[quote=enron_by_the_sea][quote=KSMountain]
ucodegen is correct or mostly correct. There are several books written on this subject by U.S. folks who were there at the time, in different branches of service. It is possible to educate oneself on this matter…[/quote]
I am a dumb guy so why don’t you educate me… The only accounts of US folks that I can find go like this.
They all seem to suggest that Delta force presented several plans to take out Bin Laden, but Bush administration/Gen Tommy Franks did not approve any of them and decided to let Afghans do it…
Do you disagree with such a characterization? If yes, then educate me![/quote]
I’d be happy to. It’s good to know what your tax dollars are paying for and there are a lot of *extremely* talented folks in the special forces. We can certainly find a lot more than a single video link from cbsnews to inform us (did you ever hear about the car that was doctored with a compressed air canister on 60 minutes to try to illustrate runaway acceleration? (but I digress))…
Here are two interesting books by U.S. folks that were definitely there:
I recommend these. I think you’d enjoy them. In the first the guy is a CIA dude, one of the first there, on like September 20, 2001 or something, and he literally shows up at the ruins of Bagram with a trunk full of money and other folks and gets everything going. Bagram of course is now a full-fledged air base.
It’s been awhile since I read them but I flipped through the second one and the pages are replete with references to Delta Force, Rangers, Green Berets, CIA, and British commandos that were assaulting Tora Bora from the air and from the ground, in the snow and ice, both in the open and stealthily.
To say that Bush in a fit of shortsightedness or cowardice (or overfocus on Iraq) in Washington D.C. prevented folks from going in is inaccurate and does a disservice to the folks who were risking their lives, climbing up to altitude (have you ever tried to be active above 12000′?) with weapons and other heavy gear in horrible conditions, with untrustworthy guides and allies.
In Fury’s book, he claims we “took” Tora Bora in a way the soviets did not in 10 years. So without re-reading it, he claims we were definitely there and quote “won” the battle, but we did not get our man. Likely through treachery as ucodegen said.
