Concerns Over Pakistan: Did They Know bin Laden Was Living In Abbottabad?

The news of Osama bin Laden's death is a great victory for the people of the United States and our government. Now, in the truest sense of the word 'closure' all of us connected to the attacks on our nation and the life we embrace can perhaps heal in a different way.

I know that my own heart and spirit moved forward after hearing the news of how our brave U.S. Navy SEAL 'Team Six' invaded the closed-quartered compound located in the heart of Abbottabad where bin Laden lived for what could have been up to six years. Flashbacks and memories created during the months I spent at and around Ground Zero continue to flood my mind. They are both hard and comforting. Yet, bin Laden's death eases the pain.

I also had many phone calls with friends and family deeply connected to Ground Zero. In fact, after speaking to my brother John, who is a 'First-in, Last-out' New York City Firefighter who heroically was at the Financial Center during the attacks on our nation's Twin Towers, I realized just how important finding bin Laden was. "We got him. It's finally over," my brother said before letting me know he was in route to Ground Zero to stand in honor of all who lost their lives during that 11th day of September.

So today we celebrate closure to a madman's wicked scheme to hurt innocence. This said, I know this war on liberty we face is far from over, but our SEAL's cut the Al Qaeda's serpent's head off with a bullet to the forehead and one to the chest. Amen.

Of course there are many questions, and they are extremely important. The first that comes to mind is how did bin Laden live in Abbottabad without our government being tipped off? Abbottabad is home of Pakaistan's elite military training grounds. Grounds mind you that appear to be less than a half mile from where bin Laden was holed up. Grounds that had U.S. military personnel training Pakistan's army only a few years ago. Did the elite military complex in Abbottabad serve as a protective fort for bin Laden. Was there a tunnel that connected the military academy with bin Laden's complex?

If in fact bin Laden was in Abbottabad for several years, then the possability that the Pakistani government was in collusion with protecting the world's number one terrorist and murderer is something we all must be deeply concerned with. After all, we provide Pakistan with billions of dollars each year in aide. Set that aside and add up all the tax-payers money that was spent looking for bin Laden alone, and I'm sure the number will surpass the aide provided to Pakistan.

I applaude President Obama and his team in their decision to keep the details of our U.S. SEAL strike concealled from the Pakistani government. It is unquestionably due to this strategy that we were able to get to bin Laden.

According to the news, the Navy SEAL 'Team Six' spend 40 minutes on the ground hunting for bin Laden. After killing the terrorist they were able to confiscate a large horde of computers and information storage devices. Hopefully this is the motherload our intelligence agencies have been looking for.

But today belongs to America and all who are attached to the victory found in the death of bin Laden.

As we all take a giant step forward in our healing process, we must keep a mindful eye on Abbottabad and discover exactly what the three-headed dysfunctional Pakistani government's operations run by the political government, the military, and the ISI [their intelligence branch] knew.

Additionally, in bin Laden's death combined with an anticiapted escalation to end the reign of terror against Al Quada, there is a sense of hope growing that I am unfamiliar with. It is the hope that my child and yours will sooon live in a world free of terrorist and perhaps one day in the not too distant future free of conflict that leads to man trying to act in violence against a people for whatever their reason is.

God Bless America. Land of the free. Home of the brave.

Peter Thomas Senese