Saudi kid may have confirmed Bush screwed the pooch at Tora Bora.

[Mugsy]

I'm looking for a clip of Bush's October 29, 2004 campaign speech in Columbus, Ohio for use in a video. Here's why:

On Tuesday evening's NBC Nightly News, they ran a story about a Saudi Arabian "rehab center" (www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032619/) for young Saudi boys that were once members of al Qaeda, went to jail, and are now on parole. The boys were talking to the reporter (Jake Tapper?), when the story CASUALLY mentioned that this one boy was "at Tora Bora fighting with bin Laden".

Now, I don't know about you, but that REALLY caught my attention because it is the first time I'VE ever heard from someone that was actually AT Tora Bora confirm that OBL was indeed there that day.

Sure there are others may have said it, but the Right could always argue they had an agenda for saying it ("Ha ha, you let glorious leader get away!"), but for this kid to casually drop the fact that OBL was indeed there that day, while the Reich Wing has continued to argue and defend Bush on Tora Bora by citing... as Bush did that day... Tommy Franks' assertion that "maybe he was, maybe he wasn't" as defense for not sending more troops to Tora Bora, this Saudi kid may have just dropped a bombshell that NBC just glossed over like it was "old news".

So now I'm looking for clips of Bush and any Neocons arguing that "OBL probably wasn't even there that day". Can you help? If not, at least kick this post so others see it. Thanks.

[Dhalgren]

1. I'll start looking. Here's a kick while I'm gone...

Oh, and a rec. :thumbsup:

[Mugsy]

17. The clip of the Saudi kid

Here is the clip in question from last night's news so you can see what I'm talking about:

http://www.bi30.org/4blog/Confirmation.avi

[Dhalgren]

2. Here's this, pretty good article, covers a lot.

http://www.antiwar.com/sperry/?articleid=10981

Hope this helps...

[merh]

5. From the article you linked

"Sadly," says al-Qaeda expert Peter Bergen, "there were probably more American journalists at the battle of Tora Bora than there were U.S. troops."

[SpiralHawk]

12. Didn't Commander AWOL have his Mercenaries running the Tora Bora fiasco?

I think Commander AWOL had his private Blackwater Praetorian Guard of Christofascist WAR profiteering Crusaders in the "thick of things" at Tora Bora.

Of course the Deserter in Chief and his chickenhawk cronies screwed the whole thing up, perhaps intentionally. As usual.

[merh]

14. Sadly enough, I do believe it was intention.

There are no accidents in or by this administration.

[underpants]

24. *GREAT READ* -here is a Amanpour-CNN report that says we only had "50 or 60" soldiers in the area

Tora Bora is about a 15 X 15 mile trek of mountains

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=116&topic_id=13367

AMANPOUR: More than two weeks of bombing, solid intelligence, the U.S. had thrown its biggest bombs, its most sophisticated missiles, bunker busters, daisy cutters, at bin Laden, but somehow, some way, it wasn't enough.

BERGEN: The policy of using very limited number of U.S. Special Forces on the ground calling in airstrikes and a large number of Afghan ground troops worked brilliantly at overthrowing the Taliban, but at the battle of Tora Bora, it was a total disaster.

AMANPOUR (on camera): The plan was for Afghan and Pakistani soldiers to block any escape routes, but Osama bin Laden managed to slip away through the mountains. And the mission to capture or kill the al Qaeda leader failed. By most accounts, the main problem was not enough American soldiers on the ground.

BERGEN: By my calculation, there were more American journalists than American soldiers at the battle of Tora Bora, and that fact kind of speaks for itself.

BERNTSEN: In the first two or three days of December, I would write a message back to Washington, recommending the insertion of U.S. forces on the ground. I was looking for 600 to 800 Rangers, roughly a battalion. They never came.

AMANPOUR (voice-over): Also hunting bin Laden in Tora Bora, then Afghan militia leader, General Mohamed Zahir (ph).

(on camera) Do you have any idea how many American soldiers were at the battle of Tora Bora?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There was not more than 50, 60, I think. There was not more than that at that time.

[Cleita]

29. I think orders came from high places in the WH to let him go.

There were even rumors that he was airlifted to Pakistan in a helicopter while our forces stood down. Of course these are only rumors and an inquiry and investigations would be needed. Never forget the obvious ties Bush/Cheney have to the Saudi Royal house and the bin Ladens. Somethings smells like a lot of camel dung to me on this one.

[blondeatlast]

3. Interesting... Watching the Senate now,.

but I'd like to see much more.

:kick:

[sinkingfeeling]

4. Still looking for the clip, but there are many confirmations that bin Laden was

at Tora Bora that day, including infomation from many detainees.

http://www.thisisrumorcontrol.org/node/1919
http://www.answers.com/topic/tora-bora
http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/context.jsp?item=a1004toraboradebate

[ThomWV]

6. Hot Dam! You don't miss anything, do you?

Amazing.

