According to Bruce Riedel, a senior fellow in foreign policy who was attending the senior meeting of the National Security Council at the time of the attacks in New York City, the council knew that Al Qaeda was responsible for the attack within minutes. An ultimately failed attempt at defeating the terrorists performed by the CIA, the “hunt” for Al Qaeda became an international affair with large support from Australia being a large part (“Afghanistan”). Consequently, Osama Bin Laden and the Al Qaeda headquarters were able to escape to Pakistan, making the termination of the group to become that more complicated. However, staying within the Middle East proved to be a big mistake for Bin Ladin and the terrorist group. With armed forces stationed in the adjacent country of Afghanistan, operations and airstrikes became that much easier for the United States, Australia, and other ally countries. In fact, in the words of Riedel, “Without bases in Afghanistan, we would be able to put no pressure on Al Qaeda and Pakistan”
According to Bruce Riedel, a senior fellow in foreign policy who was attending the senior meeting of the National Security Council at the time of the attacks in New York City, the council knew that Al Qaeda was responsible for the attack within minutes. An ultimately failed attempt at defeating the terrorists performed by the CIA, the “hunt” for Al Qaeda became an international affair with large support from Australia being a large part (“Afghanistan”). Consequently, Osama Bin Laden and the Al Qaeda headquarters were able to escape to Pakistan, making the termination of the group to become that more complicated. However, staying within the Middle East proved to be a big mistake for Bin Ladin and the terrorist group. With armed forces stationed in the adjacent country of Afghanistan, operations and airstrikes became that much easier for the United States, Australia, and other ally countries. In fact, in the words of Riedel, “Without bases in Afghanistan, we would be able to put no pressure on Al Qaeda and Pakistan”