9/11 Interviews 2003 09(Sep)
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PENTTBOM CASE SUMMARY As of 1/11/2002
Law Enforcement Sensitive PENTTBOM CASE SUMMARY as of 1/11/2002 (LES) The following is a "Law Enforcement Sensitive" version of materials relevant to the Penttbom investigation. It includes an Executive Summary; a Summary of Known Associates; a Financial Summary; Flight Team Biographies and Timelines. Recipients are encouraged to forward pertinent information to the Penttbom Investigative Team at FBI Headquarters (Room 1B999) (202-324-9041), or the New York Office, (212-384-1000). Law Enforcement Sensitive 1 JICI 04/19/02 FBI02SG4 Law Enforcement Sensitive EXECUTIVE SUMMARY (LES) Captioned matter is a culmination of over a decade of rhetoric, planning, coordination and terrorist action by USAMA BIN LADEN (UBL) and the AL-QAEDA organization against the United States and its allies. UBL and AL-QAEDA consider themselves involved in a "Holy War" against the United States. The Bureau, with its domestic and international counterterrorism partners, has conducted international terrorism investigations targeting UBL, AL-QAEDA and associated terrorist groups and individuals for several years. (LES) In August 1996, USAMA BIN LADEN issued the first of a series of fatwas that declared jihad on the United States. Each successive fatwa escalated, in tone and scale, the holy war to be made against the United States. The last fatwa, issued in February 1998, demanded that Muslims all over the world kill Americans, military or civilian, wherever they could be found. Three months later, in May 1998, he reiterated this edict at a press conference. The United States Embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, were bombed on August 7, 1998, a little more than two months after that May 1998 press conference. -
Staff Statement No
Outline of the 9/11 Plot Staff Statement No. 16 Members of the Commission, your staff is prepared to report its preliminary findings regarding the conspiracy that produced the September 11 terrorist attacks against the United States. We remain ready to revise our understanding of this subject as our work continues. Dietrich Snell, Rajesh De, Hyon Kim, Michael Jacobson, John Tamm, Marco Cordero, John Roth, Douglas Greenburg, and Serena Wille did most of the investigative work reflected in this statement. We are fortunate to have had access to the fruits of a massive investigative effort by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and other law enforcement agencies, as well intelligence collection and analysis from the Central Intelligence Agency, the National Security Agency, the State Department, and the Department of Defense. Much of the account in this statement reflects assertions reportedly made by various 9/11 conspirators and captured al Qaeda members while under interrogation. We have sought to corroborate this material as much as possible. Some of this material has been inconsistent. We have had to make judgment calls based on the weight and credibility of the evidence. Our information on statements attributed to such individuals comes from written reporting; we have not had direct access to any of them. Plot Overview Origins of the 9/11 Attacks The idea for the September 11 attacks appears to have originated with a veteran jihadist named Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (KSM). A Kuwaiti from the Baluchistan region of Pakistan, KSM grew up in a religious family and claims to have joined the Muslim Brotherhood at the age of 16. -
9/11 Report”), July 2, 2004, Pp
Final FM.1pp 7/17/04 5:25 PM Page i THE 9/11 COMMISSION REPORT Final FM.1pp 7/17/04 5:25 PM Page v CONTENTS List of Illustrations and Tables ix Member List xi Staff List xiii–xiv Preface xv 1. “WE HAVE SOME PLANES” 1 1.1 Inside the Four Flights 1 1.2 Improvising a Homeland Defense 14 1.3 National Crisis Management 35 2. THE FOUNDATION OF THE NEW TERRORISM 47 2.1 A Declaration of War 47 2.2 Bin Ladin’s Appeal in the Islamic World 48 2.3 The Rise of Bin Ladin and al Qaeda (1988–1992) 55 2.4 Building an Organization, Declaring War on the United States (1992–1996) 59 2.5 Al Qaeda’s Renewal in Afghanistan (1996–1998) 63 3. COUNTERTERRORISM