America's pussyness cost them Bin Ladens head

[King Tech Quadafi]

By Barton Gellman and Thomas E. Ricks
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, April 17, 2002; Page A01



The Bush administration has concluded that Osama bin Laden was present during the battle for Tora Bora late last year and that failure to commit U.S. ground troops to hunt him was its gravest error in the war against al Qaeda, according to civilian and military officials with first-hand knowledge.

Intelligence officials have assembled what they believe to be decisive evidence, from contemporary and subsequent interrogations and intercepted communications, that bin Laden began the battle of Tora Bora inside the cave complex along Afghanistan's mountainous eastern border. Though there remains a remote chance that he died there, the intelligence community is persuaded that bin Laden slipped away in the first 10 days of December.

After-action reviews, conducted privately inside and outside the military chain of command, describe the episode as a significant defeat for the United States. A common view among those interviewed outside the U.S. Central Command is that Army Gen. Tommy R. Franks, the war's operational commander, misjudged the interests of putative Afghan allies and let pass the best chance to capture or kill al Qaeda's leader. Without professing second thoughts about Tora Bora, Franks has changed his approach fundamentally in subsequent battles, using Americans on the ground as first-line combat units.

In the fight for Tora Bora, corrupt local militias did not live up to promises to seal off the mountain redoubt, and some colluded in the escape of fleeing al Qaeda fighters. Franks did not perceive the setbacks soon enough, some officials said, because he ran the war from Tampa with no commander on the scene above the rank of lieutenant colonel. The first Americans did not arrive until three days into the fighting. "No one had the big picture," one defense official said.

The Bush administration has never acknowledged that bin Laden slipped through the cordon ostensibly placed around Tora Bora as U.S. aircraft began bombing on Nov. 30. Until now it was not known publicly whether the al Qaeda leader was present on the battlefield.


http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A62618-2002Apr16?language=printer

[Trauma-san]

So, you're saying you supported us Killing Bin Ladin, and we screwed it up?  All I remember is you saying post after post how screwed up we were for being over there.  

[King Tech Quadafi]

No, what Im sayin is America invaded my country, killed 4000 civilians and then dropped the ball

[Trauma-san]

What would you have prefered we do?  Just keep going and kill more people, or would you have prefered we just specifically targeted Bin Ladin?  No diss, I'm just curious what you think we did wrong.

BTW, I'm pretty sure he's dead, despite whatever other peeps are saying.  We haven't seen him or heard him since then, he's obviously dead or he'd be bragging from somewhere.  Notes signed by him, or tapes that don't show him don't prove to me he's alive.  

[King Tech Quadafi]

no diss taken homie

what im sayin is that America's reliance on artillery and its air force is foolish

how many civilian deaths did Afghans experience?
how about those 4 Canadian soldiers who died?

what im sayin is that America entered a counrty to go after Bin Laden and they didnt do it and killed thousands in the process, the AMericans didnt even have top military peeps in the Tora Bora region, they relied on the locals, whats the point of goin to war but not using your troops, had they used their people, we wouldnt have so much innocents deaths,