Pakistani officials were kept deliberately
out of loop by the US in its operation to get Osama bin Laden as it feared
they might "alert" the targets and "jeopardise" the mission,
CIA Director Leon Panetta said on Tuesday.
In a clear statement indicating that the US
did not trust Pakistan, Panetta told Time magazine in an interview that the
CIA had ruled out participating with the American ally.
Bin Laden was taken out in a secret operation
in Abbottabad city on Monday by US special forces who flew in from Afghanistan
and Pakistan was told about it only when they had left Pakistani airspace.
"It was decided (during the planning)
that any effort to work with the Pakistanis could jeopardise the mission.
They might alert the targets," Panetta said.
He said the US had also considered using B-2
bombers for a high-altitude bombing raid or launching a "direct shot"
with cruise missiles but these options were ruled out because of the possibility
of "too much collateral".
Panetta's hard hitting statement comes as
Pakistan is facing many uncomfortable questions over the killing of bin Laden
in the heart of Pakistan, in a garrison city.
