Published in Global Outlook , Issue No 2, 9-11: Foreknowledge or
Deception? Stop the Nuclear Threat. Order on the web, by phone
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The following is mirrored from its source at:
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----------------------------------------------------------------------------
NEW REVELATIONS ON 9-11
Was it an `intelligence failure' to give red carpet treatment to
the `money man' behind the 9-11 terrorists, or was it simply
`routine'?
On the morning of September 11, Pakistan's Chief Spy General
Mahmoud Ahmad, the alleged "money-man" behind the 9-11 hijackers,
was at a breakfast meeting on Capitol Hill hosted by Senator Bob
Graham and Rep. Porter Goss, the chairmen of the Senate and House
Intelligence committees.
"When the news [of the attacks on the World Trade
Center] came, the two Florida lawmakers who lead the
House and Senate intelligence committees were having
breakfast with the head of the Pakistani intelligence
service. Rep. Porter Goss, R-Sanibel, Sen. Bob Graham
and other members of the House Intelligence Committee
were talking about terrorism issues with the Pakistani
official when a member of Goss' staff handed a note to
Goss, who handed it to Graham. `We were talking about
terrorism, specifically terrorism generated from
Afghanistan,' Graham said.
(...)
Mahmoud Ahmad, director general of Pakistan's
intelligence service, was `very empathetic, sympathetic
to the people of the United States,' Graham said."
_____________________________________________________________________
| |
| Political Deception - The Missing Link Behind 9-11 |
| by Michel Chossudovsky |
| Global Outlook, No. 2. Summer 2002 |
| Centre for Research on Globalisation (CRG), globalresearch.ca |
| 20 June 2002 (revised 27 June) |
| |
|___________________________________________________________________|
The foreknowledge issue is a Red Herring: "A Red Herring
is a fallacy in which an irrelevant topic is presented
in order to divert attention from the original issue."
On May 16th The New York Post dropped what appeared to be a
bombshell: "Bush Knew . . . " Hoping to score politically, the
Democrats jumped on the bandwagon, pressuring the White House to
come clean on two "top-secret documents" made available to
President Bush prior to September 11, concerning "advance
knowledge" of Al Qaeda attacks. Meanwhile, the U.S. media had
already coined a new set of buzzwords: "Yes, there were warnings"
and "clues" of possible terrorist attacks, but "there was no way
President Bush could have known" what was going to happen. The
Democrats agreed to "keep the cat inside the bag" by saying:
"Osama is at war with the U.S." and the FBI and the CIA knew
something was cooking but "failed to connect the dots." In the
words of House Minority Leader, Richard Gephardt:
"This is not blame-placing. . . . We support the
President on the war against terrorism -- have and will.
But we've got to do better in preventing terrorist
attacks."[1]
The media's spotlight on `foreknowledge' and so-called "FBI
lapses" served to distract public attention from the broader issue
of political deception. Not a word was mentioned concerning the
role of the CIA, which throughout the entire post-Cold War era,
has aided and abetted Osama bin Laden's Al Qaeda, as part of its
covert operations.
Of course they knew! The foreknowledge issue is a red herring. The
"Islamic Brigades" are a creation of the CIA. In standard CIA
jargon, Al Qaeda is categorized as an "intelligence asset".
Support to terrorist organizations is an integral part of U.S.
foreign policy. Al Qaeda continues to this date (2002) to
participate in CIA covert operations in different parts of the
World.[2] These "CIA-Osama links" do not belong to a bygone era,
as suggested by the mainstream media.
The U.S. Congress has documented in detail, the links of Al Qaeda
to agencies of the U.S. government during the civil war in
Bosnia-Herzegovina, as well as in Kosovo.[3] More recently in
Macedonia, barely a few months before September 11, U.S. military
advisers were mingling with Mujahideen mercenaries financed by Al
Qaeda. Both groups were fighting under the auspices of the Kosovo
Liberation Army (KLA), within the same terrorist paramilitary
formation.[4]
The CIA keeps track of its "intelligence assets". Amply
documented, Osama bin Laden's whereabouts were always known.[5] Al
Qaeda is infiltrated by the CIA.[6] In other words, there were no
"intelligence failures"! In the nature of a well-led intelligence
operation, the "intelligence asset" operates (wittingly or
unwittingly) with some degree of autonomy, in relation to its U.S.
government sponsors, but ultimately it acts consistently, in the
interests of Uncle Sam.
