Live Thread - September 11 Commission, Day 2, Wednesday, March 24, 2004

CSPAN 3 seems to be the only CSPAN covering this in various formats. http://www.c-span.org/watch/index.asp?Cat=TV&Code=CS3&ShowVidDays=30&ShowVidDesc=

Also CBS webfeed opens Real Player. http://cgi.cbs.com/video/video.pl?url=/broadcast/*/livenews.rm&plugin=1&proto=rtsp

It wasn't just the USS Cole...

There was the USS The Sullivans Plot which came before...

****(Note that at one of Hussein's birthday celebrations the 'entertainment' was, according to an Iraqi military officer who later defected, a demonstration of an attack on a replica of a US ship)****

APRIL 1998 : (AL QAEDA DELEGATION ATTENDS HUSSEIN'S BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS, WHERE ARRANGEMENTS WERE MADE TO HAVE IRAQ TRAIN BIN LADEN RECRUITS; THESE RECRUITS FOUND THEMSELVES UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF UDAY; BIN LADEN WOULD REPAY THE REGIME BY DISPATCHING 400 'AFGHAN ARABS' aka MUJAHADEEN, TO FIGHT ANTI-REGIME KURDS IN IRAQ) That [Ayman Zawahiri's dinner with Iraqi VP Taha Yasin Ramadan in early 1998] was such a success that a delegation from al-Qaeda attended Saddam’s birthday celebrations that April, and it was during this trip that arrangements were made for bin Laden recruits to receive the sort of advanced weapons training they could not get in their camps in Afghanistan. The hand-picked bin Laden agents found themselves under the supervision of Saddam’s violent son, Uday, who wanted to conscript some of bin Laden’s skilled fighters into his own militia. Bin Laden reciprocated by dispatching “400 Afghan Arabs” to Iraq to fight Kurds. - "Hijacker 'given anthrax flask by Iraqi agent'," by DANIEL MCGRORY, The London Times, SATURDAY OCTOBER 27 2001, Additional reporting by Roger Boyes in Berlin; Richard Owen in Rome and Andrew Finkel in Istanbul

APRIL 21 - MAY 1, 1998 : (IRAQ : AL QAEDA COMMANDERS ABU-ISLAM & QASSIM VISIT SADDAM HUSSEIN'S SON QUSAY IN BAGHDAD) Two of bin-Laden’s senior military commanders, Muhammad Abu-Islam and Abdallah Qassim visited Baghdad for discussions with Saddam Hussein’s son – Qusay Hussein – the “czar” of all Iraqi intelligence matters in this period. -Youssef Bodansky, “Bin Laden; The Man Who Declared War on America,” Prima Publishing, Roseville, CA, 2001, page 324

APRIL 25 - MAY 1, 1998 : (AL QAEDA'S ABU-ISLAM & QASSIM MEET WITH QUSAY HUSSEIN IN IRAQ; ALSO IRAQI AGENTS MET WITH AL QAEDA IN AFGHANISTAN) Between April 25 and May 1, 1998, two of bin Laden’s senior military commanders, Muhammad Abu-Islam and Abdullah Qassim, visited Baghdad for discussions with Saddam Hussein’s son -- Qusay Hussein -- the “czar” of Iraqi intelligence. Qusay Hussein’s participation in those meetings highlights the importance of the talks in both symbolic and practical terms. Upon information and belief, as a direct result of these meetings, Iraq again made commitments to provide training, intelligence, clandestine Saudi border crossings, financial support and weapons and explosives to al Qaeda. Iraqi intelligence officials met with bin Laden in Afghanistan several more times. A second group of bin Laden and al Qaeda operatives from Saudi Arabia were then trained by Iraqi intelligence in Iraq to smuggle weapons and explosives into Saudi Arabia and other countries, which they later accomplished in an effort to carry out future terrorist acts of violence. - Findlaw, Ashton, et al. v. al Qaeda

