OBLaden was at USA's grasp but escaped.

[alhoon]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8384897.stm

More or less, there are unclassified reports by the US Senate that say Osama Bin Laden was in their grasp but they failed to capture him.
So, that dangerous criminal is still a figure for fanatics to gather around and money to flow towards extremists.

The report is highly critical of officials in former President George W Bush's administration and military commanders at the time.

"On or around 16 December [2001], two days after writing his will, Bin Laden and an entourage of bodyguards walked unmolested out of Tora Bora and disappeared into Pakistan's unregulated tribal area," where he is still thought to be hiding, the report says.
The then US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld expressed concern at the time that a large US troop presence in the area could provoke a backlash and he said the evidence about Bin Laden's location was not conclusive. "

And here is the link for the report itself.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/bsp/h...den_report.pdf

[Kanaric]

Is this that same rehashed story that resurfaces once a year? Seems every year hes "within our grasp" then he somehow escapes like houdini.


This guy is a regular Emmanuel Goldstein

[alhoon]

Is this that same rehashed story that resurfaces once a year? Seems every year hes "within our grasp" then he somehow escapes like houdini.


This guy is a regular Emmanuel Goldstein

Ehh... Nope. According to the USA senate report, he was in USA grasp once in December 2001 but he escaped. USA officials think he's hiding in Pakistan ever since. Oh, and it mentiones that it was a failure of the goverment and military officials at the time.

This is BBC and reporting on USA senate report. It's not a reharsed story.

[s.rwitt]

Same **** happened in the Sudan when Clinton turned down an offer to take him, and again in Operation Anaconda thanks to a Taliban sympathizer that was supposed to be in charge of an important part of the cordon and let OBL and his buddies through (supposedly). This incident, however (if true), happened 8 years ago and is not really all that suprising as we really didn't have that many boots on the ground in Dec of '01.

But, I'm not all that suprised that the senate would keep on going the fine tradition of "Blame Bush For Everything" which the Dems have relied so heavily upon lately and likely will for a good while to come.

[alhoon]

But, I'm not all that suprised that the senate would keep on going the fine tradition of "Blame Bush For Everything" which the Dems have relied so heavily upon lately and likely will for a good while to come.

Actually, I agree with them. Bush isn't responsible for everything.
Just for 90% of the bad things and 10% of the good things.

And the article says that USA relied on airstrikes and Afghan militia to get him, which as far as I remember at the time is true. They could send their 3-4000 soldiers or so they had in the nearby area, along with airstrikes.

[Admiral Piett]

Same **** happened in the Sudan when Clinton turned down an offer to take him, and again in Operation Anaconda thanks to a Taliban sympathizer that was supposed to be in charge of an important part of the cordon and let OBL and his buddies through (supposedly). This incident, however (if true), happened 8 years ago and is not really all that suprising as we really didn't have that many boots on the ground in Dec of '01.

But, I'm not all that suprised that the senate would keep on going the fine tradition of "Blame Bush For Everything" which the Dems have relied so heavily upon lately and likely will for a good while to come.

Erm, didn't he also launch cruise missiles at his base in '99 missing him by only a couple of hours? If I remember correctly, someone also launched an RPG at his convoy and hit the wrong car.

[s.rwitt]

Well that's great alhoon.

[king spartacus]

The reason he escaped is because some of the local militias we hired to surround Osama and his fighters up in the mountains let him go and actually helped him escape.

[alhoon]

So, you think that despite what the Senate thinks, the decisions taken at that critical time were mostly correct considering the available information and political circumstances?

Well... I disagree. I think that even if so, the blame for OBLaden's escape is a mistake that the USA military shouldn't have made possible to happen. After all, that's their job.

[danzig]

So, you think that despite what the Senate thinks, the decisions taken at that critical time were mostly correct considering the available information and political circumstances?

Based on the information at the time yes otherwise the entire report is negated in its attempt to lay blame on Bush for not acting by the fact if Clinton had acted all of it would have been moot. The joys of hindsight.

[Farnan]

This isn't news.

We knew he escaped Tora Bora in 2001 in 2001. Took the Senate long enough to catch up I guess.

[BlackPirate]

This happened in 2001 though.To me its unbelievable how he is vanished 8 years now

[Farnan]

This happened in 2001 though.To me its unbelievable how he is vanished 8 years now

He is not. We know where he is (in Pakistan) but can't get to him.

[motiv-8]

Apparently people seem to think that Eastern Afghanistan and Western Pakistan is a place that you can take a leisurely stroll through and nab somebody no problem.

[Azog 150]

How do we even know he is alive? And how do we even know he is in Pakistan? He could be anywhere; Yemen, Somalia, Pakistan- he could even sneakily still be in Afghanistan (although that is unlikely)

And catching him, although symbolic, would not really change much.

[Bovril]

Also, the border between north eastern Afghanistan and north eastern Pakistan only exists on paper. I doubt Bin Laden has much respect for it. It may be more usefull to say he's in Pashtunistan rather than Pakistan. Even then, he could quite easily move north into Kyrgyz areas in China, Tajikstan or Kyrgistan to the north, where he has many allies, if Pakistan becomes too hot. then again, do we really care that much about Bin Laden?

[handsome pete]

if i bumped into osama and killed him, i don't think i'd tell anyone. someone might place a fatwa on my head. also somehow it seems like a bigger blow. he may well have named a successor in that will. people might rally around a new leadership. renewed enthusiasm, that kinda thing.


was this the same occasion they tracked his satellite phone. never mind nabbing him, they could have just used a tactical strike if it were so difficult. they used tactical assassination strikes in Iraq, some i believe were aimed at sadam.

[motiv-8]

if i bumped into osama and killed him, i don't think i'd tell anyone. someone might place a fatwa on my head. also somehow it seems like a bigger blow. he may well have named a successor in that will. people might rally around a new leadership. renewed enthusiasm, that kinda thing.

Historically the death of a leader has brought chaos and instability, not the opposite. This has been shown true with al-Qaeda as well.

[handsome pete]

but he's not a leader is he. who is he leading?

[Caelius]

US Senate Foreign Relations Committee:

Chairman;
John F. Kerry

Ranking Member:
Richard G. Lugar

Members:
Christopher J. Dodd
Russell D. Feingold
Barbara Boxer
Robert Menendez
Benjamin L. Cardin
Robert P. Casey Jr.
Jim Webb
Jeanne Shaheen
Edward E. Kaufman
Kirsten E. Gillibrand
Bob Corker
Johnny Isakson
James E. Risch
Jim DeMint
John Barrasso
Roger F. Wicker
James M. Inhofe


....This isn't news, it's political red meat for Democrats and the media.