[Mugsy]

15. HERE'S THE CLIP OF THE SAUDI KID

I've uploaded the clip from the news so you can see what I'm talking about:

http://www.bi30.org/4blog/Confirmation.avi

(link fixed)

[blm]

7. Kerry pounded on Tora Bora since Jan2002 and media treated him as a liar

and with no big name Democrats willing to get on TV and side with him, while Bush had his goons all over TV lying through their teeth for him - the Dems refusing to speak for Kerry and staying silent on ToraBora were helping Bush push his lies.

Tora Bora was a HUGE ISSUE that only a handful of Dems would speak publicly - if not for Kerry, and Cleland and Clark during the campaign the public wouldn't have even heard about Tora Bora at all.

BTW - Bush campaign put Tommy Franks out to speak for them reTora Bora to counter Kerry's attacks in the first debate - they decided to treat Kerry as if he made it up, and the media and prowar Democratic senators at the time who knew the truth let them get away with it.

Anyway, you would likely find what you're looking for if you go over the post-debate appearances from Bush's mouthpieces like Franks, too.

[tabasco]

8. Bush allowed the Pakistanis to "guard the border."

US forces were on standby for the Iraq oil grab and could not be spared to screen the Pakistani border.

10th Mountain Division went into the valley but nobody was on the other end to catch Bin laden & his cohorts as they fled.

Bush allowed our enemies to escape because of corporate profits.

[alfredo]

9. Osama was/is worth more alive than dead. If we win the war, bush will lose

a lot of power. Power is what it is all about.

[Karenina]

13. What does "win" mean?

:eyes:

[alfredo]

20. Defeat al Qaeda. If we did, bush would have to find another enemy.

[Karenina]

21. Oh, dear...

[alfredo]

25. Of course bush would then turn his hateful eye on US citizens like he

was doing before 9-11. He was spying on us from the get go.

[leftofthedial]

10. why would king george kill his business partner?

[SpiralHawk]

11. "Tora Bora. Smirk, smirk, smirk." - Commander AWOL

"Let's just say that me and my occult cabal of republicon cronies had our 'family reasons' for creating an escape pathway for the eminently useful Goldstein, I mean bin Laden. Smirk, smirk, smirk."

- Commander AWOL, Skull & Boner Brigade of Occult Republicon Evil Doers

[Holly_Hobby]

16. Try this

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=389&topic_id=1327180#1327772

The article I linked to in that post is a very good article on Tora Bora.

[Lasher]

18. Bin Laden's presence was confirmed long ago by the CIA

Gary Bernsten, who led the CIA's paramilitary unit chasing bin Laden after he fled from Kabul, knew for sure where he was, thanks in large part to a radio taken off a dead al Qaeda fighter. They listened to him for several days, using that radio.

Go here and hit the link in the OP.

[Mugsy]

19. Yet Bush and Franks said otherwise.

If you're a right winger, who ya gonna believe? Commander Guy or the people that gave us Valerie Plame?

What anyone on the outside says is meaningless. This kid was IN the al Qaeda compound and says OBL was there too.

[Lasher]

31. You can't pour tea into a full cup

What you say is true, right wingers will believe any lie Junior and his cronies tell, in favor of clear evidence to the contrary. This applies also to the new evidence you have put forth. Still, it is good to have the facts on our side. I hope you will consider posting this new information to the thread I identified in the propaganda debunking forum so others can more readily benefit from it.

[sinkingfeeling]

22. Why don't you contact Columbus media to see if they have an archived clip?

I would suggest the local TV stations first, then the Public radio station at OSU, then the Columbus Dispatch.

[Mugsy]

23. I want the clip, but not enough to pay. :)

Hey, I'd love to get the clip from them, but they'd charge me first and then bar me from reusing it second. :(

[Az]

26. Critical view

Keep in mind this is not conclusive evidence that he was there. The kid does not state that he saw him. Only that he was there at the same time as OBL. It is possible he heard that OBL was there and took pride in the thought and relates it as such.

Just a cautionary statement from a skeptic used to examining things with a critical eye.

[Mugsy]

27. You would know.

That's ridiculous. That's like saying President Bush could drop by your place of work without you knowing.

Do you really think "Sheik Osama, the man who struck the American devils" could be there without him knowing it?

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

28. Is that a bit like saying...

I once caught a fish THIS BIG while out on a boat with Osama bin Laden?

[AntiFascist]

30. Al Qaeda is now headquartered in a "safe zone" harbored by Pakistan...

whatever happened to the idea of going after governments which harbor the evil terrorist enemy?

Personally, I think AQ is nothing more than a sophisticated intelligence operation setup as a foil to the oil-stealing, warmongering profiteers.

http://www.arabicnews.com/ansub/Daily/Day/070515/2007051502.html