Michael Scheuer, former head of the CIA’s Bin Laden unit, reveals how the Bush and Clinton administrations repeatedly failed to act on Al-Qaeda. Despite multiple clear warnings, they slashed counterterrorism funding and called off numerous chances to take out Bin Laden—decisions that led directly to 9/11. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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The Bush administration did everything it possibly could to undermine an actual investigation into what happened on September 11th. But why? What were they trying to hide?
There's an old saying in Tennessee, I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee, that says, fool me once, shame on you.
They fooled me. We can't get fooled again. Well, for one thing, the United States had incredible intelligence on bin Laden and his plans. Precise intelligence. Actionable intelligence. On August 6, 2001, President Bush received a presidential daily briefing. Its title, literally, Bin Laden Determined to Strike in U.S., It continued, Al Qaeda members, including some who are U.S.
citizens, have resided in or traveled to the U.S. for years, and the group apparently maintains a support structure that could aid attacks. And then it added this, FBI information indicates patterns of suspicious activity consistent with preparations for hijacking. Bin Laden was mentioned no fewer than 40 times in the president's daily intelligence briefing.
CIA Director George Tenet said that in the summer of 2001, quote, the system was blinking red. So how far-fetched was it that al-Qaeda might hijack airplanes and fly them into buildings? Not very far-fetched, it turns out. In May 2001, an intelligence report concluded this. Operatives may hijack airplanes, end quote.
The FAA issued a circular to airlines warning of heightened increase in hijackings. And then in July of 2001, the FAA issued another circular, this one noting that, quote, currently active terror groups were known to plan and train for hijackings and were able to build and conceal explosives and luggage.
Between 1999 and 2001, NORAD, which defends North American airspace, simulated a foreign hijacked airliner crashing into a building in the United States as part of a training exercise. And they were not alone. The National Reconnaissance Office,
a little-known intelligence agency that runs our spy satellites and remote-controlled surveillance planes, was planning an exercise in which an errant aircraft would crash into one of its buildings. That exercise was on September 11th, 2001, and planned to take place just a couple of miles from Dulles Airport.
That's where the American Airlines flight number 77 had taken off before it crashed into the Pentagon. In other words, the idea of al-Qaeda hijacking an airplane and flying into a building was entirely plausible before 9-11. Officials knew it could happen, and there were other signs as well.
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