Osama Bin Laden and Al Queda were not inextricably connected to the Taliban until post 9/11.

If in fact the steps to capture Bin Laden prior to 9/11 had been taken and the Taliban had interfered I would have had no problem with the use of force to accomplish the goal of capture and trial. After 9/11 the United States needed a nation to strike back. The United States rhetoric pointed at the Taliban (focussed or irrelevent matters like the way that women were treated under the strict religious interpretation of the Koran) made it clear that the US considered the Taliban and Al Queda essentially one and the same and the Taliban obliged by coming to the defense fo Al Queda. What would have happened if Covert Ops designed to capture Bin Laden had been instituted prior to 9/11? We will never know, but my guess is that the Taliban would not have missed him.