Quote:
Originally posted by HOZ@Jan 29 2005, 10:13 PM
I don't think so. Evidence certainly points elsewhere.
Osama thought he was mighty safe there in Afghanistan. I doubt very much he thought the USA would come full throttle at him. Especially with unfriendly Iran on one side, Osama's nominal ally Pakistan on the other and Xenophobic Russia to the north. I am guessing he figured the response would be more along the lines of what Clinton did. And that was to fire a few dozen missiles at empty tents in a field.
Instead he went from being a virtual ruler of Theocratic Talaban kingdom to hiding in a cave with most of his leadership in jail or dead in a matter of months.
Gone from creating a new Darsalam to hoping his followers see him on his next video release 
|
Evidence says that Osama had expected an invasion into Afghanistan. Before Spetember 11th he would not allow his followers to drink cold drinks because he knew he had to prepare them for the eventuality of the hardships they currently face in the rugged terrain the apperantly inhabit. I highly doubt that he expected an equivalent response from the United States as he had experienced after previous attacks. I('m sure he realized the difference between attaking a war vessel in a foreign port and killing thousands of civilians within the United States through a series of coordinated attacks. Also he was not leading Afghanistan in any manner, he was just using it as a base.