Final answer:
The mission to capture Bin Laden was canceled due to a shift in U.S. military resources from Afghanistan to Iraq, following the Bush administration's concern over WMDs and a supposed Iraq-Al Qaeda connection that was later disproved.
Step-by-step explanation:
The mission to capture Osama bin Laden in 1998 was not executed due to a shift in the United States military focus and priorities. Following the tragic events of September 11, 2001, orchestrated by Al Qaeda and its leader Osama bin Laden, the U.S. launched Operation Enduring Freedom, invading Afghanistan to dismantle the Taliban regime and the terrorist training camps of Al Qaeda. However, bin Laden escaped, and by early 2003, the Bush administration's attention had largely turned to Iraq under Saddam Hussein, driven by beliefs that Hussein was developing weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) and was connected to the September 11 attacks despite later discoveries that these claims were unsubstantiated.
As a result, military resources that might have been employed to capture bin Laden were reallocated to the invasion and subsequent occupation of Iraq. This diversion of focus allowed bin Laden to remain at large until May 1, 2011, when he was found and killed by a US Navy SEAL team in Pakistan.