“In December 1998, [UNSCOM (UN Special Commission on Iraq) chairman] Richard Butler submitted a controversial report to the [UN] Security Council concluding that Iraq had not in fact provided the full cooperation it had promised. In anticipation of U.S./UK bombings, he ordered the withdrawal of UNSCOM staff engaged in the inspection effort. They were evacuated […]
Category: quotes
12/15/1998
“In December 1998, all [weapons] inspectors were withdrawn [from Iraq] following an autumn of much Iraqi obstruction, and ahead of U.S./UK bombing [which commenced on December 16].” [The 15th of the month used for date sorting purposes only.] – Hans Blix, Disarming Iraq, Page 28 […]
12/15/1998
” ‘The terrorists will grow deep and wide, right and left, up and down to terrorize and entangle the West, and especially the United States,’ he [Northern Alliance leader Ahmed Shah Massoud] told a close aide in December 1998. So far, the Taliban, Osama and the Pakistani fanatics who volunteered to support the Taliban did […]
12/15/1998
In an interview in December 1998, Osama bin Laden said: ” ‘There are two parties to the conflict: World Christianity, which is allied with Jews and Zionism, led by the United States, Britain, and Israel. The second party is the Islamic world. In such a conflict, it is unacceptable to see the first party mount […]
12/15/1998
From a December 1998 interview with Osama bin Laden: “TIME: The U.S. says you are trying to acquire chemical and nuclear weapons. How would you use these? bin Laden: ‘Acquiring weapons for the defense of Muslims is a religious duty. If I have indeed acquired these weapons, then I thank God for enabling me to […]
12/15/1998
From a December 1998 interview with Osama bin Laden: “TIME: America, the world’s only superpower, has called you Public Enemy Number One. Are you worried? bin Laden: ‘Hostility toward America is a religious duty, and we hope to be rewarded for it by God. To call us Enemy Number One or Two does not hurt […]
12/15/1998
The following bin Laden ‘Interview with Al Jazeera’ was aired in December 1998: “Q. What do you seek? A. …that our land be liberated from enemies, liberated from the Americans. …we are trying to incite the world Muslim community to free our land and undertake a jihad for God… Q. What are your ultimate objectives, […]
12/15/1998
” ‘The intelligence community had strong indications,’ declared a December [1998] classified memo endorsed by the CIA and circulated at the highest levels of the U.S. government, ‘that bin Laden intends to conduct or sponsor attacks inside the United States.’ “ [The 15th of the month used for date sorting purposes only.] – Steve Coll, […]
12/15/1998
“Late in [December] 1998 the CIA relayed a report to the White House from one of its agents that bin Laden had been tracked to Kandahar [Afghanistan]. The report was that bin Laden would sleep in the Haji Habash house, part of the governor’s residence complex. … ‘Hit him tonight,’ [CIA Islamabad station chief] Gary […]
12/15/1998
“When asked in another interview [that aired on Al Jazeera in December 1998]…whether he was trying to acquire unconventional weapons, bin Laden repeated the Muslim-bomb argument: ‘Israel is stockpiling hundreds of nuclear warheads and atomic bombs. The Christian West controls a vast number of such weapons. Hence, we do not regard this as an accusation, […]