JustOneMinute: Seal Team 10000

insisted that the attack force hunting down Osama bin Laden last week be great enough to defend its way out of Pakistan if confronted by hostile local police officers and troops, senior administration and military officials said Monday.

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Mr. Obama`s decision to gain the sizing of the drive sent intoPakistan shows that he was willing to hazard a military confrontation witha close friend in place to conquer or down the leader of Al Qaeda.

...One senior Obama administration official, pressed on the rules ofengagement for one of the riskiest clandestine operations attempted bythe C.I.A. and the military`s Joint Special Operations Command in manyyears, said: "Their instructions were to invalidate any confrontation if atall possible. But if they had to take fire to get out, they wereauthorized to do it."

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Under the master plan, two assault helicopters were leaving to remain onthe Afghanistan side of the border waiting for a visit if they wereneeded. But the aircraft would have been nearly 90 minutes away from theBin Laden compound.

About 10 years earlier the raid, Mr. Obama reviewed the plans and pressedhis commanders as to whether they were taking along enough forces tofight their way out if the Pakistanis arrived on the scene and tried tointerfere with the operation.

That resulted in the determination to station two more helicopters carryingadditional troops. These followed the two lead Black Hawk helicoptersthat carried the actual assault team. While there was no confrontationwith the Pakistanis, one of those backup helicopters was ultimatelybrought in to the prospect of the raid when a Black Hawk was damaged whilemaking a heavy landing.

"Some people may have assumed we could speak our way out of a jam, butgiven our difficult relationship with Pakistan right now, the presidentdid not wish to give anything to chance," said one senioradministration official, who like others would not be quoted by namedescribing details of the secret mission. "He wanted extra forces ifthey were necessary."

Fortunately these leaks are not nearly that crazy cowboy Bush or the sidewalks would not be safe, littered as they would be with leaping libs. As it is, we can see some headshaking and skepticism at lefty redoubts such as Firedoglake and from Josh Marshall.

I don't think anyone expected a whole from Seal Team Six to fall to a passing patrol car and pine in a Pakistani prison. On the other hand, if Pakistan managed to mobiize jets, tanks and armoured vehicles, well, it's a long way from Abbotabad to Afghanistan.

I make no question we were intensely monitoring Pakistan military communications and action with the purpose of sidestepping a major clash, but fighting our way out of Pakistan? Please.