After 9/11, “Washington…gave al-Qaeda twenty-six more days to disperse its resources by not attacking until October 7 [2001]; the delay was due to the Pentagon’s lack of planning for Afghanistan and the Bush administration’s fear of casualties or captured servicemen–especially pilots–before enough search-and-rescue units could be deployed to the war zone.”
– Michael Scheuer, Osama Bin Laden, Pages 129-130