Was Osama bin Laden Protected by Pakistan in Return for Saudi Cash?

While this may not come as a shock to some, one American security analyst is claiming she has evidence that Pakistan knew of Osama bin Laden's whereabouts in the country the entire time he was there and even granted the U.S. permission to carry out a "covert mission" to take out the world's most wanted terrorist. The mission, according to the analyst, would then be covered up by claiming bin Laden had been killed in a drone strike.

The Telegraph reports:

Raelynn Hillhouse, an American security analyst, claims his whereabouts were finally revealed when a Pakistani intelligence officer came forward to claim the $25m (£15 million) bounty on the al-Qaeda leader's head.

Her version, based on evidence from sources in what she calls the "intelligence community", contradicts the official account that bin Laden was tracked down through his trusted courier.

But Pakistani officials have consistently maintained they had no knowledge of bin Laden's whereabouts or of the U.S.-lead secret mission that ultimately killed him.

Dr. Hillhouse, allegedly known for her connections to private military contractors working with the CIA, wrote on her blog The Spy Who Billed Me that "The [Inter-Services Intelligence] officer came forward to claim the substantial reward and to broker US citizenship for his family." Hillhouse continues:

"My sources tell me that the informant claimed that the Saudis were paying off the Pakistani military and intelligence (ISI) to essentially shelter and keep bin Laden under house arrest in Abbottabad, a city with such a high concentration of military that I'm told there's no equivalent in the US." After confirming bin Laden's presence in the military town, the US approached Pakistan's military leaders securing their co-operation in return for cash and a chance to avoid public humiliation.

According to The Telegraph, if Hillhouse's theory were true, it could explain how American Black Hawks were able to fly into Pakistani airspace back in May without being met with resistance -- the plan only falling apart when one of the helicopters crash-landed:

"The co-operation was why there were no troops in Abottabad," writes Dr Hillhouse. "It had always seemed very far-fetched to me that a helicopter could crash and later be destroyed in an area with such high military concentration without the Pakistanis noticing." In the immediate aftermath of the raid, some residents of Abbottabad, where bin Laden had lived for five years, said they had received mysterious visits a night earlier warning them to stay inside with their lights off.

However, a senior Pakistani security official is vehemently denying claims the ISI had sheltered bin Laden, using a rather colorful metaphor to get his point across.

"We don't use toilet paper – we wash," he said. "But toilet paper is all this theory is good for."

Not surprisingly perhaps a US Department of Defense spokesperson reportedly stated, "we have no additional operational details, or comments on operational details, to make at this time."

Do you think bin Laden's location was known to the U.S. and Pakistan for most, or all of the time he was in Islamabad? Did Pakistan help the U.S. carry out its mission to kill the notorious murdered? What say you?