E&P: Knight Ridder Returns to Tora Bora, Concludes Many Terrorists Escaped

[Tesibria]

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000694851

Knight Ridder Returns to Tora Bora, Concludes Many Terrorists Escaped
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This is a REALLY good article -- read the whole thing -- tho' I can only post 4 paragraphs
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...
Today, in a story sent to Knight Ridder newspapers, the bureau examined the current, and perhaps crucial, election debate, in the aftermath of the new Osama bin Laden video: did the U.S. military let the terrorist leader escape in Tora Bora nearly three years ago?
...
The report revealed that two KR reporters and two photographers were at Tora Bora during the battle, and photographer David Gilkey of the Detroit Free Press and reporter Drew Brown traveled there a year later, interviewed Afghan fighters, retraced al-Qaida escape routes and talked to Pakistani intelligence officers who were tracking al Qaida.

"Their reporting," KR recalled today, "found that Franks and other top officials ignored warnings from their own and allied military and intelligence officers that the combination of precision bombing, special operations forces and Afghan forces that had driven the Taliban from northern Afghanistan might not work in the heartland of the country's dominant Pashtun tribe.

"While more than 1,200 U.S. Marines sat at an abandoned air base in the desert 80 miles away, Franks and other commanders relied on three Afghan warlords and a small number of American, British and Australian special forces to stop al-Qaida and Taliban fighters from escaping across the mountains into Pakistan. "Military and intelligence officials had warned Franks and others that the two main Afghan commanders, Hazrat Ali and Haji Zaman, couldn't be trusted, and they proved to be correct. .....

...much more ...

[leftchick]

1. now the question is....

did Franks intentionally let OBL get away? It sure appears that way to me.

[mainer]

2. The SAS complained that the WH screwed up OBL's capture

I wish I could find the link to the article -- it appeared in the UK press in early 2003. I happened to be traveling in London and Ireland at the time and read the article, written by British journalists who had interviewed several SAS officers who'd been on the scene at Tora Bora, and who said they had confirmed that OBL was surrounded. SAS wanted to go in and finish the kill, but could not get immediate White House approval because the WH wanted AMERICAN forces to be the ones credited with the kill. But US soldiers weren't in position yet to do it. So while communications raced back and forth, OBL slipped away.

The OBL escape seems to be a little more complicated than just our mere "outsourcing" of the operation.

Does anyone else remember that UK article?

[leftchick]

4. I remember hear say from some Marines who were there...

and were back in the US. There were several posts on DU about them saying they witnessed OBL leaving on a helicopter!

[reprobate]

18. Yes, I remember this from the beginning of the "War on Terra"

Our troops were truly pissed about it. I remamber that they reported to their base that they had Osama Bin Missing trapped in the caves and wanted to go after him. Their command said no, and then called in Pakistani helicopters to airlift him and his men out.

[DoYouEverWonder]

19. Yes, I posted a thread earlier

but it's already been archived and the archives are closed at the moment.

Special Forces troops from Fort Bragg were there and had OBL surrounded. Just when they were ready to go in for the capture the military brass showed up and took over the operation. Then the helicopters came and took him away.

I just found out today, that some of these Special Ops guys who were in Tora Bora and saw OBL, are the same ones who came home and promptly committed 'suicide'.

[JoFerret]

8. Is this the one?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,1027949,00.html

[mainer]

9. no, I read an actual quote by an SAS officer

And he expressed anger at the White House for screwing up the SAS's golden opportunity to take out OBL for political reasons. I think I was in Ireland when I read it...

[NMDemDist2]

3. KR is just about the only bureau I trust these days, they are the only

one who is not owned by a media conglomerate

[TacticalPeek]

5. And

Officials deny bin Laden
escaped November capture

by J.S. Newton, Fayetteville Observer, 2 August 2002


The soldier said bin Laden's captured cook had told American military officials bin Laden's exact location.

But a Special Forces team captain on the ground would not give approval to go after bin Laden because there was no specific mission order to do so, the soldier said.

While the Army was deciding what to do, Special Forces soldiers saw two Russian-made helicopters fly into the area where bin Laden was believed to be, load up passengers and fly toward Pakistan.

"I said, `There he goes,'" the soldier said.

http://www.ratical.org/ratville/JFK/JohnJudge/linkscopy/OdbLeNc.html

from DoYouEverWonder's thread:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x1238863

[DoYouEverWonder]

20. Thanks

That was the one I was looking for.

[msgadget]

6. Administration knew this in 2002

I posted this link in response to another thread. It says the Administration was aware of Frank's error back in November of 2002. That's right, Franks screwed up and didn't put troops on the ground to get bin Laden. Thereafter they assumed (hoped with all their GOP might) he was dead. So, to put Franks on tv and in the paper disputing Kerry's claim is...well, it's so GOP!


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

[The Magistrate]

13. Except, Ma'am

The error was that of Franks, though he is indeed a very small-bore officer at best. The error was that of the criminals of the '00 Coup; it is the civilian administration, the commander in chief, that determines the directives under which the soldiers operate, and that is who to blame if there were insufficient soldiers in place....

