CNN segment on Bin Laden ignored Bush's reported failure to heed CIA call for more troops at Tora Bora

A report on the August 21 edition of CNN's American Morning noted that the insufficient number of U.S. forces in the mountains of Afghanistan in late 2001 allowed the Al Qaeda leader to escape capture. But the report -- billed as "part of an upcoming special" on bin Laden -- omitted any reference to the recent revelation by investigative reporter Ron Suskind that the CIA specifically warned President Bush at the time that more U.S. troops were needed because the Pakistani forces and local Afghan militias that had cornered bin Laden in the mountains near Tora Bora were "definitely not" equipped to capture him themselves. It is yet to be seen whether CNN will note Suskind's reporting in the full "upcoming special."

On August 23, CNN will air In the Footsteps of Bin Laden, a two-hour documentary on the life of the Al Qaeda leader. In anticipation of the premiere, the network has in recent days been previewing excerpts of the special during its daytime programming, including the two-minute report on the battle of Tora Bora that aired on the August 21 edition of American Morning, as well as the August 19 editions of CNN Saturday Morning News and CNN Saturday Live. In this segment, CNN senior international correspondent Christiane Amanpour described how a CIA paramilitary unit, accompanied by Afghan militias and Pakistani soldiers, had attempted to capture bin Laden in the region. Amanpour reported that the mission ultimately failed and that, "[b]y most accounts, the main problem was not enough American soldiers on the ground." She went on to air a clip of Gary Berntsen, the now-retired CIA officer who headed the unit, explaining how he had sent "a message back to Washington" in early December requesting the deployment of more U.S. troops to the area.

But missing from the two-minute segment was any mention of a report that the CIA warned President Bush directly that more U.S. troops were needed in the region. Indeed, Suskind's new book, The One Percent Doctrine: Deep Inside America's Pursuit of Its Enemies Since 9/11 (Simon & Schuster, June 2006), includes the explosive revelation that CIA officer Hank Crumpton, the head of the agency's Afghanistan campaign at the time, had told Bush in late November 2001 that Pakistani and Afghan fighters were "definitely not" equipped to handle the mission and that "we're going to lose our prey if we're not careful." From Suskind's book:

But, a few days later, at the end of November, Crumpton, back with another map, showed Bush how the campaign's prime goal -- to capture bin Laden -- was in jeopardy.

With [Vice President Dick] Cheney looking on, Crumpton -- relying on detailed, urgent reports from CIA teams in Afghanistan -- showed the President the terrain around Tora Bora, where bin Laden and about a thousand fighters had settled.

He laid out the array of problems. The White Mountains, where the caves were located, were filled with tunnels and escape routes, Crumpton said. Bush asked about the passage to Pakistan. [Pakistani President Pervez] Musharraf had assured the administration, in a deal that involved U.S. aid of nearly a billion dollars, that his troops would seal off the passages into Pakistan, the most logical escape route. Crumpton, using his map, showed how the border between the two countries was misleading, that the area on the Pakistani side of the line was a lawless, tribal region that Musharraf had little control over. In any event, satellite images showed that Musharraf's promised troops hadn't arrived, and seemed unlikely to appear soon.

What's more, Crumpton added, the Afghan forces were "tired and cold and, many of them are far from home." They were battered from fighting in the south against Taliban forces, and "they're just not invested in getting bin Laden."

A few days before, on November 26, a force of about 1,200 marines -- by far the largest U.S. force in the country -- had settled around Kandahar, three hundred miles east of Tora Bora. Crumpton, in constant contact with the military's CENTCOM center in Tampa, Florida, had told General Tommy Franks over the past week of the concerns of the CIA's managing operatives in Afghanistan that "the back door was open." He strongly urged Franks to move the marines to the cave complex. Franks responded that the momentum of the CIA's effort to chase and corner bin Laden could be lost waiting for the troops to arrive; and there was concern marines would be mired in the snowy mountains.

As Crumpton briefed the President -- and it became clear that the Pentagon had not voiced the CIA's concerns to Bush -- he pushed beyond his pay grade. He told Bush that "we're going to lose our prey if we're not careful," and strongly recommended the marines, or other troops in the region, get to Tora Bora immediately. Cheney said nothing.

Bush, seeming surprised, pressed him for more information. "How bad off are these Afghani forces, really? Are they up to the job?"

"Definitely not, Mr. President," Crumpton said. "Definitely not."

Despite Crumpton's warning, the administration never committed more troops to the area, and Bin Laden ultimately escaped. As Washington Post staff writer Barton Gellman noted in a review of the book: "White House accounts have long insisted that Bush had every reason to believe that Pakistan's army and pro-U.S. Afghan militias had bin Laden cornered and that there was no reason to commit large numbers of U.S. troops to get him."

From the August 21 edition of CNN's American Morning:

RICK SANCHEZ (co-host): Welcome back. This Wednesday, CNN brings you the closest look yet inside the life of the world's most wanted man, Osama bin Laden. An astonishing picture of his world from childhood to Afghanistan and into today. This report from senior international correspondent Christiane Amanpour is just part of the upcoming special In the Footsteps of Bin Laden.

[begin video clip]

AMANPOUR: December 2001. A relentless bombing campaign, air strikes thundered through the treacherous mountains of eastern Afghanistan. The battle of Tora Bora had begun. Osama bin Laden, the Jackal of 9-11, and hundreds of Al Qaeda fighters had finally been cornered, or so it seemed.

BERNTSEN: We brought in Spectre gunships, which can put a bullet on every inch of a football field.

AMANPOUR: Gary Berntsen was the leader of a secret CIA paramilitary unit that had pursued bin Laden since he had fled Kabul. And now, the CIA was sure it knew where he was, thanks in large part to a radio taken off a dead Al Qaeda fighter.

BERNTSEN: We listened to bin Laden for several days using that radio. Listening to his communications among him and his men. We listened to him apologize to them for having led them into this trap and for having led them into a location where they would be having air strikes called on them just relentlessly.

AMANPOUR: The plan was for Afghan and Pakistani soldiers to block any escape routes, but Osama bin Laden managed to slip away through the mountains. And the mission to capture or kill the Al Qaeda leader failed. By most accounts, the main problem was not enough American soldiers on the ground.

BERNTSEN: In the first two or three days of December, I would write a message back to Washington recommending the insertion of U.S. forces on the ground. I was looking for 600 to 800 Rangers, roughly a battalion. They never came.

AMANPOUR: Osama bin Laden, looking frail and much older than his 44 years after the massive onslaught of Tora Bora, had escaped again.

[end video clip]

SANCHEZ: That's Wednesday. The stories only CNN can tell you about the man who became the world's most wanted terrorist. Don't miss In the Footsteps of Bin Laden, a CNN Presents special two-hour investigation with Christiane Amanpour. That's Wednesday night at 9 o'clock Eastern, only on CNN.