In November of 2001, after the initial defeat of the Taliban in the major population centers by the Afghan Northern Alliance, with the assistance of U.S. Special Forces and CIA personnel, Bertsen was given orders to find bin Laden and his “entourage” who had escaped into the mountains bordering Pakistan.

When Berntsen finally located them in the valley of Tora Bora, he contacted CentCom (Central Command at the Pentagon) by Satellite Phone and requested that several hundred U.S. Special Forces troops be inserted into the top of the valley in order to block their escape into Pakistan. Much to his chagrin, he was denied that request, but told that he could have air support (bombing runs). The reasoning was that commanders (and ostensibly, The White House) did not want to risk the potential for high casualties.

Berntsen knew that the cave complex in the area ran deep into the mountains, and was virtually impenetrable from bombs. The Soviets had tried the same tactics in 1989, failed, and left Afghanistan in abject defeat. Nonetheless, using a high-powered lasar-guiding device, he “focused” bombs dropped from B-52’s flying at 50,000 feet into the valley and surrounding mountain cave complex.

Bin Laden, Al Qaeda, and much of the Taliban leadership escaped over the mountains and into Pakistan. The very objective of the war a colossal failure.

Had Bush and his commanders listened to Berntsen, we would not be fighting this war at the scale we are today. Thus, sometimes neither Presidents nor Generals are right.

I wish same perception we would also dare to apply on our supreme commanders too.