” ‘We’ve got to change the rules,’ the CIA’s [unidentified] bin Laden unit chief argued in the aftermath [of the USS Cole bombing on October 12, 2000]. It was time for the agency to try to break the policy stalemate about the Taliban. Al Qaeda was growing, and its sanctuary in Afghanistan allowed ever more […]
Category: quotes
10/12/2000
On October 12, 2000, “the same day that the attack on the [USS] Cole occurred, NSA [National Security Agency] issued an intelligence report based on intercepts (most likely calls coming in and out of [al Qaeda operative] Ahmed al-Hada’s home in Sana’a [Yemen]) warning that terrorists were planning an attack in the region. However, the […]
10/12/2000
“A Navy inquiry into preparations aboard the [USS Cole] destroyer [which was attacked on October 12, 2000] determined that the commander had failed to apply the most basic security procedures. No one was on the bridge, and those on watch had not been briefed on their responsibilities. According to Vice Admiral C.W. Moore, Jr., commander […]
10/12/2000
“After al-Qaeda bombed the USS Cole in Aden’s harbor [Yemen] on October 12, 2000, bin Laden told [journalist] Ahmad Zaydon, ‘I knelt to thank God for this heroic operation that damaged the prestige of the United States and served as a warning for them to leave the Arab world and the [Arabian] peninsula according to […]
10/12/2000
“There had been no specific tactical warning that the [USS] Cole was a target [when it was attacked on October 12, 2000]. The CIA had circulated a classified analysis the day before the attack that highlighted the growing al Qaeda threat in the region, but it provided no specific warning about the Cole.” – Steve […]
10/12/2000
“At 10:45 A.M. on the morning of October 12 [2000], two al Qaeda suicide bombers loaded a device made of C-4 explosive into a small skiff and took off across the harbor in Aden, Yemen. The U.S.S. Cole, an advanced guided missile destroyer, was at the refueling dock… when the white fiberglass boat pulled alongside, […]
10/12/2000
“On October 12, 2000, al Qaeda operatives on a small boat laden with explosives attacked a U.S. Navy destroyer, the USS Cole, killing 17 members of the ship’s crew and wounding at least 40. The plot…was a full-fledged al Qaeda operation, supervised directly by Bin Ladin.” – 9/11 Commission, The 9/11 Commission Report, Page 190 […]
10/12/2000
“Even after the [USS] Cole bombing [on October 12, 2000], [Counterterrorism Coordinator Richard] Clarke could not persuade Defense Secretary William Cohen or his top uniformed officer, Hugh Shelton, to take an offensive strike against al Qaeda or the Taliban seriously. ‘Although we fully shared Mr. Clarke’s anger and frustration,’ recalled [then-Secretary of State] Madeleine Albright […]
10/11/2000
“During the 2000 presidential campaign [on October 11, 2000, during the second debate with Democratic nominee Al Gore], [Republican nominee George W.] Bush had called for a ‘humble’ foreign policy, arguing that it was not ‘the role of the United States to go around the world and say this is the way it’s got to […]
10/11/2000
During his second presidential debate with Al Gore on October 11, 2000, George Bush said: ” ‘I don’t think our troops ought to be used for what’s called nation building… I think our troops ought to be used to fight and win war. I think our troops ought to be used to help overthrow a […]