Obviously, you have to read into that a bit, but it’s not unreasonable to draw several conclusions from Brennan’s words. The U.S., knowing full well Pakistan’s considerable military capability and aware that bin Laden’s home of Abbottabad is quite close to the contested province Kashmir — occupied by both Pakistan and India — was “watching” the event. It wouldn’t be surprising at all if they were watching with one of their AWACS aircraft, which carry sophisticated radar and communications gear that allow them to monitor a huge chunk of sky and co-ordinate a battle within it.
Monitoring such an event is of course useless unless one also possesses the means to get actively involved. Early reports indicate that the raid was carried out by Navy SEALs carried by Blackhawk and Chinook helicopters, which would have been easy prey for any Pakistani fighter jet that the Americans detected approaching bin Laden’s compound, or that tried to pursue the helicopters as they returned to Afghanistan.
Monitoring such an event is of course useless unless one also possesses the means to get actively involved. Early reports indicate that the raid was carried out by Navy SEALs carried by Blackhawk and Chinook helicopters, which would have been easy prey for any Pakistani fighter jet that the Americans detected approaching bin Laden’s compound, or that tried to pursue the helicopters as they returned to Afghanistan.
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