Further proof Dubbya was the worst President of all time!!!

[7 Wishes]

No way to pretty this one up. He fucked everything up - including this.

Senate report: Bin Laden was 'within our grasp'

By CALVIN WOODWARD, Associated Press Writer Calvin Woodward, Associated Press Writer – Sun Nov 29, 9:00 am ET

WASHINGTON – Osama bin Laden was unquestionably within reach of U.S. troops in the mountains of Tora Bora when American military leaders made the crucial and costly decision not to pursue the terrorist leader with massive force, a Senate report says.

The report asserts that the failure to kill or capture bin Laden at his most vulnerable in December 2001 has had lasting consequences beyond the fate of one man. Bin Laden's escape laid the foundation for today's reinvigorated Afghan insurgency and inflamed the internal strife now endangering Pakistan, it says.

Staff members for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee's Democratic majority prepared the report at the request of the chairman, Sen. John Kerry, as President Barack Obama prepares to boost U.S. troops in Afghanistan.

The Massachusetts senator and 2004 Democratic presidential candidate has long argued the Bush administration missed a chance to get the al-Qaida leader and top deputies when they were holed up in the forbidding mountainous area of eastern Afghanistan only three months after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

It seeks to affix a measure of blame for the state of the war today on military leaders under former president George W. Bush, specifically Donald H. Rumsfeld as defense secretary and his top military commander, Tommy Franks.

"Removing the al-Qaida leader from the battlefield eight years ago would not have eliminated the worldwide extremist threat," the report says. "But the decisions that opened the door for his escape to Pakistan allowed bin Laden to emerge as a potent symbolic figure who continues to attract a steady flow of money and inspire fanatics worldwide. The failure to finish the job represents a lost opportunity that forever altered the course of the conflict in Afghanistan and the future of international terrorism."

The report states categorically that bin Laden was hiding in Tora Bora when the U.S. had the means to mount a rapid assault with several thousand troops at least. It says that a review of existing literature, unclassified government records and interviews with central participants "removes any lingering doubts and makes it clear that Osama bin Laden was within our grasp at Tora Bora."

On or about Dec. 16, 2001, bin Laden and bodyguards "walked unmolested out of Tora Bora and disappeared into Pakistan's unregulated tribal area," where he is still believed to be based, the report says.

Instead of a massive attack, fewer than 100 U.S. commandos, working with Afghan militias, tried to capitalize on air strikes and track down their prey.

"The vast array of American military power, from sniper teams to the most mobile divisions of the Marine Corps and the Army, was kept on the sidelines," the report said.

Whoops. And now that we know Clinton expressedly told Bush his #1 issue in office would be Bin Laden - something he conveniently ignored - we know on whose shoulders the blame squarely lies. George W. "Worse Than Herbert Hoover" Bush, the worst President in the history of Western Civilization.

[bluejeangirl76]

Did we actually need "further" proof though?

[Enigma869]

Did we actually need "further" proof though?

I'm with BJ Girl I don't know if he's the absolute worst president of all time, but I'm certain that presidential historians will rank him in the top 5 worse presidents this country has ever seen, and he's easily the worst in my nearly 40 years on this earth. Complete fucking moron, and that's being less than flattering to the morons of the world.

[RossValoryRocks]

Yeah this was a real nice fuck up.

I don't know about blaming Bush...Rummy and Tommy Franks yeah...of course it is easy to second guess shit 7 years later as more evidence comes to light and intelligence is looked over a few more times.

[steveo777]

Yeah this was a real nice fuck up.

I don't know about blaming Bush...Rummy and Tommy Franks yeah...of course it is easy to second guess shit 7 years later as more evidence comes to light and intelligence is looked over a few more times.

What intelligence? There was nobody remotely intelligent in that administration.

[YoungJRNY]

The sight or mention of Bush makes me SICK.

[squirt1]

Yeah and Clinton was offered BinLaden by the Saudis and Clinton did not see that BinLaden was a threat.There has also been a problem that the Pakistani's would not let us in and Mousharif said he was doing all he could to help.He was trying to stay in power was more like it and he fell anyway. ALL politicians are bunglers. Just look at Obama play around with sending the help our soldiers need . He wants to know how it will turn out. Its war,idiot and there is no script and soldiers have died because of your inability to make a decision.

