T3 B5 Hurley Timelines Fdr- 1st Pgs of All Reference Material in Folder (for Reference- Fair Use)

8/14/2019 T3 B5 Hurley Timelines Fdr- 1st Pgs of All Reference Material in Folder (for Reference- Fair Use)

1/11

: Al Qaeda Page 1 of 2

.,) N T WW I E H D WF0 8 MSPONSORED Elf

March 25,2004

Target: Al Qaeda

S ome of the American intelligence community's actions relating to Osama bin Laden during thefive years before Sept. 11, 2001, according to reports released by the commission investigating theSeptember attacks:

1996

The C.I.A.'s Counterterrorist Center creates a special "issue station" devoted exclusively to Mr. binLaden, who is considered to be a terrorist financier.

M AY Mr. bin Laden leaves Sudan for Afghanistan.

1997

By early 1997, the issue station is aware that Mr. bin Laden is not just a financier but an organizer ofterrorist activity.

C.I. A. headquarters authorizes American officials to begin developing a network of agents to gatherintelligence in Afghanistan and prepare a plan to capture Mr. bin Laden.

1998

AUG. 7 Car bombings of American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania kill 224 people and woundthousands.

After the bombings, President Bill Clinton authorizes the C.I.A. to undertake offensive operations inAfghanistan against Mr. bin Laden.

Operations are planned using local Afghan groups who would ambush Mr. bin Laden if the opportunityarose. The groups reported that on about six occasions before Sept. 11, they considered attacking Mr.bin Laden, but had to abort the operations.

AUG. 20 Cruise missile strikes are launched against suspected terrorist sites in Afghanistan and Sudan,but neither Mr. bin Laden nor other terrorist leaders are killed.

DECEMBER After receiving intelligence that Mr. bin Laden is in Kandahar, Afghanistan, cruisemissile strikes are prepared, but they are not carried out because of concerns about the quality of theintelligence and possible civilian casualties.

1999

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/25/politics/25HUNT-TIME.html?pagewanted=print&po... 3/25/2004


2/11

JURT TV ONLINE - TOP NEWS Page 1 of 2

Man says was recruited by bin Ladenfo r suicide attack on U.S. Embassy inParis

PARIS (AP) A French-Algerian man has provided

authorities with intricate details of a plot to carry out asuicide mission against the U.S. Embassy in Paris,saying he was recruited by Osama bin Laden's deputyand told the time to act had come, officials saidTuesday.

Djamel Beghal, 35, a French-Algerian, was extradited toFrance from the United Arab Emirates on Sunday andquestioned in connection with an alleged terrorist ring.

Beghal outlined the plot for a suicide mission againstthe U.S. Embassy in Paris that was to be carried outbefore March of next year, according to court officials,wh o spoke on condition of anonymity.

He said an attack was also planned for an Americancultural center but embassy officials said Tuesday thereis no such center.

The embassy declined to comment on the alleged plotother than to say in a statement: "This is part of anongoing investigation by French authorities, in whom wehave full confidence."

According to the plan, another man Nizar Trabelsi, aTunisian who was arrested Sept. 13 in Belgium wasto penetrate the embassy, strapped with explosives,while a minivan was to be detonated outside thecultural section, Beghal told the court during 11 hoursof questioning Monday.

Beghal told the judge that he had signed a pact inMarch with bin Laden's deputy, Abu Zubaydah, inAfghanistan, where he trained in a camp run by binLaden's al-Qaida organization. AI-Qaida depositedmoney for the operation in a Moroccan bank account, hesaid.

According to French officials, Beghal said the meetingwith Abu Zubaydah took place in bin Laden's home, but

he said he never met bin Laden himself. Abu Zubaydahtold him that he should undertake the operation in orderto be a good Muslim, Beghal told investigators.

Europe-1 radio reported that Beghal said that AbuZubaydah "told me that the time to act had come. Heasked me if I was ready, and I said yes."

Beghal's job in the plot was apparently to gatherinformation and study the embassy's security plans,French officials said.

http://www.courttv.com/assault_on_america/1002_suicideattack_ap.html 1/27/2004


3/11


4/11

Mike Hurley

From: Warren BassSent: Monday, January 26, 2004 5:08 PMTo : Team 3S u b j e c t : Wa g t h eDog: SecDef Cohe n o n N i g h t l i n e

FYI. The fact that Nightline--the classiest show on broadcast TV--was playing footsie with"wag the dog" allegations is telling in and of i t s e l f . Might be useful for the monographon Aug. 20/98. Warren

SHOW: ABC NIGHTLINE (11:35 pm ET)

AUGUST 20, 1998

Transcript # 98082001-j07

TYPE: PACKAGE

SECTION: NEWS

LENGTH: 3760 words

HEADLINE: AMERICA STRIKES BACK

BYLINE: JOHN DONVAN, TED KOPPEL

HIGHLIGHT:AMERICA ATTACKS SUDAN AND OSAMA BIN LADEN

BODY:

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

ANNOUNCER: August 20, 1998.

