Appearing on Frontline on January 11, 2006, “Michael Scheuer, chief of the CIA’s bin Laden desk from 1995 to 1999, said the failure [to capture bin Laden in Tora Bora, Afghanistan, in December 2001] was owing to ‘the abject fear of American casualties.’ “ [The 15th of the month used for date sorting purposes only.] […]
Category: quotes
12/15/2001
Then-National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice wrote, regarding Osama bin Laden: “Some people contend that we had a chance to capture or kill him at Tora Bora [Afghanistan] in [December] 2001. In fact, there were conflicting reports about his whereabouts at the time, and as a result the military did not request additional forces to conduct […]
12/15/2001
“President Bush completed his first year in office with the highest public approval rating ever recorded for a president: more than 80 percent of the nation thought he was doing a good job [according to several news polls in December 2001].” [The 15th of the month used for date sorting purposes only.] – Karen DeYoung, […]
12/15/2001
In a December 2001 interview with Bob Woodward, President Bush said, regarding decisions to go after Iraq: ” ‘I know it is hard for you to believe, but I have not doubted what we’re doing. I have not doubted what we’re doing. …There is no doubt in my mind we’re doing the right thing.’ “ […]
12/15/2001
Following the November 2001 investigation by the U.S. embassy in Niger into sales of uranium from Niger to Iraq, “State Department analysts…concluded that the Niger deal was a fraud. In December 2001, Greg Thielmann, director for strategic proliferation and military affairs at the State Department’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR), reviewed Iraq’s WMD program […]
12/14/2001
“SIGINT [signals intelligence] coming out of NSA [National Security Agency] and intercepts collected by frontline U.S. military intelligence units proved that bin Laden was indeed at Tora Bora [in Afghanistan, in December 2001]. The official history of the U.S. Special Operations Command indicates that U.S. Special Forces continued to collect hard ‘all-source’ intelligence, most of […]
12/13/2001
“The [Bush] administration’s announcement of U.S. withdrawal [from the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty with Russia] on December 13, 2001, marked the first time in the nuclear era that the United States had unilaterally abandoned a major arms-control pact. ‘I have concluded that the ABM Treaty hinders our government’s ability to develop ways to protect our […]
12/12/2001
According to Commander Mohammed Musa, an Afghan militia leader who battled al Qaeda elements at Tora Bora, Afghanistan, on December 12, 2001: ” ‘Haji Zaman (another Afghan commander) told me about a ceasefire with the Arabs. Al Qaeda wanted to escape from a particular village; Ghalanjali village in the mountains. Al Qaeda said, *We want […]
12/12/2001
According to a Der Spiegel article which was quoted in The Washington Post on December 12, 2001, Saudi interior minister Prince Nayef said, regarding 9/11: ” ‘so far we’ve received no evidence or documents from the U.S. authorities that justify the suspicion or accusation’ that Saudis were involved.” – Jonathan Randal, Osama, Page 274 […]
12/12/2001
“On December 12 [2001], a defining moment came in the Tora Bora [Afghanistan] battle, and al-Qaeda would swiftly exploit it. Haji Zaman Gamsharik, one of the Afghan warlords leading the attack against al-Qaeda, had opened negotiations with members of the group for a surrender agreement. ‘They talked on the radio with Haji Zaman,’ an Afghan […]