allow me to don my tin foil hat...

[unblock]

the circumstances of bin laden's "hiding" for 5-6 years right next to "the pakistani equivalent of west point" has raised the suspicion that some elements of the pakistani government/military/intelligence community knew exactly where he was and enabled him to survive there in comfort. well, until quite recently, of course.

now, it seems to me that there was a time when shrub and the gang was quite obsessed with bin laden. then they lost him at tora bora, and their attentions were diverted, and after a while, the didn't seem to care that much about him. shrub himself said bin laden had been "marginalized" and he "didn't think about him all that much". it's like they didn't care any more. no, not "like". they DIDN'T care any more.

now, we all thought at the time that this was simply the republican way of acknowledging that they were incompetent and were never going to find him, and therefore, they wanted to lower expectations because they knew they couldn't deliver on any further boasts to catch him "dead or alive".

<:tinfoilhat:>
but if some elements in the pakistani power structure knew bin laden's whereabouts, is it so far-fetched that some in the republican power structure knew as well?

could it be that shrub/cheney/rice/etc. ALSO knew he was under the safe protection of the pakistanis and that there was some agreement to let him live out his days there? in exchange for what, i don't know, but hey, this is a tin foil hat theory, so i don't need it to add up completely.
</:tinfoilhat:>

thoughts?