FROM THREAT TO THREAT

¶In chapte r s 3 and 4 we described how the U.S. government adjusted its existing agencies and capacities to address the emerging threat from Usama Bin Ladin and his associates. After the August 1998 bombings of the American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, President Bill Clinton and his chief aides explored ways of getting Bin Ladin expelled from Afghanistan or possibly capturing or even killing him. Although disruption efforts around the world had achieved some successes, the core of Bin Ladin's organization remained intact.

¶President Clinton was deeply concerned about Bin Ladin. He and his national security advisor, Samuel "Sandy" Berger, ensured they had a special daily pipeline of reports feeding them the latest updates on Bin Ladin's reported location.¹¹ On financing of Egyptian terrorists, see Intelligence report, Sudanese links to Egypt's Gama'at al-Islamiya and training of Egyptians, July 14, 1993; Intelligence report, funding by Bin Ladin of Gama'at al-Islamiya by Bin Ladin and composition of its Sudanese wing, July 22, 1993. On aid to Yemeni terrorists, see DOS memo, attached to Bin Ladin "Viper" file,Aug. 28, 1993. CTC documents describing Bin Ladin as an "extremist financier" include Intelligence report, Bin Ladin links to materials related to WMD, Mar. 20, 1997; Intelligence report, Bin Ladin's financial support to Egyptian,Algerian, and Libyan extremists, June 17, 1997.Show full note In public, President Clinton spoke repeatedly about the threat of terrorism, referring to terrorist training camps but saying little about Bin Ladin and nothing about al Qaeda. He explained to us that this was delib- erate—intended to avoid enhancing Bin Ladin's stature by giving him unnec- essary publicity. His speeches focused especially on the danger of nonstate actors and of chemical and biological weapons.²² President Clinton spoke of terrorism in numerous public statements. In his August 5, 1996, remarks at George Washington University, he called terrorism "the enemy of our generation." He usually spoke of terrorism in two related contexts: new technologies and the greater openness engendered by post–Cold War globalization; and weapons of mass destruction (WMD), especially—and increasingly over time—the threat from biological and chem- ical weapons. President Clinton repeatedly linked terrorist groups and WMD as transnational threats for the new global era. See, e.g., President Clinton remarks,"On Keeping America Secure for the 21st Century," Jan. 22, 1999 (at the National Academy of Sciences,Washington, D.C.), in which he spoke directly to these topics.Show full note

¶As the millennium approached, the most publicized worries were not about terrorism but about computer breakdowns—the Y2K scare. Some government officials were concerned that terrorists would take advantage of such breakdowns.³³ On Fadl, see, e.g., Intelligence reports on historical background of Bin Ladin's army (Nov. 26, 1996;Apr. 18, 1997); on the structure of al Qaeda and leadership composition (Dec. 18, 1996; Dec. 19, 1996; Dec. 19, 1996); on roles and responsibilities of the organizational component (Dec. 19, 1996); on objectives and direction (Jan. 8, 1997; Jan. 27, 1997); on the financial infrastructure and networks (Dec. 30, 1996; Jan. 3, 1997); on connections and col- laboration with other terrorist groups and supporters (Jan 8, 1997; Jan. 31, 1997; Jan 31, 1997; Feb. 7, 1997); on activities in Somalia (Apr. 30, 1997); on Bin Ladin's efforts to acquire WMD materials (Mar. 18, 1997). On the other walk-in source, see CIA cable, Jan. 3, 1997. Material from the Nairobi cell was introduced into evidence during the testimony of FBI Special Agent Daniel Coleman, United States v. Usama Bin Laden, No. S(7) 98 Cr. 1023 (S.D. N.Y.), Feb. 21, 2001 (transcript pp. 1078–1088, 1096–1102).Show full note