Re: Clinton Administration ultimately responsible for 9/11
Rob thanks for some real input. I'm not going to say there weren't things that Clinton could have done to change the outcome but there were many, many more things that Bush's administration could have changed. Even the public muslim community was aware of the attacks before they happened, why wasn't our intellegence community aware. Or were they? Then the question becomes why wasn't anything done. The below is just a start, there's far more where this came from:
[quote]Late July 2001: Argentina Relays Warning to the US
Argentina's Jewish community receives warnings of a major attack against the United States, Argentina, or France from ?a foreign intelligence source.? The warning is then relayed to the Argentine security authorities. It is agreed to keep the warning secret in order to avoid panic while reinforcing security at Jewish sites in the country. Says a Jewish leader, ?It was a concrete warning that an attack of major proportion would take place, and it came from a reliable intelligence source. And I understand the Americans were told about it.? Argentina has a large Jewish community that has been bombed in the past, and has been an area of al-Qaeda activity. [Forward, 5/31/02]
People and organizations involved: al-Qaeda[/quote]
[quote]Late July 2001: Egypt Warns CIA of 20 al-Qaeda Operatives in US; Four Training to Fly; CIA Is Not Interested
CBS later reports, in a long story on another topic: ?Just days after [Mohamed] Atta return[s] to the US from Spain, Egyptian intelligence in Cairo says it received a report from one of its operatives in Afghanistan that 20 al-Qaeda members had slipped into the US and four of them had received flight training on Cessnas. To the Egyptians, pilots of small planes didn't sound terribly alarming, but they [pass] on the message to the CIA anyway, fully expecting Washington to request information. The request never [comes].? [CBS News, 10/9/02] This appears to be just one of several accurate Egyptian warnings from their informants inside al-Qaeda.
People and organizations involved: Central Intelligence Agency, al-Qaeda[/quote]
[quote]August 2001: Russia Warns US of Suicide Pilots
Russian President Vladimir Putin warns the US that suicide pilots are training for attacks on US targets. [Fox News, 5/17/02] The head of Russian intelligence also later states, ?We had clearly warned them? on several occasions, but they ?did not pay the necessary attention.? [Agence France-Presse, 9/16/01] A Russian newspaper on September 12, 2001, claims, ?Russian Intelligence agents know the organizers and executors of these terrorist attacks. More than that, Moscow warned Washington about preparation to these actions a couple of weeks before they happened.? Interestingly, the article claims that at least two of the militants were Muslim radicals from Uzbekistan. [Izvestia, 9/12/01]
People and organizations involved: Vladimir Putin[/quote]
[quote]Early August 2001: Government Informant Warns Congressmen of Plan to Attack the WTC
Randy Glass, a former con artist turned government informant, later claims that he contacts the staff of Senator Bob Graham [D] and Representative Robert Wexler [D] at this time and warns them of a plan to attack the WTC, but his warnings are ignored. [Palm Beach Post, 10/17/02] Glass also tells the media at this time that his recently concluded informant work has ?far greater ramifications than have so far been revealed,? and, ?potentially, thousands of lives [are] at risk.? [South Florida Sun-Sentinel, 8/7/01] Glass was a key informant in a sting operation involving ISI agents who were illegally trying to purchase sophisticated US military weaponry in return for cash and heroin. He later claims that in July 1999, one ISI agent named Rajaa Gulum Abbas pointed to the WTC and said, ?Those towers are coming down.? [Palm Beach Post, 10/17/02] Most details apparently remain sealed. For instance Glass claims that his sealed sentencing document dated June 15, 2001, lists threats against the WTC and Americans. [WPBF Channel 25, 8/5/02] Florida State Senator Ron Klein, who had dealings with Glass before 9/11, later says he is surprised it took so many months for the US to listen to Glass: ?Shame on us.? [Palm Beach Post, 10/17/02] Klein recalls getting a warning from Glass, though he cannot recall if it mentions the WTC specifically. He says he was told US intelligence agencies would look into it. [WPTV, 10/7/02] Senator Graham later acknowledges that his office had contact with Glass before 9/11, and was told about a WTC attack: ?I was concerned about that and a dozen other pieces of information which emanated from the summer of 2001.? However, Graham will say that he personally was unaware of Glass's information until after 9/11. [Palm Beach Post, 10/17/02] In October 2002, Glass will testify under oath before a private session of the 9/11 Congressional Inquiry, stating, ?I told [the inquiry] I have specific evidence, and I can document it.? [Palm Beach Post, 10/17/02]
People and organizations involved: Robert Wexler, Rajaa Gulum Abbas, Ron Klein, Randy Glass, World Trade Center, Bob Graham[/quote]
[quote]Early August 2001: Britain Warns US Again; Specifies Multiple Airplane Hijackings
Britain gives the US another warning about an al-Qaeda attack. The previous British warning on July 16, 2001 (see July 16, 2001), was vague as to method, but this warning specifies multiple airplane hijackings. This warning is said to reach President Bush. [Sunday Herald, 5/19/02]
People and organizations involved: al-Qaeda, George W. Bush[/quote]
[quote]Early September 2001: Pakistani Student Says WTC Towers ?Won't Be Here Next Week?
