Media coverage of the 9/11 Commission’s most-recent staff statements has centered on debunking the assertion that al Qaeda and Saddam Hussein had a working relationship. Largely lost in the debate are a number of interesting revelations.
The Commission’s Staff Statement No. 15 (“Overview of the Enemy”), states that one plot floated by the mujahedeen in Afghanistan involved taking over a launcher and forcing Russian scientists to fire a nuclear missile at the United States. Former presidential consultant and GeoStrategic Analysis President Peter Heussy says, “The commission’s staff report gives major credence to the need for a ballistic missile defense system for the United States.”
As Michael Moore makes the talk-show circuit claiming the White House provided deferential treatment to Saudi citizens in the days following 9/11, the commission’s report states that while al Qaeda found recruits and “fertile” fundraising ground in Saudi Arabia, “No evidence exists that the Saudi government as an institution or senior officials within the Saudi government funded al Qaeda.” In addition, Staff Statement No. 16 (“Outline of the 9/11 Plot”) rebukes another popular rumor, “Specifically, there is no evidence” that the hijackers “received funding from Saudi citizens Omar al Bayoumi and Osama Bassnan, or that Saudi princess Haifa al Faisal provided any funds to the conspiracy either directly or indirectly.”
The commission reports that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed’s original plan called for attacks on both the east and west coasts of the United States. In addition to targets hit on 9/11, KSM advocated strikes against CIA and FBI headquarters, “unidentified nuclear power plants” and “the tallest buildings” in California and Washington State. The “centerpiece” had KSM himself flying a tenth plane, killing every male passenger on board, and finally landing the aircraft at a U.S. airport while making a speech denouncing U.S. policies in the Middle East. However, his plan received a “lukewarm” response from al Qaeda leadership, including bin Laden, who personally “scrapped” the public-statement idea.
Several media outlets reported last week that bin Laden originally advocated enacting the terrorist plot before September 11. At least one detail omitted is that bin Laden reportedly said it would be “sufficient” to simply down the planes without hitting specific targets. Bin Laden had initially requested the date of May 12, 2001, to mark the seven-month anniversary of the bombing of the U.S.S. Cole. Later, he revised the date to sometime in June or July 2001 to coincide with Ariel Sharon’s planned visit to the White House. It was KSM who resisted, arguing that the hijackers needed more time for flight training and physical preparation.
In perhaps a more shocking revelation, Taliban leader Mullah Omar rejected attacking U.S. targets outside Afghanistan. Omar reportedly resisted for ideological reasons as well as in response to pressure from the Pakistani government to not engage in operations outside of Afghanistan. Other Taliban leaders opposed the plot as well, both out of fear of U.S. retaliatory strikes and in deference to Omar. Bin Laden similarly faced opposition from some of his most senior advisers–including Shura council members Shaykh Saeed, Sayf al Adl, and Abu Hafs the Mauritanian.
Meanwhile, the 9/11 commissioners continue to contradict each other regarding bin Laden and Hussein. Appearing on Sunday’s Meet the Press, commissioner Richard Ben-Veniste declared, “Take it to the bank, there was no Iraqi involvement in 9/11. Let’s put that to bed. That’s what our commission found.” Fellow commissioner John Lehman followed this on the same program stating, “There’s really very little difference between what our staff found, what the administration is saying today and what the Clinton administration said. The Clinton administration portrayed the relationship between al Qaeda and Saddam’s intelligence services as one of cooperating in weapons development. There’s abundant evidence of that…. It confirms the cooperative relationship, which were the words of the Clinton administration, between al Qaeda and Iraqi intelligence.”
–Eric D. Pfeiffer is a senior writer at the National Journal’s “Hotline.”