Check it out:
Highlights:
This, at the very end of the article, perked me up:
I'm willing to reject the (increasingly popular) suggestion that Bush may intentionally be lackadaisical as to bin Laden because the fearmongering works better if bin Laden is alive as myth. Is there any serious doubt, though, that Iraq has been a monumental distraction from our mission in Afghanistan? Considering the number of troops on the ground in Afghanistan versus Iraq, and the fact that the Taliban has regained a foothold in Afghanistan since the Iraq campaign began, how can you even say that with a straight face?
Highlights:
French troops had bin Laden in sights: documentary
By Francois Murphy Tue Dec 19, 1:55 PM ET
PARIS (Reuters) - A documentary says French special forces had
Osama bin Laden in their sights twice about three years ago but their U.S. superiors never ordered them to fire.
The French military, however, said that the incidents never happened and the report was "erroneous information."
The documentary, due to air next year and seen by Reuters on Tuesday, says the troops could have killed the al Qaeda leader in
Afghanistan but the order to shoot never came, possibly because it took too long to request it.
"In 2003 and 2004 we had bin Laden in our sights. The sniper said 'I have bin Laden'," an anonymous French soldier is quoted as saying.
The documentary 'Bin Laden, the failings of a manhunt' is by journalists Emmanuel Razavi and Eric de Lavarene, who have worked for several major French media outlets in Afghanistan. A cable television channel plans to air the documentary in March.
Razavi said the soldier told them it took roughly two hours for the request to reach the U.S. officers who could authorize it but the anonymous man is also quoted in the documentary as saying: "There was a hesitation in command."
By Francois Murphy Tue Dec 19, 1:55 PM ET
PARIS (Reuters) - A documentary says French special forces had
Osama bin Laden in their sights twice about three years ago but their U.S. superiors never ordered them to fire.
The French military, however, said that the incidents never happened and the report was "erroneous information."
The documentary, due to air next year and seen by Reuters on Tuesday, says the troops could have killed the al Qaeda leader in
Afghanistan but the order to shoot never came, possibly because it took too long to request it.
"In 2003 and 2004 we had bin Laden in our sights. The sniper said 'I have bin Laden'," an anonymous French soldier is quoted as saying.
The documentary 'Bin Laden, the failings of a manhunt' is by journalists Emmanuel Razavi and Eric de Lavarene, who have worked for several major French media outlets in Afghanistan. A cable television channel plans to air the documentary in March.
Razavi said the soldier told them it took roughly two hours for the request to reach the U.S. officers who could authorize it but the anonymous man is also quoted in the documentary as saying: "There was a hesitation in command."
In September,
President Bush dismissed as an "urban myth" the idea his administration had become distracted from its effort to track down bin Laden.
President Bush dismissed as an "urban myth" the idea his administration had become distracted from its effort to track down bin Laden.
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