New York Post
December 20, 2006
U.S. Delay Let Osama Live: Docu
PARIS -- A documentary says French special forces had Osama bin Laden in their sights twice about three years ago, but their U.S. superiors never ordered them to fire.
The French military, however, said that the incidents never happened and the report was based on "erroneous information."
The documentary, due to air next year, says the troops could have killed the al Qaeda leader in Afghanistan but the order to shoot never came, possibly because it took too long to request it.
"In 2003 and 2004, we had bin Laden in our sights. The sniper said, 'I have bin Laden,' " an anonymous French soldier is quoted as saying.
The documentary "Bin Laden: The Failings of a Manhunt" is by journalists Emmanuel Razavi and Eric de Lavarene, who have worked for several major French media outlets in Afghanistan. A cable-TV channel plans to air the documentary in March.
Razavi said the soldier told them it took roughly two hours for the request to reach the U.S. officers who could authorize it, but the anonymous man is also quoted in the documentary as saying: "There was a hesitation in command."
Razavi told Reuters several sources told them the sightings were six months apart and they declined to be more specific.
French armed-forces spokesman Christophe Prazuck said, "That never happened" when asked about the sightings.
France has roughly 200 elite troops operating under U.S. command near Afghanistan's border with Pakistan. Paris announced on Sunday it was withdrawing them at the start of the new year.
Post Wire Services
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