EVOLVES 71 3.1 From the Old Terrorism to the New: The First World Trade Center Bombing 71 3.2 Adaptation—and Nonadaptation— ...in the Law Enforcement Community 73 3.3 . and in the Federal Aviation Administration 82 3.4 . and in the Intelligence Community 86 v Final FM.1pp 7/17/04 5:25 PM Page vi 3.5 . and in the State Department and the Defense Department 93 3.6 . and in the White House 98 3.7 . and in the Congress 102 4. RESPONSES TO AL QAEDA’S INITIAL ASSAULTS 108 4.1 Before the Bombings in Kenya and Tanzania 108 4.2 Crisis:August 1998 115 4.3 Diplomacy 121 4.4 Covert Action 126 4.5 Searching for Fresh Options 134 5. -
Staff Statement No. 1
Entry of the 9/11 Hijackers into the United States Staff Statement No. 1 Members of the Commission, we have developed initial findings on how the individuals who carried out the 9/11 attacks entered the United States. We have also developed initial findings on terrorists who failed in their efforts to enter the United States. These findings lead us to some tentative judgments on the way the United States targets the travel of international terrorists. This staff statement represents the collective effort of several members of our staff. Susan Ginsburg, Thomas Eldridge, and Janice Kephart-Roberts did most of the investigative work reflected in this statement. The Commission was able to build upon a large and strong body of work carried out by many talented public servants at the Department of State, the Central Intelligence Agency, the former Immigration and Naturalization Service, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The American people should be proud of the many extraordinary professionals now serving them. To the extent we have criticisms, they are comments less on the talent available and more on how that talent was used. As we know from the sizable illegal traffic across our land borders, a terrorist could attempt to bypass legal procedures and enter the United States surreptitiously. None of the 9/11 attackers entered or tried to enter our country this way. So today we will focus on the hijackers’ exploitation of legal entry systems. We have handed out a list of the names of 9/11 attackers to help you follow our discussion. -
The 9/11 Commission Report
Final 5-7.5pp 7/17/04 11:46 AM Page 215 7 THE ATTACK LOOMS 7.1 FIRST ARRIVALS IN CALIFORNIA In chapter 5 we described the Southeast Asia travels of Nawaf al Hazmi,Khalid al Mihdhar, and others in January 2000 on the first part of the “planes opera- tion.” In that chapter we also described how Mihdhar was spotted in Kuala Lumpur early in January 2000, along with associates who were not identified, and then was lost to sight when the group passed through Bangkok. On Jan- uary 15, Hazmi and Mihdhar arrived in Los Angeles.They spent about two weeks there before moving on to San Diego.1 Two Weeks in Los Angeles Why Hazmi and Mihdhar came to California, we do not know for certain. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (KSM), the organizer of the planes operation, explains that California was a convenient point of entry from Asia and had the added benefit of being far away from the intended target area.2 Hazmi and Mihdhar were ill-prepared for a mission in the United States. Their only qualifications for this plot were their devotion to Usama Bin Ladin, their veteran service, and their ability to get valid U.S. visas. Neither had spent any substantial time in the West,and neither spoke much, if any,English.3 It would therefore be plausible that they or KSM would have tried to iden- tify,in advance, a friendly contact for them in the United States. In detention, KSM denies that al Qaeda had any agents in Southern California.We do not credit this denial.4 We believe it is unlikely that Hazmi and Mihdhar—neither of whom, in contrast to the Hamburg group, had any -
Chapter 1-Introduction
