The Warnings

[Gold9472]

There are numerous reports the US gets everyday. Possible hijackings, assassinations, and other 'terrorist' activity. This one happen to be true. We can't place the Gov't agencies (which are overworked anyways) to that high of a standard. IF there is a chance they can prevent it, then they should.

It's a hard topic to dicuss.

On top of all of these warnings... President Bush received the August 6th, PDB which stated the following...

"We have not been able to corroborate some of the more sensational threat reporting, such as that from a ------------- service in 1998 saying that Bin Laden wanted to hijack a US aircraft to gain the release of "Blind Shayk" 'Umar' Abd al-Rahman and other US-held extremists.

Nevertheless, FBI information since that time indicates patterns of suspicious activity in this country consistent with preparations for hijackings or other types of attacks, including recent surveillance of federal buildings in New York.

The FBI is conducting approximately 70 full field investigations throughout the US that it considers Bin Laden-related. CIA and the FBI are investigating a call to our Embassy in the UAE in May saying that a group of Bin Laden supporters was in the US planning attacks with explosives."

You said, "We can't place the Gov't agencies (which are overworked anyways) to that high of a standard."

Remember... they did NADA.

We must have set the bar pretty low... (just like the good ole days)

[Gold9472]

How many other 'warnings' did the US get, and you don't know about? How many 'warnings' were released to the public that caused havoc? Terrorist warning about Gas Stations, and other wierd places?

Although we have a right to the info, the US has a duty to protect its citizens. That would include releasing threats that can cause mass hysteria.

I agree with you that 'warning' the people of the United States prematurely is irresponsible...

Doing NOTHING is abhorent (sp?)

[Se7en]

On top of all of these warnings... President Bush received the August 6th, PDB which stated the following...

"We have not been able to corroborate some of the more sensational threat reporting, such as that from a ------------- service in 1998 saying that Bin Laden wanted to hijack a US aircraft to gain the release of "Blind Shayk" 'Umar' Abd al-Rahman and other US-held extremists.

Nevertheless, FBI information since that time indicates patterns of suspicious activity in this country consistent with preparations for hijackings or other types of attacks, including recent surveillance of federal buildings in New York.

The FBI is conducting approximately 70 full field investigations throughout the US that it considers Bin Laden-related. CIA and the FBI are investigating a call to our Embassy in the UAE in May saying that a group of Bin Laden supporters was in the US planning attacks with explosives."

You said, "We can't place the Gov't agencies (which are overworked anyways) to that high of a standard."

Remember... they did NADA.

We must have set the bar pretty low... (just like the good ole days)

I agree. They did nothing. But hindsight is 20/20. How many things have you wished you could go back and do differently? "If I could have just did...."

You are right about them not doing anything; and to that extent they need to be held responsible.

[Gold9472]

I agree. They did nothing. But hindsight is 20/20. How many things have you wished you could go back and do differently? "If I could have just did...."

You are right about them not doing anything; and to that extent they need to be held responsible.

Remember the '93 bombing? That took place at the World Trade Center... 8 years before 9/11...

They had plenty of hindsight.

They knew that the WTC was a target... And did NOTHING

[Gold9472]

1993 (C)
^^^^^^
An expert panel commissioned by the Pentagon privately postulates that an airplane could be used as a missile to bomb national landmarks. But the panel doesn't publish this idea in its report, Terror 2000. [Washington Post 10/2/01] One of the authors of the report says. “We were told by the Department of Defense not to put it in… and I said, ‘It's unclassified, everything is available.’ And they said, ‘We don't want it released, because you can't handle a crisis before it becomes a crisis. And no one is going to believe you.’ ” [ABC News 2/20/02] However, in 1994 one of the panel's experts will write in Futurist magazine: “Targets such as the World Trade Center not only provide the requisite casualties but, because of their symbolic nature, provide more bang for the buck. In order to maximize their odds for success, terrorist groups will likely consider mounting multiple, simultaneous operations with the aim of overtaxing a government's ability to respond, as well as demonstrating their professionalism and reach.” [Washington Post 10/2/01]

[Gold9472]

