Gates says he had reservations on Abbottabad raid

US Defence Secretary Robert Gates said that he had real reservations about the intelligence surrounding the raid.I was very concerned, frankly, he said. My worry was the level of uncertainty about whether bin Laden was even in the compound. There wasnt any direct evidence that he was there. It was all circumstantial, but it was the best information that we had since probably 2001.I have worked for a lot of these guys and this is one of the most courageous calls that I think I have ever seen a president make, he said during an interview to a US TV channel.The outgoing defence secretary said that President Barack Obamas decision to order a raid against Osama bin Laden in Pakistan was a courageous and gutsy call.Gates said it would be premature to talk about whether bin Ladens death could accelerate the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan, now planned to start in July, but he believed the United States is gaining the upper hand there.