“Soon after [Taleban leader] Mullah [Mohammed] Omar’s forces occupied Jalalabad [Afghanistan] in July 1996, [al-Qaeda theorist Abu Musab] al-Suri reported that Taleban officials likewise pledged to protect bin Laden, though they knew him only by reputation and did not invite him to Afghanistan, and so had no obligation to him.” [The 15th of the month […]
Category: quotes
7/10/1996
“The Americans were the ‘main enemy’ of Muslims worldwide, an angry bin Laden told a British journalist [Robert Fisk, for an article published in The Independent on July 10, 1996] who visited him in an eastern Afghan mountain camp weeks after his arrival in Jalalabad. Saudi Arabian authorities were only ‘secondary enemies,’ he declared. As […]
7/5/1996
In early July 1996, “Robert Fisk of London’s Independent newspaper interviewed bin Laden in Afghanistan. Bin Laden said the recent bombings in Saudi Arabia were ‘the beginning of the war between Muslims and the United States. …The Saudis now know their real enemy is America.’ “ [The 5th of the month used for date sorting […]
7/1/1996
” ‘We have no unilateral sources close to bin Laden, nor any reliable way of intercepting his communications,’ CIA analysts stated in a report on July 1, 1996. …’We must rely on foreign intelligence services to confirm his movements and activities.’ ” – Bill Gertz, Breakdown, Page 10 […]
7/1/1996
Following bin Laden’s arrival in Afghanistan, a top secret CIA memo dated July 1, 1996, said: ” ‘We have no unilateral sources close to bin Laden, nor any reliable way of intercepting his communications…We must rely on foreign intelligence services to confirm his movements and activities.’ ” – Richard Miniter, Losing Bin Laden, Page 104 […]
6/25/1996
Following the Khobar Towers attack in Saudi Arabia on June 25, 1996, President Bill Clinton said: ” ‘The cowards who committed this murderous act must not go unpunished. Let me say again: we will pursue this, America takes care of our own. Those who did it must not go unpunished.’ The next day, the president […]
6/25/1996
The Clinton Administration “never responded to the [June 25] 1996 attack on the Khobar Towers Air Force barracks in Saudi Arabia, despite (or because of) evidence of involvement by Iran, which the Clinton team was then attempting to ‘engage.’ ” – Lawrence F. Kaplan and William Kristol, The War Over Iraq, Page 61 […]
6/25/1996
“The earliest known NSA [National Security Agency] reporting on bin Laden’s activities dates back to 1995 and was based in large part on monitoring the telephone calls coming in and out of his ranch near the Sudanese capital of Khartoum. For example, the agency intercepted a series of telephone calls congratulating bin Laden on the […]
6/25/1996
On June 25, 1996, “A large truck bomb devastates the US military residence in Dhahran [Saudi Arabia] called Khobar Towers, killing 19 servicemen. The US military initially linked bin Laden to the attack but now believe a Saudi Shiite group was responsible. …U.S. investigators still believe bin Laden was somehow involved.” – “Hunting Bin Laden; […]
6/25/1996
On June 25, 1996, a “catastrophic explosion [occurred] in Saudi Arabia, at the Khobar Towers military-housing complex in Dhahran. The building served as the barracks for the 4404th Airlift Wing, which was enforcing the no-fly zone in Iraq. Nineteen American soldiers had died and nearly four hundred other people were injured. …The disaster site was […]