MAY 1998 : (IRAQ, CYNTHIA MCKINNEY, KHALED ELGINDY, AAI, IRAQ TRIP) Khaled Elgindy joins a delegation of Arab-American activists on a humanitarian mission to Iraq and to observe the effects of sanctions first hand. Khaled previously served as Press Secretary to Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney (D-GA), who at the time became the first member of Congress to oppose military action against Iraq and has since called for the lifting of sanctions against the Iraqi people. Khaled Elgindy is in 2002, the National Coordinator for Political Action at the Arab American Institute in Washington, DC. Khaled represents AAI on a number of national coalitions, including the National Iraq Network, and is responsible for mobilizing Arab-American action on various legislative issues.e has a master's degree from Georgetown University's school of foreign service and a bachelor's degree in Poli-Sci from Indiana U. May be relative of Amr I. ``Tony'' Elgindy, arrested on charges related to stock dealing around 9/11/2002

MAY 1, 1998 : (IRAQ THREATENS "GRAVE CONSEQUENCES" IF SANCTIONS ARE NOT LIFTED) In an open letter to the Security Council, Iraq warns of grave consequences if UN sanctions against it are not lifted. - TIMELINE OF THE IRAQI CRISIS 1997-1998

AUGUST 27, 1999 : (TANZANIA HANDS 14 FOREIGNERS, INCLUDING FIVE IRAQIS, OVER TO IMMIGRATION AUTHORITIES AFTER BOMBING INVESTIGATION) DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania - Tanzania has expelled 14 foreigners questioned in last month's bombing of the U.S. Embassy.Five Iraqis, five Sudanese, two Libyans, one Turk and another person whose nationality was not given were handed over by police to immigration authorities on Aug. 27 for expulsion, Immigration Department spokesman Herbert Chilambo said Thursday.''Lack of direct evidence to connect them to the bomb attack at the U.S. Embassy in the city was a major reason for their release,'' Chilambo said. He said the five Iraqis were sent to Iraq on Sept. 9 and 10, and three Sudanese, two Libyans, a Turk and the person of unidentified nationality were expelled Sept. 12. He said two Sudanese remained in his department's custody pending investigation to determine whether they will be deported as well. The Aug. 7 blast at the embassy in a residential neighborhood killed 11 people. In neighboring Kenya, an almost simultaneous explosion at the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi killed 247 people, 12 of them Americans. Two men are in custody in the United States in connection with the murder of the 12 Americans in Nairobi, and a third is being sought. Adadi Rajabu, director of the police Criminal Investigations Division and head of the task force looking into the bombing, said police are still holding two principal suspects - a Tanzanian and a foreigner whose nationality he would not reveal. Rajabu said three other people, including the owner of a metal workshop where the explosive device reportedly was attached to a vehicle, were in detention and helping police with the investigation.- "Tanzania expels 14 in bombing probe," AP via USA Today, http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/bomb136.htm.

JANUARY 3, 2000: (YEMEN : USS THE SULLIVANS PLOT : AL-QEADA TRIES& FAILS TO BLOW UP A US DESTROYER WITH A SMALL BOAT FILLED WITH EXPLOSIVES)

JANUARY 2000 : (AFTER AL QAEDA'S PLOT AGAINST THE USS THE SULLIVANS FAILS, ADEL GETS HELP FROM HEZBOLLAH IN PLOT TO ATTACK THE USS COLE) Saif al Adel himself, the officials said, got help from the Iranian-backed Hezbollah after a suicide boat attack against the U.S. Navy destroyer The Sullivans went awry in Yemen in January 2000. Armed with new plastic explosives and a better bomb design, al-Qaida attacked the USS Cole in Yemen that October, killing 17 Americans. - "U.S. checking whether Saudi bombings were planned in Iran," By JOHN WALCOTT, Knight Ridder Newspapers via The Mercury News, Posted on Wed, May. 14, 2003, http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/news/politics/5861884.htm

