8/20/1998

Regarding U.S. retaliation on August 20, 1998, for the bombing of the East African embassies: ” ‘I think that raid really helped elevate bin Laden’s reputation in a big way, building him up in the Muslim world,’ said Harlan Ullman, a defense analyst. …’My sense is that because the attack was so limited and incompetent, we turned this guy into a folk hero.’ ”

 – James Bamford, A Pretext for War, Pages 209-210