Senate report: Bin Laden was 'within our grasp'
By CALVIN WOODWARD, AP
29 minutes ago

WASHINGTON — Osama bin Laden was unquestionably within reach of U.S. troops in the mountains of Tora Bora when American military leaders made the crucial and costly decision not to pursue the terrorist leader with massive force, a Senate report says.

The report asserts that the failure to kill or capture bin Laden at his most vulnerable in December 2001 has had lasting consequences beyond the fate of one man. Bin Laden's escape laid the foundation for today's reinvigorated Afghan insurgency and inflamed the internal strife now endangering Pakistan, it says.

Staff members for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee's Democratic majority prepared the report at the request of the chairman, Sen. John Kerry, as President Barack Obama prepares to boost U.S. troops in Afghanistan.

The Massachusetts senator and 2004 Democratic presidential candidate has long argued the Bush administration missed a chance to get the al-Qaida leader and top deputies when they were holed up in the forbidding mountainous area of eastern Afghanistan only three months after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Although limited to a review of military operations eight years old, the report could also be read as a cautionary note for those resisting an increased troop presence there now.

More pointedly, it seeks to affix a measure of blame for the state of the war today on military leaders under former president George W. Bush, specifically Donald H. Rumsfeld as defense secretary and his top military commander, Tommy Franks.

"Removing the al-Qaida leader from the battlefield eight years ago would not have eliminated the worldwide extremist threat," the report says. "But the decisions that opened the door for his escape to Pakistan allowed bin Laden to emerge as a potent symbolic figure who continues to attract a steady flow of money and inspire fanatics worldwide. The failure to finish the job represents a lost opportunity that forever altered the course of the conflict in Afghanistan and the future of international terrorism."

The report states categorically that bin Laden was hiding in Tora Bora when the U.S. had the means to mount a rapid assault with several thousand troops at least. It says that a review of existing literature, unclassified government records and interviews with central participants "removes any lingering doubts and makes it clear that Osama bin Laden was within our grasp at Tora Bora."

On or about Dec. 16, 2001, bin Laden and bodyguards "walked unmolested out of Tora Bora and disappeared into Pakistan's unregulated tribal area," where he is still believed to be based, the report says.

Instead of a massive attack, fewer than 100 U.S. commandos, working with Afghan militias, tried to capitalize on air strikes and track down their prey.

"The vast array of American military power, from sniper teams to the most mobile divisions of the Marine Corps and the Army, was kept on the sidelines," the report said.

At the time, Rumsfeld expressed concern that a large U.S. troop presence might fuel a backlash and he and some others said the evidence was not conclusive about bin Laden's location.

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:nunchuk1: I wish they'd smoked him when chance was there!!! Nuff said.



He & those that follow his way(s) of thinkin have caused harm to many. I'm not a person that dislikes people, but not this guy!

 

pretty much since we let him go i havent seen much point in this "war"

im with you on this one, we should have killed him when we had the chance

 

True, at this point it just seems pointless. Soldiers losing their lives from all countries w/. no true idea where he's at. I mean it took 8 yrs. for all that info to "reveal" he was where they thought he was. Will it take another to do same?

I don't fault soldiers for doing their job. I fault the higher-ups w/. the realization that oh, we (meaning those decision makers) screwed up. Til he has Sadddam's fate, it will continue.

 

Politics... There's probably more to whats going on than we know.

 

Hell theyve had multiple sniper teams (Marine Recon, SEALS, and Army Delta units) with him in the crosshairs and the higher ups have dropped the ball on taking him out everytime. I believe there probably is something political wise that they arent telling us that is keeping them from taking him out. Its just aggravating especially considering that we (the US Govt) evacuated some of his family memebers from the US after 9/11. I think a couple of thermonuclear devices in that region would do us wonders. It would turn all that sand into the worlds next 1000 year supply of light bulbs and liquor bottles.

 

no doubt about it.
I know a guy that was involved with the Snipers taking out those Pirates a few months ago out in intl waters. The big wigs wouldn't give the okay to pull the trigger and the people aboard the ship did anyway.
I hate politicians.

He obviously never admitted directly what he was involved in or what the deal was because he can't, but we aren't stupid./

 

I agree w/. you Joshua. It keeps the unemployment rate lower.

 

a-bomb anyone?

 

ONE (1) team of snipers probably coulda dusted his *** and left without a trace of ANYONE knowing. All well, there probably is something greater behind this than our thirst for blood in revenge of the heinous acts of 9/11. Keep supporting the troops guys, they need it.

 

Agreed. I doubt anyone is going to get a forensic team out there to see who pulled the trigger.
Someone needs to get him in sight that has the ***** to pull the trigger. Even if it does mean court marshal.