JANUARY 5, 2000 : (MALAYSIA TERROR SUMMIT) Some key terrorist fugitives appear to have had a hand in both the bombing of the USS Cole in Yemen and the September 11 attacks. Investigators are particularly interested in a meeting that took place in Malaysia on January 5, 2000. The list of attendees included Tawfiq bin Atash (a.k.a. Khallad) and Fahad al-Quso, both of whom helped plan the Cole attack. Also present were Khalid Almihdhar and Nawaf Alhazmi, two of the September 11 hijackers, and Ramzi Binalshibh (a.k.a. Ramzi Omar), who may have been the phantom "20th hijacker" who couldn't get the U.S. prior to Sept. 11 because of visa problems. Newsweek has learned that when Almihdhar and Alhazmi left Malaysia, they flew directly to Los Angeles, where they quickly enrolled in a San Diego flight school. That leads investigators to believe that at least some of the planning for September 11 took place at the Malaysia meeting. - - "A U.S.-Based Al Qaeda 'Sleeper Cell' Was Poised to Launch a Post-Sept. 11 Attack on a Major Washington Target; Would-Be Terrorists Went Underground or Fled U.S. ," Newsweek, December 9, 2001

JANUARY 2000 : ( MALAYSIA TERROR SUMMIT MONITORED BY MALAYSIAN AGENTS AT US REQUEST INCLUDES MEMBERS OF AL QAEDA HAMBURG CELL & JAMAAH ISLAMIAH, AND AN IRAQI NAMED SHAKIR) A crucial planning meeting for Sept. 11 that was held in January 2000 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. US intelligence officials learned of the meeting before it took place, and Malaysian security agents monitored it at their request. Ramzi bin al-Shibh, one of the suspected Hamburg plotters, had attended that meeting. Shibh's presence would connect the Hamburg group to two other hijackers, Khalid al-Midhar and Nawaq Alhazmi, who took part in the Kuala Lumpur meeting. Midhar and Alhazmi entered the US a few days after the Kuala Lumpur meeting through LA, unlike the members of the Hamburg group, who flew into East Coast cities. (ACCORDING TO LATER INTERVIEW OF GERMAN DIRECTOR KERSTEN OF THE BUNDESKRIMINALAMT IN 2002) - Extracted from "Germans Lay Out Early Qaeda Ties to 9/11 Hijackers, " by DOUGLAS FRANTZ and DESMOND BUTLER, New York Times, August 24, 2002 *
* (MALAYSIA TERROR SUMMIT HOSTED BY JAMAAH ISLAMIAH'S SUFAAT & INCLUDES : 911 HIJACKERS AL-MIDHAR & ALHAZMI, <IRAQI SHAKIR, SENIOR AL QAEDA OFFICIALS ) In January 2000, Khalid Al-Midhar and Nawaq Alhamzi, two hijackers aboard the jet that hit the Pentagon, met with other al-Qaeda members in a condominium in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The operatives included a suspect in the bombing of the USS Cole in Yemen in October 2000. That attack killed 17 U.S. sailors. The meeting was hosted by Sufaat, a member of the militant Muslim group Jemaah Islamiah, which U.S. officials say is linked to Osama bin Laden. Soon after the meeting, Al-Midhar and Alhamzi entered the USA and enrolled at a flight school in San Diego.- "Malaysia site of Sept. 11 plotting, FBI report says." By Jack Kelley, USA TODYusat-malaysia.htm *
* (MALAYSIA HIJACKERS, ALMIHDHAR, MILLENIUM PLOT) Meeting in Malaysia, probably the hatching point of the 9/11/2002 plot. Two of the 9/11 hijackers, including Almihdhar, met with senior al-Qaida officials who had flown in from Pakistan,a counterterrorism official said. Investigators believe the meeting was called to review failed operations to bomb LA Int'l Airport and targets in Jordan during millennium celebrations, and to plan both the October 2000 attack on the USS Cole in Yemen and the 9/11/2001 attacks in the US. A Saudi analyst said officials in Riyadh believe that bin Laden had a direct role in picking the Saudi hijackers, 11 of whom were recruited into al-Qaida while fighting in Chechnya or Bosnia and came from families and tribal areas that led him to believe they were reliable. *
* (IRAQI AHMAD HIKMAT SHAKIR, MALAYSIA) U.S. officials said Shakir was present at a January 2000 al Qaeda "summit" in Malaysia that was attended by two of the 9/11 hijackers. Authorities believe the summit may have been a planning session for both the October 2000 attack on the USS Cole and 9/11. - "Iraqi a Missing Link," by Aly Sujo, NY Post *
When hijacker Khalid al Midhar arrived in Malaysia in January of 2000 for a meeting of key al Qaeda operatives, he was met at the airport by an Iraqi named Ahmad Shakir, who worked part-time greeting VIPs, a job he got with the help of someone in the Iraqi Embassy. One week later, al Midhar flew to the US, and 18 months later he was aboard the airliner that crashed into the Pentagon. He is considered one of the most important hijackers because he was in charge of the so-called muscle – the young Saudi men responsible for subduing the passengers. - "9/11 Bombshell: New Evidence Of Iraq-Al Qaeda Ties?," by David Martin, CBS News Oct. 1, 2002 David Martin