1 1 Introduction: Factual Overview of the September 11 Border Story Terrorists travel for many reasons, including to train, communicate with other terrorists, collect funds, escape capture and interrogation, engage in surveillance of potential targets, and commit terrorist attacks.1 To avoid detection of their activities and objectives while engaging in travel that necessitates using a passport, terrorists devote extensive resources to acquiring and manipulating passports, entry and exit stamps, and visas. The al Qaeda terrorist organization was no exception. High-level members of al Qaeda were expert document forgers who taught other terrorists, including Mohamed Atta, the 9/11 ringleader, their tradecraft.2 The entry of the hijackers into the United States therefore represented the culmination of years of practice and experience in penetrating international borders. We introduce our monograph with a retelling of the September 11 events from the perspective of border security as we understand it today. The conspirators Twenty-six al Qaeda terrorist conspirators—eighteen Saudis, two Emiratis, one Egyptian, one Lebanese, one Moroccan, one Pakistani, and two Yemenis—sought to enter the United States and carry out a suicide mission.3 The first of them began to acquire the means to enter two years and five months before the 9/11 attack. Intelligence about terrorist travel Three hijackers were known or knowable by intelligence authorities as al Qaeda terrorists in early 2000, but their biographical information was not fully developed and communicated to border authorities for watchlisting at U.S. consulates abroad (by the State Department) and at the border (by immigration and customs border inspectors). -
The 9/11 HIJACKERS and CONSPIRATORS
6 The 9/11 HIJACKERS AND CONSPIRATORS American Airlines Flight 11—North Tower of the World Trade Center Mohamed Atta Hijacker (Pilot) Abdul Aziz al Omari Hijacker Waleed al Shehri Hijacker Satam al Suqami Hijacker Wail al Shehri Hijacker American Airlines Flight 77—Pentagon Hani Hanjour Hijacker (Pilot) Khalid al Mihdhar Hijacker Majed Moqed Hijacker Nawaf al Hazmi Hijacker Salem al Hazmi Hijacker United Airlines Flight 93—Pennsylvania Ziad Samir Jarrah Hijacker (Pilot) Saeed al Ghamdi Hijacker Ahmed al Nami Hijacker Ahmad al Haznawi Hijacker United Airlines Flight 175—South Tower of the World Trade Center Marwan al Shehhi Hijacker (Pilot) Mohand al Shehri Hijacker Hamza al Ghamdi Hijacker Fayez Banihammad Hijacker Ahmed al Ghamdi Hijacker Other Conspirators Involved with the Visa Process Khalid Sheikh Mohammed Mastermind Tawfiq bin Attash (Khallad) Potential Pilot Ramzi Binalshibh Potential Pilot Zakariya Essabar Potential Pilot/Hijacker Saeed “Jihad” al Ghamdi Potential Hijacker Mushabib al Hamlan Potential Hijacker Ali Abdul Aziz Ali Financial Facilitator and Potential Hijacker Other Conspirator Involved with the Visa and Port of Entry Process Mohamed al Kahtani Potential Hijacker 7 2 The September 11 Travel Operation The success of the September 11 plot depended on the ability of the hijackers to obtain visas and pass an immigration and customs inspection in order to enter the United States. It also depended on their ability to remain here undetected while they worked out the operational details of the attack. If they had failed on either count—entering and becoming embedded—the plot could not have been executed. Here we present the facts and circumstances of the hijackers’ travel operation, including their 25 contacts with consular officers and their 43 contacts with immigration and customs authorities. -
United States District Court for the District of Columbia
Case 1:16-cv-01944 Document 1 Filed 09/30/16 Page 1 of 54 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA STEPHANIE ROSS DESIMONE, Individually and ) on behalf of the Estate of Patrick Dunn and as the ) Parent and Next Friend of ALEXANDRA ) DESIMONE, a minor, ) Case No. ) Plaintiffs, ) ) v. ) ) KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA ) ) Defendant. ) COMPLAINT Plaintiffs, through undersigned counsel, respectfully bring this action against the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and allege as follows: 1. On September 11, 2001, nineteen members of the terrorist organization Al Qaeda, fifteen of whom were citizens of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, hijacked four commercial airliners, and used those planes as weapons in a coordinated terrorist attack upon the United States and its citizens (the “September 11th Attacks”). 