“On December 12 [2001], a defining moment came in the Tora Bora [Afghanistan] battle, and al-Qaeda would swiftly exploit it. Haji Zaman Gamsharik, one of the Afghan warlords leading the attack against al-Qaeda, had opened negotiations with members of the group for a surrender agreement. ‘They talked on the radio with Haji Zaman,’ an Afghan front-line commander explained, ‘saying they were ready to surrender at 4 p.m. Commander Zaman told the other commanders and the Americans about this. Then al-Qaeda said *We need to have a meeting with our guys. Will you wait until 8 a.m. tomorrow?* So we agreed to this. Those al-Qaeda who were not ready to be killed escaped that night. At 8 a.m. the following day no one surrendered, so we started attacking again.’ “
– Peter Bergen, The Longest War, Page 77