(National Security Archive Release) 1998 Missile Strikes on Bin Laden May Have Backfired

Source: National Security Archive

Extensive 1999 Report on Al-Qaeda Threat Released by U.S. Dept of Energy

Taliban Told U.S. They Wanted to Bomb Washington

National Security Archive Electronic Briefing Book No. 253



Washington D.C., August 20, 2008 - On the tenth anniversary of U.S. cruise missile strikes against al-Qaeda in response to deadly terrorist attacks on U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, newly-declassified government documents posted today by the National Security Archive (www.nsarchive.org) suggest the strikes not only failed to hurt Osama bin Laden but ultimately may have brought al-Qaeda and the Taliban closer politically and ideologically.

A 400-page Sandia National Laboratories report on bin Ladin, compiled in 1999, includes a warning about political damage for the U.S. from bombing two impoverished states without regard for international agreement, since such action "mirror imag aspects of al-Qaeda's own attacks" . A State Department cable argues that although the August missile strikes were designed to provide the Taliban with overwhelming reason to surrender bin Laden, the military action may have sharpened Afghan animosity towards Washington and even strengthened the Taliban-al-Qaeda alliance.

Following the August 20 U.S. air attacks, Taliban spokesman Wakil Ahmed told U.S. Department of State officials "If Kandahar could have retaliated with similar strikes against Washington, it would have." Such an attack, although unfeasible at the time, was at least in part actualized by al-Qaeda on 9/11.

Following the 1998 embassy bombings, the U.S. sought to extradite bin Laden to Saudi Arabia or possibly Egypt, but failed to get bin Laden out of Afghanistan because, at least according to the U.S. Department of State, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan were unable or unwilling to apply enough pressure to coerce Taliban Supreme Leader Mullah Omar to surrender bin Laden.

The lengthy Sandia report compiled by Dr. Gary W. Richter synthesizes an impressive volume of public-source information available on bin Laden into a coherent summary of the al-Qaeda terrorist threat following the August embassy bombings. The report concludes that the bombings did not take U.S. intelligence and diplomatic services by surprise, as the U.S. in 1998 had capable counterterrorism intelligence gathering and interdiction capabilities. However, according to the report, in retrospect, the August 20 retaliatory cruise missile strikes may have caused long-term political harm to U.S. national security and counterterrorism interests . The report contains extensive timelines, biographies and issue summaries and is useful for researchers interesting in the evolution of al-Qaeda and the American response.

Read more: http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB253/index.htm

The Big Dawgs penis he wouldn't have had to wag that dog.

... to get Bin Laden.

And let's also not forget that it was George W. Bush that dismantled the Bin Laden Taskforce.

If missile and airstrikes had been allowed to continue, we would not be living in a "post-9/11 world."

Attacking Bin Laden AND NOT GETTING HIM backfired.

It was the Repukes who stopped us from getting him.

doing writing up a after action analysis of this incident? Especially analyzing the political ramifications of a military strike on terrorist compounds. DOD, CIA, NSA, Dep of State, White House, and Congress... I can understand, but a DOE lab?

Obviously relevant to any analysis of possible counter-attacks.

After the East Africa embassy bombings, a much more aggressive response, including troops, would have been called for, but was ruled out because the Repubs would have screamed bloody murder.

and seemed to focus on political objectives, not a capability analysis. I could understand a capability analysis where DOE would put together a paper on whether OBL or the Taliban had or could obtain nukes... but that doesn't seem to be what this was about.

What is the timing of this bullshit!

in Somalia or some African nation but we didn't take up the offer of arresting him and deporting him to the US.
Weak evidence and legal grounds I think was the reason.

so as to blame Clinton and the Dems for the fact that we got hit on 9/11 - because we provoked them to retaliate.

We'll see if this is the case - if the McCain Campaign or any of his surrogates use this against the Dems.