Missing Bin Laden
By Larry Johnson on October 8, 2008 at 8:01 AM in Current Affairs
A retired Delta Force Major writing under the name of Dalton Fury (not his real name) provides further corroboration that the Bush Administration failed to support military units and intelligence officers in Afghanistan who had cornered Osama Bin Laden. 
Fury’s book, Kill Bin Laden: A Delta Force Commander’s Account of the Hunt for the World’s Most Wanted Man, corroborates Gary Berntsen’s account published two years ago, Jawbreaker: The Attack on Bin Laden and Al-Qaeda: A Personal Account by the CIA’s Key Field Commander.
Back when NoQuarter was attracting only about 1500 individual visits a day (December 2005) I wrote the following about Berntsen’s book:
The book the CIA didn’t want you to read, JAWBREAKER by Gary Berntsen, is out and it kills. I’ve sent Gary a nasty note because his story kept me up till 4 am today. Just couldn’t put it down. Gary spent most of this year battling CIA censors, who were refusing to release the book. They insisted on excising parts of the story that have already appeared in other books about CIA operations in Afghanistan written by Steve Coll and another CIA veteran, Gary Schroen.
Gary Berntsen was the second CIA officer sent to Afghanistan and put in charge of directing the destruction of Al Qaeda and the hunt for Bin Laden. He arrived in the fall of 2001, replacing veteran officer Gary Schroen, who had led the first CIA element into Afghanistan in the immediate aftermath of the 9-11 attacks. Gary 2, i.e., Berntsen, built on Schroen’s foundation and played a critical role in directing the offensive that broke the back of the Taliban and scattered Al Qaeda.
The key news from Gary’s book is that we had Bin Laden in our sights but Tommy Franks and JSOC Commander, Dell Dailey, dilly dallied and did not deploy U.S. troops requested by Berntsen to the battle at Tora Bora. We could of had him; we should of had him; but we let Bin Laden get away.
You can read the rest here. I sent Gary a note Sunday night after watching some of the 60 Minutes piece featuring Daulton Fury. I asked Gary, is this guy legit. Gary replied:
Dalton Fury is the JSOC Ground Force Commander that joined my men in Tora Bora. We ultimately turned the battlefield over to him and he was extremely brave and competent. He is very fine man. I am glad someone got to put the details out where the Agency blocked me. I guess this sort of settles who knew what and when. How about JSOC and CENTCOM refusing to allow him to come in from the back side and refusing to let him drop mines.
Some people tried to paint me as not truthful when I wrote Jawbreaker.
I am thrilled that he has accurately finished the story
If you missed the 60 Minutes story it is now up on YouTube.
A story in the Army Times by Sean Naylor last February gave the public a heads up on Fury’s tale:
The Delta Force officer who commanded U.S. ground forces hunting Osama bin Laden at Tora Bora in late 2001 will publish a book in October that he promises will explain how the al-Qaida leader managed to slip through the grasp of the United States.
But the author’s plans have put him on a collision course with U.S. Special Operations Command, which he says is threatening to take him to court for revealing classified information.
The author, who spoke on the condition his identity not be revealed, wrote the book under the pseudonym Dalton Fury. At the time of the hunt for bin Laden in the mountainous region of Tora Bora in eastern Afghanistan, Fury was a major commanding a Delta Force troop, and was placed in charge of an additional Delta troop (for a total of about 40 Delta operators) plus assorted other special operations elements at Tora Bora.
It is now generally accepted that bin Laden was present at Tora Bora after fleeing Jalalabad ahead of the allied advance that toppled the Taliban government, but escaped the assault on his mountain stronghold, despite a massive bombing campaign and attacks from allied Afghan militias and U.S. and British special operators. The failure to capture or kill bin Laden at Tora Bora later became a focus for critics of the Bush administration’s handling of the war against al-Qaida.
Fury, who had prior enlisted service as an infantryman, retired in 2005 as a major and decided to write a book about Tora Bora, motivated by a desire to honor the troops who served with him there “and to tell the truth.”
