“While a handful of U.S. soldiers monitored the Battle of Tora Bora [Afghanistan] and guided bombing missions [in November-December 2001], they left the actual ground fighting to local forces, hired in haste. The local forces had their own agendas. As a result, America failed in its objective to capture Osama bin Laden and many al Qaeda and Taliban commanders. In a highly critical article [on March 4, 2002], the Christian Science Monitor said that the story underlying the Battle of Tora Bora was ‘how scant intelligence, poorly chosen allies and dubious tactics fumbled a golden opportunity.’ ”
– Deepak Tripathi, Overcoming the Bush Legacy in Iraq and Afghanistan, Page 50