Show u? 1 V- i V f AlO — The Herald Journal Logan Utah Sunday April Q 1 !i Nation 11 2004 'v 'v‘ ' I ':V- 5 V V- W1'8' '' wV ? ) ' ' Vr ( V f‘ ' ( :-- - u j i ' y t H being cased by terrorists: The document also said the CIA and FBI were investigating a call to the US embassy in the United Arab Emirates in May 2001 “saying that a group of (Osama) bin Laden supporters was in the US planning attacks with explo- - CRAWFORD Texas (AP) - President Bush was told inorelhan a month before ijic Sept 1 1 attacks that had reached America’s shores had a support system in place for its operaljvcs and that the' T BI had detected suspicious activity that might involve a t hijacking plot Since 1998 the FBI had ' observed “patterns of suspi- cious activity in this country t consistent with preparations ' for hijackings or other types of attacks” according to a memo prepared for Bush and -‘- ! sives” The commission investigat-ick- s asked ing the Sept the White House to declassify the document at iir meeting Thursday It is significant because Bush read it so it offers a window on what Bush and his top aides knew about the threat of a terrorist strike The PDB made plain that bin Laden had been scheming to strike the United States for at least six years it warned of indications from a broad array of sources spanning several years Democratic commissioner Bob Kerrey a former senator 1 1 declassified Saturday White House aides and outside experts said they could not recall a sitting president publicly releasing the highly sensitive document known as a PDB for presidential daily briefing The Aug 6 2001 PDB referred to evidence of buildings in New York possibly ’ The memoXfull text ' The text of a declassified presi- dential daily intelligence briefing from Aug 6 2001 made public On Saturday by the While House Portions marked "x" ware blacked out before release Bin Ladin Determined to Strike In US Clandestine foreign govem--ment and media reports indicate Bin Ladin since 1 997 has wanted to conduct terrorist attacks in the US Bin Ladin implied in US television inter- views in 1997 and 1998 that his followers would follow the example of World Trade Center ' bomber Ramzi Yousef and "bring the fighting to America! After US missile strikes on his base in Afghanistan in 1 998 Bin Ladin told followers he wanted to retaliate in Washington : according to xxxxxxxxxxx ser-- vice An Egyptian Islamic Jihad (EU) operative told an xxxxxxxxxx service at the same time that Bin Ladin was planning to exploit the operative's tocess to the US to mount a terrorist strike The millennium plotting in Canada in 1999 may have been ' part of Bin Ladin's first serious attempt to implement a terrorist ' strike in the US Convicted plot-tAhmed Ressarh has told the FBI that he conceived the idea to attack Los Angeles' Interna' tional Airport himtelf but that ' Bin Ladin lieutenant Abu Zubay- dab encouraged him and helped facilitate fre operation Ressam ’ also said that in 1 998 Abu Zubaydah was planning his own US attack Ressam says Bin Ladin was aware ofthe Los Angeles opera- - ' -- er ' tion Although Bin Ladin has not his' attacks against the US Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998 demonstrate that he prepares operations yearti in advance and is not deterred by setbacks Bin Ladin associates surveilled our Embassies in Nairobi arid Dar es Salaam as eariy as 1 993 ' T arid some'members of trie Nairobi cell planning the bomb- : ings wbre arrested and deported — in1997‘Ai-Qa'id- a members including some who are US citi- zens — have resided in Or trav- eled fb the US for years and the group apparently maintains a ! support structure that could aid attacks Two members found guilty in the conspiracy to bomb our Embassies in East Africa were US citizens aind a senior EU member lived in Cali- ' V'" fpmiain themid-1990- 8 A clandestine source Said in f " :1 998 that a Bin Ladin cell hr) New York was recruiting Muslim- " American youth for attacks We have riot been able to cor- roborate some of the more sen-satiorial threat reporting slich : ' as' that from a xxxxxxxxxx serr vice in 1998 Saying that Bin Ladirrwanted to hijack a US air-- craft to gain the release Of v'--: ' “Blind Shaykh" i’Urnar ’Abd aU ' Rahman and other extremists Nevertheless FBI information slnde that time indicate pat- - ' tems of suspicious activity in ' thi$ country consistent with r: preparations for hijackings or ' other types' of attacks including : of tecent surveillance federal buildings in New York The FBI is copducting1 approx- imately 70 fyll field investiga- tions throughout the US that it CIA considers Bin Ladin-relatarid the FBI are investigating a 1 call to our Embassy fn UAE in ’ May saying that a group of Bin Ladin supporters was in the US planning attacks with explo- - : V " succeeded ' : ' ' - ' -- : US-he- - V ld : : : ed - vV-'-- v Y' t' the1' A :r Sis u from Nebraska said ' memo’s details should have given Bush enough warning fo rr push for iqore intelligence r “The PDB backs information about possible domestic hijackings i up WtiatDr ‘The whole argument the testified toTherie government used that we were ’ overseas that we focusing llsi no smoking v thought the attack was coming gun not even from outside the United States — this memo said an attack could tome in the United States And we didn’t scram-bl- e Thompson Vi our agencies to that” he ri"' i£ said Richard a receipt of this information to Democratic commissionerand enhance our domestic securi- former Watergate prosecutor ty” he said said the memo calls into quesSenior administration offi- tion national security adviser cials said Bush saw more than Condoleezza Rice's assertion in his mentions 40 of Thursday that the memo was purely a “historical” docu- ‘ ment “This is a provocative piece his presidency The CIA preof information and warrants response toquestions asked: further exploration as to what by the president about the was done following the A had no specific information regarding an imminent attack involving airplane as mis--v siles Thompson said “The PDB backs up what Wee textified to There is Two views Ricej a Lcoldjgunv'v : This memo said an attack could 1 come In the Unltedl States And we didnt scrambleour agencies to that"v i - t h’ v Dr" y I ---- V i Keneyj TfaiiaiWiiSudia'Mr'1'1 Bep-Venis- SjSBSPT “Clandestine foreign gov- has wanted to conduct terror-- ' 1st attacks in the US” the memo to Biish stated Bin Laden implied in US televj- ‘ te da v " 'A ill SdainridetheUJS"one saidButtheaeniorofrci refused to say what Bush's response to the memo was Republican commissioner unuid oBSwSd Yousef and “bring the fight- jnt tr( AmwJ After President Clinton ' giltteZS? SStSSSf£r sassts?— Afohn memo “didn’t caUforany- - fcTfcm’adeto iTToox confirm 8 inemo 7 I |