“There have been so many Democratic jabs about it being done with proxy forces, with just maybe U.S. forces advising,” Fury said. “No one has ever really talked about [how] it was the U.S. Delta Force and the SBS [the British Special Boat Service] that were actually in the mountains when the Afghans were leaving every night … So you left Americans behind the lines by themselves.”
Fury said he told his troops when they left Tora Bora, “this is going to become a big deal in the future.”
“Of course everybody looked at me like, ‘No it’s not,’” he recalled. “We all assumed at the time that bin Laden would be caught in a week, a month, a year, and [Tora Bora] would be a minor footnote. But it’s become [so symbolic] of major strategic failure… that I thought the operational positives and the tactical success that we had needed to be told … to the public.”
Fury said the book will also explain how bin Laden managed to escape.
“From my perspective as the ground force commander and what I’ve learned since then, I think we have a pretty good handle on the steps, the missteps, the decisions made and the actual actions that were taken that led him to get out of there,” he said.
The book, which Fury has already written, is tentatively titled Kill bin Laden and will be published by St. Martin’s Press.
George Bush leaves office soon with his reputation in tatters. After the most devastating terrorist attack on U.S. soil George Bush failed to make capturing and killing Bin Laden a priority. Fury’s book is just another brick in the wall of facts that is disclosing how foolish Bush, Cheney, and Rumsfeld were in their failure to press the war against the Islamic extremists. But Fury honors the men who went behind enemy lines and put their own lives at risk. So there is a silver lining.
I encourage you to buy the book using the Amazon link above. First, the book is worth your time and money. Second, NoQuarter gets a small pittance from Amazon and it helps defray the costs of the blog.
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Yesterday after debate someone’s answer on what Americans want to hear from their candidate was;
They wanted to hear something but they don’t know what and only when they hear it they would know what that is?
Please elaborate if you can what is that you would like to hear?
I have a question….Because Wall St. seems to run everything in this country. Who do they think would be best for our economy? No party crap. Who has the best plan according to Wall St.standards?
They want McCain. At least that’s what my brother, who is an investment baker, told me.
Banker, not Baker
LOL; he may need a new career after this is over.
No “dough” puns, please…
Investment baker would increase his professional appeal. Definitely. He may want to start using it. After all, that would be “CHANGE WE CAN BELIEVE IN.”
Soeterobama = WORSE than Carter…in every way
There is no single “they.” They are split.
THE WHOLE THING STINKS TO HIGH HEAVEN LARRY…good article…
NQ ROCKS!
Workin’
I feel for the major… he’s the victim of exceptional communications technology. The mission was never his team’s mission. It belonged to the CIA dude on the ground and his satellite phone back to Langley, then on up to who?
to Larry,
Is it SOP to let the top dawg play the mission by phone or what’s your guess as to from how high the decision was made.
I remember reading that Bill had a shot or eight at UBL and never squeezed, so is this the same thing?
Remember that clssy lady, Claire McCaskill?
http://edgeoforever.wordpress.com/2008/10/08/claire-mckaskill-i-spit-on-it/
Fascinating post, Larry. Great information for us civilians who only get to hear the approved version. I can’t wait to read the book.
Hearing Bozo pontificate on how he would handle military action gave me nightmares, literally. What a poseur.
MUST WATCH:
Barack Obama and “The Butcher of Kenya”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8QcpdUtxNQ
I heard the author on the Bachelor show Sunday night. Sounds like a very good read.
It was interesting to hear him discuss how Delta’s plans were nixed for some reason.
60 minutes, I mean.
What’s strange is that we’ve heard no gloats from Osama bin Laden about the Wall Street Meltdown of America’s Main Street.
Some of you may remember that our financial ruin was one of Osama’s main objectives.
looks like even russia is melting …. climate change?!