TED KOPPEL, ABC News: (voice-over) On a day that the U.S. military hits terrorist targetsin two countries, questions of political timing.

(interviewing) You to ld me that you would never have participated in anything if youthought it was being done for political reasons. I want to dot the I on that one. Wouldyou have resigned?

WILLIAM COHEN, Secretary of Defense: Oh, absolutely.

TED KOPPEL: (voice-over) Tonight, America strikes back, a conversation with the secretaryo f defense.

ANNOUNCER: From ABC News, this is Nightline. Reporting from Washington, Ted Koppel.

TED KOPPEL: There was a time when insoluble disagreements between tribes were resolved byhand to hand combat between champions. Not so very long ago in our own history, civiliansmight safely gather on hilltops to watch the unfolding of battles between armies. It isonly in our own time, in this century, t h a t civilians have become deliberate targets ofwarfare. In recent years, the practice of war has degraded even further. Now civiliansare frequently the only targets. That kind of warfare, which we have labeled terrorism,targeted a pair of U.S. embassies only two weeks ago and the casualties equaled those ofsome battles, nearly 300 dead, more than 4,000 injured.

Today, the U.S. military struck back, hitting targets in Afghanistan and Sudan. TheUnited States acted alone. It gave neither prior notice nor did it seek prior approvalfrom any other government. And, under normal circumstances, few Americans would have

1


5/11

frontline: huntingbin laden: who is bin laden?:chronology | PBS Page 1 of7

FRONTLINE N L A D E

OSAMA BIN LADENA Chronologyoj His PoliticalLife

K G M E

I N T R O D U C T I O N

W H O IS B IK LADEN?

T R A I LO F E V I D E N C E

T W O T E R R O R I S T S

INTERVIEWS

1957

1979

December26,1979

1980-86

1986-89

1988

June 30, 1989

1989

Osamabin Muhammadbin Awad bin Laden is born inRiyadh.He is 17th of 52 children sired by Muhammad BinLadenSaudiArabia'swealthiest construction magnate.

Bin Laden graduatesfrom King Abdul Aziz University inJiddah witha degree in civil engineering.

Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Bin Ladenleaves SaudiArabia to join theAfghan resistance (mujahedeen).

From the Pakistani border, bin Ladenraises funds andprovides the mujahedeen with logistical and humanitarianaid.

Accordingto Islamic sources,bin Laden participatesinnumerous battles during the Afghan war against the Soviet;as a guerilla commander, includingthe fierce battleofJalalabad which led the S oviets tofinally withdraw fromAfghanistan.

Bin Laden establishes"al Qaeda," anorganizationof ex-mujahedeenan d other supporters.Its mission is to channelfighters andfunds to the Afghan resistance.

The National Islamic Front(NIF) stages a military coupamtakes controlof the Sudan.

After the Soviets pull out of Afghanistan, bin Ladenreturnsto Saudi Arabiaa hero. He becomesinvolved in oppositionmovem ents to the S audi monarchy while working for hisfamily constructionfirm, the Bin Laden Group.

August2, 1990 Iraq invades Ku wa it.

April, 1991 Laden flees Saudi A rabia,after being confined to Jiddafor his opposition to the Saudi alliance with the UnitedStates. He movesfirst to Afghanistan and then toKhartounSudanby 1992 (Source: Newsweek2/1/99).Sudanhadbegun to allow any M uslim into the country without a visa,in a display of Islamic solidarity. Allegedly, hundredsof

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/binladen/etc/cron.html 1/25/2004


6/11

frontline: huntingbin laden: who is bin laden?: al qaeda | PBS Page 1 o f2

FRONTLI NE

"A L QAEDA"

The US government issued an indictment in November 1998 alleging thatan international terrorist network called "Al Qaeda," an Arabic word meangovernment's allegations from this and subsequent indictments concerninfollowing:

HOME

INTRODUCTION

WHO IS BIH LAOEN?

T R A I LOF EVIDENCE

TW O T E R R O R I S T SINTERViEWS

B A C K G R O U N D :At QAEDA

* In approximately 1989, bin Laden and co-defendant Muham mad Atef fouminternational terrorist group ... which was d edicated to opposing non-Islamicviolence."

* "One of the principal go als of Al Qaeda was to drive the United Statesarm

Documents

T3 B5 Hurley Timelines Fdr- 1st Pgs of All Reference Material in Folder (for Reference- Fair Use)