While individual FBI agents are often unaware of the CIA's role,
the relationship between the CIA and Al Qaeda is known at the top
levels of the FBI. Members of the Bush Administration and the U.S.
Congress are fully cognizant of these links.
The foreknowledge issue focussing on "FBI lapses" is an obvious
smokescreen. While the whistleblowers serve to underscore the
weaknesses of the FBI, the role of successive U.S. administrations
(since the presidency of Jimmy Carter) in support of the "Islamic
Militant Base", is simply not mentioned.
Fear and Disinformation Campaign
The Bush Administration -- through the personal initiative of Vice
President Dick Cheney -- chose not only to foreclose the
possibility of a public inquiry, but also to trigger a fear and
disinformation campaign:
"I think that the prospects of a future attack on the
U.S. are almost a certainty. . . . It could happen
tomorrow, it could happen next week, it could happen
next year, but they will keep trying. And we have to be
prepared."[7]
What Cheney is really telling us is that our "intelligence asset",
which we created, is going to strike again. Now, if this "CIA
creature" were planning new terrorist attacks, you would expect
that the CIA would be first to know about it. In all likelihood,
the CIA also controls the so-called `warnings' emanating from CIA
sources on "future terrorist attacks" on American soil.
Carefully Planned Intelligence Operation
The 9-11 terrorists did not act on their own volition. The suicide
hijackers were instruments in a carefully planned intelligence
operation. The evidence confirms that Al Qaeda is supported by
Pakistan's military intelligence, the Inter-services Intelligence
(ISI). Amply documented, the ISI owes its existence to the CIA:
"With CIA backing and the funnelling of massive amounts
of U.S. military aid, the ISI developed [since the early
1980s] into a parallel structure wielding enormous power
over all aspects of government....The ISI had a staff
composed of military and intelligence officers,
bureaucrats, undercover agents and informers estimated
at 150,000."[8]
The ISI actively collaborates with the CIA. It continues to
perform the role of a `go-between' in numerous intelligence
operations on behalf of the CIA. The ISI directly supports and
finances a number of terrorist organizations, including Al Qaeda.
The Missing Link
The FBI confirmed in late September, in an interview with ABC News
(which went virtually unnoticed) that the 9-11 ring leader,
Mohammed Atta, had been financed from unnamed sources in Pakistan:
"As to September 11th, federal authorities have told ABC
News they have now tracked more than $100,000 from banks
in Pakistan, to two banks in Florida, to accounts held
by suspected hijack ring leader, Mohammed Atta. As well
. . . Time Magazine is reporting that some of that money
came in the days just before the attack and can be
traced directly to people connected to Osama bin Laden.
It's all part of what has been a successful FBI effort
so far to close in on the hijacker's high commander, the
money men, the planners and the mastermind."[9]
The FBI had information on the money trail. They knew exactly who
was financing the terrorists. Less than two weeks later, the
findings of the FBI were confirmed by Agence France Presse (AFP)
and the Times of India, quoting an official Indian intelligence
report (which had been dispatched to Washington). According to
these two reports, the money used to finance the 9-11 attacks had
allegedly been "wired to WTC hijacker Mohammed Atta from Pakistan,
by Ahmad Umar Sheikh, at the instance of [ISI Chief] General
Mahmoud [Ahmad]."[10] According to the AFP (quoting the
intelligence source):
"The evidence we have supplied to the U.S. is of a much
wider range and depth than just one piece of paper
linking a rogue general to some misplaced act of
terrorism."[11]
Pakistan's Chief Spy Visits Washington
Now, it just so happens that General Mahmoud Ahmad, the alleged
"money man" behind 9-11, was in the U.S. when the attacks
occurred. He arrived on the 4th of September, one week before
9-11, on what was described as a routine visit of consultations
with his U.S. counterparts. According to Pakistani journalist,
Amir Mateen (in a prophetic article published on September 10):
"ISI Chief Lt-Gen. Mahmoud's week-long presence in
Washington has triggered speculation about the agenda of
his mysterious meetings at the Pentagon and National
Security Council. Officially, he is on a routine visit
in return to CIA Director George Tenet's earlier visit
to Islamabad. Official sources confirm that he met Tenet
this week. He also held long parleys with unspecified
officials at the White House and the Pentagon. But the
most important meeting was with Marc Grossman, U.S.
Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs. One can
safely guess that the discussions must have centred
around Afghanistan . . . and Osama bin Laden. What added
interest to his visit is the history of such visits.
Last time Ziauddin Butt, Mahmoud's predecessor, was
here, during Nawaz Sharif's government, the domestic
politics turned topsy-turvy within days."[12]
Nawaz Sharif was overthrown by General Pervez Musharaf. General
Mahmoud Ahmad, who became the head of the ISI, played a key role
in the military coup.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Schedule of Pakistan's Chief of Military Intelligence
Lt. General Mahmoud Ahmad, Washington, 4-13 September
2001
Summer 2001: ISI Chief Lt. General Mahmoud
Ahmad transfers $100,000 to 9-11 Ringleader
Mohamed Atta.
4 September: Ahmad arrives in the US on an
official visit.
4-9 September: He meets his US counterparts
including CIA Head George Tenet.
9 September: Assassination of General Massood,
leader of the Northern Alliance. Official
statement by Northern Alliance points to
involvement of the ISI-Osama-Taliban axis.
11 September: Terrorist Attacks on the WTC and
the Pentagon. At the time of the attacks, Lt
General Ahmad was at a breakfast meeting at
the Capitol with the chairmen of the House and
Senate Intelligence Committees Sen Bob Graham
and Rep Porter Goss. Also present at the
meeting were Sen. John Kyl and the Pakistani
ambassador to the U.S., Maleeha Lodhi.
12-13 September: Meetings between Lt. General
Ahmad and Deputy Secretary of State Richard
Armitage. Agreement on Pakistan's
collaboration negotiated between Ahmad and
Armitage. Meeting between General Ahmad and
Secretary of State Colin Powell.
13 September: Ahmad meets Senator Joseph
Biden, Chairman of the Senate Foreign
Relations Committee.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Condoleezza Rice's Press Conference
In the course of Condoleezza Rice's May 16 press conference (which
took place barely a few hours after the publication of the "Bush
Knew" headlines in The New York Post), an accredited Indian
journalist asked a question on the role of General Mahmoud Ahmad:
(...)
Q: Dr. Rice?
Ms RICE: Yes?
Q: Are you aware of the reports at the time that the ISI
chief was in Washington on September 11th, and on
September 10th $100,000 was wired from Pakistan to these
groups here in this area? And why was he here? Was he
meeting with you or anybody in the Administration?
Ms RICE: I have not seen that report, and he was
certainly not meeting with me.[13]
(...)
Although there is no official confirmation, in all likelihood
General Mahmoud Ahmad met Dr. Rice during the course of his
official visit. Moreover, she must have been fully aware of the
$100,000 transfer to Mohammed Atta, which had been confirmed by
the FBI.
Lost in the barrage of media reports on `foreknowledge', this
crucial piece of information on the ISI's role in 9-11, implicates
key members of the Bush Administration including: CIA Director
George Tenet, Secretary of State Colin Powell, Deputy Secretary of
State, Richard Armitage, Under-Secretary of State Marc Grossman,
as well Senator Joseph Biden (Democrat), Chairman of the powerful
Senate Foreign Relations Committee (who met General Ahmad on the
13th of September). "According to Biden, [Ahmad] pledged
Pakistan's cooperation".[14]
Mysterious 9-11 Breakfast Meeting on Capitol Hill
On the morning of September 11, General Mahmoud Ahmad, the alleged
"money-man" behind the 9-11 hijackers was at a breakfast meeting
on Capitol Hill hosted by Senator Bob Graham (Democrat) and
Representative Porter Goss, respectively chairmen of the Senate
and House Intelligence Committees. Also present at this meeting
was Pakistan's ambassador to the U.S. Maleeha Lodhi. The report
confirms that other members of the Senate and House Intelligence
committees were present.
