“In July 2002, [Secretary of Defense Donald] Rumsfeld had a one-word answer for reporters who asked whether Iraq had relationships with Al Qaeda terrorists: ‘Sure.’ In fact, an assessment issued that same month by the Defense Intelligence Agency (and confirmed weeks later by CIA Director [George] Tenet) found an absence of ‘compelling evidence demonstrating direct […]
Category: quotes
7/15/2002
“[I]n July 2002, President Bush signed a top-secret order directing the national security community, including the NSA [National Security Agency], to develop, for the first time, rules and policies governing how the United States would launch cyberattacks against foreign computer networks. Known as National Security Presidential Directive 16, the order allows the president to launch […]
7/15/2002
“…a manifesto entitled ‘The Declaration of the Shi’a of Iraq,’ issued in July 2002… was written by [Iraqi statesmen] Mowaffaq al-Rubai’e, Ali Allawi and Sahib al-Hakim. The Declaration drew in a wide range of participants from academic, professional, religious, tribal and military backgrounds. Over 400 Iraqi Shi’a opinion leaders in exile signed it. The Declaration […]
7/15/2002
“A [National Intelligence Council] report in July [2002] read, ‘Iraq has managed to preserve and in some cases even enhance the infrastructure and expertise necessary for WMD production.’ ” [The 15th of the month used for date sorting purposes only.] – George W. Bush, Decision Points, Page 236 […]
7/13/2002
According to a New York Times article on July 13, 2002, “reporters Jeff Gerth and Don Van Natta Jr. reported that Halliburton had profited significantly from the war on terror: ‘From building cells for detainees at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba to feeding American troops in Uzbekistan, the Pentagon is increasingly relying on a unit of […]
7/11/2002
On July 11, 2002, “intercepted phone calls enabled Pakistani security forces to arrest a thirty-three-year-old Kenyan named Sheikh Ahmed Salim Swedan, who was wanted by U.S. authorities for his role in planning the 1998 embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania.” – Matthew M. Aid, The Secret Sentry, Page 233 […]
7/10/2002
“In mid-2002, word leaked to the press that the semiofficial Defense Policy Board, chaired by the durable cold warrior Richard Perle, had endorsed an assessment [on July 10, 2002] that Saudi Arabia wasn’t our friend when it came to terrorism. To be exact, the paper called Saudi Arabia ‘central to the self-destruction of the Arab […]
7/10/2002
“Frenchman Laurent Murawiec, a pro-Israeli analyst for the RAND Corporation…on July 10, 2002, briefed board members, including former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, that ‘the Saudis are active at every level of the terror chain, from planners to financiers, from cadre to foot-soldier, from ideologist to cheerleader.’ Murawiec’s briefing stated that ‘Saudi Arabia supports our […]
7/10/2002
“A briefing given last month [July 10, 2002] to a top Pentagon advisory board described Saudi Arabia as an enemy of the United States, and recommended that U.S. officials give it an ultimatum to stop backing terrorism or face seizure of its oil fields and its financial assets invested in the United States. ‘The Saudis […]
7/10/2002
Rand Corporation analyst Laurent Murawiec presented a briefing to the Defense Policy Board on July 10, 2002, which “recommended that U.S. officials give it [Saudi Arabia] an ultimatum to stop backing terrorism or face seizure of its oil fields and its financial assets invested in the United States. ‘The Saudis are active at every level […]