Deputy Secretary of Defense “Mr. [Paul] Wolfowitz has been more ‘concerned about bombing Iraq than bombing Afghanistan,’ one senior [Bush] administration official said.” – Patrick E. Tyler and Elaine Sciolino, “Bush’s Advisers Split on Scope Of Retaliation,” The New York Times, Sep. 20, 2001 […]
9/20/2001
Secretary of State Colin Powell “argued that to undertake a broad military campaign, especially including Iraq–whose civilian population draws great sympathy in the Middle East for the suffering it has endured since 1991–would undermine the support [President] Mr. Bush needs now.” – Patrick E. Tyler and Elaine Sciolino, “Bush’s Advisers Split on Scope Of Retaliation,” […]
9/19/2001
Then-Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld wrote: “Aware of the public’s impatience [in responding to the 9/11 attacks], I urged the President [Bush] to try to adjust the American people’s expectations away from quick, decisive results. [On September 19, 2001] I stressed that the war on terrorism would be ‘a marathon, not a sprint.’ ” – […]
9/19/2001
Speaking before the Defense Policy Advisory Board on September 19, 2001, Iraqi National Congress leader Ahmed Chalabi “suggested that the United States avoid the distraction of an attack on Afghanistan in favor of going for Iraq right away. Touting a scheme he had been advocating since 1993, he explained how armed insurgents under his command […]
9/19/2001
In an unclassified memo on September 19, 2001, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld “laid out in considerable detail his philosophy of alliance cooperation in the coming battle [in Afghanistan]. ‘The legitimacy of our actions does not depend on how many countries support us. More nearly the opposite is true: the legitimacy of other countries’ opinions […]
9/19/2001
“On September 19, 2001, bin Laden announced that…if it [the United States] did launch an invasion [of Afghanistan], ‘the United States would face a crushing defeat.’ “ – Michael Scheuer, Osama Bin Laden, Page 129 […]
9/19/2001
On September 19, 2001, a team of CIA officers was dispatched from Washington to “northeastern Afghanistan where the Northern Alliance continued to hold out against the Taliban. Before they left they met with [Counterterrorist Center head] Cofer Black at Agency headquarters for their final marching orders. They were unambiguous. Black told them, ‘I want bin […]
9/19/2001
On September 19, 2001, “At a meeting of the Defense Policy Board, Iraqi National Congress leader Ahmad Chalabi and the Mideast scholar Bernard Lewis address the group, arguing for U.S. action against Iraq.” – Frank Rich, The Greatest Story Ever Sold, Page 230 […]
9/19/2001
“On September 19, 2001, [FBI] agents conducting a PENTTBOM [Pentagon/Twin Towers Bombings] investigation of an apartment-mate of [Pakistani/Canadian citizen Shakir] Baloch’s arrested Baloch, who lacked a lawful immigration status in this country and also had false immigration documents. Baloch was ultimately cleared of any terrorist ties. While in detention, according to Baloch, he was beaten […]
9/19/2001
“Plans by Saudi Arabia to fly a group of its citizens home from Washington this week [mid-September 2001] have raised early concerns among some law enforcement officials about Saudi cooperation in the investigation of last week’s terrorist attacks. The tension has arisen because some of the 19 hijackers named in the attacks appear to have […]