[quote]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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Wow, america, we could of got Bin Laden 8 years ago.
[url]http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091129/ap_on_go_co/us_tora_bora_bin_laden[/url]
Killing him might've been worse. It would've turned the man from a leader to a martyr, and those fanatic douchebags would do something even more terriffying shit.
[QUOTE=lolwutdude;18635725]Killing him might've been worse. It would've turned the man from a leader to a martyr, and those fanatic douchebags would do something even more terriffying shit.[/QUOTE]
Then, it will be MW2, but in afghanistan. :v:
[QUOTE=Robert!;18635778]Then, it will be MW2, but in afghanistan. :v:[/QUOTE]
They'll develop a sub-par game in comparison to the rest of the series?!
:ohdear:
They were probably worried about casualties. Attacking a mountain stronghold filled with insurgents is just asking for a bloodbath.
[QUOTE=scout1;18635862]They were probably worried about casualties. Attacking a mountain stronghold filled with insurgents is just asking for a bloodbath.[/QUOTE]
That's like saying we shouldn't have bombed the everliving fuck out of Berlin during WWII because too many Nazis got killed
War nowadays is too sophisticated
[QUOTE=Furioso;18635964]That's like saying we shouldn't have bombed the everliving fuck out of Berlin during WWII because too many Nazis got killed
War nowadays is too sophisticated[/QUOTE]
They always say that.
In 10 thousand years when they have to fight cyber bin ladens over the 5th dimension, they'll be like:
"Those third dimension guys had it so easy."
I hope they get them, America needs a morale boost.
We could have gotten him a lot earlier than that.
Like when Clinton was still president.
[QUOTE=Furioso;18635964]That's like saying we shouldn't have bombed the everliving fuck out of Berlin during WWII because too many Nazis got killed
War nowadays is too sophisticated[/QUOTE]
Our casualties, not theirs.
God forbid we move the war one step closer to finishing it!
[QUOTE=Robert!;18635778]Then, it will be MW2, but in afghanistan. :v:[/QUOTE]
MW2 is in Afghanistan
[QUOTE=Wayword;18635999]They always say that.
In 10 thousand years when they have to fight cyber bin ladens over the 5th dimension, they'll be like:
"Those third dimension guys had it so easy."[/QUOTE]
I just hope that America would grow up a little and stop fighting.
And now when you think about it, religions are the cause for all this mess.
[QUOTE=nVidia;18636197]I just hope that America would grow up a little and stop fighting.
And now when you think about it, religions are the cause for all this mess.[/QUOTE]
DON'T , FOR THE SAKe OF THIS THREAD , GET FP STARTED ON RELIGION. :byodood:
[QUOTE=lol12;18636264]DON'T , FOR THE SAKe OF THIS THREAD , GET FP STARTED ON RELIGION. :byodood:[/QUOTE]
I cannot stress this enough.
[QUOTE=lol12;18636264]DON'T , FOR THE SAKe OF THIS THREAD , GET FP STARTED ON RELIGION. :byodood:[/QUOTE]
Religion debates on fp in a nutshell :psyboom:
[QUOTE=nVidia;18636197]I just hope that America would grow up a little and stop fighting.
And now when you think about it, religions are the cause for all this mess.[/QUOTE]
Who says America will be fighting?
[QUOTE=nVidia;18636197]I just hope that America would grow up a little and stop fighting.
And now when you think about it, religions are the cause for all this mess.[/QUOTE]
Incoming shitstorm.
if only obamma wasnt are president... give bush 4 more year`s and he`d got bin laden by now...
[QUOTE=Penis Colada;18636436]if only obamma wasnt are president... give bush 4 more year`s and he`d got bin laden by now...[/QUOTE]
O penis your so funny.
[QUOTE=Penis Colada;18636436]if only obamma wasnt are president... give bush 4 more year`s and he`d got bin laden by now...[/QUOTE]
Bush can't have a third term.
Isn't that some sort of law or some shit?
I'm Canadian and I know this.
[QUOTE=lol12;18636264]DON'T , FOR THE SAKe OF THIS THREAD , GET FP STARTED ON RELIGION. :byodood:[/QUOTE]
Because this problem would definitely exist if these people were rational and thought logically and didn't believe in a god?
I stopped caring :banjo:
12trillion dollars later :v:
no progress
cool this is only like the 5 billionth time bin laden was reported to be "within our grasp"
e: whoops did not read the thread
we're still pretty dumb though. one more fuckup revealed in a fucked up war with a lot of fuckups
The CIA apparently did come really close to killing Bin Laden. They really fucked up the Taliban in the few months following 9/11
[QUOTE=Kybalt;18636452]Because this problem would definitely exist if these people were rational and thought logically and didn't believe in a god?[/QUOTE]
Even if you did get rid of religion, someone, somewhere will find a reason to do these things.
[QUOTE=carcarcargo;18639324]Even if you did get rid of religion, someone, somewhere will find a reason to do these things.[/QUOTE]
The government will, they need an efficient way of controlling peoples.
It was better for the people affected by him to finish him off, rather than U.S.
I just want America to invade the whole world and spread freedom everywhere
:911:
It's what Jesus would want
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