"When the news [of the attacks on the World Trade
Center] came, the two Florida lawmakers who lead the
House and Senate intelligence committees were having
breakfast with the head of the Pakistani intelligence
service. Rep. Porter Goss, R-Sanibel, Sen. Bob Graham
and other members of the House Intelligence Committee
were talking about terrorism issues with the Pakistani
official when a member of Goss' staff handed a note to
Goss, who handed it to Graham. `We were talking about
terrorism, specifically terrorism generated from
Afghanistan,' Graham said.
(...)
Mahmood Ahmed, director general of Pakistan's
intelligence service, was `very empathetic, sympathetic
to the people of the United States,' Graham said.
Goss could not be reached Tuesday. He was whisked away
with much of the House leadership to an undisclosed
`secure location.' Graham, meanwhile, participated in
late-afternoon briefings with top officials from the CIA
and FBI."[15]
While trivialising the importance of the 9-11 breakfast meeting,
The Miami Herald (16 September 2001) confirms that General Ahmad
also met Secretary of State Colin Powell in the wake of the 9-11
attacks.
"Graham said the Pakistani intelligence official with
whom he met, a top general in the government, was forced
to stay all week in Washington because of the shutdown
of air traffic `He was marooned here, and I think that
gave Secretary of State Powell and others in the
administration a chance to really talk with him,' Graham
said."[16]
With the exception of the Florida press (and Salon.com, 14
September), not a word was mentioned in the US media's September
coverage of 9-11 concerning this mysterious breakfast reunion.
Eight months later on the 18th of May, two days after the "BUSH
KNEW" headline hit the tabloids, the Washington Post published an
article on Porter Goss, entitled: "A Cloak But No Dagger; An
Ex-Spy Says He Seeks Solutions, Not Scapegoats for 9/11".
Focussing on his career as a CIA agent, the article largely served
to underscore the integrity and commitment of Porter Goss to
waging a "war on terrorism". Yet in an isolated paragraph, the
article acknowledged the mysterious 9-11 breakfast meeting with
ISI Chief Mahmoud Ahmad, while also confirming that "Ahmad ran a
spy agency notoriously close to Osama bin Laden and the Taliban":
"Now the main question facing Goss, as he helps steer a
joint House-Senate investigation into the Sept. 11
attacks, is why nobody in the far-flung intelligence
bureaucracy -- 13 agencies spending billions of dollars
-- paid attention to the enemy among us. Until it was
too late.
Goss says he is looking for solutions, not scapegoats.
`A lot of nonsense,' he calls this week's uproar about a
CIA briefing that alerted President Bush, five weeks
before Sept. 11, that Osama bin Laden's associates might
be planning airline hijackings.
`None of this is news, but it's all part of the
finger-pointing,' Goss declared yesterday in a rare
display of pique. `It's foolishness.' [This statement
comes from the man who was having breakfast with the
alleged "money-man" behind 9-11 on the morning of
September 11.]
(...) Goss has repeatedly refused to blame an
`intelligence failure' for the terror attacks. As a
10-year veteran of the CIA's clandestine operations
wing, Goss prefers to praise the agency's `fine work.'
(...)
On the morning of Sept. 11, Goss and Graham were having
breakfast with a Pakistani general named Mahmud Ahmed --
the soon-to-be-sacked head of Pakistan's intelligence
service. Ahmed ran a spy agency notoriously close to
Osama bin Laden and the Taliban."[17]
While the Washington Post acknowledges the links between ISI Chief
Mahmoud Ahmad and Osama bin Laden, it fails to dwell on the more
important question:
What was Mahmoud doing on Capitol Hill on the morning of
September 11, together with Rep. Porter Goss and Senator
Bob Graham and other members of the Senate and House
intelligence committees?
Neither does it acknowledge the fact, amply documented by media
reports that "the money-man" behind the hijackers had been
entrusted by the Pakistani government to discuss the precise terms
of Pakistan's "collaboration" in the "war on terrorism" in
meetings held at the State department on the 12th and 13th of
September.
When the "Foreknowledge" issue hit the street on May 16th,
"Chairman Porter Goss said an existing congressional inquiry has
so far found `no smoking gun' that would warrant another
inquiry."[18] This statement points to an obvious "cover-up".
The Investigation and Public Hearings on "Intelligence Failures"
In a bitter irony, Rep. Porter Goss and Senator Bob Graham, -- the
men who hosted the mysterious September 11 breakfast meeting with
the alleged "hijacker's high commander" (to use the FBI's
expression), had been put in charge of the investigation and
public hearings on so-called "intelligence failures".