Fascinating article, Larry. It’s great to hear from the troops on the ground–horse’s mouth, so to speak. Thanks for this perspective.
Nonsense. Ben Ladin is dead. He has been dead now for quite a while. Not capturing Ben Ladin (since he is dead) justifies the expense and efforts in Afghanistan and aids in continuing with the war against Islamic extremist.
Ben Ladin cannot be found because he was burried under the floor of the hut where he was convalescing of his illnesses. They dug a whole in his bedroom and buried him right there. End of story. He is still a hero to all Islamic extremist.
Interesting disclosures. Can you point us to a source?
No. They are product of my imagination. But think about it. What else can explain Ben Ladin’s disappearance? Please. The man is unique, with unique characteristics and by golly where the heck in this wide world can this man hide when his illnesses require constant medical attention.
Another accomplishment of The One for his next ad on his many many accomplishment.
“Lawmaker’s son indicted in Palin e-mail hacking”
Mike Kernell’s reputation: Ruined.
David Kernell’s reputation: Ruined.
University of Tennessee reputation: Ruined.
Everyone’s reputation associated with Oblabla: Ruined
Supposedly alQaeda and the Taliban are in Pakistan. Obama has broadcast his willingness to unilaterally attack Pakistan to root out terrorists. And Dems criticize Bush for politicizing foreign policy?!?
Obama sure knows how to stir up trouble…
Caption: Pakistani protesters burn a U.S. flag to condemn U.S. presidential hopeful Barack Obama’s remarks, Friday, Aug. 3, 2007, in Karachi, Pakistan. Pakistan criticized Obama for saying that, if elected, he might order unilateral military strikes inside this Islamic nation to root out terrorists. (AP Photo/Shakil Adil)
http://www.soldiersperspective.us/2007/08/03/the-two-faces-of-obama/
Pakistan criticizes Obama for ‘irresponsible’ statement on military strikes
The Associated Press
Friday, August 3, 2007
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: Hundreds of protesters chanted anti-U.S. slogans and burned an American flag to protest a remark by Democratic U.S. presidential hopeful Barack Obama saying that, if elected, he might order military strikes in Pakistan against al-Qaida.
The protests followed comments by Pakistani officials calling Obama’s comments irresponsible.
Obama’s comment turned up the heat on already simmering anger among Pakistanis about the issue, after senior Bush administration officials said last week they too would consider such strikes if intelligence warranted them.
CONTINUED —
Associated Press writers Munir Ahmad in Islamabad and Zarar Khan in Karachi contributed to this report.
http://www.iht.com/bin/print.php?id=6983218
Oblabla is gearing himself to get a real threat from a real nuclear military country that is really willing to use their bombs as they see fit. And they have to only detonate one little bomb in the hills of Afghanistan to make their case. Lets see then what the heck will Oblabla do?
He thinks he is f’ing John Kennedy. JFK screwed up big time with the Cuban missile crisis and we all only survived to blog today because USSR was a rational european country who didn’t want to die. If Oblahma tries it with Pakistan we may just be kissing our a**es goodbye.
McCain is absolutely right about this– Obama needs to shut his mouth. Does Obama honestly think the Pakistanis will support or even have good will towards the U.S. if the Pres. is threatening to attack their country? If so, Obama IS dangerous. If not, he needs to admit a mistake and change his rote response.
McCain skewers Obama on this issue. McCain makes Obama look like a chump.
Though most of the debate dealt with domestic issues, it was a foreign-policy question that sent me flying to my files. Moderator Tom Brokaw asked the candidates what their “doctrine” would be “in situations where there’s a humanitarian crisis, but it does not affect our national security,” such as “the Congo, where 4.5 million people have died since 1998,” or Rwanda or Somalia.
In such cases, answered Obama, “we have moral issues at stake.” Of course the United States must act to stop genocide, he said. “When genocide is happening, when ethnic cleansing is happening . . . and we stand idly by, that diminishes us.”
