On June 17, 2004, when asked by a reporter from Talk Radio News Service how the 9/11 Commission felt since President Bush had disputed the finding that there was no collaborative relationship between Saddam Hussein and al Qaeda, Joint Chairman Thomas Kean replied: ” ‘Well, what we’re going on is the evidence we have found. […]
6/17/2004
On June 17, 2004, The New York Times headline declared: ” ‘Panel Finds No Qaeda-Iraq Tie.’ ” That same day, when President Bush was asked about the article, he said: ” ‘The reason I keep insisting that there was a relationship between Iraq and Saddam and al Qaeda is because there was a relationship between […]
6/17/2004
According to CNN on June 17, 2004, President Bush said: ” ‘The reason I keep insisting that there was a relationship between Iraq and Saddam and al-Qaeda was because there was a relationship between Iraq and al-Qaeda.’ ” – Al Gore, The Assault on Reason, Page 109 […]
6/17/2004
An editorial in The Opinion Pages of The New York Times on June 17, 2004, titled “The Plain Truth,” read in part: “Nevertheless, the Bush administration convinced a substantial majority of Americans before the war that Saddam Hussein was somehow linked to 9/11. And since the invasion, administration officials, especially Vice President Dick Cheney, have continued […]
6/16/2004
“The Sept. 11 commission reported yesterday [June 16, 2004] that it has found no ‘collaborative relationship’ between Iraq and al Qaeda, challenging one of the Bush administration’s main justifications for the war in Iraq. Along with the contention that Saddam Hussein was stockpiling weapons of mass destruction, President Bush, Vice President [Dick] Cheney and other […]
6/16/2004
“[T]he 9/11 Commission’s Staff Statement [#16, on June 16, 2004] ends by offering the distinctly unpersuasive assessment that ‘al Qaeda today is more a loose collection of regional networks with a greatly weakened central organization.’ ” – Peter Lance, Cover Up, Page 212 […]
6/16/2004
In a 9/11 Commission hearing on June 16, 2004, former CIA Deputy Director of Intelligence Douglas MacEachin said: ” ‘Whether Bin Laden and his organization had roles in the 1993 attack on the World Trade Center and the thwarted Manila [Philippines] plot to blow up a dozen U.S. commercial aircraft in 1995 remains a matter […]
6/16/2004
In the 9/11 Commission hearing on June 16, 2004, the motivation of the terrorists was questioned. FBI Supervisory Special Agent James Fitzgerald said: ” ‘I believe they feel a sense of outrage against the United States. They identify with the Palestinian problem, they identify with people who oppose repressive regimes, and I believe they tend […]
6/16/2004
According to the report from the 9/11 Commission hearing on June 16, 2004, the 9/11 plot by al Qaeda: ” ‘painted a picture of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed as the mastermind and chief operative, and Bin Ladin as providing leadership and institutional support.’ …’Bin Ladin met with [his deputy, Mohammed] Atef to discuss the targets for […]
6/16/2004
John Pistole, the FBI’s Executive Assistant Director for Counterintelligence and Counterterrorism, testified at the June 16, 2004 9/11 Commission hearing. When asked if there were al Qaeda cells within the U.S., he replied: ” ‘Absolutely,’ saying that such cells needed to be understood as a combination of possible operatives and ‘facilitators…fund-raisers, [and] recruiters.’ ” – […]