“In March 1997 he [Osama bin Laden] gave CNN’s Peter Arnett the first television interview with a Western broadcaster, in which he declared: ‘The concentration at this point of jihad is against the American occupiers.’ “ [The 15th of the month used for date sorting purposes only.] – Daniel Benjamin and Steven Simon, The Age […]
3/15/1997
“Bin Laden told CNN in [March] 1997 that one of his proudest achievements while he was based in Sudan was the role of his Afghan Arabs in the 1993 killings of more than a dozen American soldiers stationed in Somalia.” [The 15th of the month used for date-sorting purposes only.] – Peter Bergen, Holy War, […]
3/15/1997
In an interview with journalist Peter Bergen in Afghanistan in March 1997, bin Laden said: ” ‘The U.S. today has set a double standard, calling whoever goes against its injustice a terrorist. It wants to occupy our countries, steal our resources, impose on us agents to rule us…and wants us to agree to all these. […]
3/15/1997
In March 1997, bin Laden said: ” ‘Our main problem is the U.S. government…By being loyal to the U.S. regime, the Saudi regime has committed an act against Islam,’ he said. Bin Laden made no secret of the fact that he was interested in fomenting a revolution in Saudi Arabia, and that his new regime […]
2/18/1997
In defense of using aggressive interrogation techniques, Deputy Chief in the Office of Legal Counsel, John Yoo wrote: “The Landau Commission, an Israeli investigation into allegations of torture against its security services…found that effectively preventing some terrorist bombings would have been ‘impossible’ without the use of coercive interrogation methods. In a [February 18] 1997 report […]
2/15/1997
Director of Central Intelligence George Tenet released a written statement for the Joint Inquiry Committee on October 17, 2002. It read: “In February 1997, the White House Commission on Aviation Safety and Security reported that: ‘The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Central Intelligence Agency, and other intelligence sources have been warning that the threat of […]
2/15/1997
“In a February 1997 Arabic-language television interview, bin Laden declared, ‘If someone can kill an American soldier, it is better than wasting time on other matters.’ ” [The 15th of the month used for date sorting purposes only.] – Richard Miniter, Losing Bin Laden, Page 161 […]
2/15/1997
Describing a U.S. attempt to buy back the Stinger missiles from the Taliban for six-to-eight million dollars, author James Bamford wrote: “[CIA negotiator Gary] Schroen arrived on a chartered United Nations plane in February 1997. …The visit did not go well. [Taliban leader] Mullah [Mohammed] Omar refused permission to meet with them and sent them […]
2/12/1997
In 1997, “the Gore Commission, created by President [Bill] Clinton in response to the explosion of TWA Flight 800, had concluded [in a February 12, 1997 report] that ‘the threat against civil aviation is changing and growing, and…the federal government must lead the fight against it.’ The Gore Commission Report voiced the consensus of American […]
2/12/1997
In the second World Trade Center trial, “After months of evidence the verdicts were finally read out on 12 February 1997. [Bomber Ramzi] Yousef was found guilty.” – Simon Reeve, The New Jackals, Page 242 […]