JANUARY 12, 2000 : (CAYMAN ISLANDS : HELENE BOATNER, RETIRED CIA BUREAUCRAT & SPECIAL ADVISOR TO CLINTON ADMINISTRATION SECRETARY OF STATE MADELINE ALBRIGHT DIES IN SCUBA ACCIDENT) Wallaby, do you have either Washington Post or AP pieces on the January 12, 2000, death of retired CIA executive Helene Boatner? She was supposed to have been a CIA comptroller who ran some covert ops and was last a special advisor to Madeline Albright. - 19 Posted on 01/20/2000 13:58:17 PST by metalbird1*

JANUARY 12, 2000 Wednesday morning : (CAYMAN ISLANDS : RETIRED CIA EXEC BOATNER DIES IN SCUBA ACCIDENT AFTER BOTH SHE AND ANOTHER DIVER GET SEPARATED FROM OTHER DIVERS; CAPTAIN OF DIVE BOAT REPORTED THEM MISSING) An Arlington woman died while scuba diving near Little Cayman Island in the Caribbean, authorities said yesterday. Helene Boatner, 65, a retired Central Intelligence Agency executive who lived in the 2700 block of South Fort Scott Drive, was diving with a group off Little Cayman Island Wednesday morning when she and a fellow diver became separated from the others, said Inspector Burmon Scott, of the Cayman Island police. The captain of the dive boat reported the two missing, Scott said, and about a half-hour later, they were spotted on the beach. Scott said the captain and others tried without success to revive her by administering cardiopulmonary resuscitation. He said the diver who was with her was uninjured. Boatner was a retired senior executive with the CIA, according to a cousin, Mark M. Boatner, who recalled that "she was one of the top women with the CIA when they didn't have many women." Neighbors said she lived alone and described her as a private person who enjoyed gardening. - "Arlington Woman Dies in Scuba Accident," Washington Post Metro Section, page B03, on Friday, Jan. 14, 2000, Metro in Brief
(* Freeper Note : The article, strangely, does not say what the cause of death was. The same article also has a piece on the mysterious resignation of Stanley Sporkin from the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. - 25 Posted on 01/20/2000 17:44:35 PST by aristeides )

JANUARY 14, 2000 : (SENIOR US DISTRICT JUDGE SPORKIN RETIRES; WAS FORMER GENERAL COUNSEL TO THE CIA & ALSO ENFORCEMENT CHIEF OF THE SECURITIES & EXCHANGE COMMISSION) Senior U.S. District Judge Stanley Sporkin is retiring today after 14 years on the federal bench, ending a judicial career in which he won respect from area lawyers, not only for his legal opinions but for the colorful remarks he made in court. Sporkin, 67, was appointed to a federal judgeship in Washington by President Ronald Reagan after working as general counsel to the Central Intelligence Agency and as enforcement chief of the Securities and Exchange Commission. He heard dozens of high-profile matters, including an independent counsel's case against former housing secretary Henry G. Cisneros, who pleaded guilty to a charge of lying to the FBI. Sporkin said he planned to continue working in private practice, adding that he will begin exploring career options. Fellow judges, court employees and attorneys crowded into his courtroom yesterday and gave him a standing ovation as he completed his last scheduled proceedings. Chief Judge Norma Holloway Johnson praised him in court as an exceptional model of judicial independence, fairness, courage and compassion. - "Federal Judge Stanley Sporkin Retires," Washington Post Metro Section, page B03, on Friday, Jan. 14, 2000, Metro in Brief : (* Freep Note : The article [on the death of former CIA exec Boatner] , strangely, does not say what the cause of death was. The same article also has a piece on the mysterious resignation of Stanley Sporkin from the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Sporkin has already proceeded to senior status, becoming a senior judge. I am unaware of any other case of a senior judge leaving a court. - 25 Posted on 01/20/2000 17:44:35 PST by aristeides )

