# Why didn't WE know where Bin Laden was before? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 5, 2011, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-we-know-where-bin-laden-was-before/580885 "2011-05-05T21:47:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2011, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-we-know-where-bin-laden-was-before/580885/41 "2011-05-07T16:25:12Z")
> [@wmfellows](#): > > Eh. That does not capture wealth, which in Pakistan is well known to be monopolised by the big families, although your link is neither to a recent study nor to a study, but to a wiki graphic basing off of the CIA factbook 2009 summation of data. In the 1960’s and that was a political slogan more than reality, which incidentally was thought up by a politician with a Fuedal Background. Disparity is there and exists but monopoly on wealth? Doubt it. ---
**Author:** ![wmfellows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c2a13f/32.png) [@wmfellows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wmfellows)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2011, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-we-know-where-bin-laden-was-before/580885/42 "2011-05-07T17:31:45Z")
Well, I did not meant that there is no distribution of wealth, I was using monopolised in a more loosey goosey sense, I confess - I would expect that in Pakistan like in many places I do business, accumulated wealth distribution is even more uneven than current income. I’ve been through, and know Africa well, and the idea that there is less inequality in Africa than the US of A is laughable. ---
**Author:** ![thelabdude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dc4da7/32.png) [@thelabdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelabdude)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2011, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-we-know-where-bin-laden-was-before/580885/43 "2011-05-07T17:52:13Z")
Yes, check out Nigeria. Great wealth pours in from its oil riches. Most of the people live in abject poverty. Where does all the oil money go? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2011, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-we-know-where-bin-laden-was-before/580885/44 "2011-05-07T19:34:34Z")
Internet cafes don’t build themselves. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2011, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-we-know-where-bin-laden-was-before/580885/45 "2011-05-07T20:19:15Z")
> [@wmfellows](#): > > … loosey goosey sense, I confess - I would expect that in Pakistan like in many places I do business, accumulated wealth distribution is even more uneven than current income. … the idea that there is less inequality in Africa than the US of A is laughable. The link to the CIA summation (excuse me: wiki graphic of the CIA summation 🆒 ) shows (did you guess?) the Gini coefficient varies from one African country to another! If dividends on wealth are reported properly (admittedly a big if), income can be used as a crude proxy for income plus accumulated wealth. Be aware that some Americans are very rich. For U.S. to have a higher Gini coefficient than some country does not imply it has more poverty than that country. The [curve used to calculate Gini](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorenz_curve) (excuse me: a Wiki article about that curve 😃 ) gives an interesting scale-independent measure. I was also surprised to note the relative high Gini of U.S.A. But note: The Bangkok minimum wage was 12 baht a day in 1973(!); the U.S.A. minimum wage in 1969 was $10/hour (measured in 2010 dollars). ---
**Author:** ![flyboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/4da419/32.png) [@flyboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flyboy)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2011, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-we-know-where-bin-laden-was-before/580885/46 "2011-05-07T21:19:35Z")
> [@thelabdude](#): > > I doubt there have been many similar raids. It was a major affront to Pakistani sovereignty. The idea we would go in, kill a bunch of people, and say, aw shucks, it wasn’t bin Laden after all. I don’t think we could have kept such an unsuccessful raid quiet. > > A question. Did bin Laden have security videos, and if so, how soon can I view them on Utube? This is very true. When you combine this with a certain tactical reality, things make sense. We could well have known he was in this or that Pakistani city for years. We could have deduced (through whatever means) that he was in a certain area of that city. That’s all well and good, but it doesn’t solve the final and critical 10% of the problem for you. After all, you simply can’t send your snatch package in with instructions to clear two city blocks. You need to the package to hit a specific house at a specific time. Until you have that level of information, you really can’t risk sending any package into Pakistan. You have one shot, essentially. You’re not going to pull the trigger until you’re 100% (or thereabouts) certain. Other factors may come into play, but these two points are the long poles in the tent. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-we-know-where-bin-laden-was-before/580885.md?page=2)