This article titled “Osama bin Laden mission agreed in secret 10 years ago by US and Pakistan” was written by Declan Walsh in Islamabad, for The Guardian on Monday 9th May 2011 18.06 UTC

After this story was published, the All Pakistan Muslim League issued a statement denying that there is any truth in the allegation that an agreement had been struck between then military leader of Pakistan, General Pervez Musharraf, and President George Bush, to let American forces conduct operations against bin Laden inside Pakistan.

The US and Pakistan struck a secret deal almost a decade ago permitting a US operation against Osama bin Laden on Pakistani soil similar to last week’s raid that killed the al-Qaida leader, the Guardian has learned.

The deal was struck between the military leader General Pervez Musharraf and President George Bush after Bin Laden escaped US forces in the mountains of Tora Bora in late 2001, according to serving and retired Pakistani and US officials.

Under its terms, Pakistan would allow US forces to conduct a unilateral raid inside Pakistan in search of Bin Laden, his deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, and the al-Qaida No3. Afterwards, both sides agreed, Pakistan would vociferously protest the incursion.

“There was an agreement between Bush and Musharraf that if we knew where Osama was, we were going to come and get him,” said a former senior US official with knowledge of counterterrorism operations. “The Pakistanis would put up a hue and cry, but they wouldn’t stop us.”

The deal puts a new complexion on the political storm triggered by Bin Laden’s death in Abbottabad, 35 miles north of Islamabad, where a team of US navy Seals assaulted his safe house in the early hours of 2 May.

Pakistani officials have insisted they knew nothing of the raid, with military and civilian leaders issuing a strong rebuke to the US. If the US conducts another such assault, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani warned parliament on Monday, “Pakistan reserves the right to retaliate with full force.”

Days earlier, Musharraf, now running an opposition party from exile in London, emerged as one of the most vocal critics of the raid, terming it a “violation of the sovereignty of Pakistan”.

But under the terms of the secret deal, while Pakistanis may not have been informed of the assault, they had agreed to it in principle.

A senior Pakistani official said it had been struck under Musharraf and renewed by the army during the “transition to democracy” – a six-month period from February 2008 when Musharraf was still president but a civilian government had been elected.

Referring to the assault on Bin Laden’s Abbottabad compound, the official added: “As far as our American friends are concerned, they have just implemented the agreement.”

The former US official said the Pakistani protests of the past week were the “public face” of the deal. “We knew they would deny this stuff.”

The agreement is consistent with Pakistan’s unspoken policy towards CIA drone strikes in the tribal belt, which was revealed by the WikiLeaks US embassy cables last November. In August 2008, Gilani reportedly told a US official: “I don’t care if they do it, as long as they get the right people. We’ll protest in the National Assembly and then ignore it.”

As drone strikes have escalated in the tribal belt over the past year, senior civilian and military officials issued pro forma denunciations even as it became clear the Pakistani military was co-operating with the covert programme.

The former US official said that impetus for the co-operation, much like the Bin Laden deal, was driven by the US. “It didn’t come from Musharraf’s desire. On the Predators, we made it very clear to them that if they weren’t going to prosecute these targets, we were, and there was nothing they could do to stop us taking unilateral action.

“We told them, over and again: ‘We’ll stop the Predators if you take these targets out yourselves.’”

Despite several attempts to contact his London office, the Guardian has been unable to obtain comment from Musharraf.

Since Bin Laden’s death, Pakistan has come under intense US scrutiny, including accusations that elements within Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence helped hide the al-Qaida leader.

On Sunday, President Barack Obama said Bin Laden must have had “some sort of support network” inside Pakistan.

“We don’t know whether there might have been some people inside of government, outside of government, and that’s something we have to investigate,” Obama said.

Gilani has stood firmly by the ISI, describing it as a “national asset”, and said claims that Pakistan was “in cahoots” with al-Qaida were “disingenuous”.

“Allegations of complicity or incompetence are absurd,” he said. “We didn’t invite Osama bin Laden to Pakistan.”

Gilani said the army had launched an investigation into how Bin Laden managed to hide inside Pakistan. Senior generals will give a briefing on the furore to parliament next Friday.

Gilani paid lip-service to the alliance with America and welcomed a forthcoming visit from the US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, but pointedly paid tribute to help from China, whom he described as “a source of inspiration for the people of Pakistan”.

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Michael Barone interviewed former President George W. Bush at the Miami Book Fair over the weekend. The interview was shown on CSPAN’s BookTV:

Fox’s Greta Van Susteren interviewed former President George W. Bush. He discussed the building of his Presidential Center and showed her some of the artifacts that will be on display. Among the items is Saddam Hussein’s pistol. US Special Forces actually came to The White House and gave President Bush the pistol. Awesome.

Here’s Sean Hannity’s full interview with former President George W. Bush. The two met at Bush’s ranch in Crawford, TX. This is a great interview.

[Click here to buy Bush’s book “Decision Points”]

Here are some additional clips from Matt Lauer’s interview with Bush that didn’t make it into tonight’s broadcast.

Here is Matt Lauer’s entire interview tonight with former President George W. Bush. I enjoyed every minute of it. Predictably, Matt Lauer had an accusatory tone throughout and made sure to needle him over Iraq and Katrina. He definitely questioned from the Left. But Bush was great. He was relaxed and seemed very much at peace. I’m just happy to see him out defending himself and telling his side of the story.

What struck me the most about this interview was Bush’s honesty. He spoke very frankly about everything. Another thing that stood out to me was when he was asked about Kanye West. I posted that exchange a few days ago, but when you actually see the exchange it comes across differently. I don’t think I’ve ever seen President Bush look as angry about anything as he did when that subject came up. He looked furious just thinking about it.

Anyway, I’ll quit bloviating now and just let you see the interview for yourself.

[Click here to buy Bush’s book “Decision Points”]

Source: CBS

During an interview on The Oprah Winfrey Show, former President George W. Bush was asked his opinion on Republican superstar Sarah Palin.

In his new book “Decision Points,” President Bush recalls the CIA coming to him and asking if they could use waterboarding against Khalid Sheikh Mohammad.

Bush writes that his reply was "Damn right" and states that he would make the same decision again to save lives…

That’s the kind of decisive leadership we want in our president. The man has balls.

I can’t wait to see the full interview. Tune in next Wednesday!

(hat tip Story Balloon)

[Click here to buy Bush’s book “Decision Points”]

Former President George W. Bush says Kanye West’s statement that, “George Bush doesn’t care about black people” was among the most disgusting moments of his presidency.

PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH:
Yes, I do. He called me a racist.

MATT LAUER:
Well, what he said, “George Bush doesn’t care about black people.”

PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH:
That’s — “he’s a racist.” And I didn’t appreciate it then. I don’t appreciate it now. It’s one thing to say, “I don’t appreciate the way he’s handled his business.” It’s another thing to say, “This man’s a racist.” I resent it, it’s not true, and it was one of the most disgusting moments in my Presidency.

I’ve never forgotten that moment. I vowed that I would never spend another nickel on Kanye West’s music. And I haven’t. I have enjoyed illegally downloading it though.

What Kanye said in my view was unforgivable. I don’t think Bush did enough during Katrina. I think mistakes were made up and down the line. But to outright call the president a racist on national television like that was outrageous. What’s worse, he did it in the middle of a fundraiser to help the flood victims.

Kanye West has a long and sordid history of ignorance and bad judgment. What he did to Taylor Swift was further confirmation that buying his music or anything else he sells is simply out of the question.