NewsMine — propoganda — terror-threats — 2006 — Viewing Item

Bush claims he foiled 2002 asian terror plot { February 9 2006 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)    http://news.ft.com/cms/s/10af1f00-9983-11da-a12a-0000779e2340,dwp_uuid=46d6f5a8-d260-11d8-b661-00000e2511c8.html http://news.ft.com/cms/s/10af1f00-9983-11da-a12a-0000779e2340,dwp_uuid=46d6f5a8-d260-11d8-b661-00000e2511c8.html Terror leader plotted raid on Los Angeles, says Bush By Edward Alden in Washington and Shawn Donnan in Jakarta Published: February 9 2006 15:51 | Last updated: February 9 2006 18:36 The White House said yesterday that Hambali, the captured Indonesian leader of Jemaah Islamiah, the south-east Asian terrorist group, had participated in an elaborate al-Qaeda plot aimed at using hijacked aircraft to attack the tallest building on the US west coast in early 2002. The details, provided following a speech by President George W. Bush, were the most elaborate yet given on the plot, which was first disclosed by US officials in 2004 and then discussed by Mr Bush in a speech last ­October. Mr Bush said Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the al-Qaeda mastermind of the September 11 attacks, had recruited Hambali in October 2001 to assemble a cell of suicide bombers. They were to carry out an attack in which shoebombs would be used to breach the cockpit door and seize control of the aircraft. “We believe the intended target was Liberty Tower in Los Angeles,” Mr Bush said. His aides later corrected him to say that he meant Library Tower, the city’s tallest skyscraper. The disclosure of the details seemed aimed once again at alerting Americans to the continuing threat of terrorist attack. They come at a time when Mr Bush is under sharp criticism for authorising surveillance of US citizens without a court warrant as part of the effort to foil future terrorist plots. “This plot is an instructive and chilling reminder of al-Qaeda’s global connections and their determination to attack our homeland,” said Fran Townsend, assistant to the president for homeland security and counterterrorism. The disclosure indicates that there were much deeper ties between JI and al-Qaeda than had previously been revealed. JI has been responsible for a series of attacks in south-east Asia, including the Bali bombing in October 2002, but had not previously been linked publicly by US officials with efforts to attack the US. Ms Townsend said Mr Bush’s speech on Thursday “was intended to stress the point that terrorism is a global problem requiring a global response.” She said the plot was disrupted in February 2002 when the leader of the four-man cell intended to carry out the attack was arrested. All four had previously travelled to Afghanistan to meet Osama bin Laden, al-Qaeda’s leader, she said. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was arrested in March 2003 and information he supplied helped lead to the arrest of Hambali in Bangkok in August 2003, she said. Both men are currently being held by the US in undisclosed locations abroad and are reported to have faced harsh interrogation methods, prompting the US Congress in December to ban all cruel and inhumane treatment of prisoners. But Ms Townsend said the information they and others had provided showed the ­importance of “detainee debriefings”. “We have heard many criticisms of our intelligence community but this is an absolute success story,” she said.

Bush brags over foiling non existent 2002 plot { February 10 2006 } Bush claims he foiled 2002 asian terror plot { February 9 2006 } Bush makes public non existant 2002 terror plot { February 10 2006 } Government propaganda shrowded in secrecy { February 9 2006 } Intelligence community thinks 2002 plot was just talk { February 10 2006 } Senate nerve agent scare a false alarm { February 9 2006 } Surveillance helped stop 2002 attacks says bush Files Listed: 7

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