In December 1999, journalist Peter Bergen interviewed bureau chief of The News Rahimullah Yusufzai, in Peshawar, Pakistan. “Rahimullah confirmed my sense that the Taliban were not necessarily the ardent fans of bin Laden that their public statements had suggested, ‘I have privately heard some criticism,’ he said. ‘They say sarcastically, *Even after the war [against […]
Category: quotes
12/15/1999
“In a December 1999 debate among GOP presidential contenders, [candidate George W.] Bush backtracked when he said he’d ‘take ’em out’ if Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. Asked by the moderator whether he had said ‘take him out,’ Bush replied, ‘Take out the weapons of mass destruction.’ ” [The 15th of the month used […]
12/15/1999
“In December 1999, NSA [National Security Agency] intercepted another series of telephone calls coming into [al Qaeda operative Ahmed Mohammed Ali] al-Hada’s home in Sana’a [Yemen], which revealed that an ‘operational cadre’ of al Qaeda operatives intended to travel to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in early January 2000. The transcript of the intercepted call identified only […]
12/15/1999
“In December 1999, the UN Security Council authorised the setting up of United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) to monitor Iraq’s weapons programmes and to identify any remaining disarmament tasks. Hans Blix, a veteran Swedish diplomat and former director general of the IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency], was put in charge of UNMOVIC.“ […]
12/15/1999
“In December 1999, the UN Security Council gave Iraq permission to sell unlimited amounts of oil under the OFF [Oil For Food] programme.” [The 15th of the month used for date sorting purposes only.] – Ali A. Allawi, The Occupation of Iraq, Page 70 […]
12/15/1999
“After earlier reports of sharp tension between Taliban leaders and bin Laden, U.S. intelligence discovered that the Taliban’s Council of Ministers had unanimously endorsed its alliance with al Qaeda at the end of 1999. [Taliban leader] Mullah Omar had even reportedly executed Taliban dissenters over the issue.” [The 15th of the month used for date […]
12/15/1999
“Counterterrorism czar Richard Clarke strongly championed a plan to raise the reward for information leading to the arrest of bin Laden from $2.5 million to $5 million. At the time, it was the highest monetary amount allowed by federal law for a wanted man. President [Bill] Clinton agreed to Clarke’s plan. By December 1999, bin […]
12/14/1999
“…on December 14 [1999], a border guard in Port Angeles, Washington, stopped an Algerian man, Ahmed Ressam, whose obvious anxiety aroused her suspicion.” Inside Ressam’s trunk were “four timers, more than a hundred pounds of urea, and fourteen pounds of sulfate–the makings of an Oklahoma City-type bomb. Ressam bolted. …The guards gave chase and caught […]
12/14/1999
On December 14, 1999, Algerian Ahmed Ressam tried to enter the U.S. by ferry from Canada. After raising suspicions, “Inspectors examining Ressam’s rental car found the explosives concealed in the spare tire well, but at first they assumed the white powder and viscous liquid were drug-related–until an inspector pried apart and identified one of the […]
12/14/1999
“After [would-be Millennium Bomber Ahmed] Ressam’s arrest [on December 14, 1999] [President Bill] Clinton telephoned [Pakistani Chief Executive] General [Pervez] Musharraf in Pakistan. He demanded that Musharraf find a way to disrupt or arrest bin Laden, according to notes of the conversation kept by the American side. Musharraf’s coup offered a potential fresh start in […]