, to release it," Panetta said.
A senior administration official told CNN that no decision has been made yet as to whether to release the photo.
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, a Republican from Michigan, said he was conflicted over whether the administration should release an image of bin Laden.
"It's something that we're gonna have to work through," Rogers said. "We want to make sure that we maintain dignity, if there was any, in Osama bin Laden, so that we don't inflame problems other places in the world, and still provide enough evidence that people are confident that it was Osama bin Laden."
Sifting through bin Laden's records
Imam talks bin Laden's death and beyond
WH debates release of bin Laden photo
Bin Laden's compound
RELATED TOPICS
* Osama bin Laden
* Terrorism
* Guantanamo Bay
Officials have said DNA testing shows bin Laden was killed.
But the Taliban questioned the assertion.
"Obama has not got any strong evidence that can prove his claim over killing of the Sheikh Osama bin Laden," Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mojahed said. "And secondly, the closest sources for Sheikh Osama bin Laden have not confirmed" the death.
While the White House mulls whether to release photos, investigators are poring over a mother lode of materials gathered from bin Laden's compound, homeland security advisor John Brennan said.
The haul includes 10 hard drives, five computers and more than 100 storage devices, such as disks, DVDs and thumb drives, a senior U.S. official told CNN. The materials might provide clues on al Qaeda members and potential plots for future attacks.
On Tuesday, officials offered new details about the raid by U.S. Navy SEALs -- some of which deviated from earlier accounts.
On Monday, Brennan said bin Laden "was engaged in a firefight with those that entered the area of the house he was in," adding that he didn't know whether or not bin Laden "got off any rounds."
He also said that during the assault, "there was a female who was, in fact, in the line of fire that reportedly was used as a shield to shield bin Laden from the incoming fire."
But on Tuesday, White House spokesman Jay Carney gave a step-by-step description of the raid provided by the Defense Department that made clear bin Laden was unarmed and had no human shields.
Carney said two al Qaeda couriers were killed and a woman was killed in the crossfire on the first floor of bin Laden's building.
It was through tracking one of bin Laden's trusted couriers that the United States got a key break in finding bin Laden's location, senior administration officials said.
Continuing their ascent to the second and third floors, the commandos found bin Laden and his wife in a room, Carney said.
"She rushed one of the U.S. assaulters and was shot in the leg but not killed," he said. "Bin Laden was then shot and killed."
A U.S. official who is not authorized to speak on the record and asked not to be identified said bin Laden was shot when he made a threatening move.
In all, five of the approximately two dozen people in the compound were killed -- the two couriers, the woman, bin Laden and his son, the official said. Officials have not publicly identified everyone who was in the compound.
Asked about the initial erroneous details, Carney shrugged it off as part of the difficulty in disseminating information quickly on a chaotic situation taking place halfway around the world.
"What is true is that we provided a great deal of information with great haste," Carney said, noting that some of the details came in "piece by piece" with frequent updates and elaboration.
Carney acknowledged the difficulty in getting all the facts right in such a situation, telling reporters that "to use your phrase -- fog of war, fog of combat -- that there was a lot of information coming in. It is still unclear."
Questions also linger about how bin Laden managed to live in a sprawling compound with 10- to 18-foot walls topped with barbed wire in the quiet city of Abbottabad, about 50 kilometers (31 miles) north of Islamabad. The compound is about 2 miles from the prestigious Kakul military academy -- the West Point of Pakistan.
"How did bin Laden stay at that compound for about six years or so and be undetected?" Brennan asked Tuesday. "What type of support did he have outside of that compound in the Abbottabad area or more broadly within Pakistan? We're going to look carefully at this and get to the bottom of it all."
Another senior Pakistani intelligence official told CNN, "Yes, we did fail to locate him. Yes, we are embarrassed. But that does not mean we are incompetent and straddling the fence."
---------- Post added at 04:42 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:42 PM ----------
Pakistan dismayed at U.S. claim it was lax on bin Laden intelligence - CNN.com
"What worst statement can come than that we heard from Panetta?" a senior Pakistani intelligence official said. "I am afraid this statement is totally regrettable. (Panetta) of all people knows how much we have been doing."
The official was reacting to reports that Panetta had told House members Tuesday that Pakistan's role determining bin Laden's whereabouts was troubling.
According to two sources in a closed door briefing, Panetta told lawmakers "either they were involved or incompetent. Neither place is a good place to be."
Questioning Afghanistan support
Imam talks bin Laden's death and beyond
Bin Laden's legacy in London
Family's loss in hunt for bin Laden
The Pakistani official, who did not want to be named, said his country had been generously sharing intelligence with their American counterparts.
"We have been sharing everything with them, but they have been selectively sharing with us," the official said. "They are entirely dependent on what we provided them. Why were details (of the operation) not shared with us?"
Meanwhile, Americans - and the rest of the world - await the possible release of a post-mortem photo of bin Laden, which could both silence skeptics and inflame passions against the United States.
