In mid-August, 2001, CIA director George Tenet received reports from the FBI mentioning the arrest of potential terrorist Zacarias Moussaoui. “Tenet figured that since it was an FBI domestic case, surely the FBI had it under control.” [The 15th of the month used for date sorting purposes only.] – Philip Shenon, The Commission, Page 361 […]
8/15/2001
“Two Pakistani nuclear scientists [Sultan Bashir-Ud-din Mahmood and Chaudiri Abdul Majeed] have admitted that in August 2001 they met with Osama bin Laden, [al Qaeda second-in-command] Ayman al-Zawahiri, and other al Qaeda officials and had long discussions about nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons. Both men were ‘long beards’–Pakistani scientists but also dedicated Islamic fundamentalists who […]
8/15/2001
“In a classified chronology submitted to Congress in early 2002, the CIA stated that it had tracked terrorists Khalid al-Midhar and Nawaf al-Hazmi to the United States in early 2001, but failed to notify the FBI and other government agencies about the connections of the two men to al Qaeda. …the CIA had said it […]
8/15/2001
On August 15, 2001, two FBI agents interviewed suspected terrorist Zacarias Moussaoui and asked FBI headquarters for a warrant to inspect Moussaoui’s laptop. “But headquarters refused the request because there was no ‘probable cause’ foundation that a crime had been committed.” – Bill Gertz, Breakdown, Pages 30-31 […]
8/14/2001
Potential hijacker Zacarias “Moussaoui’s classroom instructor knew that affluent hobbyists sometimes signed up for simulator training even if they didn’t have a [pilot’s] license, but Moussaoui’s decision to rush the training, and to ask so many questions about things like protocol for communicating with air traffic controllers, created worry. At a routine staff meeting on […]
8/13/2001
“On August 13 [2001], [potential hijacker] Zacarias Moussaoui started his new [flight] training [near Minneapolis, Minnesota]. …Two days later, the school called the local FBI office, telling agents they had what they thought was a potential hijacker on their hands. …By the next afternoon, the FBI was at the school. By nightfall, Moussaoui was in […]
8/11/2001
“The Washington Post story the next day [August 11, 2001] on page A18 characterized the attack [on air defense sites in Iraq] as one of ‘relatively limited scope’ and business-as-usual. ‘Yesterday’s strikes appeared to continue the Clinton-era pattern of hitting Iraqi air defenses every six months or so.’ “ – Bob Woodward, Plan of Attack, […]
8/10/2001
“On August 10 [2001], US and British jets bombed three air defense sites in Iraq, the largest strikes since February.” – Bob Woodward, Plan of Attack, Page 23 […]
8/8/2001
President George W. Bush’s comments on decisions being made with the help of the Secretary of Defense: “I’ve got a lot of national security concerns that we’re working on — Iraq; Macedonia, very worrisome right now. Kind of a blowup last night and yesterday it looked like we had a peaceful resolution; it’s now in doubt. […]
8/7/2001
In a discussion with the press about the situation with Iraq, President George W. Bush had this to say: “As I said, Saddam Hussein is a menace, he’s still a menace and we need to keep him in check, and will.” Followed by a question from the press: “Are they ratcheting it up, though? We’ve had a […]