Bin Ladens escaped via elaborate "phone switcheroo"
Today's American "intelligence" idiocy bombshell:
With U.S. forces closing in on him during the battle of Tora Bora in late 2001, one of bin LadenŐs longtime bodyguards took possession of the al Qaeda leaderŐs satellite phone on the assumption that U.S. intelligence agencies were monitoring it to get a fix on their position. The bodyguard moved away from bin Laden and his entourage as they fled; he continued to use the phone in an effort to divert the Americans and allow bin Laden to escape. He was captured at Tora Bora in possession of the phone, officials said.
When did we learn this? How long was this revelation delayed to minimize damaging Bush's ratings?
How many billions of our tax dollars go into military and bureaucratic intelligence? And we're defeated by a ruse this ridiculous? Can I retroactively bill the government twenty billion dollars for being able to caution against a dodge this idiotic? What level of counter-intelligence is too low to concern ourselves with? Hey intelligence community! Keep your eyes peeled! Next time he might change into his pirate disguise.
I can't believe this isn't a scandal at least as big as some of the previous boondoggles.
I'm picturing bin Laden laughing, saying: "Wow I can't believe that worked."
What a fucking joke.
I heard this on the radio this morning. Charles Osgood told the story as though it were some sort of quaint little "Americana" tale. What about the guy he made take the phone? I mean, he was his bodyguard and all, but would you willingly carry around what amounted to a guided-bomb homing device? I'd have dropped it in the nearest port-a-potty, just like that super-sexy Sydney Bristow. Rowr!
andrew 21 Jan 2003