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I found this while searching for some infomation and thought that it would be best if I shared it.  I’ve been wondering about Rumsfeld’s actions for the past several years.  Take a read and feel free to continue the discussion on the forums.

WASHINGTON (AFP) – Osama bin Laden was “within the grasp” of US forces in late 2001 but escaped because then-defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld rejected calls for reinforcements, a hard-hitting US Senate report says.

The report, set for release Monday, is intended to help learn the lessons of the past as President Barack Obama prepares to announce a major escalation of the conflict, now in its ninth year, with up to 35,000 more US troops.

It points the finger directly at Rumsfeld for turning down requests for reinforcements as Bin Laden was trapped in December 2001 in caves and tunnels in a mountainous area of eastern Afghanistan known as Tora Bora.

“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 says.

“Instead, the US command chose to rely on airstrikes and untrained Afghan militias to attack Bin Laden and on Pakistan’s loosely organized Frontier Corps to seal his escape routes.”

Entitled “Tora Bora revisited: how we failed to get Bin Laden and why it matters today,” the report — commissioned by Senator John Kerry, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee — says Bin Laden expected to die and had even written a will.

“But the Al-Qaeda leader would live to fight another day. Fewer than 100 American commandos were on the scene with their Afghan allies and calls for reinforcements to launch an assault were rejected.

“Requests were also turned down for US troops to block the mountain paths leading to sanctuary a few miles away in Pakistan.

“The decision not to deploy American forces to go after Bin Laden or block his escape was made by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and his top commander, General Tommy Franks,” the report says.

“On or around December 16, two days after writing his will, Bin Laden and an entourage of bodyguards walked unmolested out of Tora Bora and disappeared into Pakistan’s unregulated tribal area. Most analysts say he is still there today.”

Rumsfeld’s argument at the time, the report says, was that deploying too many American troops could jeopardize the mission by creating an anti-US backlash among the local populace.

The report dismisses arguments at the time from Franks, Vice President Dick Cheney and others defending the decision and arguing that the intelligence was inconclusive about Bin Laden’s location.

“The review of existing literature, unclassified government records and interviews with central participants underlying this report removes any lingering doubts and makes it clear that Osama bin Laden was within our grasp at Tora Bora.”

The report admits that capturing or killing the Al-Qaeda leader, accused of orchestrating the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States that killed nearly 3,000 people, would not have eliminated the worldwide extremist threat.

“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,” it says.

“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, leaving the American people more vulnerable to terrorism, laying the foundation for today’s protracted Afghan insurgency and inflaming the internal strife now endangering Pakistan.”

As Obama prepares to announce Tuesday a bold new strategy for Afghanistan, Kerry points out at the beginning of the report that when the United States went to war less than one month after the September 11 attacks, the mission was clear: to destroy Al-Qaeda and kill or capture Bin Laden.

“Today, more than eight years later, we find ourselves fighting an increasingly lethal insurgency in Afghanistan and neighboring Pakistan that is led by many of those same extremists,” he says.

“Our inability to finish the job in late 2001 has contributed to a conflict today that endangers not just our troops and those of our allies, but the stability of a volatile and vital region.”

Yep, makes you wonder if things would have been different today if we had done our job correctly back then.

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From UPI.com:

ANCHORAGE , Alaska, Oct. 28 (UPI) — Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin received $1.25 million for a book deal while she was in office, her final financial disclosure report indicated. 

The report, filed Tuesday, covered her term as governor of Alaska from Jan. 1 until her July 26 resignation.

The $1.25 million is the advance payment from publisher HarperCollins for Palin’s book, “Going Rogue: An American Life” the Anchorage (Alaska) Daily News reported Wednesday.

Although the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act does not allow “employment for compensation,” Palin’s book advance was ruled not regular work for a wage.

Palin also received $4,250 in Yankees tickets from former New York Mayer Rudy Giuliani, $1,664 worth of airfare from evangelist Franklin Graham’s organization Samaritan’s Purse, a single action revolver and other gifts, documents indicated. 

Last year’s investigation into Palin’s alleged improper influence in a state police matter, dubbed “Troopergate,” has cost her more than $600,000 in legal fees, the reports show.

Palin continued to solicit contributions to a legal defense fund for three month after Alaska’s state personnel board said it found probable cause it violates Alaska ethics law, the newspaper said. The fund’s trustee said it would be “frozen” until the legal issues are resolved.

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Taken from “Edistojoe.com”

The media can’t wait for November 17th. That’s the date of release for Sarah Palin’s book, “Going Rogue”. Partly because they want to see what’s in it but more so because they are flat running out of material to trash her on. It’s gotten so bad that political cartoonist Nick Andersen, with the Huston Chronicle, had to resort to bashing her ghost writer in his cartoon entitled Stress Fractures. This was in reference as to the speed in which the book was put together and written. It never occurs to some that if the subject you’re writing about is interesting and conveys very definite and clear thoughts to the writer, then the task of putting it to words is a lot easier.

This is very much Palin; clear, concise and straight forward. You don’t have to be part of the educated elite to understand what she’s talking about. She talks directly to you, not down to you. Americans are a meat and potatoes society, always have been, and always will be and Sarah gives them what they want. In this country a hand up, not a hand out is all that should be expected. You cannot change society by forcing an equal and level playing field. Those who were at the top to begin with will end up there again. President Obama and the left know that and it’s the reason they are in such a hell fire rush to have the government take over the country It’s also the reason they despise Palin. Her message and presence go against everything they want to achieve.

This woman is the brightest star in the conservative movement. Whether she decides to run for President or not, she will almost surely influence voters in their say. Republican politicians who take her lightly, beware! You know who you are. Your the ones who moved to the center, who have tried to make the party appealing to Democrats and fence sitters. All you’ve done is help put America on a track to disaster. The grass roots movements springing up are more about the American people trying to set the course right on their own, you guys are just along for the ride.

This book, “Going Rogue”, is a already a hit. Pre-release sales are skyrocketing and everyone is trying to get their hands on a copy before the release. There will be plenty of bad reviews by the usual suspects but just think of all those “lefties” out there who will buy a copy just to trash it, never admitting it to their friends. Sarah will thank you for your patronage, all the way to the bank. How do I know they will do this? They’re liberals, and they can’t stand the thought of someone they despise achieving anything in the literary world that doesn’t follow their mantra. They have no self control, compulsion will drive them to to buy it. Just as in Field Of Dreams, “If you write it, they will come”.

On the other hand, they’re thousands of readers out there , such as myself, that want to hear what she has to say and those are the ones you can count at the voting booth in November. Ronald Reagan knew which notes to hit in order to tune in Americans. Sarah Palin will be the one who puts those notes to music once again.

So, what are your thoughts? Will you be getting the book, and if so, why?

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