The CIA field commander for the agency’s Jawbreaker team at Tora Bora, Gary Berntsen, says he and other U.S. commanders did know that bin Laden was among the hundreds of fleeing Qaeda and Taliban members. Berntsen says he had definitive intelligence that bin Laden was holed up at Tora Bora—intelligence operatives had tracked him—and could have been caught. “He was there,” Berntsen tells NEWSWEEK.
Asked to comment on Berntsen’s remarks, National Security Council spokesman Frederick Jones passed on 2004 statements from former CENTCOM commander Gen. Tommy Franks. “We don’t know to this day whether Mr. bin Laden was at Tora Bora in December 2001,” Franks wrote in an Oct. 19 New York Times op-ed. “Bin Laden was never within our grasp.”
Berntsen says Franks is “a great American. But he was not on the ground out there. I was.”
Berntsen is on Chris Matthews “Hardball” on MSNBC, tonight [Wednesday]. I’ll have to watch and listen to how credible he sounds.
As long was we never let his niece get away! Humma humma humma!
http://www.dvorak.org/blog/?p=3651
I’d shtoup her.
Which leads to the question, Why would the Pentagon allow bib Laden to escape?
Not being a military strategist, I wonder why the military did not encircle the region to prevent the escape of any Taliban or al Qaeda towards Pakistan. It was well known that even though the Pakistani government was allied with the U.S., not all of the soldiers were and most of the neighboring area in Pakistan was very sympathetic to the Taliban cause. The U.S. Had the troops, equipment, and transport to quickly move into an encirclement.
The sentiment around the Web seems to be that Bertsen is telling it like it is. The question raised is “why” let Osama loose? The answer seems to be — capturing Osama inhibits the campaign of disinformation already planned for the Iraq invasion.
What “AGAIN”? Almost every news story i’ve heard about tora Bora, since it happened, has been about bin Laden having been there but that he slipped through for various reasons.
There is nothing new here excecpt another leak by a secret agent trying to get his 5 seconds of fame
Ah, nothing like my weekly visit to Dvorak to sample some stupidity.
First , what’s with the All-Caps “A G A I N !!” You’re pointing to the well known 4 yr old Tora Bora incident, but you’re shouting “We let him slip away A G A I N !!!!” as if there was some new escape occurring yesterday. Is “Eideard” confused as usual? Oh, perhaps you’re alluding to the 1st time we let Bin Laden “escape”, when Sudan offered him to the Clinton administration in 1996. And Clinton, though keenly aware of bin Laden’s leading persistant and aggressive role in anti-US terrorism, inexplicably refused to accept bin Laden? I guess so.
As for Tora Bora, well I don’t know what happened there. But just being contrarian for a minute, and not delving into bizarre conspiracies, let me ask you: have you and your buddies ever surrounded an entire MOUNTAIN RANGE riddled with unknown TRANSNATIONAL TUNNELS that might be running right under your line? Seems that to do so and seal it off 100% would take enormous amounts of manpower. Maybe, just maybe, Gen Franks had a good enough grasp of the big picture, and of available resources, and of conflicting information, to understand better than a CIA field officer right there among the rocks what was reasonable and do-able with the assets available.
Now mind you, I’m not doubting that a bunch of employees of the federal government might possibly have dropped the ball here. But to infer that this is some part of a nefarious conspiracy is just stupid. If you can’t stop asking yourself WHY?, consider that the answer sometimes is just, s–t happens.
But I do agree, I’d do that hot Arab chick.
If we catch the wanted number one terrorist, we would have a good reason to think that the war on terror would come to an end… now I’m wondering: is this convenient for the US?
Chuckle. The dittohead band is getting lame. I offer a post from NBC suggesting it might be worth hearing from the Commander of the CIA effort to catch Bin Laden in Afghanistan — and the panic in the Bush Brigade is worthy of Joe McCarthy.
And relying on the anti-Clinton riposte? I knew serious folks in anti-colonial movements who made the decision to steer clear of Bin Laden in his early days in Sudan in the 80’s — during Bush 1 when our spooks were supplying him with anti-aircraft munitions.
If you’re condemning opportunist politicians, the list is endless — and it includes both Tweedledee and Tweedledumber.
I caught Berntsen, tonight. Matthews must be on vacation; so, questioning wasn’t especially probing. The dude’s book sounds like a good military campaign read — especially for folks who’ve been in the field on one side or the other of colonial landscape confrontation.
The funniest part was the staged “Dem or Repub” question; so, he could make it clear he supports his “Commander-in-Chief” and excuses the lack of clear chain-of-command decisions.
