Possibility of Osama's escape haunts U.S.

WASHINGTON -- Was Osama bin Laden in the mountains of Tora Bora in the first half of December? And did the U.S. decision to rely on Afghan militias and Pakistani troops, rather than American forces, to seal off escape routes from those mountains permit bin Laden to escape during the intensive bombing campaign of that month?

If so, that decision surely ranks as the greatest mistake in an otherwise brilliant U.S.-led military campaign.

Well aware of the stakes involved, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld has studiously denied any second thoughts about U.S. tactics during the Tora Bora campaign. As recently as last week, he denied that bin Laden's whereabouts had ever been ascertained in December, and expressed no reservations about relying on local ground fighters to seal off possible escape routes.