The Unsung Hero in the Bin Laden Hit

Dr. Shakil Afridi, has been in a Pakistani jail since the bin Laden hit

Go straight to jail in Pakistan -Senator Rand Paul

In the weeks leading up to th[e] attack on Osama bin Laden’s compound by SEAL Team 6, there was a doctor in Pakistan who helped us determine bin Laden’s exact location. Doctors are not soldiers. We’re taught to heal and to help.

Dr. Shakil Afridi [pictured] helped the only way he knew how — through the use of his medical practice.

Dr. Afridi is a Pakistani doctor who risked his life to provide us with information that confirmed the location of the compound that housed bin Laden and his family. Dr. Afridi set up what ostensibly was a vaccination clinic near the bin Laden home and urged the children of the house to come and be vaccinated. While they were there, he took DNA swabs from their mouths and was able to confirm that they were direct relatives of Osama bin Laden.

This was what our military and civilian leaders needed to order the raid. The information provided by Dr. Afridi directly led to bin Laden’s death. He should be rewarded or, at the very least, congratulated. Instead, Dr. Afridi is in prison in Pakistan for the alleged crime of treason for his cooperation with American intelligence agencies.

This man, who is a hero and should be praised, congratulated and rewarded, has been put in prison for 33 years for helping America catch the mass murderer Osama bin Laden. This is shameful. It is not what we should expect or tolerate from a supposed ally of the United States. I think this is a tragedy and Congress should take decisive action.

Reports from the information minister in the province where Dr. Afridi is being held claim the doctor’s life has been threatened. My concern is that Dr. Afridi may well be killed before he comes to trial.
[Washington Times]
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