Tommy Franks: Whose Eye is On the Ball ?

Great rebuttal to Kerry's wild Tora Bora claims today in the NYT, by the general who actually ran the operation. An excerpt:

On more than one occasion, Senator Kerry has referred to the fight at Tora Bora in Afghanistan during late 2001 as a missed opportunity for America. He claims that our forces had Osama bin Laden cornered and allowed him to escape. How did it happen? According to Mr. Kerry, we "outsourced" the job to Afghan warlords. As commander of the allied forces in the Middle East, I was responsible for the operation at Tora Bora, and I can tell you that the senator's understanding of events doesn't square with reality.

First, take Mr. Kerry's contention that we "had an opportunity to capture or kill Osama bin Laden" and that "we had him surrounded." We don't know to this day whether Mr. bin Laden was at Tora Bora in December 2001. Some intelligence sources said he was; others indicated he was in Pakistan at the time; still others suggested he was in Kashmir. Tora Bora was teeming with Taliban and Qaeda operatives, many of whom were killed or captured, but Mr. bin Laden was never within our grasp.

Second, we did not "outsource" military action. We did rely heavily on Afghans because they knew Tora Bora, a mountainous, geographically difficult region on the border of Afghanistan and Pakistan. It is where Afghan mujahedeen holed up for years, keeping alive their resistance to the Soviet Union. Killing and capturing Taliban and Qaeda fighters was best done by the Afghan fighters who already knew the caves and tunnels.

Third, the Afghans weren't left to do the job alone. Special forces from the United States and several other countries were there, providing tactical leadership and calling in air strikes. Pakistani troops also provided significant help - as many as 100,000 sealed the border and rounded up hundreds of Qaeda and Taliban fighters.

Kerry's assertion is that Bush's decision to 'outsource' the engagement at Tora Bora to local Afghan warlords allowed bin Laden (may his liver be infested with maggots) to escape. Notwithstanding the fact that no-one knows for sure whether or not OBL (may he rot in hell forever) was actually there, this armchair quarterback implies that he would have done better, and have captured Slime Laden (may he contract necrotizing fasciitis of the penis).

In the interest of internal consistency, Kerry would have been better served keeping his trap shut. He has repeatedly accused the President of not relying on the advice of his generals. If Tommy Franks wanted to outsource, then according to Kerry's previous line of thinking, that was the right thing to do ! Not to mention: the plan worked - Tora Bora was overrun and many al-Qaida (may their firstborns perish as did the Egyptians' during the Plague) killed or captured.