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In a startling revelation, erstwhile CIA serviceman John Kiriakou said that Al-Qaeda laminitis Osama bin Laden escaped from the Tora Bora mountains successful Afghanistan disguised arsenic a pistillate aft the September 11 attacks.Kiriakou, who served 15 years successful the CIA and headed counterterrorism operations successful Pakistan, was speaking successful an exclusive interrogation with ANI. He claimed that US forces believed they had cornered bin Laden and different Al-Qaeda leaders successful October 2001.The CIA did not recognize that the translator for the commandant of Central Command was really an Al-Qaeda operative. Believing bin Laden was cornered, US forces told him to travel down the mountain, but done the translator, helium requested clip until dawn to evacuate women and children earlier surrendering.“We told him to travel down the mountain. He said done the translator, ‘Can you conscionable springiness america until dawn? We privation to evacuate the women and children and past we’ll travel down and springiness up,’” Kiriakou said.He added: “What ended up happening was bin Laden dressed arsenic a pistillate and helium escaped nether the screen of acheronian successful the backmost of a pickup motortruck into Pakistan,” Kiriakou said.
By dawn, Tora Bora was empty, forcing the US to displacement operations into Pakistan.The erstwhile serviceman said that successful the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, the United States initially reacted cautiously. “First, the United States was reactive astatine the clip alternatively than proactive.
We waited a period until we had due buildup successful the region, and past we began attacking known Al-Qaeda sites, mostly successful the Pashto areas of confederate and eastbound Afghanistan,” Kiriakou explained.Kiriakou besides discussed the relation of Pakistan successful the operation. At the time, US relations with Pakistan were reportedly beardown nether then-President
Pervez Musharraf
.“Our relations with the Pakistani authorities were very, precise good. We fundamentally conscionable purchased Musharraf… helium would fto america bash immoderate we wanted to do,” Kiriakou said. He highlighted that Pakistan’s subject had its ain priorities, focusing much connected India than connected counterterrorism, allowing extremists to run portion pretending to cooperate with the US.The erstwhile CIA serviceman further revealed aboriginal links betwixt Al-Qaeda and Lashkar-e-Taiba. During a raid successful Lahore successful March 2002, US forces captured 3 Lashkar-e-Taiba fighters on with an Al-Qaeda grooming manual. “It was the precise archetypal clip we could connect the Pakistani authorities to Al-Qaeda,” Kiriakou said, emphasizing however this find highlighted the broader determination threats.Kiriakou admitted that strategical decisions were heavy influenced by US interests successful Pakistan.“The narration with Pakistan was bigger than India, astatine slightest temporarily. We needed them much than they needed us. We truly needed them to fto america basal our drones successful Balochistan, for example,” helium said.He besides spoke astir the eventual tracking of bin Laden. The violent person was recovered successful Abbottabad, Pakistan and killed by US peculiar forces connected May 2, 2011. Reflecting connected the wide counterterrorism efforts, Kiriakou said the archetypal nonaccomplishment to seizure bin Laden astatine Tora Bora underscored the complexities of intelligence, infiltration and determination politics.“We thought we had him cornered, but the operation of deception, section dynamics, and strategical constraints meant the combat had to displacement to Pakistan proper,” helium said, giving a uncommon penetration into the operational and governmental challenges faced by the US successful the aboriginal years aft 9/11.
