# The power went out in Abbottabad **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [May 11, 2011, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-power-went-out-in-abbottabad/581482 "2011-05-11T05:14:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-power-went-out-in-abbottabad/581482/21 "2011-05-11T15:19:51Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > Why something so complicated? And why would the incursion team even need to be involved except to coordinate. The CIA doubtless secretly employs several locals in the area as it does all over the region, perhaps even employees of the local utilities. Not sure I get your post. There’s nothing complicated about throwing a switch on a pole or dropping wire chaff on a substation. It was probably done by ground operatives. ---
**Author:** ![Twoflower](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/twoflower/32/22_2.png) [@Twoflower](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Twoflower)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-power-went-out-in-abbottabad/581482/22 "2011-05-11T15:32:58Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > I can’t imagine the CIA didn’t have local operatives already on the ground in Abbotabad. Taking out a transformer at a predetermined time wouldn’t be hard to arrange. [They did:](http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/06/world/asia/06intel.html?_r=1&hp) [QUOTE=New York Times] The C.I.A. had Bin Laden’s compound under surveillance for months before American commandos killed him in an assault on Monday, watching and photographing residents and visitors from a rented house nearby, according to several officials briefed on the operation. [/QUOTE] If the outage was intentional, the SEALS didn’t have to do it. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-power-went-out-in-abbottabad/581482/23 "2011-05-11T18:13:21Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Hmm? It’s not like the Seals would have been using communicating on landlines. I have no idea if anyone cut the power, but we do know the CIA had people watching bin Laden’s house in Abbottabad. [Reference](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyHzhtARf8M) for those who didn’t get it. That doesn’t have the “miscommunication” line in it, but he said that in a related response. It’s become a bit of a meme lately. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-power-went-out-in-abbottabad/581482/24 "2011-05-11T18:19:33Z")
> [@Twoflower](#): > > If the outage was intentional, the SEALS didn’t have to do it. That was the point I was trying to make. The US spends a lot of money in Pakistan and not all of it goes to the military. Some of it ends up in the pockets of locals who can make things like power outages happen. ---
**Author:** ![sunstone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunstone/32/3372_2.png) [@sunstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sunstone)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-power-went-out-in-abbottabad/581482/25 "2011-05-11T18:39:51Z")
Power outages and the resulting sound of generators would be handy to mask the muted noise of approaching helicopters… ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-power-went-out-in-abbottabad/581482/26 "2011-05-11T22:10:03Z")
> [@sunstone](#): > > Power outages and the resulting sound of generators would be handy to mask the muted noise of approaching helicopters… I guess the thing is that it is just as (or more) likely that the power just drops randomly, as it does in my experience in other subcontinental countries, as someone covertly fixed it. Also, the helicopters were noisy. If you read the tweets I mentioned, it seems there were already severe and long lasting power issues for months beforehand. Can’t link to the relevant bits of the feed so am C&Ping selected posts from @ReallyVirtual, who tweeted from Abbottabad while it was all kicking off: 28 Feb Abbottabad had power for 6/24 hours or so today, still waiting for the power brokers to have pity on us :-\ 29 Apr 18 hours per day is not loadshedding, it is a load of bullshit ☹ 1 May Helicopter hovering above Abbottabad at 1AM (is a rare event). Go away helicopter - before I take out my giant swatter :-/ A huge window shaking bang here in Abbottabad Cantt. I hope its not the start of something nasty :-S @m0hcin all silent after the blast, but a friend heard it 6 km away too… the helicopter is gone too. @m0hcin the few people online at this time of the night are saying one of the copters was not Pakistani.. @raihak Funny, moving to Abbottabad was part of the ‘being safe’ strategy Since taliban (probably) don’t have helicpoters, and since they’re saying it was not “ours”, so must be a complicated situation #abbottabad @raihak yep, the mad power cuts have reached abbottabad - 14 hours daily - luckily I have a generator AND a UPS at the coffee shop @tahirakram yea. _hides his giant swatter_ @smedica people are saying it was not a technical fault and it was shot down. I heard it CIRCLE 3-4 times above, sounded purposeful. @tahirakram very likely - but it was too noisy to be a spy craft, or, a very poor spy craft it was. @smedica It must have been more, I started noticing the helicpoter when the noise got irritating - which part of Abbottabd are you in? and now I feel I must apologize to the pilot about the swatter tweets :-/ 2 May @raihak The day there is uninterrupted electricity in Lahore for a whole month, I will start packing my bags, until then, Abbottabad is home @kursed Well, there were at least two copters last night, I heard one but a friend heard two, for 15-20 minutes. @kursed Another rumor: two copters that followed the crashed one were foreign Cobras - and got away @MahaRafiAtal lol not just you, and nothing to be sorry about (I think) 🙂 I guess I’ll go drink a couple of espresso shots to keep me up oh I forgot, one needs electricity to make coffee, which, we don’t have right now in Abbottabad. :-/ Time to turn on the generator ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2011, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-power-went-out-in-abbottabad/581482/27 "2011-05-12T04:11:50Z")
> [@chacoguy](#): > > **The power went out in Abbottabad** And? Then what happened? Did they hang an innocent man? ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2011, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-power-went-out-in-abbottabad/581482/28 "2011-05-12T04:18:47Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > And? Then what happened? Did they hang an innocent man? _ahem_ Post 14. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2011, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-power-went-out-in-abbottabad/581482/29 "2011-05-17T00:24:55Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > Cell phone reception probably wouldn’t have been disturbed. I believe I read that the SEAL team jammed the cell phone frequencies in the immediate area when they were there. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2011, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-power-went-out-in-abbottabad/581482/30 "2011-05-17T20:52:08Z")
It could also have been a “naturally” occurring power outage, that they waited for and took advantage of when it happened. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2011, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-power-went-out-in-abbottabad/581482/31 "2011-05-17T20:58:45Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > It could also have been a “naturally” occurring power outage, that they waited for and took advantage of when it happened. On further reflection I think this is very likely. Per the tweets I posted, Abbotabad was experiencing 18 hours a day without power in both February and April. Not much of a stretch to think that the SEALs could count on a blackout. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2011, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-power-went-out-in-abbottabad/581482/32 "2011-05-17T21:56:12Z")
> [@chacoguy](#): > > [How’d we do that?](http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2011-05-02-pakistan-abbottabad-resident_n.htm) > > Third paragraph down. How’d we do that? > > Surely, the Pakistanis must have known. It’s not like we blew up their power station; service was restored right after we were done. > > How’d we do that? $5000 cash, US money, to the local Chief Engineer. How else? \ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-power-went-out-in-abbottabad/581482.md?page=1)