Just Click on the logo to send an e-mail.
Posted on 04/17/2002 12:19:02 PM PDT by grimalkin
— WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on Wednesday dismissed a report that a U.S. decision not to put ground troops at Tora Bora last year let Osama bin Laden escape.
Rumsfeld bridled when asked whether U.S. Afghanistan war commander Army Gen. Tommy Franks had made a major mistake in his approach to the Tora Bora campaign, as alleged by unnamed U.S. government sources in a Washington Post story.
"My view of the whole thing is that until the lessons learned are known and have been developed -- they're still being worked on -- I wouldn't be able to answer a question like that, and it impresses me that others can from their pinnacles of relatively modest knowledge," Rumsfeld said at a Pentagon briefing.
Rumsfeld said he never has had any conclusive evidence of the whereabouts of bin Laden, whom the United States holds responsible for fatal Sept. 11 attacks at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and in Pennsylvania.
"We have seen repeated speculation about his possible location," Rumsfeld said. "But it has obviously not been verifiable. Had it been verifiable, one would have thought that someone might have done something about it."
Gen. Richard Myers, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, defended Franks' performance, saying he had done a "fine job," while Rumsfeld dismissed the report as "speculation".
GROUND TROOPS NOT DEPLOYED
The Post said the Bush administration concluded that bin Laden was at Tora Bora when U.S. aircraft began bombing on Nov. 30 but escaped because U.S. ground troops were not sent to pursue the al Qaeda leader.
Intelligence officials have what they consider to be decisive evidence, gleaned from interrogations and intercepted communications, that bin Laden was inside the Tora Bora complex along Afghanistan's mountainous eastern border when the battle began, but escaped in the first 10 days of December, the Post said.
Captured al Qaeda fighters, interviewed separately, gave consistent accounts describing an address by bin Laden around Dec. 3 to fighters dug into the caves and tunnels of Tora Bora, the Post said, citing intelligence officials.
"I don't think you can ever say with certainty, but we did conclude he was there, and that conclusion has strengthened with time," an unidentified official said in an authoritative account of the intelligence consensus, the report said.
"We have high confidence that he was there, and also high confidence, but not as high, that he got out. We have several accounts from people who are in detention, al Qaeda people who were free at the time and are not free now," the official said.
Citing civilian and military officials with first-hand knowledge, the report said after-action reviews, conducted privately inside and outside the military chain of command, described bin Laden's escape as a significant U.S. defeat.
The report said a common view among those outside the U.S. Central Command is that Franks misjudged the interests of Afghan allies who did not live up to their promises and let pass the best chance to capture or kill bin Laden.
"We [messed] up by not getting into Tora Bora sooner and letting the Afghans do all the work," a senior official with direct responsibilities in counterterrorism told the Post. "Clearly a decision point came when we started bombing Tora Bora and we decided just to bomb, because that's when he escaped ... We didn't put U.S. forces on the ground, despite all the brave talk, and that is what we have had to change since then."
But in war there are always mistakes. On the whole, the campaign was successful.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.