Former CIA Agent Robert Baer wrote: “it was obvious to me that the [Qatari] foreign minister had a lot of clout in Washington. The money he put into lobbying and public-relations firms from 1997 to 1999–$24,628,799.36, to be exact–bought him a piece of the U.S. justice system. The money allowed Qatar to stiff the FBI […]
2/7/1996
“Citing security concerns, U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher had ordered all American personnel to leave the embassy in Khartoum [Sudan] in February [7] 1996. Later, the CIA would have to ‘withdraw’ more than one hundred of its reports on Sudan when its main source–a rebel sympathizer earning $100 per report–failed a routine polygraph test. […]
2/6/1996
U.S. ambassador to Sudan Timothy Carney met with Sudanese Vice President Ali Osman Taha on February 6, 1996, to discuss Sudan’s support for terrorists. “Osama bin Laden was one of Sudan’s biggest sources of grief in Washington, Carney said. Sudan should expel him and provide information to the United States about his finances and his […]
1/22/1996
According to The New York Times on January 22, 1996, following the sentencing of militant Islamist Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman on January 17, 1996, “in Cairo [Egypt], the Islamic Group [aka Gamma’a al’Islamiya] issued a pledge: ‘The Gamma’a al’Islamiya vow[s] to God that it will respond blow for blow. American interests and people will be […]
1/17/1996
On January 17, 1996, “Sheikh [Omar Abdel] Rahman is sentenced to life in prison for his role in the Day of Terror plot. But in a precursor of things to come, Egyptian U.S. postal worker Ahmed Abdel Sattar vows that ‘the man will never be silenced,’ and the al Gamma’a Islamiya (IG)–the Egyptian terrorist group […]
1/17/1996
“On January 17, 1996, the presiding judge [at the ‘Day of Terror’ trial in New York] handed out life sentences to the ten defendants who hadn’t entered into plea agreements with the government. El-Sayyid Nosair was finally convicted in the murder of Meir Kahane, as well as other charges, and sentenced to life in prison. […]
1/15/1996
In January 1996, “the CIA estimated that fifty Islamic charities ‘support terrorist groups or employ individuals who are suspected of having terrorist connections.’ “ [The 15th of the month used for date sorting purposes only.] – Rohan Gunaratna, Inside al Qaeda, Page 62 […]
1/15/1996
A January 1996 Council of Foreign Relations report, “Making Intelligence Smarter,” said: ” ‘The U.S. intelligence community faces major challenges, including a widespread lack of confidence in its ability to carry out its mission completely and legally. …The intelligence community has been adjusting to the changed demands of the post-Cold War world for several years…[but] additional […]
1/15/1996
Regarding Osama bin Laden: “In January 1996, the CIA created a counterterrorism unit of a dozen people devoted entirely to the Saudi–the bin Laden station. There was a sense that he might start taking aim at American targets abroad.” [The 15th of the month used for date sorting purposes only.] – Tim Weiner, Legacy of […]
1/15/1996
“In January 1996, a decision was taken by senior staff of the CIA’s 200-strong Counterterrorist Center…to form a special bin Laden taskforce. Ever since, the Osama bin Laden desk, manned by elite staff of more than eleven federal agencies, has mounted the largest, most expensive and most extensive investigation ever into a single individual charged […]