FEBRUARY 2000 : (CHIEF STAFFER OF THE HOUSE PERMANENT SELECT COMMITTEE ON INTELLIGENCE JOHN MILLIS CRITICIZES DEUTCH & CLINTON - IN A FEW MONTHS' TIME HE WOULD END UP DEAD IN A FAIRFAX HOTEL) In February 2000 , Chief Staffer of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, former CIA operations officer John Millis, proclaimed Deutch as the worst CIA director ever. Asked at a public lecture at the Smithsonian , .. Millis said Deutch now takes "first, second and third prize," adding that he did "major damage" to the CIA's Directorate of Operations. On the up side, Millis said Tenet stands a chance of being judged the best DCI, at least in terms of popularity at Langley, where he has done "an unbelievably good job," at boosting morale. Where Tenet hasn't done as well, Millis said, is coordinating with the overall affairs of the 13-agency intelligence community. But Millis blamed that shortcoming on a lack of support by President Clinton, whom Millis ranked as one of the worst Presidents when it comes to support of, and regard for, the intelligence community. - "Back Channels: the Intelligence Community; in a House of Mirrors, a bad Reflection," by Vernon Loeb, Washington Post staff Writer, The Washington Post A Section, pg. A21, The Federal Page, February 18, 2000, Friday, final edition

FEBRUARY 2000 early : (USA : WASHINGTON DC : LAPTOP REPORTED MISSING FROM STATE DEPT BUREAU OF INTELLIGENCE AND RESEARCH OFFICE) The FBI is investigating the disappearance of a State Department laptop computer that contained "highly classified" information. State Department officials said the computer was reported missing from its Bureau of Intelligence and Research offices in early February. State Department spokesman James P. Rubin said Monday that department officials don't know whether the computer was stolen or simply misplaced -- or even if the person who has the computer recognizes what kind of information it contains. Rubin said the State Department is "extremely concerned." The FBI said it was following several leads. - 'Highly classified' State Department computer missing," CNN.com - US - 'Highly classified' State Department computer ..., April 17, 2000

***(* My note: You'd think the FOLLOWING info would have been right up "cyberboy" Mr Clarke's alley... but apparently he didn't notice this until it was too late... does he have a record of informing Bush of these events or did he not notice them?)****

MARCH - JULY 2000 roughly, summer, approx 15 to 18 months before Sept 11, 2001 attacks on NY & DC : (PECULIAR WEB DOMAINS REGISTERED) CNSNews.com and ABC News both reported that some domain names which had been previously registered may hold possible clues about the attacks on the World Trade Center. Dr. Neil Livingstone, the CEO of Global Options, LLC, a Washington, DC based counter-terrorism and investigations company, said that the domain names in question were registered between 15 and 18 months ago, and allowed to expire before the attack (as such, a whois search done now will not show meaningful information for these domains). VeriSign, a company that is involved in domain registrations, has the information archived, so it can be retrieved by federal investigators.
According to Livingstone, the addresses include:
"august11horror.com"
"august11terror.com"
"horrorinamerica.com"
"horrorinnewyork.com"
"nycterroriststrike.com"
"pearlharborinmanhattan.com"
"terrorattack2001.com"
"towerofhorror.com"
"tradetowerstrike.com"
"worldtradecenter929.com"
"worldtradetowerattack.com"
"worldtradetowerstrike.com"
"wterroristattack2001.com"
Of particular interest, given the link between Ramsey Clark and associates of Bin Laden, and the fact that Ramsey's groups have been organizing protests to be conducted on September 29th long before the attacks, is the domain name "worldtradecenter929.com". Could there be a connection? Could one possible plan have been to have the World Trade Center attack happen in concert with the protests?
- "September 29," by Gerry Daly, Daly's News Online, September 26, 2001 via FR post on 09/26/2001 1:28 PM PDT by Hugh Akston

