December 6–17, 2001 · Eastern Afghanistan Theater
December 6–17, 2001
US forces, Afghan militias, and Special Operations troops close in on Tora Bora — a mountain cave complex in the White Mountains near the Pakistani border where Osama bin Laden and hundreds of Al-Qaeda fighters are hiding. CIA officers on the ground beg for US Army Rangers to block escape routes into Pakistan. The request is denied — senior commanders do not want to 'Americanize' the fight. Bin Laden and most of his fighters escape across the Pakistani border.
Commanders