how bin laden escaped tora bora

There's been much said about the United States' failure in Iraq lately, but it turns out that they made some pretty bad decisions in Afghanistan too (remember that other war?). This engrossing New York Times article tells the story of Osama bin Laden's escape from the Tora Bora caves on December 16th, 2001:

"By December 2001, when the final battle of Tora Bora took place, the cave complex had been so refined that it was said to have its own ventilation system and a power system created by a series of hydroelectric generators; bin Laden is believed to have designed the latter. Tora Bora's walls and the floors of its hundreds of rooms were finished and smooth and extended some 350 yards into the granite mountain that enveloped them.

Now, as the last major battle of the war in Afghanistan began, hidden from view inside the caves were an estimated 1,500 to 2,000 well-trained, well-armed men. A mile below, at the base of the caves, some three dozen U.S. Special Forces troops fanned out. They were the only ground forces that senior American military leaders had committed to the Tora Bora campaign."

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