60 minutes: the hunt for Bin Laden

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=4502669n

The question I find myself asking, does it matter that Bin Laden made it out of Torah Bora? 

I think it shows the difficulty of managing the political nature of military conflicts in the Middle East, where we need to present offensive action in a manner that allows certain groups to save face.  

army field manual 3-07

http://usacac.army.mil/CAC2/Repository/FM307/FM3-07.pdf

"America’s future abroad is unlikely to resemble Afghanistan or Iraq, where we grapple with the burden of nation-building under fire. Instead, we will work through and with the community of nations to defeat insurgency, assist fragile states, and provide vital humanitarian aid to the suffering. Achieving victory will assume new dimensions as we strengthen our ability to generate “soft” power to promote participation in government, spur economic development, and address the root causes of conflict among the disenfranchised populations of the world. At the heart of this effort is a comprehensive approach to stability operations that integrates the tools of statecraft with our military forces, international partners, humanitarian organizations, and the private sector."