US Defence Secretary Panetta.: Pakistan knew Osama bin Laden hideout

 In a bid to calm tensions with Pakistan, the Pentagon said Washington still believes that Pakistani officials were unaware about Osama bin Laden’s hideout in Abbottabad.

Last week, US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta said that he still believed someone in authority in Pakistan knew that Osama bin Laden was hiding in Abbottabad.

The Dawn quoted Pentagon Press Secretary George Little as saying that the interview which quoted Panetta as stating his belief was old.

“Secretary Panetta made clear his belief — which other senior US officials have also expressed — that Osama bin Laden had some kind of support network within Pakistan,” Little said.

“The secretary indicated in the same interview that he had seen no evidence that bin Laden was supported by the Pakistani government or that senior Pakistani officials knew he was hiding in the Abbottabad compound. Since the bin Laden operation, Secretary Panetta and his colleagues in the government have been working hard to improve US-Pakistani relations.”

In a TV interview which was to be aired on Sunday, Panetta said, "I personally have always felt that somebody must have had some sense of what was happening at this compound. Don't forget, this compound had 18-foot walls... It was the largest compound in the area.”

"So you would have thought that somebody would have asked the question, 'What the hell's going on there?'," Panetta told.

He, however, added that he has no proof Pakistan knew it was Osama bin Laden.

The US Navy SEALs killed Osama bin Laden on May 02 in a raid on a compound in Abbottabad and later buried him at sea.

‘Sexual assaults rise at US military academies’

The number of sexual assaults reported at the country's prestigious military academies rose sharply for the second year in a row, according to a Pentagon report issued on Wednesday.

A total of 65 sexual assault cases were reported at the three academies in 2010-11 compared to 41 reports in the previous academic year, the report said.

The rise comes amid extensive efforts by the academies for the Army, Navy and Air Force to prevent sexual assaults and to raise awareness of the problem.

The Pentagon said it was unclear why the number of reported sexual assaults rose and that it was possible that due to recent initiatives, more victims were coming forward to notify authorities.

"The Department does not have the ability to conclusively identify the reasons for this increase in reporting behavior," said the report.

"However, in prior years' assessments, the Department identified steps the academies could take to encourage more victims to report. Some of the increased reporting of sexual assault may be attributed to these efforts as well as many other factors," it said.

The 41 reported sexual assaults reported at the academies in 2009-2010 marked a 64 percent increase from the previous academic period, according to Pentagon documents.

Today's report said all the academies were complying with strict Defense Department rules on preventing sexual assaults and in some cases surpassed requirements with innovative programs to try to address the problem.

"When service members report sexual assaults, the Department is better positioned to provide resources to victims and hold those who commit sexual assault accountable, as appropriate," the report said.

The report also announced a new policy that will allow a cadet who files a report of sexual assault to be transferred promptly.