[7 Wishes]

Squirt1, your unintelligible and factually erroneous posts offer nothing other than cannon fodder for Moderates and Democrats on this board.

[Voyager]

The sight or mention of Bush makes me SICK.

Bush, Cheney, and Rummy will go down in history as the Hitlers of the West.

[treetopovskaya]

Squirt1, your unintelligible and factually erroneous posts offer nothing other than cannon fodder for Moderates and Democrats on this board.

"hello muddah... hello fodder... here i am at camp granada"

hehe.

[The_Noble_Cause]

Just look at Obama play around with sending the help our soldiers need . He wants to know how it will turn out. Its war,idiot and there is no script and soldiers have died because of your inability to make a decision.

Colin Powell disagrees with you.
And if you think I’m using him as a convenient political shield, you’re right –and I can’t think of a more respected one.
More troops can’t be deployed tomorrow even if Obama wanted to.
If we’re going to commit ourselves over there, we better get it right.
No offense to General McCrystal, who’s accomplished more than most in their lifetime, but one general’s opinion is not gospel.
The right certainly didn’t treat the opinions of Shinseki, Casey, Abizaid, Powell, Zinni, or Fallon that way, so why start now?
If you truly believe in the cause, go down to your local recruitment office, sign up, and ship out, and I mean that with zero cynical assholishness.

[fredinator]

If you truly believe in the cause, go down to your local recruitment office, sign up, and ship out, and I mean that with zero cynical assholishness.

God, so true, TNC.

[conversationpc]

If it wasn't for the existence of Jimmy Carter, I'd agree hands down with the title of this thread.

[marco17]

Yeah and Clinton was offered BinLaden by the Saudis and Clinton did not see that BinLaden was a threat.There has also been a problem that the Pakistani's would not let us in and Mousharif said he was doing all he could to help.He was trying to stay in power was more like it and he fell anyway. ALL politicians are bunglers. Just look at Obama play around with sending the help our soldiers need . He wants to know how it will turn out. Its war,idiot and there is no script and soldiers have died because of your inability to make a decision.

Don't know the specifics, but yes, there was a time while Clinton was President that they had a shot at Bin Laden, and they dropped the ball as well. He may be the figure head, and who everyone wants to capture or kill, but it isn't like terrorism or Al Quieda are all going to disappear just because he is caputred or killed. Just my opinion.

[Rhiannon]

If it wasn't for the existence of Jimmy Carter, I'd agree hands down with the title of this thread.

Jimmy Carter could chew his pretzels without self-inflicted asphyxia.

[conversationpc]

Don't know the specifics, but yes, there was a time while Clinton was President that they had a shot at Bin Laden, and they dropped the ball as well. He may be the figure head, and who everyone wants to capture or kill, but it isn't like terrorism or Al Quieda are all going to disappear just because he is caputred or killed. Just my opinion.

Caputred...Is that some kind of new "enhanced interrogation technique"?

[Monker]

If it wasn't for the existence of Jimmy Carter, I'd agree hands down with the title of this thread.

Jimmy Carter could chew his pretzels without self-inflicted asphyxia.

Don't ya mean his peanuts?

[Enigma869]

If it wasn't for the existence of Jimmy Carter, I'd agree hands down with the title of this thread.

Carter was an awful president and in my opinion, WAY over his head for that office. That said, W. was and is a FAR bigger buffoon than Carter ever was. I'm confident if someone polled the top ten presidental historians, every single one of them would rank W. as a worse president than Carter.

[Jana]

If it wasn't for the existence of Jimmy Carter, I'd agree hands down with the title of this thread.

Carter was an awful president and in my opinion, WAY over his head for that office. That said, W. was and is a FAR bigger buffoon than Carter ever was. I'm confident if someone polled the top ten presidental historians, every single one of them would rank W. as a worse president than Carter.

I agree.

[7 Wishes]

Carter would have made a fantastic Secretary of State or U.N. Diplomat. President, not so much.

[Eric]

The sight or mention of Bush makes me SICK.

Bush, Cheney, and Rummy will go down in history as the Hitlers of the West.

What a truly ignorant, ridiculous and reckless thing to say.