2000 spring : (911 HIJACKERS JARRAH & AL-SHEHHI MET WITH IRAQI INTELLIGENCE AGENTS) According to U.S. and foreign intelligence officials, in the spring of 2000, Iraqi intelligence agents met with September 11 th pilot hijackers Zaid Samir Jarrah and Marwan al-Shehhi in Dubai, UAE in order to advance the hijacking of U.S. aircraft to commit terrorist acts. Not long after the meeting, al-Shehhi entered the United States on May 29 and Jarrah entered on June 27, to begin preparations for attacks. - Findlaw, Ashton, et al. v. al Qaeda

MAY 2000 : (NORTHERN IRAQ : SHIHAB CAPTURED : SAYS IRAQ PLANNED TO BLOW UP US SHIPS IN THE PERSIAN GULF IN EARLY 2001) Muhammad Mansour Shihab, an operative in Al-Qa'ida, who was captured in northern Iraq in May 2000 and is now detained by a Kurdish Iraqi opposition faction. ...I. Iraqi Plans to Blow Up American Naval Ships Revealed The Saudi daily Al-Watan published an interview with Muhammad Mansour Shihab, an operative in Al-Qa'ida, who was captured in northern Iraq in May 2000 and is now detained by a Kurdish Iraqi opposition faction. By his own admission, he worked for Al-Qa'ida in the late 1990s and smuggled weapons to Iraq via Iran. He revealed that "the Iraqi regime planned to attack American ships in the Arabian Gulf [Persian Gulf] at the beginning of 2001. The plan was to load half a ton of explosives aboard a commercial ship operated by a crew of suicide sailors." "The ship," according to him, "was to sail under the Iranian flag in order to conceal Iraq's role in the operation." He also revealed that "$16 million were allocated to carry out the first of nine planned operations, some of them in Kuwait…" [Shihab goes on to relate details of the operations and implicates two of Saddam Hussein's cousins in the planning…] [1]" - "Iraq Planned to Blow-Up American Ships in 2001 ," Al-Watan Daily, May 2002 via MEMRI.org - MIDDLE EAST MEDIA RESEARCH INSTITUTE: "IRAQ NEWS WIRE No.3" May 18, 2002 http://memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=countries&Area=iraq&ID=INW302

MAY 2000 : (IAEA DISCOVERS IRAQI CENTRIFUGE) The IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency, which also carried out inspections on Iraq until Dec 1998) discovered and destroyed an Iraqi nuclear centrifuge which had been stored in Jordan.- Iraq - Scotsman says Saddam has weapons to wipe out world's population, nuclear bomb within 3 years "The Scotsman dossier - SPECIAL REPORT ON IRAQ" by Fraser Nelson, Westminster Editor

JUNE 2000 : (BOSTON, MA : AL AMOUDI DONATES $50,000 TO HILLARY CLINTON'S SENATE CAMPAIGN - SEE ALSO VA JIHAD NETWORK/PAINTBALL CELL) Mr. al-Amoudi, who defended Hamas during a visit to the Clinton White House, donated $50,000 to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's Senate campaign during a June 2000 fund-raiser in Boston. The donation, which later was returned, initially was listed by the Clinton campaign as having come from the American Muslim Council, although that later was described as a typographical error.- "American Muslim leader arrested ," by Jerry Seper, Washington Times, 9/30/03

JUNE 2000 : (USA : BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS : ALAMOUDI DONATES $50,000 TO HILLARY CLINTON AT FUNDRAISER) Abdurahman Alamoudi, a prominent member of the American Muslim Council, ... presented a $50,000 check to Mrs. Clinton at a June 2000 fundraiser in Boston.Alamoudi also personally donated $1,000 to Mrs. Clinton. Her campaign camouflaged the donations in Federal Election Commission filings as coming from "the American Museum Council," but later said the mistake was a typo. - "Hillary Donor, Terrorist Sympathizer, Arrested," Monday Sept. 29, 2003; 12:07 p.m. EDT