But that wasn’t how Obama sounded last year, when he was competing for the Democratic nomination and was unbending in his demand for an American retreat from Iraq. Back then, he dismissed fears that a US’t a good enough reason to keep US forces there,” the AP reported on July 20, 2007 (my italics). withdrawal would unleash a massive Iraqi bloodbath. “Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama said Thursday the United States cannot use its military to solve humanitarian problems and that preventing a potential genocide in Iraq isn’t a good enough reason to keep US forces there,” the AP reported on July 20, 2007 (my italics).
What kind of candidate is it whose moral response to genocide – genocide – can reverse itself 180 degrees in a matter of months? Is that the kind of candidate who ought to be the leader of the free world?
http://hotair.com/archives/2008/10/08/obamas-180-on-genocide/
G’ dang it. He reversed himself in his next statement. He began first by being for it, then after explaining in length why he was for it, he reverse himself and explain why it wasn’t feasible and why he would she from doing it. For it and against it both at the same time. Everyone liked it cause it appeals to everyone.
“I serve as a blank screen on which people of vastly different political stripes project their own views.”
- Obama, The Audacity of Hope
Obama is a master con artist!
Good point.
Obama also contradicts himself by saying he will pull troops from Iraq and move them to Afganistan. He is not ending war! Can you please tell me how the anti-war people on the left square this?
Larry, I hope the book covers the insidious way the ISI worked hand in glove with the terrorists to prevent their interdiction on their way into Pakistan. To quote Hitchens, “Pakistan IS the problem.”
And yet you’ve thrown your support behind a guy that is Bush III, and will continue ignoring those who attacked us on 9/11.
The question for me, Larry, when I read this stuff is WHY?
Did someone deliberately screw it up or was it more of the same ineptitude from Bush and the military we saw in mismanaging Iraq?
“Back when NoQuarter was attracting only about 1500 individual visits a day (December 2005)”
It was a much better place then and attracted people with the ability to reason.
Speaking of reason
This guy was out of the loop. A Major’s tiger-tale is superfluous when you know in your heart of hearts that ISI was sandbaging the operation —– and still is.
It’s kind of Gary Berntsen to compliment “Dalton Fury” considering that on 60 Minutes “Fury” was not complimentary of the un-named CIA officers who were with him.
I saw Gary Berntsen discussing his book on C-SPAN. In that appearance, I didn’t find him so critical of the Pentagon, etc., but rather saw – as with “Dalton Fury” – a man confident in his own abilities who was frustrated that he came so close to “getting” bin Laden. Nothing new to find in military histories leaders who felt “if only THEIR plan had been followed …”
Also good to note that 60 Minutes reported that “Dalton Fury” initially thought bin Laden had been killed. Did he then perhaps think that the effort had been adequate?
60 Minutes did not report why follow-up efforts were not made then rather than months later. Do Gary Berntsen and “Fury” share any blame for that?
Don’t mistake that I blame them. I think both men’s stories should be celebrated for the audacious effort and for the success they did have.
cmsmith, the CIA folks, including Gary Bernsten, were professional, aggressive, relevant, and brave during the entire battle of TB. There is no hidden agenda or implication of blame on the CIA in the 60 Min interview or in the book itself. Gary has nothing to accept any blame about. He did his job spectacularly. As for me, I accept my full share of the blame, which is explained in detail inside the book.
Osama Bin Laden is dead and has been for quite some time
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnychOXj9Tg
Comment by Troy | 2008-10-08 14:39:54 “Osama Bin Laden is dead and has been for quite some time”
The last few videos of OB kind of look a bit like computer generated images.
Larry, do you believe 9/11 was an inside job by the Bush administration? If not, then who ordered NORAD to stand down on 9/11? Why was there no criminal investigation of 9/11 by the US attorney from New York? Was the original draft 2001 Patriot Act actually written before 9/11?
I would like to hear your views on this. John
Pet peeve…. “Could have… Should have…”
I wasn’t an operator, I was just a grunt.