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Telling them they need a plan to fight their way out IS sharing that information. Who else would oppose them but the Pakistani military? The SEALs don't need
by dkarl 16y ago
Telling them they need a plan to fight their way out IS sharing that information. Who else would oppose them but the Pakistani military?
The SEALs don't need to know the political details. They just need a heads-up: "Hey guys, you need to be aware that because of the political situation in Pakistan, you might end up fighting the Pakistani military as well Bin Laden's personal security. Let me lay out the nature of the resistance you might face."
Those concerns could easily have been raised so late (ten days before the raid) because the President himself didn't have it earlier.
- lucasjung 16y agoMy point is that it should be shared before the planning process starts, not after the plan is complete. As for the idea that such information would be late-breaking, I find that to be incredibly implausible for the CIA's analysis of the mood of a nation's leadership to swing wildly in such a short amount of time. Ultimately, I don't think that such a decision would have been based on a single element like, "The Pakistani military might interfere." I think that hugh3 had it right: there is no way that the SEALs wouldn't have built significant redundancy into their plan from the very beginning. His Simpsons analogy is spot-on: the President telling the SEALs how to plan a military mission is like a spectator telling a pro athlete how to make the next play.