Did Israeli Intelligence know about the September 11 attack beforehand?

Foxnews | December 11, 2001

[Heisenburger]

The Foxnews ticker at the bottom of the screen is reporting that Israeli intelligence may have known about the September 11 attacks beforehand and yet didn't tell the U.S. Anyone have a link to this story so I can peruse it myself? I seriously doubt the legitimacy of the claim, but I would have to withhold judgment until I read the story itself.

[Heisenburger]

Thanks.

[esther2]

Don't know about a link, but there was a story about it on Brit Hume's show. Said the Israelis have quite an intelligence operation going on here in the USA. I think it repeats at midnight EST.

[Heisenburger]

Said the Israelis have quite an intelligence operation going on here in the USA.

I'm sure we have quite an intelligence operation going on there, but if we had info on an incoming attack, we would have told them. If true, I find this particularly disturbing. Its rather personal: I am a huge supporter of Israel and often find myself arguing that the U.S. should allow them to kill Arafat. If the report is true, it would be a definite stab in the back.

[esther2]

Oh, I totally agree. I forget which reporter did the story, but he referenced Israel's "survival instinct." Well, okay, fine. We ARM them and give them aid so they can survive. Not to mention how many times we've up for them at the UN. I'm sure it's been a topic of discussion.

[tsomer]

Hmmmm... Interference.

Disinformation.

Is James Carville working for Al-Qaeda now?

[esther2]

Maybe the Ragin' Cajun is working for Osama, but the story was also talking about the 60 Israelis that have been arrested. Apparently that's how the FBI figured this out.

[mjp]

link here

Israeli security issued urgent warning to CIA of large-scale terror attacks

By David Wastell in Washington and Philip Jacobson in Jerusalem

(Filed: 16/09/2001)

ISRAELI intelligence officials say that they warned their counterparts in the United States last month that large-scale terrorist attacks on highly visible targets on the American mainland were imminent.

The attacks on the World Trade Centre's twin towers and the Pentagon were humiliating blows to the intelligence services, which failed to foresee them, and to the defence forces of the most powerful nation in the world, which failed to deflect them.

The Telegraph has learnt that two senior experts with Mossad, the Israeli military intelligence service, were sent to Washington in August to alert the CIA and FBI to the existence of a cell of as many of 200 terrorists said to be preparing a big operation.

"They had no specific information about what was being planned but linked the plot to Osama bin Laden and told the Americans that there were strong grounds for suspecting Iraqi involvement," said a senior Israeli security official.

The CIA has said that it had no hard information that would have led to the prevention of the hijacking, but the FBI said it believed that cells operating within America and totalling at least 50 terrorists were behind last week's devastating hijacks; the names of new suspects are being added to the list daily.

America's intelligence agencies are being widely blamed for their failure to predict the attacks, or anything like them, and for not discovering any of the terrorist cells before the hijackings on Tuesday. Some of those who took part had lived in the US for months, or even years.

Evidence that a clear Israeli warning was delivered to American authorities, but ignored, would be a further blow to the reputation of the CIA, which is under fire for its failure last week.

An administration official in Washington said: "If this is true then the refusal to take it seriously will mean heads will roll. It is quite credible that the CIA might not heed a Mossad warning: it has a history of being overcautious about Israeli information."

[muawiyah]

Not sure what the "news" in that kind of story would be. After all even our intelligence people knew about the 9/11 attack several years in advance. It was all laid out in the trial of the terrorists who tried to blow up the WTC.

I mean - hey - this is NOT NEW!

The message was ignored by Bill Clinton and his fellow Clintonistas. They thought they'd solved the problem by blowing up an aspirin factory in Sudan.

Unfortunately that didn't quite work.

[Edmund Burke]

Is it true that Cantor stayed home from work that day while Fitzgerald showed up at the office as usual? Who tipped him off?

[RedBloodedAmerican]

DUH where have you been? The Mossad warned clinton's cabinet and Billy the bomber. He blew them off. Go look at some links on my profile page.

[bribriagain]

The reporter was Jim Angle. And the report was that Israeli intelligence have been monitoring Arab cells within the US for some time; but have not been cooperating with US Intel.

Further, the Fox report stated that a number of Israeli's had been detained.

Does this mean that Fox needs to be banned?

[RedBloodedAmerican]

That's sick.

[Ol' Sparky]

But most an old story because the CIA was tipped off by Israeli intelligence long before the attacks. The CIA ignored or didn't follow through.

[dighton]

Of course, there's a huge difference between "something big and bad will happen soon -- but we're not sure where, in what form and on what date," and "on the morning of 9/11/01, hijacked planes will be flown into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and one unknown target."

Conspiracy fans (and I'm not calling you one) generally can't or won't make that distinction.

[vladog]

My question is would it have made any difference if we had ironclad proof on say 09/05/01 that the event was going to happen? I submit to you no it would not have mattered. Some liberal suck federal judge would have ordered the suspects release. Or ALCU would have filed a friend of the court brief. Given the PC climate in the US pre-09/11/01 I think having the ironclad proof would only have postponed the act.

[Ciexyz]

"The Fox ticker at the bottom of the screen is reporting that Israeli intelligence may have known about the September 11th attacks beforehand and yet didn't tell the U.S."

I don't believe it. I flat out don't believe it.

Thanks to the Freeper who posted in response that Israel did in fact report details in advance about the possibility of a major terrorist operation with links to Osama bin Laden. Too bad the paper pushers at the FBI, CIA etc. let dreams of future promotions and bonuses cloud their judgement.

[Ciexyz]

As for Fox News, what kind of half-baked reporting would announce, "Israeli intelligence *may* have known."

May have known? They either did or they didn't, and where is the proof, and why is the info being broadcast in this irresponsible fashion.

[Heisenburger]

Of course, there's a huge difference between "something big and bad will happen soon -- but we're not sure where, in what form and on what date," and "on the morning of 9/11/01, hijacked planes will be flown into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and one unknown target."

Conspiracy fans (and I'm not calling you one) generally can't or won't make that distinction.

Agreed. I would bet the CIA knew something was going to happen at some point, but had no idea what, when, or where and who was going to be involved. The claim that the CIA knew exactly what was going to happen on September 11 is pure madness. Of course, what can one expect from the same people who claim the U.S. knew Japan was going to attack Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. In that case, like September 11, U.S. intelligence were fairly sure an attack was coming, but they thought the target would be the Phillipines.

[xm177e2]

MYSTERY SOLVED

Israeli intelligence DID know something about the attacks--and they also told the CIA (according to the Jerusalem Post).