Works for me...

...and squares with what little interaction I have had on the subject from 'inside'.

General Tommy Franks on Osama, Tora Bora, and the Democrat position.

On more than one occasion, Senator Kerry has referred to the fight at Tora Bora in Afghanistan during late 2001 as a missed opportunity for America. He claims that our forces had Osama bin Laden cornered and allowed him to escape. How did it happen? According to Mr. Kerry, we "outsourced" the job to Afghan warlords. As commander of the allied forces in the Middle East, I was responsible for the operation at Tora Bora, and I can tell you that the senator's understanding of events doesn't square with reality.

Sure, General Franks is also looking to his legacy - but his is a voice with more gravitas than Senator Kerry's on this issue.

War of Words

By TOMMY FRANKS

Published: October 19, 2004

President Bush and Senator John Kerry have very different views of the war
on terrorism, and those differences ought to be debated in this presidential
campaign. But the debate should focus on facts, not distortions of history.

On more than one occasion, Senator Kerry has referred to the fight at Tora
Bora in Afghanistan during late 2001 as a missed opportunity for America. He
claims that our forces had Osama bin Laden cornered and allowed him to
escape. How did it happen? According to Mr. Kerry, we "outsourced" the job
to Afghan warlords. As commander of the allied forces in the Middle East, I
was responsible for the operation at Tora Bora, and I can tell you that the
senator's understanding of events doesn't square with reality.

First, take Mr. Kerry's contention that we "had an opportunity to capture or
kill Osama bin Laden" and that "we had him surrounded." We don't know to
this day whether Mr. bin Laden was at Tora Bora in December 2001. Some
intelligence sources said he was; others indicated he was in Pakistan at the
time; still others suggested he was in Kashmir. Tora Bora was teeming with
Taliban and Qaeda operatives, many of whom were killed or captured, but Mr.
bin Laden was never within our grasp.

Second, we did not "outsource" military action. We did rely heavily on
Afghans because they knew Tora Bora, a mountainous, geographically difficult
region on the border of Afghanistan and Pakistan. It is where Afghan
mujahedeen holed up for years, keeping alive their resistance to the Soviet
Union. Killing and capturing Taliban and Qaeda fighters was best done by the
Afghan fighters who already knew the caves and tunnels.

Third, the Afghans weren't left to do the job alone. Special forces from the
United States and several other countries were there, providing tactical
leadership and calling in air strikes. Pakistani troops also provided
significant help - as many as 100,000 sealed the border and rounded up
hundreds of Qaeda and Taliban fighters.

Contrary to Senator Kerry, President Bush never "took his eye off the ball"
when it came to Osama bin Laden. The war on terrorism has a global focus. It
cannot be divided into separate and unrelated wars, one in Afghanistan and
another in Iraq. Both are part of the same effort to capture and kill
terrorists before they are able to strike America again, potentially with
weapons of mass destruction. Terrorist cells are operating in some 60
countries, and the United States, in coordination with dozens of allies, is
waging this war on many fronts.

As we planned for potential military action in Iraq and conducted
counterterrorist operations in several other countries in the region,
Afghanistan remained a center of focus. Neither attention nor manpower was
diverted from Afghanistan to Iraq. When we started Operation Iraqi Freedom
we had about 9,500 troops in Afghanistan, and by the time we finished major
combat operations in Iraq last May we had more than 10,000 troops in
Afghanistan.

We are committed to winning this war on all fronts, and we are making
impressive gains. Afghanistan has held the first free elections in its
history. Iraq is led by a free government made up of its own citizens. By
the end of this year, NATO and American forces will have trained 125,000
Iraqis to enforce the law, fight insurgents and secure the borders. This is
in addition to the great humanitarian progress already achieved in Iraq.

Many hurdles remain, of course. But the gravest danger would result from the
withdrawal of American troops before we finish our work. Today we are asking
our servicemen and women to do more, in more places, than we have in
decades. They deserve honest, consistent, no-spin leadership that respects
them, their families and their sacrifices. The war against terrorism is the
right war at the right time for the right reasons. And Iraq is one of the
places that war must be fought and won. George W. Bush has his eye on that
ball and Senator John Kerry does not.

Tommy Franks, a retired general and former commander in chief of the Central
Command, is the author of "American Soldier." He is a member of Veterans for
Bush.