as far as usama is concerned he totally dropped the ball when he turned down sudans offer to hand him over to clinton, just as they had done with Ilich Ram?rez S?nchez "the jackal" to the french. clinton turned down the deal. the deal that COULD have prevented 9/11.
Actually, a man named Mansoor Ijaz, a Pakistani-American, acted as a middleman between the U.S. and Sudan, in an attempt to broker a deal for Bin Laden. Former National Security Advisor, Sandy Berger only had to meet with Ijaz one time to determine that he was an unreliable freelancer, pursuing his own financial interest, as he had a huge stake in Sudanese oil.
Ijaz urged Berger to end sanctions on Sudan, and claimed Sudan was ready to hand over Bin Laden. The U.S. does not conduct diplomacy through self-appointed private individuals. When the U.S. talked to Sudan, there was no such offer. The U.S. pursued every lead and tried to negotiate, and nothing came of it.
Ironically, Ijaz now has a job as foreign affairs analyst for the Fox News Channel.