In July 1997, “According to Islamic sources, a US-backed multinational mercenary force is formed with the aim of abducting or killing bin Laden. Witnesses claim to see 11 black Land Cruisers crossing into the Afghan city of Khost along with 2 helicopters. A source said force was composed of 1000 non-US mercenaries.” [The 15th of […]
7/11/1997
By the time CIA Director George Tenet arrived at his post on July 11, 1997, ” the agency’s Clandestine Service had reached a state of atrophy, largely as a result of the post-Cold War budget cuts; the collapse of its longtime target, the Soviet Union; and a shift to massive technical collection by imagery and […]
6/17/1997
According to a declassified CIA intelligence report from June 17, 1997: “As of early 1996, the Egyptian al-Gama’at al Islamiyya (IG) received funding from a number of donors, including Islamic extremist financier Usama (Bin Ladin). [Redacted] Bin Ladin receives donations on behalf of the IG from wealthy donors. [Redacted] Bin Ladin, himself, provides the IG […]
6/15/1997
“In May 1997, assisted by a clan of Afghan tribal fighters, by Pakistani intelligence, and by a Baluchi tribal leader, a team of ‘black ops’ operatives from the FBI and the CIA flew into Pakistan and [on June 15, 1997] apprehended Mir Amal Kasi, the Baluchi sniper who had opened fire on CIA headquarters in […]
6/15/1997
In June 1997, “The former Special Envoy to the Afghan resistance, Peter Tomsen, now the U.S. ambassador to Armenia, wrote a pleading Secret cable [titled ‘Afghanistan Settlement–Analysis and Policy Recommendations’] to State principals: ‘We have long underestimated the geo-political threat of Afghan instability to U.S. interests. …We should conduct a major Afghan policy review and […]
6/3/1997
The Project for the New American Century (PNAC) issued a Statement of Principles on June 3, 1997. It read: “America has a vital role in maintaining peace and security in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. If we shirk our responsibilities, we invite challenges to our fundamental interests. The history of the twentieth century should […]
6/3/1997
The neoconservative Project for the New American Century (PNAC) said, in its ‘Statement of Principles‘ on June 3, 1997: ” ‘we seem to have forgotten the essential elements of the Reagan Administration’s success: a [strong] military…a foreign policy that boldly and purposefully promotes American principles abroad; and national leadership that accepts the United States’ global […]
5/26/1997
On May 26, 1997, “Pakistan announced full diplomatic recognition of the Taliban regime and abandoned its long-standing, if fitful, drive for a broad-based government. ‘The new government fulfills all criteria for de jure recognition,’ Foreign Minister Gohar Ayub Khan informed reporters. ‘It is now in effective control of most of the territory of Afghanistan and […]
5/20/1997
“Many observers…are convinced that the rise of the Taliban in Afghanistan had…the benign approval of the United States (which saw the Taliban as the best hope for a united Afghanistan through which oil and gas pipelines could be built). In [May 20] 1997, the Wall Street Journal declared: ‘The Taliban are the players most capable […]
5/15/1997
“In May 1997, [Taleban leader] Mullah [Mohammed] Omar invited him [Osama bin Laden] to reside in the Taleban capital, Kandahar [Afghanistan]. Bin Laden accepted and moved his family and some of his lieutenants and fighters; he ordered others…to stay in Jalalabad and Kabul. In Kandahar, he began a more peripatetic life. He now had al-Qaeda […]