12/4/1998

According to a declassified CIA intelligence report from December 4, 1998: “IG [terrorist group Gama’at al-Islamiyya] leader Islambuli in late September was planning to hijack a US airliner during the ‘next couple of weeks’ to free [World Trade Center bombing conspirator Shaykh Umar] ‘Abd al-Rahman and the other [co-conspirator] prisoners… The same source late last […]

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12/4/1998

According to a declassified CIA intelligence report from December 4, 1998: “Reporting [redacted] suggests Bin Ladin and his allies are preparing for attacks in the US, including an aircraft hijacking to obtain the release of [World Trade Center bombing conspirator] Shaykh ‘Umar ‘Abd al-Rahman, [World Trade Center bomber] Ramzi Yousef, and [U.S. embassy bombing suspect] […]

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12/4/1998

“On December 4, 1998, CIA director [George] Tenet, in a memo to his senior deputies, stated: ‘We must now enter a new phase in our efforts against bin Laden. Our work to date has been remarkable and in some instances heroic; yet each day we all acknowledge that retaliation is inevitable and that its scope […]

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12/4/1998

“On December 4, 1998, [CIA Director George] Tenet wrote a memo to his senior deputies at Langley [Virginia] headquarters. ‘We must now enter a new phase in our efforts against bin Laden,’ Tenet declared. ‘Our work to date has been remarkable and in some instances heroic; yet each day we all acknowledge that retaliation is […]

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12/4/1998

A President’s Daily Briefing (PDB) for President Bill Clinton on December 4, 1998, dealt with a possible al Qaeda plan to hijack a plane. This report “brought the focus back to more traditional hostage taking; it reported Bin Ladin’s involvement in planning a hijack operation to free prisoners such as the ‘Blind Sheikh,’ Omar Abdel […]

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12/4/1998

On December 4, 1998, President Bill Clinton received a PDB (President’s Daily Brief) with the subject: “Bin Ladin Preparing to Hijack US Aircraft and Other Attacks.”  – 9/11 Commission, The 9/11 Commission Report, Page 128 […]

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12/4/1998

The 9/11 Commission Report said a Presidential Daily Brief for President Bill Clinton, dated December 4, 1998, suggested ” ‘Bin Ladin and his allies are preparing for attacks in the US, including an aircraft hijacking to obtain the release of Shaykh ‘Umar ‘Abd al-Rahman, Ramzi Yousef, and Muhammad Sadiq ‘Awda. …Some members of the Bin […]

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12/4/1998

Demonstrating a lack of communication amongst U.S. intelligence agencies, the 9/11 Commission quoted from a December 4, 1998, directive by Director of Central Intelligence George Tenet: ” ‘We are at war [with al Qaeda]. I want no resources or people spared in this effort, either inside the CIA or the [Intelligence] Community.’ …But the [9/11 […]

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12/3/1998

According to a declassified CIA information report from December 3, 1998: “Bin Ladin was planning to execute new operations against the United States (U.S.) targets in the near future. Plans to hijack a U.S. aircraft were proceeding well. Two individuals from the relevant operational team in the U.S. had successfully evaded security checks during a […]

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12/3/1998

In a memo on December 3, 1998, then-CIA Director George Tenet wrote: “I wanted no resources or people spared in the effort to go after al-Qa’ida. …While many people were focused exclusively on one man [Usama bin Ladin], al-Qa’ida had a leadership structure, with training facilities, all residing in Afghanistan. Our strategic objective was to […]

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