Lawfare Podcast Episode #59: How Osama bin Laden Escaped Afghanistan

The Brookings Intelligence Project hosted Foreign Service Officer Yaniv Barzilai on January 23, 2014 to discuss his new book, 102 Days of War---How Osama bin Laden, Al Qaeda, and the Taliban Survived 2001. In the aftermath of 9/11, U.S. forces had located Osama bin Laden, Ayman al-Zawahiri, Abu Zubaydah, and others. These men escaped from Tora Bora into Pakistan, and some of them would go on to become the next generation of Al Qaeda leaders and lieutenants. How did this escape happen? Through extensive research and interviews, Barzilai tells us about the first days of the war in Afghanistan---the decisions that were made at the highest levels of the government and the military, and the failure in U.S. tactics and policy, which ultimately led to the these men getting away. The discussion was moderated by Brookings Senior Fellow Bruce Riedel, a leading expert on Pakistan and Al Qaeda.