Chapter 9 Summary and Analysis

Clinton was accused of "wagging the dog"--having bombed Afghanistan to distract the media from his impeachment. Clinton froze U.S. Taliban assets. Several nations sent emissaries to "reason" with the Taliban. They were unsuccessful--in Clarke's opinion because of economic, military, and political ties between the Taliban and bin Laden. Additionally, the Taliban knew the U.S. would insist on human rights for women and an end to the opium trade.

Clarke urged the U.S. to actively support Massoud's Northern Alliance: the CIA resisted, having in the past been blamed for acting on executive causes du jour. Clarke notes that the CIA's official position at the time--there were no funds available--was different from Tenet's personal concerns: he often called Clarke, alarmed about what he read about al Qaeda in CIA intelligence reports. The CSG sent warnings to U.S. embassies...