> With encirclement [of Taliban ruled Afghanistan] in place, the US should have
> presented its actual case (no doctored material, no
> linkages to Saddam, etc) to the UN so the entire world
> would have had an opportunity to hear the brief
> against al Q and the Taliban – an essential step to
> firmly establish justification for collective military
> action, if it came to that (the ideal, from the US'
> POV, being the Taliban peacefully surrendering al Q to
> international justice).
A variant of which the Taliban supposedly offered -- giving up ObL on the onerous condition that he be tried in a third country.
Since this would have resembled police work (as opposed to a good stiffdicked war), their sincerity was never tested.
-- Andy