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| Afghanistan/South Asia |
| Lost at Tora Bora - Binny's great escape |
| 2005-09-12 |
| Well past midnight one morning in early December 2001, according to American intelligence officials, Osama bin Laden sat with a group of top aides - including members of his elite international 055 Brigade - in the mountainous redoubt of Tora Bora in eastern Afghanistan. Outside, it was blustery and bitterly cold; many of the passes of the White Mountains, of which Tora Bora forms a part, were already blocked by snow. But inside the cave complex, where bin Laden had sought his final refuge from the American war in Afghanistan - a war in which Washington, that October, had struck back for the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks - bin Laden munched on olives and sipped sugary mint tea. He was dressed in his signature camouflage jacket, and a Kalashnikov rested by his side. Captured Qaeda fighters, interviewed separately, told American interrogators that they recalled an address that bin Laden had made to his followers shortly before dawn. It concerned martyrdom. American bombs, including a 15,000-pound "daisy cutter," were raining from the sky and pulverizing a number of the Tora Bora caves. And yet, one American intelligence official told me recently, if any one thing distinguished Osama bin Laden on that cold December day, it was the fact that the 44-year-old Saudi multimillionaire appeared to be supremely confident. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #4 We should always trust the words of captured terrorists over someone like, say, General Tommy Franks, for they are always more accurate and credible. Sheesh... Newsflash: Binny's Great Escape was from Sudan and again three times during the late-90's while basking in the glo of the terrorists hunting camps. -- Surprise, the NY Slimes musta forgot those.... |
| Posted by: Captain America 2005-09-12 13:47 |
| #3 âIt was not until this spring that the Pentagon, after a Freedom of Information Act request, released a document to The Associated Press that says Pentagon investigators believed that bin Laden was at Tora Bora and that he escaped.â This sounds just like an Intelligence Analyst assessment and not any kind of fact. Since they could not account for Bin Laden, they assume he was at and then escaped from Tora Bora. I also heard that story from the CIA guy who claims that Bin Laden was there for the taking. Neither has clear proof that he was at or even near the place but only assume this because they have no other logical place for him. Well if I have a custom made hideout that EVERYONE knows about, people chasing me that have big bombs, and they will probably use all their force to kill me I would go ANYPLACE other than that hideout. Unless they found dated pictures, DNA, or believable sources I would not put a lot of stock in the theory that Bin Laden went to and escaped from Tora Bora. |
| Posted by: Cyber Sarge 2005-09-12 11:56 |
| #2 Binny should be got by contract hit. |
| Posted by: 3dc 2005-09-12 09:15 |
| #1 As much as I would like to have Osama cuffed and perp walked or his head on a pike. I think it's better to lose Binny and not lose Afghanistan and Pakistan. Those are higher priorities and I think the Bushies felt the same way so far things are coming along as well as could be expected for 2 countries full of violence and insanity. Americans who don't read Rantburg will remain generally unaware that the Islamists suffered a setback in Pakistan and they probably don't know that the Taliban rebels get repeatedly shellacked by U.S. and Afghan Government forces. The media has been feeding us the line about "The Taliban Resurgence" for 3 years now. While their attacks actually have resurged of late, I see no evidence that this has had any sort of effect. Sheuer is obviously knowledegable but I suspect that he's aggrieved that his "Get Binny" mission was subordinated to "Get Afghanistan" and "Don't Lose Pakistan" mandates. |
| Posted by: Abd Al-Sabour Shahin 2005-09-12 06:28 |