Osama bin Laden, accused mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks, was in the compound at Tora Bora during U.S. attacks in late November and early December but escaped, according to The Washington Post.
U.S. soldiers were not on the ground at this time, only Afghan forces. Sources in the Pentagon confirmed this might be the reason bin Laden got away.
“We [messed] up by not getting into Tora Bora sooner and letting the Afghans do all the work,” a senior official with direct responsibilities in counterterrorism told The Washington Post. “Clearly, a decision point came when we started bombing Tora Bora and we decided just to bomb, because that’s when he escaped … We didn’t put U.S. forces on the ground, despite all the brave talk, and that is what we have had to change since then.”
Wednesday, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld dismissed the report and with great agitation responded to allegations that U.S. Afghanistan war commander Army Gen. Tommy Franks made a major mistake.
“My view of the whole thing is that until the lessons learned are known and have been developed–they’re still being worked on–I wouldn’t be able to answer a question like that, and it impresses me that others can from their pinnacles of relatively modest knowledge,” Rumsfeld said at a Pentagon briefing.
Despite Rumsfeld’s dismissal of the report, mere allegations of a mistake by U.S. forces may carry repercussions. Public support of the War on Terror has been strong. President Bush continually rallies support for both the war and himself, but if the American people perceive U.S. forces as incapable of winning the War on Terror, support will falter.
A Washington Post-ABC News poll in early March found 9 in 10 Americans supported the War on Terror, despite U.S. casualties. Support for the war has remained constant since November.
UW-Madison political science professor Charles Franklin said maintaining the status quo in Afghanistan will prevent a drop in public opinion. As long as the allegations are not confirmed, he said there would be no public-opinion crisis.
“I don’t think the simple allegation is going to do much, but I think the important thing is if the Afghan war is a success or not,” Franklin said. “If there were convincing evidence that he had, in fact, been there and that we bumbled the job, then that would not help the military reputation, but I don’t think in the short run one Washington Post story is going to make a difference.”
Perception is critical to public opinion. If the public perceives that the United States is succeeding, Franklin said, public opinion would remain high. Should the public begin to doubt the military, Bush and the military would begin to lose support.
“The thing at work in public opinion is that the Afghan war is seen as pretty much of a success despite the disappointment of not getting bin Laden, but part of that rests on the fact that he hasn’t shown up anywhere. I think it can stand where it is without a problem,” Franklin said.
Bush rallied support for the war Wednesday in Virginia. He did not mention the allegations of a grave error on behalf of the military, but instead made broad proclamations of expected victory, typical statements used to entice supporters.
Morgan Felchner ([email protected]) is a junior majoring in political science.
