1998- Clinton orders SOF to nab/whack OBL in Afghanistan

OK, there were discussions by late 1998 for the US govt to authorise specops to take out OBL in Afghanistan, which were however never acted upon due to fear of US casualties & collateral damage- therefore, the retaliations for the East African embassy bombings came in the form of cruise missile strikes instead. Now, though, WI Clinton had indeed authorised such SOF ops at that time to hunt down Osama ?
 
Several attempts to capture or kill bin Laden were authorized prior to 9/11. For instance, an RPG was fired at a convoy he was traveling in in 2000, although it hit the wrong vehicle. Several cruise missile strikes came within minutes of killing him as well.

For commandos, I would tinker with Musharef's 1999 coup, either delaying Sharif's move against him or having the army side with the government. This would mean that a planned Pakistani/CIA commando raid intended to kill or capture Osama would be launched.
 
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