Pakistan Admits to 'Shortcomings' in Locating Bin Laden

Pakistan Admits to 'Shortcomings' in Locating Bin Laden

Pakistan's army has admitted to "shortcomings" in its efforts to locate Usama bin Laden.

Thursday's statement is the first by the army since the raid on Monday that killed the Al Qaeda chief.

The army has been criticized for failing to locate bin Laden in a large compound in an army town not far from the capital Islamabad.

This comes as Pakistan warned America of "disastrous consequences" if it carries out any more raids against terrorists like the one that killed Usama bin Laden, and hit back at international allegations it may have been harboring the Al Qaeda chief.

A senior Pakistani official said U.S. troops killed the terrorist leader in "cold blood," according to Reuters.

Related Video

How Does Bin Laden's Death Impact Al Qaeda?

Status of terror organization in Mideast

Related Video

Uncut: Musharraf on Bin Laden and Pakistan

Ex-president on UBL found in Pakistan

Related Video

Bin Laden worth estimated $296M

Related

But the government in Islamabad stopped short of labeling Monday's helicopter raid on bin Laden's compound an illegal operation and insisted relations between Washington and Islamabad remained on course.

With calls from some U.S. lawmakers to cut aid to Pakistan following the raid, the European Union said it would not turn its back on the nuclear-armed nation that is seen by many as key to helping negotiate an end to the war in Afghanistan.

With calls from some U.S. lawmakers to cut aid to Pakistan following the raid, the European Union said it would not turn its back on the nuclear-armed nation that is seen by many as key to helping negotiate an end to the war in Afghanistan.

The army and the government have come under criticism domestically for allowing the country's sovereignty to be violated. Some critics have expressed doubts about government claims that it was not aware of the raid until after it was over or scolded it for not reacting quickly enough and shooting down the helicopters.

Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir's remarks seemed to be aimed chiefly at addressing that criticism.

"The Pakistan security forces are neither incompetent nor negligent about their sacred duty to protect Pakistan," he told reporters. "There shall not be any doubt that any repetition of such an act will have disastrous consequences," he said.

Bashir repeated Pakistani claims that it did not know anything about the raid until it was too late to stop it. He said the army scrambled two F-16 fighter jets when it was aware that foreign helicopters were hovering over the city of Abbottabad, not far from the capital Islamabad, but they apparently did not get to the choppers on time.

American officials have said they didn't inform Pakistan in advance, fearing bin Laden could be tipped off.

Elements of Pakistan's army and Inter-Services Intelligence agency have long been suspected of maintaining links to Islamist militants, mostly for use as proxies in Afghanistan and Pakistan. While the country has worked with the United States to arrest many Al Qaeda operatives since 2001, suspicion lingers it is playing a double game.

The leaders of Britain and France, as well as U.S. officials, have said Pakistan has questions to answer over bin Laden's location in a large house close to an army academy in a garrison town.

Bashir said it was "absolutely wrong" to blame the ISI. "After all there was information within the U.S. system about those who were ultimately, eventually responsible for the 9/11 (attacks), so it's not for me to say that the U.S. government or the CIA failed to prevent that," he said.

While some U.S. lawmakers have taken a tough line, President Barack Obama and other American officials have been more cautious, realizing that downgrading or severing ties with the country would be risky.

Bashir said perceptions that Pakistan's ties with Washington were at rock bottom were untrue.

"We acknowledge the United States is an important friend," he said. "Basically Pakistan and U.S. relations are moving in the right direction."

EU spokesman Michael Mann said Thursday "there can be no doubt" Pakistan would remain an important partner in the region even amid the allegations.

Read more »

Al Qaeda Planned to Attack U.S. Trains on 9/11 Anniversary, Bin Laden Material Shows

Al Qaeda Planned to Attack U.S. Trains on 9/11 Anniversary, Bin Laden Material Shows

WASHINGTON -- Al Qaeda was plotting an attack on U.S. trains on the upcoming anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, according to some of the first information gleaned from Usama bin Laden's compound, a U.S. official confirmed to Fox News.

But the planning was more aspirational than concrete, counterterrorism officials say, adding that they have no recent intelligence pointing to an active plot for such an attack.

As of February 2010, the terror organization was considering plans to attack the U.S. on the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. One idea was to tamper with an unspecified U.S. rail track so that a train would fall off the track at a valley or a bridge, according to a joint FBI and Homeland Security bulletin sent to law enforcement officials around the country Thursday. The Al Qaeda planners noted that if they attacked a train by tilting it, the plan would only succeed once because the tilting would be spotted the next time.

The warning, obtained by The Associated Press, was marked for "official use only."

Information on the train plot appears to be the first widely circulated intelligence pulled from the raid this week on bin Laden's secret compound in Pakistan. After killing the terror leader and four of his associates, Navy SEALs confiscated a treasure trove of computers, DVDs and documents from the home where U.S. officials believe the Al Qaeda chief had been hiding for up to six years.

Intelligence analysts have been reviewing and translating the material, looking for information about pending plots and other terror connections.

"While it is clear that there was some level of planning for this type of operation in February 2010, we have no recent information to indicate an active ongoing plot to target transportation and no information on possible locations or specific targets," the warning Thursday said.

The FBI and Homeland Security told local officials to be on the lookout for clips or spikes missing from train tracks, packages left on or near the tracks and other indications that a train could be vulnerable.

Homeland Security spokesman Matt Chandler said, "This alleged Al Qaeda plotting is based on initial reporting, which is often misleading or inaccurate and subject to change." He said the government has no plans to issue an official terror alert because of it.

An official with the Association of American Railroads said the organization has received warnings from the federal government and is sharing the information throughout the railroad network. "We are always making sure that the system is run as safely and securely as possible," the organization's spokeswoman, Patricia Reilly, said.

U.S. officials have disrupted other terror plots that targeted rails, including a 2009 plan to blow up the New York City subway system.

On Monday the FBI and Homeland Security warned law enforcement officials around the country that bin Laden's death could inspire retaliatory attacks in the U.S., and terrorists not yet known to the intelligence community could be operating inside the country. The transportation sector -- including U.S. rails -- remain attractive targets for terrorists.

Read more »