Reply #2: Breaking (xx Snazzy World Exclusive xx): NYT Risen writes same story again [View All]

[Snazzy]

NATIONAL DESK | September 19, 2002, Thursday
THREATS AND RESPONSES: THE INVESTIGATION; U.S. FAILED TO ACT ON WARNINGS IN '98 OF A PLANE ATTACK

By JAMES RISEN (NYT) 1370 words
Late Edition - Final , Section A , Page 1 , Column 6
ABSTRACT - Congressional investigation into Sept 11 attacks finds that US intelligence community was told in 1998 that Arab terrorists were planning to fly bomb-laden plane into World Trade Center, but FBI and FAA did not take threat seriously; existence of 1998 intelligence report from CIA, one of several warnings US received but did not seriously analyze, is disclosed in presentation by committee's staff director Eleanor Hill; report concludes that there was evidence of growing interest by Al Qaeda and related groups in high-profile attacks inside US years before attacks on trade center and Pentagon; Hill says joint committee has still not found 'smoking gun' that could have helped prevent Sept 11 attack, but says there was much information that was never pulled together; in fact, from 1998 to 2001, CIA and FBI and other agencies received so many reports of Al Qaeda's interest in attacking Washington and New York, either with airplanes or other means, that CIA Dir George J Tenet issued 'declaration of war' on Al Qaeda in Dec 1998; Hill says intelligence agencies failed to adequately follow up on Tenet's declaration; notes that on Sept 10, 2001, FBI had only one analyst assigned full time to Al Qaeda; photo (L)

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F30D16FE3B540C7A8DDDA00894DA404482

Reached for comment, Judith Miller said "yeah? So what!"