The Ongoing Hunt for Osama bin Laden

Newsweek | Aug. 26, 2007 (Special Report)

American intelligence officials interviewed by Newsweek ruefully agree that the hunt to find bin Laden has been more a game of chance than good or "actionable" intelligence. Since bin Laden slipped away from Tora Bora in December 2001, U.S. intelligence has never had better than a 50-50 certainty about his whereabouts. "There hasn't been a serious lead on Osama bin Laden since early 2002," says Bruce Riedel, who recently retired as a South Asia expert at ... Full Story »

Posted by Leo Romero

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by Oliver Jones - Oct. 1, 2008

This long article about the hunt for bin Laden is a grimly fascinating read, full of complex historical data. With good sources it confirms rumors about Jimmy Carter-style micromanagement of special field operations among Bush's people. I'm starting to wonder, though, if it's even possible to write about Bush administration war efforts in an even-handed way. The article starts off sounding like so much clear hindsight. Only at the end do we learn that Newsweek had reporters in Tora-Bora; knowing this throughout would have increased the story's _ethos_ and therefore its credibility.

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