A new report from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, prepared at the behest of Senator Kerry, in response to the reports that we are going to escalate our presence in Afghanistan. It proves that we (and that means mostly you, Rumsfeld) failed to catch Bin Laden 8 years ago when he was easily within our grasp and this failing has caused a tangent that led to us stepping into Iraq and Afghanistan.
Read about it below the fold.
From the AP's Calvin Woodward:
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.
In other words, thanks a lot, Rumsfeld, Cheney, Bush, et al, there's now documented evidence that you ****ed up the Middle East and doomed it to elevated chaos for years to come.
In greater detail:
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.
You can read the Senate Foreign Relations Committee's full report at this PDF file linked here.
I just don't know what to say. We were so close and because of one grave misjudgment by Rummy, were have become full-out invaders. What I'm curious about is how this will affect the planned troop increase in Afghanistan.
UPDATE: From a comment below by Turkana:
heh (1+ / 0-)
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KingofSpades
wapo had that in 2002...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/...
docudharma, tlc, & grv.
by Turkana on Sun Nov 29, 2009 at 01:03:35 AM EST
Rumsfeld on a unicycle (genuine photo):