Bin Laden could have been captured in 2001

Myanmar News.Net
Sunday 29th November, 2009

A US Senate report has revealed that US forces could have captured Osama Bin Laden in Afghanistan in late 2001.

The report, prepared by the Foreign Relations Committee Democratic staff, said calls for US reinforcements to surround Bin Laden were rejected by officials in former President George W. Bush's administration and military commanders at the time.

The failure to kill or capture the al-Qaeda allowed him to simply walk into Pakistan's unregulated tribal areas, leading to far-reaching consequences, including the protracted Afghan insurgency.

The report said that while the vast array of American military power was kept on the sidelines, US commanders chose to rely on air strikes and untrained Afghan militias to pursue Bin Laden in the mountainous area known as Tora Bora.

"On or around 16 December, two days after writing his will," it said, "Bin Laden and an entourage of bodyguards walked unmolested out of Tora Bora and disappeared into Pakistan's unregulated tribal area."

Bin Laden is still thought to be hiding in the area.

The report added that the decisions that opened the door for his escape to Pakistan allowed Bin Laden to emerge as a potent symbolic figure who still attracts a steady flow of money and inspires fanatics worldwide.

The report also rebuffed claims by former Bush administration officials that intelligence about Bin Laden's location was inconclusive.

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