Robert Gates: ‘It’s Been Years’ Since Good Intel On Osama Bin Laden

Sunday on This Week with George Stephanopoulus, Defense Secretary Robert Gates was asked point blank about the location of Osama bin Laden, and his answer was far from encouraging. “Well, we don’t know for a fact where Osama bin Laden is. If we did, we’d go get him,” said Secretary Gates.

“What was the last time we had any good intelligence on where he was?” asked Stephanopoulus. “I think it’s been years,” said Gates.

You can read the transcript of the exchange below and we will update with the video clip as soon as it’s available. For now, you can see the clip at ABC News.

GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: “The Pakistani Prime Minister shrugged off any concerns about that this week, about whether or not he’d done enough to go after Osama bin Laden. He said he doesn’t believe Osama is in Pakistan. Is he right and do you think the Pakistanis have done enough to get him?”

DEFENSE SECRETARY ROBERT GATES: “Well, we don’t know for a fact where Osama bin Laden is. If we did, we’d go get him.”

GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: “What was the last time we had any good intelligence on where he was?”

DEFENSE SECRETARY ROBERT GATES: “I think it’s been years.”

GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: “Years?”

DEFENSE SECRETARY ROBERT GATES: “I think so.”

GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: “So these reports that came out just this week about a detainee saying he might have seen him in Afghanistan earlier this year, we can’t confirm that?”

DEFENSE SECRETARY ROBERT GATES: “No.” (via)