The word "MANSION" does not come to mind when I watch the video...

[PCIntern]

More like fortified farmhouse. Not exactly a Vanderbilt or Morgan property IMO.

[rfranklin]

1. You haven't seen the living quarters of the average Pakistani...

that was a mansion in comparison.

[PCIntern]

4. I understand this...

but the royaly/rich in these countries live in more luxury than this place...

[Skidmore]

8. I read an article some years back about bin Laden which described

him as being someone who tended to live in a rather spartan way. He did not surround himself with luxuries. I wish I could recall where I read it.

[elocs]

5. Yes, a mansion compared to Pakistanis, not in the U.S.

It is all relative.

I live comfortably, safely, with the conveniences of a household in the U.S., likely a mansion compared to how many hundreds of millions, if not billions in this world. Yet my humble abode is only a small mobile home.

[Ian David]

2. Why would they build a courtyard large enough to land helicopters in it?

That seems like a bad security move to me.

I know you want to have a decently sized field of fire on either side of the wall to repel attackers... but you really don't want to leave room for a helicopter or two to swoop down inside your walls.

I would have put giant "pigeon bafflers" on the roof and hollow plastic "boulders" in the courtyard.

[JackintheGreen]

3. Why would he, if he was under Pakistani protection

either in custody (as some have suggested) or with a nudge and a wink?

[Ian David]

7. If he bothered with a fence and barbed wire and guards, why throw in a huge Achilles heel? n/t

[JackintheGreen]

10. It all comes down to expectations, I guess. n/t

[bigwillq]

6. One of the talking heads

said it was vauled at over $1 mill, and far larger than any other home in the area. In that country, it was a mansion.

[riderinthestorm]

9. I heard that the locals described it as "The Mansion"

I'm going to speculate that by Pakistani building standards, perhaps it was. It's impossible to judge it by western standards. I'd also theorize that the amount of money it took to build was no secret amongst the locals who would have been curious during it's construction to say the least with that much security apparatus being installed.

It's nickname may be a bit of local facetiousness too, which western reporters aren't picking up on the nuance. Maybe it's a kind of "tongue in cheek" comment although all of the reporters on the scene do remark that it is much bigger than anything else in the area.

[Yavin4]

11. The Housing Bubble Was Not Just A US Phenomenon

It was worldwide.

[WingDinger]

12. What crap, it was showcased in better cave and hovel, Jan. issue.