Gawain 0 #1 April 11, 2004 I cut/pasted this off of FoxNews.com. It's pretty clear (since it's a briefing, not a threat assessment) that we were able to ascertain intentions, but not motives or timelines. Raw Data: Text of Released PDB Saturday, April 10, 2004 The following is a redacted text of the presidential daily briefing from August 6, 2001: Bin Ladin Determined to Strike in US Clandestine, foreign government, and media reports indicate Bin Ladin since 1997' has wanted to conduct terrorist attacks in the US. Bin Ladin implied in US television interviews in 1997 and 1998 that his followers would follow the example of World Trade Center bomber Ramzi Yousef and "bring the fighting to America." After US missile strikes on his base in Afghanistan in 1998, Bin Ladin told followers he wanted to retaliate in Washington, according to a [deleted text] service. An Egyptian Islamic Jihad (EIJ) operative told an [deleted text] service at the same time that Bin Ladin was planning to exploit the operative's access to the US to mount a terrorist strike. The millennium plotting in Canada in 1999 may have been part of Bin Ladin's first serious attempt to implement a terrorist strike in the US. Convicted plotter Ahmed Ressam has told the FBI that he conceived the idea to attack Los Angeles International Airport himself, but that Bin Ladin lieutenant Abu Zubaydah encouraged him and helped facilitate the operation. Ressam also said that in 1998 Abu Zubaydah was planning his own US attack. Ressam says Bin Ladin was aware of the Los Angeles operation. Although Bin Ladin has not succeeded, his attacks against the US Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998 demonstrate that he prepares operations years in advance and is not deterred by setbacks. Bin Ladin associates surveilled our Embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam as early as 1993, and some members of the Nairobi cell planning the bombings were arrested and deported in 1997. Al-Qa'ida members — including some who are US citizens — have resided in or traveled to the US for years, and the group apparently maintains a support structure that could aid attacks. Two al-Qa'ida members found guilty in the conspiracy to bomb our Embassies in East Africa were US citizens, and a senior EIJ member lived in California in the mid-1990s. A clandestine source said in 1998 that a Bin Ladin cell in New York was recruiting Muslim-American youth for attacks. We have not been able to corroborate some of the more sensational threat reporting, such as that from a [deleted text] service in 1998 saying that Bin Ladin wanted to hijack a US aircraft to gain the release of "Blind Shaykh" 'Umar' Abd aI-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 Ladin-related. CIA and the FBI are investigating a call to our Embassy in the UAE in May saying that a group of Bin Ladin supporters was in the US planning attacks with explosives.So I try and I scream and I beg and I sigh Just to prove I'm alive, and it's alright 'Cause tonight there's a way I'll make light of my treacherous life Make light! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
quade 4 #2 April 11, 2004 Well, I think it depends on your definition of motives . . . not that I really think it's required to determine motives. If you knew there was a sniper outside your house intending on taking out one of your family, would you really care what his motives are or do you just want to stop him? I think the same can be said for timelines. Simply knowing that OBL wanted to hijack planes and was also looking at federal buildings, combined with the 70 on-going FBI investigations, should have been a wake-up call that maybe something was going on and that some coordination needed to be done. I do not think the current Administration is willing to accept the fact that there were, in fact, additional things that could have been done. True, they might not have been able to prevent the events of September 11, 2001, but then again, they didn't even try and they are not willing to admit it.quade - The World's Most Boring Skydiver Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bodypilot90 0 #3 April 11, 2004 QuoteI do not think the current Administration is willing to accept the fact that there were, in fact, additional things that could have been done. How about Clinton's lack of action when he was going to be handed BL a number of times. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
quade 4 #4 April 11, 2004 I don't think anyone, especially the Republican Party, is disputing the fact that there should have been earlier responses to OBL. However, the Republican argument falls flat when you consider the continuing failures of the current Administration. Follow me on this. A center fielder makes several errors in a row. The coach replaces him. The new center fielder makes an error. The coach asks, "why?" The new player says the old player didn't give him a detailed plan and he had only been in the game for a short time so it's not his responsibility. Further, there was no indication that the batter would be hitting balls to center field so he was taken off guard. I'm sorry but the Administration's rationalizations are simply that -- rationalizations. They failed and they need to admit it. Further, they continue to fail and they need to stop it.quade - The World's Most Boring Skydiver Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bodypilot90 0 #5 April 11, 2004 QuoteI'm sorry but the Administration's rationalizations are simply that -- rationalizations. well I disagree. Bush was handicapped by a lot the "old player " did and did not do. That was my point. 9/11 happened and the US has changed, some good some bad. I bet the next time a plo or who ever attempts to take a jet, (in the US) they will find a US grade "a" ass kickin' will be coming. I hope the US has learned that we can't chat "we are the world" and let the UN try to run things. As I have explained to my kids, life is not fair. get over it, learn from it and go on. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jimbo 0 #6 April 11, 2004 Quade, Don't make this a Republican vs. Democrat issue. Our previous CiC could have done plenty to stop OBL, but choose not to. With regards to your baseball analogy. It's neat, but far too simple to accurately represent the world political stage. Don't you think? - Jim"Like" - The modern day comma Good bye, my friends. You are missed. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
