³ÉÈËÂÛ̳

So it's very convenient that a report has come out suggesting that it's George W Bush's fault that Osama bin Laden is still at large. The report, prepared by staff working for the Democratic majority on the Senate foreign affairs committee, points the finger directly at the previous administration.

It says that when Bin Laden was holed up in Tora Bora he was allowed to escape while "the vast array of American military power, from sniper teams to the most mobile divisions of the Marine Corps and the Army, was kept on the sidelines".

The report says that killing the leader and founder of al-Qaeda wouldn't have got rid of the terrorist threat. "But the decisions that opened the door for his escape to Pakistan allowed Bin Laden to emerge as a potent symbolic figure who continues to attract a steady flow of money and inspire fanatics worldwide," it says.

It directly blames Bush's Defense Secretary, Donald Rumsfeld. He's thought to have been very wary of increasing American troop numbers for several reasons, among them a firm belief that big troop numbers were a bad thing.

This is not new. Several books on the region, including masterful Descent into Chaos, have made very similar allegations. While there are attacking the suggestion, Rumsfeld has not hit back.

The political context is clear. If Obama has to "finish the job" it is, his supporters will suggest, because others made such a mess of it.

• Bookmark with:
• |
• |
• |
• |
• - What's this?