Following the August 7, 1998, African embassy bombings, “…the simultaneous cruise missile reprisals against Afghanistan and Khartoum that [President Bill] Clinton ordered thirteen days later, on August 20 [1998], and their unintended consequences coincided with the lowpoint of his presidency. The missiles struck with sophisticated military efficiency, but proved to be embarrassments for the administration. […]
Category: quotes
8/20/1998
“Just after the American air strike on Khowst [Afghanistan] in August [20] 1998, according to Pakistani journalist Rahimullah Yusufzai, ‘three men financed by the Saudi government’ were arrested by the Taleban before they could attack bin Laden. From his talks with bin Laden and [Egyptian Islamic Jihad leader Ayman] al-Zawahiri, Yusufzai learned that the team’s […]
8/20/1998
“On the same day that we sent cruise missiles into Afghanistan [August 20, 1998], President [Bill] Clinton signed Executive Order 13099, imposing sanctions against Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda.” – Richard Clarke, Against All Enemies, Page 190 […]
8/20/1998
“The Navy’s cruise missiles that hit Osama’s training camps on August 20 [1998] did not kill Osama and indeed served principally to magnify his reputation to near-mythic proportions. The episode encouraged even more Muslim volunteers to flock to his Afghan training camps.” – Jonathan Randal, Osama, Pages 239-240 […]
8/20/1998
On August 20, 1998, 13 days after the African embassy bombings, “The US responded with a series of attacks on seven targets in Afghanistan and Sudan, which resulted in public-relations damage both at home and abroad. At a cost of more than $56,250,000 (the price alone of the seventy-five Tomahawk missiles deployed at £750,000 each) the […]
8/20/1998
On August 20, 1998, “President [Bill] Clinton and all his principal advisers had agreed to strike Bin Ladin camps in Afghanistan near Khowst, as well as hitting al Shifa [a pharmaceutical plant in Khartoum, Sudan, which, according to reports, was being financially backed by Bin Ladin to manufacture a precursor ingredient for nerve gas]…Later on […]
8/20/1998
On August 20, 1998, “US adds bin Laden’s name to list of terrorists whose funds are targeted for seizure by US Treasury in order to shut down the financial pipelines that allegedly subsidize bin Laden’s terrorist activities.” – “Hunting Bin Laden; Who is Bin Laden & What Does He Want? A Chronology of His Political […]
8/20/1998
“On August 20 [1998], the United States retaliates against Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda [for the African embassy bombings on August 7, 1998], sending cruise missiles into al-Qaeda training camps. Two hours prior to the attacks, Osama, his sons, and commanders left one of the training camps near Khost [Afghanistan] to travel to Kabul to […]
8/19/1998
On August 19, 1998, “an Islamic front created by the bin Laden network, and calling itself the World Islamic Front for Jihad Against the Jews and Crusaders, praised the bombings of our [American] embassies and warned that, ‘America will face a black fate… strikes will continue from everywhere, and Islamic groups will appear one after […]
8/19/1998
On August 19, 1998, “the eve of the American missile strikes [that were a response to the August 7, 1998, African embassy bombings], [Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad] Omar made an irrevocable pledge: ‘We will never hand Osama over to anyone and will protect him with our blood at all cost.’ He repeated this commitment the day […]