The news that Osama bin Laden had been hiding in plain sight in a Pakistani military town surprised many Americans, but it came as no surprise to the man you'll hear from. His name is Amrullah Saleh and four years ago he told Pakistan's president that bin Laden was living in that very area.
At the time, Saleh was at the height of his power as Afghanistan's top spy, their chief of intelligence. No one worked more closely with the U.S. in the fight against al Qaeda and the Taliban. He is also one of Pakistan's fiercest critics and long before bin Laden's death, behind closed doors, he was urging the U.S. to pay attention to the intelligence he was gathering on Pakistan's covert support for America's enemies.
Now he makes that case publicly.
Special Report: The killing of Osama bin Laden
"You have to give Pakistan a title. Is it a friend? What is Pakistan?" Saleh asked Lara Logan.
"It currently has the title of ally," she pointed out.
"Right deceptive," Saleh replied.
Asked what he thinks the title should be, Saleh told Logan, "It should be a hostile country, a hostile state."
Asked if Pakistan is the enemy of the U.S., Saleh said, "The amount of pain Pakistan has inflicted upon the United States in the past 12 years is unprecedented. No other country has inflicted that amount of pain upon your nation."
"When you say pain, what do you mean specifically?" Logan asked.
"I mean, they generate fear for your country. They take your money. They do not cooperate. They created the Taliban. They are number one in nuclear proliferation, you name it. Every pain (the) U.S. has in that part of the world, the hub of that is Pakistan," Saleh explained.
Extra: Why Saleh quit
Extra: The value of Saleh's intel
That may sound harsh, considering what President Obama told Steve Kroft on "60 Minutes" last week: "Pakistan, since 9/11, has been a strong counterterrorism partner with us."
While he acknowledged Pakistan has been helpful in fighting al Qaeda, the president also said the relationship has problems.
And according to Saleh, the biggest problem is that Pakistan gives safe haven to Taliban leaders. "The senior Taliban leaders, we would learn about their locations every day. We would have their telephone numbers," he told Logan.
He told Logan that those telephone numbers were passed on to the U.S.
Saleh says many of those numbers were traced to Quetta, Pakistan, where the Taliban's senior leaders, known as the Quetta Shura, are based.
Saleh told Logan no action was ever taken against the Quetta Shura.
"The U.S. could have taken action against senior Taliban leadership...," Logan remarked.
"They can take action tomorrow against ...," Saleh replied.
"They still can?" Logan asked.
"Of course," Saleh said.
"And they don't?" Logan asked.
"They don't," he replied. "That's why I say the surge is not addressing the fundamental question. What do you do with sanctuaries in Pakistan?"
Produced by Max McClellan
