Now they're trying to say ...OBL was never trapped in Tora Bora

[bush equals idiot]

This is their latest desperation. They are now trying to say Tommy Franks said that OBL was not cornered or it cannot be ascertained he could have been captured in Tora Bora.

They have to say this, otherwise it proves exactly what Kerry was saying all along. And now OBL appears like on a ..."FRIDAY NIGHT LIVE". So they have to knock down the possibility they could have gotten him.

What bullshit. He escaped from there. Let's get the google experts on this and bring out the smoking gun news stories that were written at this time where they were bragging they had him cornered in Tora Bora.

[LynnTheDem]

1. BUSH said he was...is BUSH now FLIP-FLOPPING or just LYING?

BUSH may have forgotten that HE SAID OBL was caught in Tora Bora.

Does BUSH need a REMINDER?

U.S. Concludes Bin Laden Escaped at Tora Bora Fight
Failure to Send Troops in Pursuit Termed Major Error

The Bush administration has concluded that Osama bin Laden was present during the battle for Tora Bora late last year and that failure to commit U.S. ground troops to hunt him was its gravest error in the war against al Qaeda, according to civilian and military officials with first-hand knowledge.

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

[LynnTheDem]

2. Another "FAILURE TO COMMIT ENOUGH TROOPS"

bush sure doesn't LEARN from HIS MISTAKES.

[kentuck]

3. I remember at one time they had him in something like a 6-mile radius...

And were closing in on him.....but they never got him.....I remember all the jets dropping bombs on the caves in an attempt to get OBL...

[The Magistrate]

5. The 'Christian Science Monitor' Had An Excellent Article, Sir

At the time or shortly after the events. There is little doubt he was there at least at the early stages. Speedy action and a willingness to take heavy casualties would have secured the wretch....

"IF you repeat a lie often enough, you are a Republican."

"LET'S GO GET THOSE BUSH BASTARDS!"

[ljm2002]

9. CSM Article

I agree with Your Magistry, the CSM article was the one.

But the reason I had to reply to your post was this witticism contained within:

"IF you repeat a lie often enough, you are a Republican."

Heh. 'Struth.

[The Magistrate]

11. It Is Not Original, Sir

Someone else, whose name I regret escapes immediate recollection, uses it regularly as their signature line. Keep an eye out and you will see it....

"LET'S GO GET THOSE BUSH BASTARDS!"

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

4. They must be dizzy from all that spinning

[Career Prole]

6. Christian Science Monitor, 3/4/02 "How Osama bin Laden Got Away"

http://www.csmonitor.com/2002/0304/p01s03-wosc.html

Enjoy. :D

[The Magistrate]

7. Thank You, Sir

That is far and away the best article on the subject, and will be a source for historians decades on....

"If I owned Hell and Texas, I'd rent out Texas and live in Hell."

"LET'S GO GET THOSE BUSH BASTARDS!"

[Career Prole]

8. My pleasure, sir! n/t

[Rev_Karl]

10. Who cares where he WAS?

our best people 'on the ground' were reassigned before Iraq to help the war there. Osama Bin Laden and Al-Qaida were put on the back burner to facilitate to quick victory in Iraq. Our (few) agents who were working on the issue were reassigned to fresh territories. Since May 2003 some have been instructed to reestablish their contacts and find Bin Laden but this is nearly impossible because the locals value ideals like consistency and integrity.

It was hard to establish many of those contacts initially (it took at least 10 years) and now they are all lost. Bush ordered our operatives out to support the war in Iraq. It will take at least another decade to undo this stupid policy shift.

I know that John Kerry and his successors will follow a more sane policy and I will be voting for them.

[mcg]

12. "U.S. Concludes Bin Laden Escaped at Tora Bora Fight"

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

Failure to Send Troops in Pursuit Termed Major Error

"The Bush administration has concluded that Osama bin Laden was present during the battle for Tora Bora late last year and that failure to commit U.S. ground troops to hunt him was its gravest error in the war against al Qaeda, according to civilian and military officials with first-hand knowledge. ...

A common view among those interviewed outside the U.S. Central Command is that Army Gen. Tommy R. Franks, the war's operational commander, misjudged the interests of putative Afghan allies and let pass the best chance to capture or kill al Qaeda's leader."

Franks just can't admit that he and Bush screwed up. He's playing with words. Notice that he doesn't say that OBL wasn't there.

They did not capture or kill him, they let him escape.

His excuse? We couldn't.

Fine, then we need a new commander in chief and a replacement for Franks, people who are more capable.

[bush equals idiot]

13. Their talking point

is that Franks never agreed Bin Laden was there or capturable. He was in Tampa, running the operation from there plus the highest ranking officer they had on site was only a LT Col.

But this is what our surrogates need proof of to shove down their throats on the talk shows this weekend when they try to say Franks disputes they had him pinpointed. I promise you, that's what's going to be said to try to deflect the heat away from them.

The CSM article is good but it doesn't provide a "gotcha" smoking gun.

The best I can pull from the WAPO and Christian Science Monitor is that Cheney went on Prime Time Live November 29th and said we "believe he has gone to ground there" and has a network of caves. That would sure as hell be hard to explain why Cheney said that, if he wasn't there.

I wonder if that video is still available.