I don't have the patience to search the entire net for evidence to prove otherwise but I believe you are wrong and that is NOT what happened. It is unreasonable and from the getgo and although you and 240 choose to believe every other lie spouted by the media and every CT out there I do not.
No Brixtonbulldog, that is EXACTLY how it went down. I wasn't in 8th grade when 911 happened. I was just as rivetted as everyone else, and I was glued to daily developments as much as if not more than most Americans. There was an artifical work stoppage going on in my industry at the time, so after a whirlwind summer of back-to-back projects with 16hr work days, in the immediate aftermath of 911, I finally had a moment to catch my breath, with plenty of time on my hands to sit back, watch the news, and catch up on current affairs. The Taliban did infact offer many times to not only locate, but also to provide bin Laden on a silver platter, if the US would simply show them some proof. This is not spin garnered from websites years afterwards. These were events, and news conferences which I witnessed with my own eyes, as they occurred. Whether they received the airplay in the US that they did elsewhere in the world, I cannot say, but the Taliban's offer was well known, and Bush's attitude and how he addressed it was not the way civilized responsible leaders behave.
Since they had no proof, they instead bombed the country. To this very day, the FBI's official position is that they have no proof bin Laden was behind 911. Furthermore, all indicators pointed to the Saudis by way of Pakistan's secret service, ...but not bin laden, and not the Taliban. It was during this time that world opinion towards the USA and Bush's admin started to nosedive. Have you not once asked yourselves both why & how such n outpouring of love and sympathy could have been lost so quickly? Were you aware that in the days immediately following 911, there were candlelight vigils in the streets of both Iraq AND Iran, where people cried through the night, lighting candles, and offering up prayers for the victims and their families? As more and more evidence started to come out concerning the facts and discrepancies of 911, opinions started to sour. Empathy turned into rage, and it went into the toilet on Iraq, and the US behaviour there. The rest of the world saw the US administration connect 911 to Iraq and sway public opinion into believing Hussein was responsible for 911, and that they had WMDs that they were about to launch. It was blatantly obvious to everyone what was going on, ...however, media complicity was such that the American people succumbed. It's hard to blame you stuck in the midst of it, you're so confused you don't know what to think. So you do what people subjected to ths type of stimulation do, ...you give up all your power to the government who says they're ging to keep you safe. It's outrageous, ...but people who are scared do outrageous things, and allow outrageous things to occur and be carried out in their name. Fear has always been a powerful motivator and as long as people allow it to be, it will continue to be.
No, he was SUPPOSED to get UBL the first time and when he passed up those opportunities he let UBL do something far more destructive.
Are you referring to Clinton here or bush, ...because Clinton went after him. Unfortunately, he didn't get him. The only ones who ignored him prior to 911 was this current administration.
Like 911 for example! It WAS political. He didn't give a damn about finding UBL. And it was obvious at the time he cared more about the Lewinsky crap and saving his own ass.
Saddam had thought Clinton's troubles at home would distract him from maintaining the no-fly zone in northern Iraq. He tested him, played chicken and got his butt bombed in return. I remember that cause I was on a film set that night, and filming stopped as we all crowded around the monitors watching the bombing taking place, as well as Clinton's explaination for doing so prior to Ramadan. He was on record as saying we're gonna get pounded either way, ...we might as well do the right thing.
Venting is attaching a motive of frustration and rage. What Bush DID do was search and search and search. But I'm sure you have a better understanding of how the search is to be conducted than the commanders in theatre. And what is this infrastructure you speak of... have you ever seen Afghanistan? It is beyond third world. Downright primitive. The only thing we really damaged to any degree was the ability for Al-Queda to strike us again.
Perhaps infrastucture was an inappropriate term to use in reference to Afghanistan {lol}, ...however, the war in both Afghanistan, and Iraq could have been avoided, were not necessary, ...and imo are perfect examples of interference and illegal naked aggression. I won't say I'm sad to see the Taliban go. I'm not. For years I lamented the fate of women in that country, and the destruction of the buddhas was just plain primitive, ...however, it is possible to commit a crime against criminals. To acknowledge a crime has been committed against a criminal, does not mean you side with or support the one criminalized, ...just that you are at least able to ascertain facts and reality. The fact is the 'War on Terror' is the convenient lie fed to the public, to obsfucate the truth of naked aggression to achieve political goals and power & profits unattainable through diplomacy, bribery, or criminal sanctions.