The chuckleheads who are so afraid that firsthand information will automatically impeach Fearless Leader can breathe a small sigh of relief. It sounded mostly like SNAFU in Afghanistan.
Although Bernsten does have the look of a dude who’s worrying about being wacked. Publishing the book should prevent that.
Initially it was not in the best interest of the US to capture / kill Osama, because that would have led to a “Mission Accomplished” feeling amongst the American public, and halted the liberation of Afghanistan from the Taliban tyranny. Remember that the general pupulation had no idea of the horrors of the Taliban (as they are unaware of most things outside the USA). So US policy was probably to hold back until a more complete control over Afghanistan could be established.
But Osama eventually got away, as did 100’s of Taliban aholes, because it is basically impossible to geographically control that part of the world. Once Osama got into Pakistan, he has plenty of places to hide, because he is heavily supported by the local population, the Pakistani government has no incentive or even gonads to go into that area, and the US is restricted from going there.
But Osama is not all that important anymore, except as a symbol. Removing him will do little, except possibly further motivate extremists since we have killed their idol. Due to our incredibly stupid bungling of the Iraq occupation, we have created fully independent militant Islamic fundamentalist movements throughout the world. They are all Al-Qaida affiliates, but financed and operated independently. Where before we had to deal with one organization, now we have to fear dozens. And all of this because instead of “liberating” Iraq, we became occupiers. Think France under German occupation.
The author and the others commenting here definitely have the finger on the pulse of the issue–“why” did we let him escape indeed. When it looks like a duck, floats like a duck, quacks like a duck…
Considering the present circumstances with Saddam’s trial–i.e. Saddam using his testimony as a soap box for continued insurgency–The govt. has to be conscientious of what a “hassle” it will be to put him on trial. Perhaps they’re waiting for a situation in which they can just kill him? Perhaps that scenario led to a capture instead of a kill, therefore a less-than-ideal outcome.
That sort of naivety is exactly the type of thinking that I’ve come to expect these days. But I applaud the efforts here, Dvorak. It’s folks like you calling out the truth of the matter. Frankly, I think that Franks ought to be admitted into a Drug Rehab
lets set things a little straight here:
1) Your headline implies that something new had happened in the search for Bin Laden, when the article really just an add for a MSNBC show. This was the basis of my criticism
2)Reading your own post interview posts proves the point that this was just a glory hound looking to get his face on TV. Hence, “The dude’s book” gets plugged not only on the show but in this blog (and you’ve shilled for him quite nicely BTW lol )
3)Please try and do a little better with your retorts next time.(yawn) While I often disagree, and I enjoy the provocative discussions, the name calling gets boring after a while. (The dittohead band, Bush Brigade, chuckleheads) (double yawn)
Who’s talking to Jim? Anyone? I was addressing a generic perpetual whine. I’m not moved to any more response than that by folks who condemn an interview before it happens. Especially, a primary source. NBC beat everyone else to the interview.
Can’t do anything about your ennui. Try Camus and 3 Tylenol.
Nobody mentions that Bin Laden was our guy in the 80’s in Afghanistan and he is our guy now.A good example of how this works is Israel and Arafat.Arafat did more harm to his own movement then the Israelis ever did.It is to our advantage to have a single leader we can influence.BTW Jeane Dixon predicted the rise of a Bin Laden like figure in the mid 60’s.
If you catch him you won’t be able to keep track of his agents..
Give John credit for “Again”. My habit is just to shorten headlines from the original article — sometimes.
Ed,
Suggestion. Don’t invoke Joe McCarthy’s name. You know who he was, and I know who he was, but not too many other’s do. The whole thing is wasted. I do totally agree though, we are in a McCarthy like era and slowly finding our way out.
Hi, Pat — I suppose you’re right. Although DU participants are ahead of the curve in literacy and history. My problem with accuracy is that — if I don’t find a cultural analogy — I lapse into reasonably accurate political-speak. Which people tend to overreact to — like “proto-fascist”!
[Chuckle]
“proto-fascist”
oooo, I gotta like that one
So here we are nearly two years later. Still no Bin Laden. Where do you all this he is? Has anybody seen him anywhere? Is he even alive? Maybe the media wants us to think he is still alive. Maybe he is in horrible health. He probably looks like he needs to check himself into an, Eating Disorder Treatment Center.
But seriously, maybe in 2008 we will get somebody in office that will be able to find him. I’m not taking any sides here. I just think something needs to be done. Afterall this is all because of 9/11 right? Bin Laden is supposedly the one responsible right? So lets get him.