Teribus, Thank you for your considerations...that being said, I have to question the reliability of some of the sources you posted, and here's why....you quoted one of your sources as saying, "The real story here is the CIA did not understand who Osama was until 1996, when they set up a unit to really start tracking him."

That contradicts the testimony of Oliver North, at the Iran/Contra hearings. North testified that he had installed a sophisticated surveillance system at his estate, to protect himself from a guy named Usama Bin Laden, which nobody in the public had even heard about. The hearings began on May 5, 1987.

Oliver North was(or maybe still is, don't know for sure as to his present status) a CIA operative who operated under the name 'Joe Nancy'(some say Joe Nance), during the Iran/Contra days. HE knew about Bin Laden. That being said, though not all of the CIA was involved in the Iran/Contra debacle, it seems there were(?) 'rogue factions' within the intelligence community. North, who went from Central America, to the Mid-East, obviously knew about him...enough to be alarmed. To say that another CIA 'spokesman' denied know who UBL was, is simply disingenuous, ON THEIR part, (not yours).
Now I'm not the one pushing the CIA involvement as to the direct funding...any more than their involvement with the Contras in Central America...but there has been PLENTY of evidence, given at the hearings that 'at least a faction' of them were. This group stemmed from 'Special Group 40', (later just referred to as 'Group 40')....a combination of Organized crime, the intelligence community and Cubans, from the 1959 meeting with Santo Trafficante, Richard Nixon, Cuban National leaders, at the 'Fontainebleau Miami Beach, Resort Hotel'. Without getting into a long diatribe about that group, it was the same group that during the Vietnam war, handled the opium trade, of the 'Golden Triangle'. When Vietnam finally 'fell', the same group, which also funneled arms from Vietnam to the Shah of Iran, unbeknownst to the American public, moved their operation to Central America, and setting up the same scenario, which was supplying the Contras, while importing cocaine, instead of heroin, from the 'Golden Triangle'.
That being said, the opium trade, and poppy fields from Afghanistan IS being protected by U.S. troops, (there is plenty of references to that online, plus 'Frontline' did quite a documentary on it.
I find it not surprising, that the Clintons were involved in the Iran/Contra deal, and Hilary seems to be complicit in arms trafficking to the Syrians.
So to get back to a question that was posted, 'Who and Why'...but that's ALMOST a thread drift, which I'm not going to go into, at this point.
But, I did want to impugn one of your sources...and THAT being said, I don't think some of the other sources, The President of Pakistan at the time Zia ul-HaqBrigadier Mohammad Yousaf, Head of ISI 1983 to 1987
- US Intelligence sources, to 'volunteer' any incriminating statements, to cast blame, about a VERY covert operation.

...and 'THAT being said'<(again), you might wish to research it further. I'd be very anxious to see what you come up with.
I find your posts, well thought out, and complete with references...and again I thank you for intelligent, polite posts.

GfS