CIA riven with disagreement over bin Laden before Sept 11

0 Comments | AFP, March, 2004

WASHINGTON (AFP) — CIA efforts to get Osama bin Laden in the months before the September 11 attacks were riddled with problems, including disagreements about the focus of the mission and disagreement over whether to kill or capture him, an independent commission reported.

Bin Laden eluded capture on several occasions, as US efforts to apprehend him were also slowed by a lack of good intelligence and an over-reliance on Afghans, according to the federal commission which on Wednesday held the second of two days of open hearings with top officials from the George W. Bush and Bill Clinton administrations.

"In the case of bin Laden, the United States had no diplomatic or intelligence officers living and working in Afghanistan," the commission wrote, highlighting the...