Department of Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge spoke on August 1, 2004. “The government possessed, he said, ‘new and unusually specific information about where al-Qaeda would like to attack. And as a result, today, the United States Government is raising the threat level to Code Orange for the financial services sector in New York City, […]
8/1/2004
“In the immediate aftermath of the Democratic Convention, on August 1 [2004], Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge raised the threat level to Code Orange–high–asserting that the government had ‘new and unusually specific information about where al-Qaeda would like to attack. And as a result, today, the United States Government is raising the threat level […]
7/29/2004
“In a major report on terrorism [on July 29, 2004], the foreign affairs committee of the British House of Commons said that ‘Iraq has become a *battleground* for Al-Qaeda, with appalling consequences for the Iraqi people.’ It added, ‘However, we also conclude that the coalition’s failure to bring law and order to parts of Iraq […]
7/25/2004
“A classified National Intelligence Estimate prepared for President Bush in late July [2004] spells out a dark assessment of prospects for Iraq, government officials said Wednesday [September 15, 2004]. The estimate outlines three possibilities for Iraq through the end of 2005, with the worst case being developments that could lead to civil war, the officials […]
7/22/2004
In its section on “Government Response to the Threats” in the 9/11 Commission’s final Report, which was issued on July 22, 2004, although the Bush administration was warned of a terrorist threat, “The Sept. 11 attacks fell into the void between the foreign and domestic threats … No one was looking for a foreign threat […]
7/22/2004
At a press conference for the release of the 9/11 Commission report on July 22, 2004, “Commission co-chairman Thomas Kean confirmed the existence of Iraq-al Qaeda ties. ‘There was no question in our minds that there was a relationship between Iraq and al Qaeda,’ he declared.” – Stephen F. Hayes, Cheney, Page 440 […]
7/22/2004
On July 22, 2004, “The 9/11 Commission let loose with a…sweeping indictment of a breakdown in the federal government–the CIA, the FBI, the Pentagon, the National Security Council, the Federal Aviation Administration, Congress–that left the nation vulnerable to attacks that were a shock but ‘should not have come as a surprise.’ The executive summary of […]
7/22/2004
According to information in the 9/11 Commission’s final report, which was issued on July 22, 2004: “The commissioners went on to report that in spite of all the [terrorism] warnings to different parts of the [Bush] administration, the nation’s ‘domestic agencies never mobilized in response to the threat. They did not have direction and did […]
7/22/2004
Regarding the 9/11 Commission’s final report on July 22, 2004, Commission co-chairs Thomas Kean and Lee Hamilton wrote: “We discovered real defects within the United States government. Our recommendations arose out of serious concern. We found national security institutions built to fight and win the cold war, yet poorly designed to combat the stateless and […]
7/22/2004
Lee Hamilton, Co-chair of the 9/11 Commission, said on July 22, 2004: ” ‘There is no silver bullet or decisive blow that can defeat Islamist terrorism.’ Instead, it would take every tool of counterterrorism that the government possessed.” These included the ability to “prevent terrorist sanctuaries; work with Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia; sustain a […]