RASC News Agency: Mark Milley, the former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the U.S. military, recently admitted that one of the United States’ earliest missteps after its invasion of Afghanistan was its failure to eliminate Osama bin Laden, the founder of al-Qaeda, in 2001 or 2002. Speaking at a university-hosted event in the U.S. on Wednesday, Milley reflected, “Our first major error was not killing Bin Laden during the winter of 2001 or 2002. We essentially had him within our sights.”
Milley further condemned the Taliban’s oppressive policies toward women in Afghanistan, calling their situation an “unfathomable tragedy.” He noted that Afghanistani women have been subjected to severe restrictions, effectively turning them into prisoners in their own country. The former U.S. military leader underscored that nation-building is not a core function of the military, while pointing out that Afghanistan’s struggle with political legitimacy is a long-standing issue that predates the U.S. invasion.
It should be remembered that Osama bin Laden was ultimately killed by U.S. forces in 2011 in Abbottabad, Pakistan. Bin Laden, the mastermind behind al-Qaeda, had taken refuge in Afghanistan under the Taliban’s first regime, using the country as a base to continue his operations. He was a fierce adversary of Ahmad Shah Massoud, the legendary anti-Taliban commander. Reports indicate that al-Qaeda, under Bin Laden’s leadership, played a pivotal role in orchestrating the assassination of Ahmad Shah Massoud, revered as Afghanistan’s national hero.
Following the Taliban’s resurgence in Afghanistan, al-Qaeda once again escalated its activities in the region. Within the first year of the Taliban’s return to power, Ayman al-Zawahiri, the group’s leader, was killed in a U.S. drone strike.
