How the Iraq war saved bin Laden's life - Joan Walsh - Salon.com: On Monday the Washington Post reported about a number of times U.S. military officials were asked for troops or equipment to go after bin Laden, and didn't provide it, at least partly because they were distracted by Iraq. The best-known example is when bin Laden was located in a cave in Tora Bora in December 2001. Special Forces requested more troops on the ground, and didn't get them. Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf was asked to move his troops in, and he asked for air cover, and didn't get it. Wendy Chamberlin, then U.S. ambassador to Pakistan, told the Post she later realized Franks was already "planning for Iraq," she said. "Even if he could have helped out, he was already starting to have to reshuffle." Lt. Gen. John Vines told the Washington Post in 2006 that he had troops close to catching up to bin Laden, and asked for drones to cover escape routes. "But only one drone was available -- others had been moved to Iraq," the Post reported. Bin Laden got away.