Stephen E Atkins - 9/11: The Essential Reference Guide

9/11

THE ESSENTIAL REFERENCE GUIDE

Stephen E. Atkins, Editor

Copyright 2021 by ABC-CLIO, LLC

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review, without prior permission in writing from the publisher.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Atkins, Stephen E., editor.

Title: 9/11 : the essential reference guide / Stephen E. Atkins, editor. Other titles: Nine eleven

Description: Santa Barbara, California : ABC-CLIO, [2021] | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2020037132 (print) | LCCN 2020037133 (ebook) | ISBN 9781440873027 (print) | ISBN 9781440873034 (ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: September 11 Terrorist Attacks, 2001. | TerrorismUnited States.

Classification: LCC HV6432.7 .A106 2021 (print) | LCC HV6432.7 (ebook) | DDC 973.931dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020037132

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020037133

ISBN: 978-1-4408-7302-7 (print)

978-1-4408-7303-4 (ebook)

252423222112345

This book is also available as an eBook.

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This book is printed on acid-free paper

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Every reasonable effort has been made to trace the owners of copyright materials in this book, but in some instances this has proven impossible. The editors and publishers will be glad to receive information leading to more complete acknowledgments in subsequent printings of the book and in the meantime extend their apologies for any omissions.

Contents

List of Entries

List of Primary Documents

1.Osama bin Ladens Declaration of Jihad (August 23, 1996)

2.Declaration of the World Islamic Front (February 23, 1998)

3.Al Qaedas Instructions for Living in the Western World While on a Mission

4.Memorandum from Richard A. Clarke for Condoleezza Rice Informing Her about the Al Qaeda Network (January 25, 2001)

5.Presidential Daily Briefing (August 6, 2001)

6.Mohamed Attas Letter of Advice for Hijackers (September 2001)

7.President George W. Bushs Address to the Nation (September 11, 2001)

8.EPAs Press Release (September 13, 2001)

9.Statements by FEMA on Its Response to September 11 before the U.S. Senates Committee on Environment and Public Works (October 16, 2001)

10.USA PATRIOT Act (October 26, 2001)

11.Osama bin Ladens Letter to the American People (November 2002)

12.Testimony of Richard A. Clarke before the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States (March 24, 2004)

13.Executive Summary of the Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States (July 2004)

14.Selected Excerpts from the Testimony of FBI Agent Harry Samit in the Zacarias Moussaoui Trial (March 9, 2006)

15.Confession of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed at the Combatant Status Review Tribunal at Guantnamo Bay Detention Camp (March 10, 2007)

16.President Barack Obama Announces the Death of Osama bin Laden (May 1, 2011)

17.Commemorating the 10th Anniversary of 9/11 (September 11, 2011)

18.Testimony of Jon Stewart on Health Care for First Responders (June 11, 2019)

Preface

Few events in American history have rivaled the September 11, 2001, attacks for impact on American society. Before that date most Americans had a hazy idea that the U.S. government was engaged in a war against terrorism, but there was little concern as long as terrorism was only a threat abroad. As the sole remaining superpower, the United States had few enemies that constituted a present danger to the American mainland. The collapse of the Soviet Union had ensured this. Although the United States and its governments policies were not universally admired in the international community, Americans felt safe behind their two oceans. This all changed on that fateful day of September 11. Much as December 7, 1941, was a day that transformed the history of the United States, September 11, 2001, has become a date that is a watershed in American history.

Little did most Americans realize that Islamist extremists had considered themselves at war against the United States for more than 30 years. Americans had been targets abroad of kidnappings and assassinations. The most obvious case was the killing of 241 marines in Beirut, Lebanon, by Hezbollah during the Ronald Reagan administration. Eighteen American service members were killed in a single incident in Somalia during the Bill Clinton administration. There were other attacks against Americans in Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and Africa. Representatives of the U.S. government had long been targets. American diplomats were not immune from assassinationthe U.S. ambassador to Sudan, Cleo A. Noel Jr., and his charg daffaires, George C. Moore, had been assassinated in 1973.

One thing that characterized early terrorism was that much of it was state sponsored, so pressure could be applied by the United States against regimes aiding terrorists. This pressure worked particularly well against Libya and its mercurial leader, Muammar Qaddafi. With other states, pressure was less successfulIran being the most noticeable failure. Even the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) responded to pressure. But in the last 20 years, a new brand of terrorism espoused by Islamic fundamentalists, or Islamists, has made its appearance. Adherents to this religious ideology have operated in independent nongovernmental organizations, making it more difficult for counterterrorism forces to isolate and overcome them. The most obvious example has been Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda.

Bin Ladens hostility toward the United States began during the Afghan-Soviet War in the late 1980s. This hostility intensified as American troops were based on the soil of Saudi Arabia beginning with the 1991 Persian Gulf War. He issued two documents declaring war on the United Statesone in 1996 and another in 1998. But none of Al Qaedas early acts of terrorism took place on American soil. Most experts on terrorism, however, including Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) intelligence analysts, knew that it was only a matter of time before there was an Al Qaeda operation on American soil, but none of them could pinpoint an actual date or act. The fact that the terrorists devised a plan to use commercial aircraft as guided missiles surprised everybody in the intelligence and political community. Although there were hints of Al Qaedas interest in using aircraft as a weapon in the mid-1990s, this information was never acted upon. In a comedy of errors and lost chances, the agencies of the U.S. government did little to prevent the September 11 plot from succeeding. This lack of attention to Islamist terrorism changed on September 11.

There has been a lack of objective resources available on the events surrounding September 11, 2001. Most objective have been inquiries by Congress, the 9/11 Commission, and a handful of journalists. They have pointed out major deficiencies in how government agencies handled intelligence about Al Qaeda operations prior to September 11. Besides establishing weakness, the inquiries have been most interested in reforming the American intelligence community so that there will be no future September 11ths. Despite these lengthy inquiries, questions still arise as to how the September 11 plot was carried out so successfully.