2. The September 11th Attacks represented a single targeted operational strike, carried out as part of Al Qaeda’s broader and ongoing campaign to wage jihad against the United States. 3. Al Qaeda’s ability to conduct large-scale terrorist attacks was the direct result of the support Al Qaeda received from its material sponsors and supporters, including the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (“the Kingdom” or “Saudi Arabia”). 1 Case 1:16-cv-01944 Document 1 Filed 09/30/16 Page 2 of 54 4. The Kingdom willingly provided material support to Al Qaeda for more than a decade leading up to September 11, 2001 with knowledge of Al Qaeda’s intent to conduct terrorist attacks against the United States, and an awareness that Al Qaeda would use the support provided by the Kingdom to achieve that objective. -
Perspectives on Terrorism, Volume 8, Issue 1
PERSPECTIVES ON TERRORISM Volume 8, Issue 1 Table of Contents Welcome from the Editors 1 I. Articles Perspectives on Counterterrorism: From Stovepipes to a Comprehensive Approach 2 by Ronald Crelinsten Analysing Terrorism from a Systems Tinking Perspective 16 by Lukas Schoenenberger, Andrea Schenker-Wicki and Mathias Beck Evidence-Based Counterterrorism or Flying Blind? How to Understand and Achieve What Works 37 by Rebecca Freese Discovering bin-Laden’s Replacement in al-Qaeda, using Social Network Analysis: A Methodological Investigation 57 by Edith Wu, Rebecca Carleton, and Garth Davies II. Research Notes Boko Haram’s International Reach 74 by Ely Karmon III. Resources Bibliography: Non-English Academic Dissertations on Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism 84 by Eric Price Bibliography: Terrorism Research Literature (Part 1) 99 by Judith Tinnes IV. Book Reviews “Counterterrorism Bookshelf” – 23 Books on Terrorism & Counter-terrorism Related Subjects 133 by Joshua Sinai V. Op-Ed A Primer to the Sunni-Shia Confict 142 by Philipp Holtmann VI. News from TRI’s Country Networks of PhD Tesis Writers i February 2014 PERSPECTIVES ON TERRORISM Volume 8, Issue 1 Spain and Brazil 146 VII. Notes from the Editors About Perspectives on Terrorism 149 ii February 2014 PERSPECTIVES ON TERRORISM Volume 8, Issue 1 Welcome from the Editors Dear Reader, We are pleased to announce the release of Volume VIII, Issue 1 (February 2014) of Perspectives on Terrorism at www.terrorismanalysts.com. Our free online journal is a joint publication of theTerrorism Research Initiative (TRI), headquartered in Vienna, and the Center for Terrorism and Security Studies (CTSS), headquartered at the University of Massachusetts’ Lowell campus. -
The 9/11 Commission Report
Final 5-7.5pp 7/17/04 11:46 AM Page 145 5 AL QAEDA AIMS AT THE AMERICAN HOMELAND 5.1 TERRORIST ENTREPRENEURS By early 1999, al Qaeda was already a potent adversary of the United States. Bin Ladin and his chief of operations, Abu Hafs al Masri, also known as Mohammed Atef, occupied undisputed leadership positions atop al Qaeda’s organizational structure. Within this structure, al Qaeda’s worldwide terrorist operations relied heavily on the ideas and work of enterprising and strong- willed field commanders who enjoyed considerable autonomy.To understand how the organization actually worked and to introduce the origins of the 9/11 plot,we briefly examine three of these subordinate commanders:Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (KSM), Riduan Isamuddin (better known as Hambali), and Abd al Rahim al Nashiri. We will devote the most attention to Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the chief manager of the “planes operation.” Khalid Sheikh Mohammed No one exemplifies the model of the terrorist entrepreneur more clearly than Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the principal architect of the 9/11 attacks. KSM followed a rather tortuous path to his eventual membership in al Qaeda.1 Highly educated and equally comfortable in a government office or a terror- ist safehouse, KSM applied his imagination, technical aptitude, and managerial skills to hatching and planning an extraordinary array of terrorist schemes. These ideas included conventional car bombing, political assassination, aircraft bombing, hijacking, reservoir poisoning, and, ultimately, the use of aircraft as missiles guided by suicide operatives. Like his nephew Ramzi Yousef (three years KSM’s junior), KSM grew up in Kuwait but traces his ethnic lineage to the Baluchistan region straddling Iran and Pakistan.Raised in a religious family,KSM claims to have joined the Mus- lim Brotherhood at age 16 and to have become enamored of violent jihad at youth camps in the desert. -
