“By early December [2001] [CIA officer Hank] Crumpton was ‘one hundred percent’ certain that bin Laden was bottled up in the Tora Bora mountains [in Afghanistan], so he called [Central Command leader] General Tommy Franks, who had overall control of the Tora Bora operation, to request additional soldiers. Crumpton recalls that Franks pushed back because […]
12/5/2001
Regarding Iraq, on December 5, 2001, Senate Intelligence Committee chairman Bob Graham (D-FL) “organized a letter from four Democrats and six Republicans warning President Bush, ‘There is no doubt that…Saddam Hussein has invigorated his weapons programs. Reports indicate that biological, chemical and nuclear programs continue apace and may be back to pre-Gulf War status. In […]
12/5/2001
“On Dec. 5 [2001], Congressional leaders sought to frame the justification for attacking Hussein in a letter to the president [Bush]. ‘For as long as Saddam Hussein is in power in Baghdad [Iraq], he will seek to acquire weapons of mass destruction and the means to deliver them,’ said the letter, signed by Senators Trent […]
12/5/2001
“The Bush administration has concluded that Osama bin Laden was present during the battle for Tora Bora late last year [early December 2001] and that failure to commit U.S. ground troops to hunt him was its gravest error in the war against al Qaeda, according to civilian and military officials with first-hand knowledge. Intelligence officials […]
12/5/2001
A letter written to President Bush on December 5, 2001, signed by Senator Bob Graham (D-FL) stated: ” ‘There is no doubt that…Saddam Hussein has invigorated his weapons programs. Reports indicate that biological, chemical and nuclear programs continue apace and may be back to pre-Gulf War status.’ ” – Douglas Feith, War and Decision, Page […]
12/4/2001
President George W. Bush, in regards to a new energy plan: “Yes — well, I’m trying to get an energy plan out of Congress. (Laughter.) The House of Representatives — the House of Representatives passed a good energy bill. It is stuck in the Senate. And I believe it is in our national interests to have […]
12/4/2001
“…on December 4, 2001, the Ministerial Council of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) agreed on the Bucharest Plan of Action for Consulting Terrorism in that: ‘The OSCE stands ready to make its contribution to the fight against terrorism in close cooperation with other organizations and forums. This contribution will be consistent […]
12/4/2001
Based on the assumptions that an invasion force may not have the benefit of any coalition support and that it should be large enough to completely defeat Saddam Hussein’s military assets, Central Command leader General Tommy “Franks and his team of planners had shaved the [necessary troop] number in [plan #] 1003-98 to some 385,000, […]
12/4/2001
“…on December 4 [2001], [Central Command leader General Tommy] Franks and [Central Command Director of Operations Victor] Renuart came to [Secretary of Defense Donald] Rumsfeld’s office [to discuss the existing Iraq war plan called Op Plan 1003]. Franks noted, ‘There is uncertainty when we may find a linkage between al Qaeda and the Iraqi intel […]
12/3/2001
Amidst the attack on bin Laden’s forces at the Tora Bora complex in Afghanistan, on December 3, 2001, “an American reporter overheard [Northern Alliance commander Hazrat] Ali negotiating a deal in a Jalalabad hotel lobby to allow safe passage for three of bin Laden’s Arab followers.” – Andrew Cockburn, Rumsfeld, Page 133 […]