At New Utrecht High School, in Brooklyn, New York City, about one week before 9/11, a Pakistani student in a bilingual class points at the WTC during a heated political argument and declares, ?Look at those two buildings. They won't be here next week.? The teacher notifies New York police after 9/11, who in turn notify the FBI. The status of the FBI investigation into this incident is unknown as of early October 2001. [New York Daily News, 10/12/01]
People and organizations involved: Federal Bureau of Investigation, World Trade Center [/quote]
[quote]Early September 2001: Seattle Security Guard Tells Friend of Impending Attack
A few days before 9/11, a Seattle security guard of Middle Eastern descent tells an East Coast friend on the phone that terrorists will soon attack the US. After 9/11, the friend tells the FBI, and passes a lie detector test. The security guard refuses to cooperate with the FBI or take a lie detector test. He is not arrested?apparently the FBI determines that while he may have had 9/11 foreknowledge, he was not involved in the plot. [Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 10/12/01]
People and organizations involved: Federal Bureau of Investigation[/quote]
[quote]Early September 2001: Rumors in New York City's Arab-American Community About Attacks
A veteran detective involved with post-9/11 investigations later claims that rumors in New York City's Arab-American community about the 9/11 attacks are common in the days beforehand. The story ?had been out on the street? and the number of leads turning up later is so ?overwhelming? that it is difficult to tell who knows about the attacks from secondhand sources and who knows about it from someone who may have been a participant. After 9/11, tracking leads regarding Middle Eastern employees who did not show up for work on 9/11 are ?a serious and major priority.? [Journal News, 10/11/01][/quote]
[quote]September 6-10, 2001: Suspicious Trading of Put Option Contracts on American and United Airlines Occur
A. B."Buzzy" Krongard.
Suspicious trading occurs on the stock of American and United, the two airlines hijacked in the 9/11 attacks. ?Between 6 and 7 September, the Chicago Board Options Exchange [sees] purchases of 4,744 put option contracts [a speculation that the stock will go down] in UAL versus 396 call options?where a speculator bets on a price rising. Holders of the put options would [net] a profit of $5 million once the carrier's share price [dive] after September 11. On September 10, 4,516 put options in American Airlines, the other airline involved in the hijackings, [are] purchased in Chicago. This compares with a mere 748 call options in American purchased that day. Investigators cannot help but notice that no other airlines [see] such trading in their put options.? One analyst later says, ?I saw put-call numbers higher than I've ever seen in ten years of following the markets, particularly the options markets.? [Associated Press, 9/18/01; San Francisco Chronicle, 9/19/01] ?To the embarrassment of investigators, it has also [learned] that the firm used to buy many of the ?put? options ... on United Airlines stock was headed until 1998 by ?Buzzy? Krongard, now executive director of the CIA.? Krongard was chairman of Alex Brown Inc., which was bought by Deutsche Bank. ?His last post before resigning to take his senior role in the CIA was to head Bankers Trust?Alex Brown's private client business, dealing with the accounts and investments of wealthy customers around the world.? [Independent, 10/14/01]
People and organizations involved: Computer Assisted Passenger Prescreening System, Chicago Board Options Exchange, United Airlines, American Airlines, Deutsche Bank[/quote]
[quote]September 10, 2001: Alarm Bells Sound over Unusual Trading in US Stock Options Market
According to CBS News, in the afternoon before the attack, ?alarm bells were sounding over unusual trading in the US stock options market.? It has been documented that the CIA, the Mossad, and many other intelligence agencies monitor stock trading in real time using highly advanced programs such as Promis. Both the FBI and the Justice Department have confirmed the use of such programs for US intelligence gathering through at least this summer. This would confirm that the CIA should have had additional advance warning of imminent attacks against American and United Airlines planes. [CBS News, 9/19/01] There are even allegations that bin Laden was able to get a copy of Promis. [Fox News, 10/16/01]
People and organizations involved: Federal Bureau of Investigation, US Department of Justice, Central Intelligence Agency, Israel Institute for Intelligence and Special Tasks, Promis[/quote]