JUNE 2000: (ATTA, JARRAH & AL-SHEHHI COME TO THE US TO ENROLL IN FLIGHT SCHOOL) Atta, Shehhi and Jarrah came to the US in June and enrolled in flight schools in FL.- Extracted from "Germans Lay Out Early Qaeda Ties to 9/11 Hijackers, " by DOUGLAS FRANTZ and DESMOND BUTLER, New York Times, August 24, 2002

JUNE 6, 2000 Sunday : (USA : STAFF DIRECTOR OF THE HOUSE PERMANENT SELECT COMMITTEE ON INTELIGENCE & CLINTON/DEUTCH CRITIC JOHN MILLIS FOUND DEAD) John I. Millis, staff director of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and a former CIA operations officer, was found dead Sunday night of an apparent gunshot wound in a Fairfax City motel. City police found Millis, 47, in aroom at theBreezeway Motel, 10829 Lee highway, after receiving a report that a guest there was threatening suicide. Officers tried and failed to contact the room's occupant by telephone before entering and finding his body in the bathroom. - "Intelligence Staffer Dies; Former CIA Officer 's Body Found in Motel," The Washington Post A Section; pg. A10, June 6, Tuesday, final edition

JUNE 23, 2000 : (FROZEN IRANIAN ASSTS, ANTITERRORISM LAW ISSUE : US TREASURT DEPT DESTROYS LICENSING RECORDS ON IRANIAN ASSETS HELD IN THE US) The Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control, which is responsible for Iran's blocked assets in the US, admitted in response to a subpoena from the families of terror victims that it had destroyed an estimated 800 - 900 licensing records related to Iran's assets during an office move beginning this April [2000.] Some of the records dated from 1979 and had been stored since then without incident. -"Clinton, Iran Plan Election-Eve Coup : Secret talks Aimed at Deal to Boost Gore Vote, Legacy," by Kenneth R. Timmerman, , Western Journalism Center, via WorldNetDaily.com, Monday, September 25, 2000

2000 : (FROZEN IRANIAN ASSTS, ANTITERRORISM LAW ISSUE : SEC OF STATE ALBRIGHT THREATENS CLINTON ADMINISTRATION VETO OF THE BUDGET TO PREVENT ANTITERRORISM PROVISION FROM PASSING) Secretary of State Madelaine Albright has personally called several members of the House-Senate Conference Committee, threatening to have President Clinton veto the entire budget just before the elections to keep the anti-terrorism provision [a bill is now pending [in 2000] in congress which would force the Clinton Administration to turn over Iranian government assets to the families.] from becoming law, according to congressional aides.-"Clinton, Iran Plan Election-Eve Coup : Secret talks Aimed at Deal to Boost Gore Vote, Legacy," by Kenneth R. Timmerman, , Western Journalism Center, via WorldNetDaily.com, Monday, September 25, 2000

******(* My note: funny how the press hardly ever mentions- this is the only example I know of so far- what the USS Cole was on its way to do when it was hit...:)

2000 : (YEMEN : USS COLE IS BOMBED ON ITS WAY TO ENFORCE EMBARGO ON IRAQ) Al-Qaeda strikes in Aden : Terrorists attack the USS Cole on its way to enforce the embargo on Iraq, as it lies in harbour at Aden in Yemen. At least 17 servicemen are killed. Al-Qaeda operatives later confirm their involvement - "The path to war timeline: Saddam's 24 bloody years in power," Special Reports, The Observer Sunday March 16, 2003

OCTOBER 12, 2000 : (USS COLE BOMBING, YEMEN, EAST AFRICAN US EMBASSY BOMBINGS, Al'OWALI) Suicide bombers used a shaped charge mounted on a skiff to kill 17 US sailors and wound 39 others aboard the USS Cole while at port in Aden, Yemen. The USS Cole (DDG 67) was hit on port side near forward stack by an explosive-laden suicide boat while refueling, Aden, Yemen. As with other high profile bombings, the attack on the Cole will presumably lead to copycat attacks.
USS Cole was refueling in the Yemeni port of Aden when a small harbor skiff pulled alongside it and detonated explosives, killing 17 sailors, injuring 39 or 40 others. Several of the perpetrators of the Cole attack (mostly Yemenis or Saudis) were trained at Usama bin Laden's camps in Afghanistan. Al 'Owali (a surviving terrorist of the Nairobi US embassy bombing) has identified the two commanders of the attack on the USS Cole as having participated in the planning and preparation of the East African US embassy bombings.