1993 (B)
^^^^^^
Bin Laden buys a jet from the US military in Arizona (the Pentagon approved the transaction). This aircraft is later used to transport missiles from Pakistan that kill American Special Forces in Somalia. He also has some of his followers begin training as pilots in US flight schools. These initial flight trainings come to nothing when details are later revealed in a court case about Operation Bojinka (see January 6, 1995). [Sunday Herald 9/16/01]

[Gold9472]

February 26, 1993

An attempt to blow up the WTC fails. Six people are killed in the misfired blast. Analysts later determine that had the terrorists not made a minor error in the placement of the bomb, both towers could have fallen and up to 50,000 people could have been killed. The attempt is organized by Ramzi Yousef, who has close ties to bin Laden. [Congressional Hearings 2/24/98] The New York Times later reports on Emad Salem, an undercover agent who ends up being the key government witness in the trial against the bomber. Salem testifies that the FBI knew about the attack beforehand and told him they would thwart it by substituting a harmless powder for the explosives. However, this plan was called off by an FBI supervisor, and the bombing was not stopped. [ [New York Times 10/28/93] ] Why did the FBI seemingly let the terrorists go ahead with the bombing? Others suspects are ineptly investigated before the bombing (see July 1990 and November 5, 1990). Several of the bombers were trained by the CIA to fight in the Afghan war, and the CIA later concludes in internal documents that it was “partly culpable” for this bombing attempt. [ [Independent 11/1/98] ] Ahmad Ajaj, an associate of Yousef, may have been a mole for the Israeli Mossad, and the Mossad may have had advanced knowledge of the bombing (see September 1, 1992). US officials later state that the overall mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, is a close relative of Ramzi Yousef, [Independent, 6/6/02] probably his uncle. [Los Angeles Times, 9/1/02] One of the attackers even left a message found by investigators stating, “Next time, it will be very precise.” 9/11 can be seen as a completion of this failed attack. [AP 9/30/01]

[Gold9472]

1994 (B)

Coincidentally, three separate attacks this year involve hijacking airplanes to crash them into buildings. A disgruntled Federal Express worker tries to crash a DC-10 into a company building in Memphis but is overpowered by the crew. A lone pilot crashes a small plane onto the White House grounds, just missing the President's bedroom. An Air France flight is hijacked by a terrorist group linked to al-Qaeda, with the aim of crashing it into the Eiffel Tower, but French Special Forces storm the plane before it takes off. [New York Times, 10/3/01] The Eiffel Tower suicide plan is detailed in a Time magazine cover story.

[Gold9472]

1994 (C)

The Phoenix FBI office uncovers startling evidence connecting Arizona to radical Muslim terrorists. The office videotapes two men trying to recruit a Phoenix FBI informant to be a suicide bomber. One of the men is linked to terrorist leader Sheikh Omar Abdul-Rahman (see July 1990). [Los Angeles Times, 5/26/02, New York Times, 6/19/02] In 1998, the office's international terrorism squad investigates a possible Middle Eastern extremist taking flight lessons at a Phoenix airport. By 1990, Arizona has become one of the main centers in the US for radical Muslims and remains so. But terrorism remains a low priority for the office. Meanwhile, hijacker Hani Hanjour moves to Arizona for the first time around 1990 (see 1990) and spends much of the next decade in the state. The FBI apparently remains oblivious about Hanjour, though one FBI informant claims that by 1998 they “knew everything about the guy” (see 1998 (F)). [New York Times 6/19/02] FBI agent Ken Williams later investigates the possibility of terrorists learning to fly aircraft (see April 17, 2000 and July 10, 2001), but he has no easy way to query a central FBI database about similar cases. As a result of this and other FBI communication problems, he remains unaware of most US intelligence reports about the potential use of airplanes as weapons, as well as other, specific FBI warnings about terrorists training at US flight schools (see May 18, 1998, After May 15, 1998, 1999 (L), and September 1999 (E)). [Congressional Inquiry 7/24/03]

[Gold9472]

December 12, 1994

Terrorist Ramzi Yousef attempts a trial run of Operation Bojinka (see January 6, 1995), planting a small bomb on a Philippine Airlines flight to Tokyo (he gets off on a stopover before the bomb is detonated). It explodes, killing one man, and would have caused the plane to crash if not for what were described as heroic efforts by the pilot. [Los Angeles Times 9/1/02; Senate Intelligence Committee 9/18/02]