Brits Wouldn’t Hand Over Intelligence On Bin Laden In 1998, Guardian Blames Bush

I wonder what the moral balance is in this story. The Brits can be proud of their superior moral fiber in resisting the CIA's demands for the information that might have led to Bin Laden's capture. At the same time they have to live with the knowledge that their cooperation with the CIA might have prevented 9/11 and therefore the war in Afghanistan. And the War in Iraq might have been won long ago, with American and British troops back home.

But of course this is highly speculative. You are never shocked by what does not happen. If 9/11 did not happen, we would never know the depth and spread of the danger that Bin Laden has unleashed on the world. Only the bodies in charge of our public safety are acutely aware of the thin and porous line of defense that separates what might happen from what actually happens.

We readers and helpless inhabitants in this world are left in the entirely ironic universe created by these dilemmas.