H /C-F2-.. 04Rj/7~Oa ,',-:,
9/11 Working-level Employee \:::':";;;;::::: . COMMISSION SENSITIVE H /C-f2-.. 04rJ/7~oa ,',-:, -. UNCLASSIFIED '; ...\.....•\........... <:" •• MEMORANDUM FOR THE RECORD • ' -, , ' :- . , ',", ~ . ~··E~~~t:I~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~tDulles -. Intel71ati.~n~.1Ai~ort Type: Interview. pre;;~t~dbY:'!prn;R~ldt SpecialAccess Is~(Ie~ :N,,~e> Teams: 7 "..\ Dat·~.:January 1"9, 2004 and Pt¢ruary"lQ, '2'004 \. -. ',',', participts (nont~QmmiSSiOn): ·Phone Interview'[ .. ~~ ....I~~d..~~~ ...ITrip to Dulles. and' '.. ' ..... Participants (Commission): Lisa Sullivan.John RaidL ... Location: The interview was conducted by co~fe.rence call'>Ms. Sullivan and Mr. Raidt hosted the cal1 from the commission's GSA office'.,1 la~'~ ~a1led from their office at Dulles International Airport. '\ The interview was followed by a 2-10-04 site visit to the Dulles west checkpoint to show • Dpictures of the hijackers and to get a visual impression of the door where the confrontation occurred. John Raidt and Lisa Sullivan were joined by Commission staff members John Tamm and Marco Cordero for the trip to Dulles. Background • COMMISSION SENSITIVE UNCLASSIFIED COMMISSION SENSITIVE UNCLASSIFIED • Reason for Interview [U] Commission staff contacte4 Ifor an interview based on information he had provided to law enforcement r~garding an incident he witnessed on the evening of 9/1 0/2001 at Dulles. " Incident [U1 lindicated that around 8 p.m. on September 10, he was supervising the west checkpoint in the main terminal of Dulles when he saw four Middle Eastern men trying to enter a side door at the west checkpoint. Use of the door was restricted to Law Enforcement Officers ~LEO's) and government officials. nJ]The uniformed nr~n were wearing green Dulles Airport 10 badges imprinted with an '1A" that designatedpeople who work on the ramps. -
Appendix B: Table of Names
Final Appen.4pp 7/17/04 4:21 PM Page 431 APPENDIX B TABLE OF NAMES U.S. OFFICIALS Madeleine Albright Secretary of State, 1997–2001- Charles Allen Assistant Director of Central Intelligence for Col- lection, 1998– Richard Armitage Deputy Secretary of State, 2001– Larry Arnold Commander, First Air Force and Commander of the Continental U.S. North American Aero space Defense Command (NORAD) Region, 1997–2002 John Ashcroft Attorney General, 2001– Monte Belger Acting Deputy Administrator, Federal Aviation Administration 1997–2002 Samuel “Sandy” Berger National Security Advisor, 1997–2001; Deputy National Security Advisor 1993–1997 J. Cofer Black Director, DCI Counterterrorist Center, 1999–2002 Joshua Bolten White House Deputy Chief of Staff, 2001–2003 Robert “Bear” Bryant Deputy Director, Federal Bureau of Investigation, 1997–1999 George H.W. Bush 41st President of the United States, 1989–1993; Vice President, 1981–1989 George W. Bush 43rd President of the United States, 2001– Andrew Card, Jr. White House Chief of Staff, 2001– Richard B. Cheney Vice President of the United States, 2001– Richard Clarke National Counterterrorism Coordinator, NSC, 1997–2001 William J. Clinton 42nd President of the United States, 1993–2001 William Cohen Secretary of Defense, 1997–2001 431 Final Appen.4pp 7/17/04 4:21 PM Page 432 432 APPENDIX Roger Cressey NSC counterterrorism official, 1999–2001 Ralph Eberhart Commander in Chief, NORAD and U.S. Space Command, 2000– Tommy Franks Commander, U.S. Central Command (CENT COM), 2001–2003 Louis Freeh Director,Federal Bureau of Investigation,1993–2001 Scott Fry Director of Operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, 1998–2000 Jane Garvey Administrator, Federal Aviation Administration, 1997–2002 Newt Gingrich Speaker of the House, 1995–1999 Rudolph Giuliani Mayor, City of New York, 1994–2001 John Gordon Deputy Director of Central Intelligence, 1997–2000 Al Gore, Jr.