“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 […]
Category: quotes
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, […]
12/15/1998
The 9/11 Commission’s staff report from March 23, 2004, said that Bin Ladin’s whereabouts on three occasions could have resulted in military strikes: “In December 1998, February 1999, and May 1999. However, in each case, action was not taken because the intelligence was not sufficiently ‘actionable’–policy makers worried that the strike might miss Bin Ladin, […]
12/8/1998
In a speech on December 8, 1998, National Security Advisor Sandy Berger said: ” ‘Through constant confrontation, our policy of containing Iraq has been successful. But that does not mean that by itself it is sustainable over the long run.’ Noting the many costs of containing Saddam and the concern that with time international support […]
12/8/1998
On December 8, 1998, “the toughest UN Security Council Resolution on Afghanistan to date [Resolution 1214]… threatened unspecified sanctions against the Taliban for harboring international terrorists, violating human rights, promoting drugs trafficking and refusing to accept a cease-fire. ‘Afghanistan-based terrorism has become a plague,’ said US envoy Nancy Soderberg. Pakistan was the only country that […]
12/7/1998
“In a [December 7] 1998 article for the New Republic, [former Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Paul] Wolfowitz wrote, ‘Toppling Saddam is the only outcome that can satisfy the vital U.S. interest in a stable and secure Gulf region, because, to a degree unique among contemporary tyrannies, the Iraqi regime is Saddam Hussein. …The vast […]
12/4/1998
“On December 4, 1998, [CIA Director George] Tenet wrote a memo to his senior deputies at Langley [Virginia] headquarters. ‘We must now enter a new phase in our efforts against bin Laden,’ Tenet declared. ‘Our work to date has been remarkable and in some instances heroic; yet each day we all acknowledge that retaliation is […]
12/4/1998
“On December 4, 1998, CIA director [George] Tenet, in a memo to his senior deputies, stated: ‘We must now enter a new phase in our efforts against bin Laden. Our work to date has been remarkable and in some instances heroic; yet each day we all acknowledge that retaliation is inevitable and that its scope […]
12/4/1998
According to a declassified CIA intelligence report from December 4, 1998: “Reporting [redacted] suggests Bin Ladin and his allies are preparing for attacks in the US, including an aircraft hijacking to obtain the release of [World Trade Center bombing conspirator] Shaykh ‘Umar ‘Abd al-Rahman, [World Trade Center bomber] Ramzi Yousef, and [U.S. embassy bombing suspect] […]
12/4/1998
According to a declassified CIA intelligence report from December 4, 1998: “IG [terrorist group Gama’at al-Islamiyya] leader Islambuli in late September was planning to hijack a US airliner during the ‘next couple of weeks’ to free [World Trade Center bombing conspirator Shaykh Umar] ‘Abd al-Rahman and the other [co-conspirator] prisoners… The same source late last […]