OCTOBER 16, 2000 : (STATE DEPARTMENT MEMO PLACES USS COLE SAILORS SECOND TO PALESTINIAN DEATHS DUE TO THE PALESTINIAN TERRORIST INTIFADAH) The United States State Department believes the "17 or so dead sailors" on the U.S.S. Cole "does not compare to the 100+ Palestinians who have died in recent weeks" in Mideast violence, a stunning government memo reveals. The Clinton/Gore Administration disapproved a VOICE OF AMERICA broadcast condemning the attack on the Cole. A memo from the Executive Secretariat Staff at the State Department stated:

"The Department of State does not clear on the referenced VOA editorial. This editorial will reach an audience that is caught up in the violence in Israel and the Occupied Territories. The 17 or so dead sailors does not compare to the 100+ Palestinians who have died in recent weeks where we have remained silent. The people that hear this will not see the separation we are trying to make and relate it directly to the violence. Either VOA adds something in there to take the edge off and mention the Palestinians or we should kill this editorial until the violence has calmed for a while. S/CT [Secy. for counterterrorism] concurred with this. If you have questions concerning this editorial, please contact NEA/P (unintelligible)
FROM: Swadia Sarkis, Interagency Coordinator
TO: Voice of America (VOA), Office of Policy
RE: VOA Editorial: Terrorism Will Fail
OCTOBER 16, 2000

-"STATE DEPT MEMO: DEATH OF US SAILORS DOES NOT COMPARE TO PALESTINIAN TOLL," by Matt Drudge, DRUDGE REPORT, TUE OCT 17, 2000 20:03:41 ET http://www.drudgereport.com

OCTOBER 17, 2000 : (EGYPT : CLINTON ATTENDS SUMMIT AT SHARM EL-SHEIKH RESORT) US President Bill Clinton presides over a summit at the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh which announces plans to bring to an end weeks of Palestinian-Israeli violence. The plan unravels soon after it is agreed. - "History of Middle East conflict," BBC News, Feb 7, 2001

NOVEMBER 2000 : (US ELECTION, GORE WAR) US presidency hangs in the balance after Al Gore contests W. Bush's narrow margin of victory in a trio of south Florida counties in what would come to be known as the "Gore War." The turmoil would continue through 2001 and even delay the critical US presidential transition.

DECEMBER 30, 2000 : (CUBA : WASP NETWORK : CUBAN SPY ALONSO REVEALS THAT CUBA SOUGHT TO SMUGGLE AGENTS/TERRORISTS, EXPLOSIVES & ARMS INTO THE US : HAVANA INSTRUCTED HIM TO LOCATE AREAS IN S FLORIDA SUITABLE FOR MOVING PEOPLE, ARMS AND EXPLOSIVES) During the trial of several Cuban spies in Miami, one of the accused Alejandro Alonso revealed on December 30, 2000 that he was instructed from Havana to locate areas in South Florida "where we can move persons as well as things, including arms and explosives." - "CASTRO AND THE INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM, A CHRONOLOGY," by Eugene Pons with a foreword by Jaime Suchlicki, Institute for Cuban & Cuban-American Studies, Occasional Paper Series, September 2001

2000 New Year's Eve : (CLINTON SIGNS THE ICC, IN A LAST MINUTE ATTEMPT TO WEAKEN US SOVEREIGNITY) One of President Clinton's last official acts was his New Year's Eve signing of the International Criminal Court Treaty, but the U.S. Senate never ratified it. Current President Bush courageously stood up for U.S. sovereignty when he took the unprecedented step of "unsigning" the treaty. - "Tiny Belgium makes big mistake in challenging U.S. sovereignty," by Phyllis Schlafly, townhall.com , June 23, 2003

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