"LET'S GO GET THOSE BUSH BASTARDS!"

[blm]

7. MEDIA BLAST THIS ARTICLE.....and send to your LOCAL paper, too.

.

[Zorra]

10. My gosh, it almost seems like they let bin Laden go on purpose.

Gee, why would they do such a thing?

[Dems Will Win]

15. The 2004 Election - - Maintain the Bogey Man

Otherwise the Republicans definitely lose.

They need O-B-L so they can get the O-I-L!

[jpak]

11. The US also allowed Pakistan to evacuate 1000's of Al Queda from Kunduz

several weeks earlier.

Not only did ChimpCo let OBL get away - they let thousands of his best fighters fly the coop as well.

Clusterfuck ChimpCo...

[mainer]

12. Here's a mention of the same SAS story:

It's a WSJ round-up which mentions an article by Bruce Anderson in the UK press. Scroll down half the page. Unfortunately, the link to the Anderson article is no longer active.

http://www.opinionjournal.com/best/?id=100001682

[mainer]

14. I Found it! SAS says they had OBL cornered!

Sorry -- no link, I got this off my Lexis-Nexis service.

The Spectator

February 16, 2002

SECTION: Pg. 22 24

LENGTH: 1154 words

HEADLINE: IS THIS HOW BIN LADEN ESCAPED?;
Bruce Anderson says that American fear of casualties almost certainly stopped the SAS from killing Osama bin Laden

BYLINE: Bruce Anderson

>snip<

By the end of the battle, the SAS was certain that it knew where bin Laden was: in a mountain valley, where he could have been trapped. The men of the SAS would have been happy to move in for the kill, dividing themselves into beaters and guns. Going round the side, the guns would have positioned themselves at the head of the valley to cut off bin Laden's retreat. The beaters would then have swept up the glen. If such a drive had taken place, the SAS is convinced that bin Laden would not have escaped. It would have been happy to fight alongside Delta Force and would have been glad of the assistance of American ground-attack aircraft. But it would also have been confident that it could finish the job on its own.

It did not get the chance. The SAS was under overall US command, and the American generals faltered. Understandably enough, they wanted Delta Force to be in at the death; they would have preferred it if bin Laden had fallen to an American bullet. So would Delta Force; every bit as much as the SAS, its men were raring to go. It was their commanders who held them back...

They wanted Delta Force to kill bin Laden; they were not prepared to allow their men to be killed in the process. They would not even allow USAF ground-attack aircraft to operate below 12,000 feet. As far as the SAS could tell, their hope was that the ragged trousered militants of the Northern Alliance would do most of the dangerous stuff - and take most of the casualties - while Delta Force came in for the coup de grace. Nor were the American generals willing to allow the SAS to win the glory which they were denying to American troops...

While the generals agonised about bodybags, bin Laden was escaping.

[JoFerret]

16. Here's the link: the Spectator February 16th 2002

http://www.spectator.co.uk/article.php?table=old§ion=back&issue=2002-02-16&id=1585
....
By the end of the battle, the SAS was certain that it knew where bin Laden was: in a mountain valley, where he could have been trapped. The men of the SAS would have been happy to move in for the kill, dividing themselves into beaters and guns. Going round the side, the guns would have positioned themselves at the head of the valley to cut off bin Laden's retreat. The beaters would then have swept up the glen. If such a drive had taken place, the SAS is convinced that bin Laden would not have escaped. It would have been happy to fight alongside Delta Force and would have been glad of the assistance of American ground-attack aircraft. But it would also have been confident that it could finish the job on its own.

It did not get the chance. The SAS was under overall US command, and the American generals faltered. Understandably enough, they wanted Delta Force to be in at the death; they would have preferred it if bin Laden had fallen to an American bullet. So would Delta Force; every bit as much as the SAS, its men were raring to go. It was their commanders who held them back. Being in at such a death involves the risk of death. It seems unlikely that bin Laden could have been bagged without casualties. The men on the ground did not quail at that prospect; the generals on the radio did. They wanted Delta Force to kill bin Laden; they were not prepared to allow their men to be killed in the process. They would not even allow USAF ground-attack aircraft to operate below 12,000 feet. As far as the SAS could tell, their hope was that the ragged-trousered militants of the Northern Alliance would do most of the dangerous stuff Ñ and take most of the casualties Ñ while Delta Force came in for the coup de gr‰ce. Nor were the American generals willing to allow the SAS to win the glory which they were denying to American troops.

So strategy was sabotaged by schizoid irresolution. There followed hours of fiffing and faffing, while gold coins were helicoptered in, to encourage the Northern Alliance. The USA is the greatest military power in the history of the planet, spending well over $300 billion a year on defence, yet everything was paralysed because it would not allow its fighting men to fight. While the generals agonised about bodybags, bin Laden was escaping.

<more>

....

[umtalal]

17. Osama bin Laden was giving Iraqies advice on how to avoid casualities

during the "strike and awe" bombing and he mentioned the Tora Bora battle.

[leftchick]

21. kick

:kick: