“Late in [December] 1998 the CIA relayed a report to the White House from one of its agents that bin Laden had been tracked to Kandahar [Afghanistan]. The report was that bin Laden would sleep in the Haji Habash house, part of the governor’s residence complex. … ‘Hit him tonight,’ [CIA Islamabad station chief] Gary […]
12/15/1998
” ‘The intelligence community had strong indications,’ declared a December [1998] classified memo endorsed by the CIA and circulated at the highest levels of the U.S. government, ‘that bin Laden intends to conduct or sponsor attacks inside the United States.’ “ [The 15th of the month used for date sorting purposes only.] – Steve Coll, […]
12/15/1998
The following bin Laden ‘Interview with Al Jazeera’ was aired in December 1998: “Q. What do you seek? A. …that our land be liberated from enemies, liberated from the Americans. …we are trying to incite the world Muslim community to free our land and undertake a jihad for God… Q. What are your ultimate objectives, […]
12/8/1998
On December 8, 1998, “the toughest UN Security Council Resolution on Afghanistan to date [Resolution 1214]… threatened unspecified sanctions against the Taliban for harboring international terrorists, violating human rights, promoting drugs trafficking and refusing to accept a cease-fire. ‘Afghanistan-based terrorism has become a plague,’ said US envoy Nancy Soderberg. Pakistan was the only country that […]
12/8/1998
In a speech on December 8, 1998, National Security Advisor Sandy Berger said: ” ‘Through constant confrontation, our policy of containing Iraq has been successful. But that does not mean that by itself it is sustainable over the long run.’ Noting the many costs of containing Saddam and the concern that with time international support […]
12/7/1998
“In a [December 7] 1998 article for the New Republic, [former Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Paul] Wolfowitz wrote, ‘Toppling Saddam is the only outcome that can satisfy the vital U.S. interest in a stable and secure Gulf region, because, to a degree unique among contemporary tyrannies, the Iraqi regime is Saddam Hussein. …The vast […]
12/4/1998
George Tenet described threats against the U.S. from December 1998 to September 11, 2001: “A PDB [President’s Daily Brief] briefing prepared for President Clinton on December 4, 1998, was titled, ‘Bin Ladin Preparing to Hijack US Aircraft and Other Attacks.’ ” – George Tenet with Bill Harlow, At the Center of the Storm, Page 105 […]
12/4/1998
According to a declassified CIA intelligence report from December 4, 1998: “Bin Ladin associates last month discussed picking up a package in Malaysia. One told his colleague in Malaysia that ‘they’ were in the ‘ninth month [of pregnancy].’ An alleged Bin Ladin supporter in Yemen late last month remarked to his mother that he planned […]
12/4/1998
According to a declassified CIA intelligence report from December 4, 1998: “[Redacted] indicate the Bin Ladin organization or its allies are moving closer to implementing anti-US attacks at unspecified locations, but we do not know whether they are related to attacks on aircraft. A Bin Ladin associate in Sudan late last month told a colleague […]
12/4/1998
According to a declassified CIA intelligence report from December 4, 1998: “Some members of the Bin Ladin network have received hijack training, according to various sources, but no group directly tied to Bin Ladin’s al-Qa’ida organization has ever carried out an aircraft hijacking. Bin Ladin could be weighing other types of operations against US aircraft. […]