Was the Afghanistan War an Intelligence Failure?
Osama bin Laden and many of his key leaders relocated to Afghanistan from Sudan in 1996. They soon established headquarters and training camps in the country and began orchestrating operations from there
Following the terrorist attacks of September 2001, the United States found itself at war with al Qaeda, Osama bin Laden’s international terrorist organization. In response to the terrorist attacks, and because al Qaeda utilized it as a base for training and operations, the Bush Administration formulated a national strategy for war in Afghanistan
As with most wars and major foreign policy initiatives, the Bush Administration had multiple goals when it launched its war to topple the Taliban. In the first place, as the insider accounts inform us, in the wake of the 9-11 bombings Bush was intent on "kicking someone's ass" and he didn't care if doing so violated international law. Domestically he needed to demonstrate that he was taking action against the perpetrators of the shocking attacks, and internationally he and his cohorts wanted to demonstrate that the Pentagon doctrine of "Full Spectrum Dominance" (the ability to dominate any nation, anywhere in the world, at any level of power, at any time) was still in force, and that no one should even think about …show more content…
The Bush Administration believed it would need broad international support for the war.14 Support from a wide array of coalition partners, to include Afghanistan’s regional neighbors in particular, would provide the United States with the basing, access, and over-flight rights necessary to prosecute a military campaign in Afghanistan. Support from other nations would provide an added degree of legitimacy and could lessen the burden of war on the United States. Accordingly, the Administration sought to involve as many nations as possible in the war in
Osama bin Laden and many of his key leaders relocated to Afghanistan from Sudan in 1996. They soon established headquarters and training camps in the country and began orchestrating operations from there
Following the terrorist attacks of September 2001, the United States found itself at war with al Qaeda, Osama bin Laden’s international terrorist organization. In response to the terrorist attacks, and because al Qaeda utilized it as a base for training and operations, the Bush Administration formulated a national strategy for war in Afghanistan
As with most wars and major foreign policy initiatives, the Bush Administration had multiple goals when it launched its war to topple the Taliban. In the first place, as the insider accounts inform us, in the wake of the 9-11 bombings Bush was intent on "kicking someone's ass" and he didn't care if doing so violated international law. Domestically he needed to demonstrate that he was taking action against the perpetrators of the shocking attacks, and internationally he and his cohorts wanted to demonstrate that the Pentagon doctrine of "Full Spectrum Dominance" (the ability to dominate any nation, anywhere in the world, at any level of power, at any time) was still in force, and that no one should even think about …show more content…
The Bush Administration believed it would need broad international support for the war.14 Support from a wide array of coalition partners, to include Afghanistan’s regional neighbors in particular, would provide the United States with the basing, access, and over-flight rights necessary to prosecute a military campaign in Afghanistan. Support from other nations would provide an added degree of legitimacy and could lessen the burden of war on the United States. Accordingly, the Administration sought to involve as many nations as possible in the war in