http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/19/opinion/19franks.html?ex=1255924800&en=dfe849b12233309f&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland
Second, we did not "outsource" military action. We did rely heavily on Afghans because they knew Tora Bora, a mountainous, geographically difficult region on the border of Afghanistan and Pakistan. It is where Afghan mujahedeen holed up for years, keeping alive their resistance to the Soviet Union. Killing and capturing Taliban and Qaeda fighters was best done by the Afghan fighters who already knew the caves and tunnels. Third, the Afghans weren't left to do the job alone. Special forces from the United States and several other countries were there, providing tactical leadership and calling in air strikes. Pakistani troops also provided significant help - as many as 100,000 sealed the border and rounded up hundreds of Qaeda and Taliban fighters. --- Gruss Gott <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Jerry Jwrote: > > On September 12th and 13th, Bush had top-level > meetings to figure out what to DO after 9/11. > > Well written! I would add that the special ops team > that was closing > in Bin Laden was pulled out and moved to Iraq. > > [A March 2002 meeting began] a year-long drawdown of > specialized > military and intelligence resources from the > geographic center of > combat with Osama bin Laden. As jihadist enemies > reorganized, slipping > back and forth from Pakistan and Iran, the CIA > closed forward bases in > the cities of Herat, Mazar-e Sharif and Kandahar. > The agency put off > an $80 million plan to train and equip a friendly > intelligence service > for the new U.S.-installed Afghan government. > Replacements did not > keep pace with departures as case officers finished > six-week tours. > And Task Force 5 -- a covert commando team that led > the hunt for bin > Laden and his lieutenants in the border region -- > lost more than > two-thirds of its fighting strength. > > The commandos, their high-tech surveillance > equipment and other assets > would instead surge toward Iraq through 2002 and > early 2003, as > President Bush prepared for the March invasion[.] > > You can read about it here: > > http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A52673-2004Oct21.html > __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail Address AutoComplete - You start. We finish. http://promotions.yahoo.com/new_mail ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Get the mailserver that powers this list at http://www.houseoffusion.com/banners/view.cfm?bannerid=17 Message: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=i:5:133204 Archives: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/threads.cfm/5 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=s:5 Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=11502.10531.5 Donations & Support: http://www.houseoffusion.com/tiny.cfm/54
