Hinchey: White House and Pentagon didn't want to capture Osama bin Laden

Rep. Maurice Hinchey (D-N.Y.) said the White House and Pentagon did not want to capture Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden when he was cornered in Afghanistan back in December 2001 so they could justify the invasion of Iraq.

"I think it is very clear they did not want to capture bin Laden," Hinchey told the House Judiciary Committee during a hearing today on President Bush's abuse of executive power.

In an interview afterward, Hinchey expanded on that allegation, which he acknowledged was a very serious one.

"I think the evidence indicates that very clearly ... bin Laden was close to being captured [in December 2001], there was a clear understanding of where he was, heading up to Tora Bora, in those mountains. He could have been captured," Hinchey said. "But there was a decision that was made through the Pentagon, and probably that decision had been made outside the Pentagon as well, within the administration, not to aggressively pursue bin Laden."

Hinchey added: "I believe that the reason for that was that if bin Laden had been captured, it would have been very difficult, if not impossible, for this administration to then justify an attack against another country. Not Afghanistan, another country. And, of course, Iraq is the country. So I think that it was clear, based upon all of the evidence that we have, that this was a purposeful decision that was made not to capture bin Laden."

U.S. officials believe that bin Laden was present at the battle of Tora Bora in December 2001 in eastern Afghanistan but escaped into Pakistan.

In a statement submitted to the Judiciary Committee, Hinchey said the Bush administration "is the most impeachable administration in the history of this country."