Meanwhile, Vice President Dick Cheney had expressed anger on a
so-called "leak" emanating from the intelligence committees
regarding
"the disclosure of National Security Agency intercepts
of messages in Arabic on the eve of the attacks. The
messages (...) were in two separate conversations on
Sept. 10 and contained the phrases `Tomorrow is zero
hour' and `The match is about to begin.' The messages
were not translated until Sept. 12"[19]
Red Carpet Treatment to the Alleged "Money Man" behind 9-11
The Bush Administration had not only provided red carpet treatment
to the alleged "money man" behind the 9-11 attacks, it also had
sought his `cooperation' in the "war on terrorism". The precise
terms of this `cooperation' were agreed upon between General
Mahmoud Ahmad, representing the Pakistani government and Deputy
Secretary of State Richard Armitage, in meetings at the State
Department on September 12 and 13. In other words, the
Administration decided in the immediate wake of 9-11, to seek the
`cooperation' of Pakistan's ISI in "going after Osama", despite
the fact (documented by the FBI) that the ISI was financing and
abetting the 9-11 terrorists. Contradictory? One might say that
it's like "asking the Devil to go after Dracula."
[IMAGE: Bush Administration Personnel Chain, Tenet-to-Atta]
CIA Overshadows the Presidency
Dr. Rice's statement regarding the ISI chief at her May 16 press
conference, is an obvious cover-up. While General Ahmad was
talking to U.S. officials at the CIA and the Pentagon, he had
allegedly also been in contact (through a third party) with the
September 11 terrorists. What this suggests is that key
individuals within the U.S. military-intelligence establishment
knew about these ISI contacts with the September 11 terrorist
`ring leader', Mohammed Atta, and failed to act. But this
conclusion is, in fact, an understatement. Everything indicates
that CIA Director George Tenet and ISI Chief General Mahmoud
Ahmad, had established a close working relationship. General
Mahmoud had arrived a week prior to September 11 for consultations
with George Tenet. Bear in mind that the CIA's George Tenet, also
has a close personal relationship with President Bush. Prior to
September 11, Tenet would meet the President nearly every morning
at 8:00 a.m. sharp, for about half an hour.[20] A document, known
as the President's Daily Briefing, or PDB, "is prepared at Langley
by the CIA's analytical directorate, and a draft goes home with
Tenet each night. Tenet edits it personally and delivers it orally
during his early morning meeting with Bush."[21] This practice of
"oral intelligence briefings" is unprecedented. Bush's
predecessors at the White House, received a written briefing:
"With Bush, who liked oral briefings and the CIA
director in attendance, a strong relationship had
developed. Tenet could be direct, even irreverent and
earthy."[22]
The Decision to go to War
At meetings of the National Security Council and in the so-called
"War Cabinet", on September 11, 12 and 13, CIA Director George
Tenet played a central role in gaining the Commander-in-Chief's
approval to the launching of the "war on terrorism."
George W. Bush's Timeline -- September 11 (from 9.45am in the wake
of the WTC-Pentagon Attacks to midnight)
Circa 9:45 a.m.: Bush's motorcade leaves the Booker Elementary
School, Sarasota, Florida.
9:55 a.m.: President Bush boards "Air Force One" bound for
Washington.[23] Following what was as a "false report" that Air
Force One would be attacked, Vice-President Dick Cheney had urged
Bush (10:32 a.m.) by telephone not to land in Washington.
Following this conversation, the plane was diverted (10:41 a.m.)
(on orders emanating from Washington) to Barksdale Air Force Base
in Louisiana. A couple of hours later (1:30 p.m.), after a brief
TV appearance, the President was transported to Offut Air Force
base in Nebraska at U.S. Strategic Command Headquarters.