In Indonesia, the hardline Islamic Defenders Front planned a prayer service for bin Laden Wednesday, two days after the world's most wanted terrorist was killed in attack at his compound in Pakistan.
In a text message to the media, the Islamic Defenders Front announced its service will take place in Jakarta. The radical Indonesian Muslim group is known for attacking Jakarta nightclubs and threatening Westerners, according to Terrorism & Security Monitor.
But elsewhere, there has been relatively little sympathy for bin Laden this week. Muslim political leaders, like others, have welcomed the news.
Sardar Latif Khosa, governor of Pakistan's populous Punjab province, said Wednesday that bin Laden was not only responsible for deaths in the United States but also those of thousands of Pakistanis.
"Osama's hands were colored with the blood of innocent people. How could we give shelter to him?" he said.
Panetta said Tuesday he thinks a photograph of bin Laden's body will be released at some point, but that it is up to the White House to make the final call.
"I just think it's important, they know we have it, to release it," Panetta said.
A senior administration official told CNN that no decision has been made yet as to whether to release the photo.
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, a Republican from Michigan, said he was conflicted over whether the administration should release an image of bin Laden.
"It's something that we're gonna have to work through," Rogers said. "We want to make sure that we maintain dignity, if there was any, in Osama bin Laden, so that we don't inflame problems other places in the world, and still provide enough evidence that people are confident that it was Osama bin Laden."
Sifting through bin Laden's records
Imam talks bin Laden's death and beyond
WH debates release of bin Laden photo
Bin Laden's compound
RELATED TOPICS
* Osama bin Laden
* Terrorism
* Guantanamo Bay
Officials have said DNA testing shows bin Laden was killed.
But the Taliban questioned the assertion.
"Obama has not got any strong evidence that can prove his claim over killing of the Sheikh Osama bin Laden," Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mojahed said. "And secondly, the closest sources for Sheikh Osama bin Laden have not confirmed" the death.
While the White House mulls whether to release photos, investigators are poring over a mother lode of materials gathered from bin Laden's compound, homeland security advisor John Brennan said.
The haul includes 10 hard drives, five computers and more than 100 storage devices, such as disks, DVDs and thumb drives, a senior U.S. official told CNN. The materials might provide clues on al Qaeda members and potential plots for future attacks.
On Tuesday, officials offered new details about the raid by U.S. Navy SEALs -- some of which deviated from earlier accounts.
On Monday, Brennan said bin Laden "was engaged in a firefight with those that entered the area of the house he was in," adding that he didn't know whether or not bin Laden "got off any rounds."
He also said that during the assault, "there was a female who was, in fact, in the line of fire that reportedly was used as a shield to shield bin Laden from the incoming fire."
But on Tuesday, White House spokesman Jay Carney gave a step-by-step description of the raid provided by the Defense Department that made clear bin Laden was unarmed and had no human shields.
Carney said two al Qaeda couriers were killed and a woman was killed in the crossfire on the first floor of bin Laden's building.
It was through tracking one of bin Laden's trusted couriers that the United States got a key break in finding bin Laden's location, senior administration officials said.
Continuing their ascent to the second and third floors, the commandos found bin Laden and his wife in a room, Carney said.
"She rushed one of the U.S. assaulters and was shot in the leg but not killed," he said. "Bin Laden was then shot and killed."
A U.S. official who is not authorized to speak on the record and asked not to be identified said bin Laden was shot when he made a threatening move.
In all, five of the approximately two dozen people in the compound were killed -- the two couriers, the woman, bin Laden and his son, the official said. Officials have not publicly identified everyone who was in the compound.
Asked about the initial erroneous details, Carney shrugged it off as part of the difficulty in disseminating information quickly on a chaotic situation taking place halfway around the world.
"What is true is that we provided a great deal of information with great haste," Carney said, noting that some of the details came in "piece by piece" with frequent updates and elaboration.
Carney acknowledged the difficulty in getting all the facts right in such a situation, telling reporters that "to use your phrase -- fog of war, fog of combat -- that there was a lot of information coming in. It is still unclear."
Questions also linger about how bin Laden managed to live in a sprawling compound with 10- to 18-foot walls topped with barbed wire in the quiet city of Abbottabad, about 50 kilometers (31 miles) north of Islamabad. The compound is about 2 miles from the prestigious Kakul military academy -- the West Point of Pakistan.
"How did bin Laden stay at that compound for about six years or so and be undetected?" Brennan asked Tuesday. "What type of support did he have outside of that compound in the Abbottabad area or more broadly within Pakistan? We're going to look carefully at this and get to the bottom of it all."
Another senior Pakistani intelligence official told CNN, "Yes, we did fail to locate him. Yes, we are embarrassed. But that does not mean we are incompetent and straddling the fence."
---------- Post added at 04:42 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:42 PM ----------
Pakistan dismayed at U.S. claim it was lax on bin Laden intelligence - CNN.com
