Carl Levin: Pakistan's Army, Intel Have 'A Lot of Explaining to Do'

Roll Call/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- The chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee on Monday said Pakistan’s military and intelligence communities have “a lot of explaining to do” after Osama bin Laden was killed in a huge compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan.

Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., told reporters on Capitol Hill that Pakistani military and intelligence officials need to answer “a lot of questions.”

“I think that the Pakistani army and intelligence have a lot of questions to answer given the location, the length of time, and the apparent fact that this facility was actually built for bin Laden and its closeness to the central location of the Pakistani army,” Levin said.

“I do think the Pakistani president’s statement today was a very reassuring statement, when he very specifically said that he thinks this is a great victory and he congratulated us on the success of the operation,” Levin continued. “So I’m reassured by his statement – not necessarily suspicious that he knew or that the civilian leadership knew, but I must tell you I hope that he will follow through, that the president of Pakistan [Asif Ali] Zardari will follow through and ask some very tough questions of his own military, his own intelligence. They’ve got a lot of explaining to do.”

Levin was accompanied at Monday’s news conference by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. Reid said President Obama was “very somber” when he informed Reid around 9:30 p.m. Sunday that bin Laden had been killed.

“His death is the most significant victory in our fight against al Qaeda and sends a strong message to terrorists around the world,” Reid said.

“We know there are other terrorists out there, but this is a real shot in the arm to people of good will all over.”

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Candidate Obama: We'll Take Action Without Pakistan, If Necessary

ABC News (file)(WASHINGTON) -- On August 1, 2007, a young Democratic presidential candidate -- criticized by Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., for being naïve on foreign policy matters -- surprised many of his supporters by pledging to conduct military operations in Pakistan with or without that country's permission.

"I understand that President Musharraf has his own challenges," Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., said of the man who was then president of Pakistan, "but let me make this clear: There are terrorists holed up in those mountains who murdered 3,000 Americans. They are plotting to strike again. It was a terrible mistake to fail to act when we had a chance to take out an al Qaeda leadership meeting in 2005. If we have actionable intelligence about high-value terrorist targets and President Musharraf won't act, we will."

Clinton, then leading in the polls, was then attacking Obama for having said he'd be willing to meet with the leaders of Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria, and Venezuela without preconditions in his first year in office.‬

At the time, Obama's speech, delivered at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C., seemed an attempt by the young senator to ramp up his campaign to the next phase, where he hoped to be seen as a president who would pursue a muscular foreign policy and protect the United States from terrorist attack.

He proposed in his speech a more aggressive stance with that nuclear nation, making the "hundreds of millions of dollars in U.S. military aid to Pakistan conditional, and I would make our conditions clear: Pakistan must make substantial progress in closing down the training camps, evicting foreign fighters and preventing the Taliban from using Pakistan as a staging area for attacks in Afghanistan."

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Huckabee: 'Welcome to Hell, Bin Laden'

Photo by CNN via Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- Several of the potential Republican presidential candidates praised President Barack Obama for his administration’s efforts to kill terrorist leader Osama Bin Laden while others steered clear of mentioning Obama by name.

Each of them thanked American military forces, but some warned that the fight against terrorism is “not over” yet.

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee's reaction was perhaps the most forceful of any of the possible GOP candidates: "Welcome to hell, bin Laden."

"It has taken a long time for this monster to be brought to justice," Huckabee said in a statement. "Let us all hope that his demise will serve notice to Islamic radicals the world over that the United States will be relentless is tracking down and terminating those who would inflict terror, mayhem and death on any of our citizens."

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney responded to Sunday night’s announcement by the president that U.S. forces had killed Bin Laden near Islamabad, Pakistan last week.

“This is a great victory for lovers of freedom and justice everywhere,” Romney said. “Congratulations to our intelligence community, our military and the president. My thoughts are with the families of Osama bin Laden's many thousands of victims, and the brave servicemen and women who have laid down their lives in pursuit of this murderous terrorist.”

Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who like Romney has formed a presidential exploratory committee, called the development “terrific news for freedom and justice.”

“In the hours after the 9/11 attacks, President Bush promised that America would bring Osama bin Laden to justice — and we did,” Pawlenty said in a statement. “I want to congratulate America's armed forces and President Obama for a job well done. Let history show that the perseverance of the US military and the American people never wavered. America will never shrink from the fight and ultimately those who seek to harm us face only defeat. Today, justice is done, but the fight against radical Islamic terrorism is not yet over."

While Huckabee, Romney and Pawlenty each singled out Presidnet Obama for praise, several other possible Republican candidates did not mention the president by name in their statements on Sunday night's news.

"Thank you, American men and women in uniform," former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin tweeted. "You are America's finest and we are all so proud. Thank you for fighting against terrorism."

Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, who last week delivered an expansive speech on foreign policy in Washington, said, "This is extraordinary news for all freedom loving people of the world, and I commend all those involved for this historic triumph."

"Americans have waited nearly ten years for the news of Osama bin Laden's death," Santorum said. "And while this is a very significant objective that cannot be minimized, the threat from Jihadism does not die with bin Laden. As we were vigilant in taking him out we need to demonstrate we will continue to be vigilant until the enemy has been subdued."

Rep. Michele Bachmann, a member of the House Select Committee on Intelligence, called the death of Bin Laden, "the beginning of the end of Sharia-compliant terrorism."

"I want to express my deepest gratitude to the men and women of the U.S. military and intelligence community. Their persistence and dedicated service has yielded success in a mission that has gripped our nation since the terrible events of 9/11," Bachmann said in a statement. "Tonight’s news does not bring back the lives of the thousands of innocent people who were killed that day by Osama bin Laden’s horrific plan, and it does not end the threat posed by terrorists, but it is my hope that this is the beginning of the end of Sharia-compliant terrorism."

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