3:30 p.m.: A key meeting of the National Security Council (NSC)
was convened, with members of the NSC communicating with the
President from Washington by secure video.[24] In the course of
this NSC video-conference, CIA Director George Tenet fed
unconfirmed information to the President. Tenet stated that "he
was virtually certain that bin Laden and his network were behind
the attacks."[25]
The President responded to these statements, quite spontaneously,
off the cuff, with little or no discussion and with an apparent
misunderstanding of their implications. In the course of this
video-conference (which lasted for less than an hour), the NSC was
given the mandate by the Commander-in-Chief to prepare for the
"war on terrorism". Very much on the spur of the moment, the
"green light" was given by video conference from Nebraska. In the
words of President Bush: "We will find these people. They will
pay. And I don't want you to have any doubt about it."[26]
4:36 p.m.: (One hour and six minutes later . . .) Air Force One
departed for Washington. Back in the White House, that same
evening (9:00 p.m.) a second meeting of the full NSC took place,
together with Secretary of State Colin Powell who had returned to
Washington from Peru. The NSC meeting (which lasted for half an
hour) was followed by the first meeting of the so-called "war
cabinet". The latter was made up of a smaller group of top
officials and key advisers.
9:30 p.m.: At the war cabinet: "Discussion turned around whether
bin Laden's Al Qaeda and the Taliban were one and the same thing.
Tenet said they were."[27] By the end of that historic meeting of
the war cabinet (11:00 p.m.), the Bush Administration had decided
to embark upon a military adventure which threatens the collective
future of humanity.
Did Bush Know?
Did Bush, with his minimal understanding of foreign policy issues,
know all the details regarding General Mahmoud and the "ISI
connection"? Did Tenet and Cheney distort the facts, so as to get
the Commander-in-Chief's "thumbs up" for a military operation
which was already in the pipeline? In a bitter irony, a meeting
between Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage and General
Mahmoud, the 9-11 "money man", was scheduled at the State
Department for the morning after September 11 to discuss their
strategy.[28]
Notes
1. Quoted in AFP, 18 May 2002.
2. There are numerous documents, which prove beyond doubt the
links between Al Qaeda and successive U.S. administrations.
See Centre for Research on Globalisation, Foreknowledge of
9-11: Compilation of key articles and documents,
http://globalresearch.ca/articles/CRG204A.html, May 2002,
section 3.
3. U.S. Congress, Clinton-Approved Iranian Arms Transfers Help
Turn Bosnia into Militant Islamic Base, Republican Party
Committee, Congressional Press Release, Congress, 16 January
1997, http://globalresearch.ca/articles/DCH109A.html. See
also Michel Chossudovsky, `Osamagate', Centre for Research on
Globalisation,
http://www.globalresearch.ca/articles/CHO110A.html, 9 October
2001.
4. See Centre for Research on Globalisation, Foreknowledge of
9-11: Compilation of key articles and documents, op. cit.
section 3. See articles by Isabel Vincent, George Szamuely,
Scott Taylor, Marina Domazetovska, Michel Chossudovsky,
Umberto Pascali, Lara Marlowe and Macedonian dailies.
5. See "Bin Laden Whereabouts Before 9-11," CBS Evening News
with Dan Rather; CBS, 28 January 2002, Centre for Research on
Globalisation (CRG)
http://www.globalresearch.ca/articles/CBS203A.html and
Alexandra Richard, "The CIA met bin Laden while undergoing
treatment at an American Hospital last July in Dubai," Le
Figaro. http://www.globalresearch.ca/articles/RIC111B.html
6. The Boston Globe, 5 June 2002.
7. Fox News, 18 May 2002.
8. Ahmed Rashid, "The Taliban: Exporting Extremism," Foreign
Affairs, November-December 1999. See also Michel
Chossudovsky, Who is Osama bin Laden, Global Outlook, No. 1,
2002.
9. Statement of Brian Ross reporting on information conveyed to
him by the FBI, ABC News, This Week, September 30, 2001.
10. The Times of India, Delhi, 9 October 2001.
11. AFP, 10 October 2001.
12. Amir Mateen, ISI Chief's Parleys continue in Washington, News
Pakistan, 10 September 2001.
13. Federal News Service, 16 May 2002. Note that in the White
House and CNN transcripts of Dr. Rice's press conference, the
words "ISI chief" were transcribed respectively by a blank
"--" and "(inaudible)". Federal News Service Inc. which is a
transcription Service of official documents provided a
correct transcription, with a minor error in punctuation,
which we corrected. The White House transcript is at:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/05/20020516-13.html.
