Not catching Bin Laden:

In today's Bob Herbert column, we are reminded of Bush's failure to apply all resources towards capturing Osama Bin Laden:

You might have thought that Mr. Bush, in the immediate aftermath of Sept. 11, would have used all the forces at his disposal to capture or kill the man responsible for the worst attack on the United States since Pearl Harbor. But if you thought that, you would have been wrong.

Americans bombarded Tora Bora. But the all-important effort on the ground to surround and close in on bin Laden and his forces was contracted out by the administration to a clownish, quarrelsome group of Afghan thugs and miscreants. When a Marine general all but begged to be allowed to bring his men in to do the job, he was turned down.

Bin Laden escaped into Pakistan and hundreds of his followers scattered.

And that brings to mind something Kevin Drum brought to our attention last month: (quoting from TNR)

On a range of issues, the Americans have upset the British, politely listening to their concerns and then, more often than not, simply ignoring them. A British offer to send 6,000 troops into the caves of Tora Bora to hunt for Osama bin Laden was rejected in November 2001.

Bush failed to make a serious effort to get Bin Laden and Al Qaeda. Will the public ever hold him accountable for this?


posted by Quiddity at 4/17/2006 11:01:00 AM