I'm waiting for the Dick/Liz Cheney interview when someone asks them why the U.S. forces in Afghanistan allowed Osama bin Laden to escape from Tora Bora into Pakistan in December, 2001. One can surmise, had the al Qaeda leader been captured or killed, the settlement of the terrorist group in northeastern Pakistan wouldn't have happened and U.S. war efforts in the region would have been considerably simpler. But I'm not holding my breath - I doubt anyone will ever have the temerity to ask the Cheney's.
A Senate report issued last week called the failure to capture bin Laden a leadership failure by former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and General Tommy Franks, specifically. Apparently, Rep. Maurice Hinchey has another theory. Appearing on MSNBC yesterday, Rep. Hinchey claimed the Bush Administration intentionally allowed bin Laden to escape in order to use al Qaeda as their principle excuse to justify the invasion of Iraq.
MSNBC's David Shuster should win an Oscar for his portrayal of incredulity at the idea the Bush Administration might allow bin Laden to escape in order to justify future actions.
But I don't buy Rep. Hinchey's theory. There's a mountain of evidence the Bush Administration were in over their heads, undoubtedly relying on the military brilliance (heh) of Donald Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney to direct U.S. strategy in Afghanistan and, later, Iraq. That they bungled the capture of Osama bin Laden, as they bungled most everything else, seems the most likely reason bin Laden just walked out of Tora Bora and into Pakistan.
On second thought, maybe David Shuster seemed so shocked because he'd never actually heard anyone express a belief the Bush Administration had a strategy and enacted it competently in Afghanistan.
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