All three transcripts were verified by the author and are
available on Nexus. Federal News Service documents are also
available for a fee at www.fnsg.com. For details on the
transcripts, see text box below.
14. New York Times, 14 September 2002,
15. Stuart News Company Press Journal (Vero Beach, FL), September
12, 2001).
16. Miami Herald, 16 September 2001
17. Washington Post, 18 May 2002
18. White House Bulletin, 17 May 2002
19. Miami Herald, 21 June 2002
20. The Commercial Appeal, Memphis, 17 May 2002
21. Washington Post, 17 May 2002.
22. Washington Post, 29 January 2002.
23. Washington Post, 27 January 2002.
24. Ibid.
25. Ibid.
26. Ibid.
27. Ibid.
28. See Centre for Research on Globalisation, Cover-up or
Complicity of the Bush Administration? The Role of Pakistan's
Military Intelligence Agency (ISI) in the 9-11 attacks, by
Michel Chossudovsky, 2 November 2001.
------------------------------------------------------------------
CONFIRMED BY OFFICIAL SOURCES (QUOTED BY THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA)
PAKISTAN'S CHIEF SPY GENERAL MAHMOUD AHMAD MET THE FOLLOWING
MEMBERS OF THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION AND THE US CONGRESS, DURING HIS
VISIT TO WASHINGTON (4-13 September 2001). (Dates of meeting
indicated)
Secretary of State Colin Powell (12-13 Sept)
Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage (12-13 Sept)
Under-Secretary of State Marc Grossman (before 11 Sept)
CIA Director George Tenet (before 11 Sept)
Senator Bob Graham, Chairman of Senate Intelligence
Committee (11 Sept)
Senator John Kyl, member of the Senate Intelligence
committee (11 Sept)
Representative Porter Goss, Chairman of the House
Intelligence Committee (11 Sept)
Senator Joseph Biden, Chairman of Foreign Relations
Committee (13 Sept)
------------------------------------------------------------------
TRANSCRIPTS OF DR. CONDOLEEZZA RICE`S PRESS CONFERENCE OF MAY 16TH
2002
Below are the transcripts of the same Condoleezza Rice press
conference respectively from CNN, the White House (FDCH) and
Federal News Service. The latter is the source quoted in this
article. The other two sources (CNN and the White House) were
manipulated.
CNN: SHOW: CNN INSIDE POLITICS 16:00, May 16, 2002 Thursday,
Transcript # 051600CN.V15
(...)
QUESTION: Are you aware of the reports at the time that
(inaudible) was in Washington on September 11. And on
September 10, $ 100,000 was wired from Pakistan to these
groups here in this area? And while he was here, was he
meeting with you or anybody in the administration?
RICE: I have not seen that report, and he was certainly
not meeting with me.
Yes?
(...)
FDCH Federal Department and Agency Documents REGULATORY
INTELLIGENCE DATA, May 16, 2002 Thursday, AGENCY: WHITE HOUSE
(...)
Q: Dr. Rice, are you aware of the reports at the time
that -- was in Washington on September 11th, and on
September 10th, $100,000 was wired to Pakistan to this
group here in this area? While he was here meeting with
you or anybody in the administration?
DR. RICE: I have not seen that report, and he was
certainly not meeting with me.
(...)
Federal News Service May 16, 2002 Thursday, SECTION: WHITE HOUSE
BRIEFING, HEADLINE: SPECIAL WHITE HOUSE BRIEFING
(...)
Q: Dr. Rice?
Q: Dr. Rice?
MS. RICE: Yes?
Q: Are you aware of the reports at the time that ISI
chief was in Washington on September 11th, and on
September 10th, $ 100,000 was wired from Pakistan to
these groups here in this area? And why he was here? Was
he meeting with you or anybody in the administration?
MS. RICE: I have not seen that report, and he was
certainly not meeting with me.
Yes?
(...)
Notice the difference between the three transcripts. Both the
White House and CNN exclude the identity of the "ISI chief" to the
extent that the transcripts are totally unintelligible. TO CONFIRM
THAT THE CNN AND WHITE HOUSE TRANSCRIPTS WERE MANIPULATED LISTEN
TO THE ORIGINAL AUDIOVIDEO FILE OF DR RICE'S PRESS CONFERENCE
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