12/4/1998

Demonstrating a lack of communication amongst U.S. intelligence agencies, the 9/11 Commission quoted from a December 4, 1998, directive by Director of Central Intelligence George Tenet: ” ‘We are at war [with al Qaeda]. I want no resources or people spared in this effort, either inside the CIA or the [Intelligence] Community.’ …But the [9/11 […]

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12/4/1998

The 9/11 Commission Report said a Presidential Daily Brief for President Bill Clinton, dated December 4, 1998, suggested ” ‘Bin Ladin and his allies are preparing for attacks in the US, including an aircraft hijacking to obtain the release of Shaykh ‘Umar ‘Abd al-Rahman, Ramzi Yousef, and Muhammad Sadiq ‘Awda. …Some members of the Bin […]

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12/4/1998

On December 4, 1998, President Bill Clinton received a PDB (President’s Daily Brief) with the subject: “Bin Ladin Preparing to Hijack US Aircraft and Other Attacks.”  – 9/11 Commission, The 9/11 Commission Report, Page 128 […]

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12/4/1998

A President’s Daily Briefing (PDB) for President Bill Clinton on December 4, 1998, dealt with a possible al Qaeda plan to hijack a plane. This report “brought the focus back to more traditional hostage taking; it reported Bin Ladin’s involvement in planning a hijack operation to free prisoners such as the ‘Blind Sheikh,’ Omar Abdel […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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] […]

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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 […]

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12/3/1998

“Director of Central Intelligence George Tenet finally came to the same conclusion [as President Bill Clinton] and declared war on bin Laden. In an internal memorandum to senior CIA managers [on December 3, 1998], he exclaimed: ‘We must now enter a new phase in our effort against bin Laden…We are at war…I want no resources […]

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12/3/1998

“[CIA Director George] Tenet’s ‘declaration of war’ [on Osama bin Laden, on December 3, 1998] was so low-key that not even the assistant director of the FBI’s Counterterrorism Division had even heard of it. Neither had senior officials in the Pentagon or the U.S. military. And despite his order that ‘I want no resources or […]

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