Colin Powell

Five years after bin Laden’s death, mystery surrounding Saudi Arabia and 9/11 remains

NOTE: Be sure to read the comments at the Al-Monitor link about the author and about 9/11. The Al-Monitor is the English version of Al-Hayat. Recently, many “Truth” websites have been circulating an article that supposedly originated from Al-Hayat Daily. I have not seen the original source article. The article is written by Saudi legal expert Katib al-Shammari claiming the U.S. planned the 9/11 attacks to kickstart the global war on terror, but the article has a translation by a dubious MEMRI. http://911blogger.com/news/2016-05-21/saudi-paper-us-carried-out-911-attacks
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Five years after bin Laden’s death, mystery surrounding Saudi Arabia and 9/11 remains
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/05/fbi-qaeda-saudi-arabia-senate-hijackers-bush-clinton-obama.html
May 2016 in the Al-Monitor – by Bruce Riedel
Bruce Riedel is a columnist for Al-Monitor's Gulf Pulse. He is the director of the Intelligence Project at the Brookings Institution.

On Sept. 11, 2001, I was in the White House when Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda attacked the United States of America. As the special assistant to the president for Near East and North Africa affairs, I was responsible for dealing with the government of Saudi Arabia, bin Laden’s home country and the home of 15 of the 19 hijackers who carried out mass murder that day. There has been much controversy since 9/11 about what role the Saudi government or Saudi government officials may have played in the planning, funding or execution of the attack. Most famously, 28 pages of a Senate report that addressed the Saudi role and was completed shortly after the attacks has been kept classified for over a decade. Little attention has been paid to a recent commission report that examined these issues just last year.

Colin Powell's Former Chief Of Staff Lawrence Wilkerson Claims Powell Was 'Manipulated' Into Making Case For Iraq War

Lawrence Wilkerson, former chief of staff to Colin Powell, appeared on "MSNBC Live" tonight and discussed Powell's role as Secretary of State during the lead-up to the Iraq War. Wilkerson said he believes that Former Vice President Dick Cheney's office "manipulated" Powell into justifying the case for war and that "the Secretary of State was not told the complete truth." He went on to state his belief that the Bush Administration was "using" Powell due to his respected reputation.

A key moment in the interview comes when host Cenk Uygur asks Wilkerson about Powell's speech to the United Nations in which Powell made the case for war:

Uygur: Do you think the Vice President's office manipulated you and Secretary Powell into giving a speech?

Wilkerson: Absolutely. Absolutely.

link to video

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/17/colin-powell-lawrence-wilkerson-iraq-manipulated_n_824884.html

U.S. Had 'High Confidence' Of UBL Attack In June 2001

Based on State Dept. cables- see original for links - loose nuke

http://intelwire.egoplex.com/2008_11_07_exclusives.html
November 07, 2008

U.S. Had 'High Confidence' Of UBL Attack In June 2001

Taliban Warned By Powell That Afghanistan Would Be Held Responsible For Harboring Terrorists Who Killed Americans
By J.M. Berger
INTELWIRE.com

Less than three months before September 11, Secretary of State Colin Powell warned the Taliban that American intelligence had "high confidence" that "Afghan-based and other operatives are now planning on carrying out attacks against Americans."

Powell's warning was conveyed to the Taliban by U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan William B. Milam, who specifically discussed Osama bin Laden with the Taliban's representative Abdul Salam Zaeef.

After the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, Zaeef was arrested as an "unlawful combatant" and detained at Guantanamo Bay for three years before being released into house arrest in Afghanistan.

Two cables obtained by INTELWIRE under the Freedom of Information Act detail the warnings, as well as the specific concern about an impending attack against the United States.

A Sorry Indictment by Nick Mollo

This is a personal view of the attacks of 9/11 from the perspective of a UK national.

A Sorry Indictment by Nick Mollo

The first time I came to believe that something might be suspect about the horrendous events of September 11th was with a live on-site report by Channel 4 News in England. The journalist stated that the downed plane (Flight 93) in Shanksville could conceivably have been shot down by an American fighter plane. This assumption was made by the reporter because the wreckage of Flight 93 was spread over what appeared to be a large area. This live report, to my knowledge, was not aired again and the official version of the passengers bringing down the plane to save further lives started to emerge and subsequently became the established unquestionable truth.

Other than my own controversial opinion, that Flight 93 was shot down by an American fighter, I never questioned the official version of events; that 19 terrorists masterminded by Osama Bin Laden had attacked America. The shock and awe of that terrible day was so convincing and the images so powerful that any alternative to the official version was out of the question.

Colin Powell: 'There's Going To Be A Crisis... On The 21st, 22nd Of Jan'

"Theres going to be a crisis which will come along on the 21st, 22nd of January which we don't even know about right now!" -Colin Powell

Exactly what did Colin Powell refer to as the 'crisis'? Ideas anyone? Could it have anything to do with Iran? Or is it the biggest bank crisis ever to occur we will face?
/M

Out Damn Blot: A Letter to Colin Powell By Ray McGovern August 15, 2008

The truth will set you free . . . maybe. But, better late than never.

http://www.consortiumnews.com/2008/081508a.html

consortiumnews.com

Out Damn Blot: A Letter to Colin Powell

By Ray McGovern
August 15, 2008

Dear Colin,

You have said you regret the “blot” on your record caused by your parroting spurious intelligence at the U.N. to justify war on Iraq. On the chance you may not have noticed, I write to point out that you now have a unique opportunity to do some rehab on your reputation.

If you were blindsided, well, here’s an opportunity to try to wipe off some of the blot. There is no need for you to end up like Lady Macbeth, wandering around aimlessly muttering, Out damn spot…or blot.

It has always strained credulity, at least as far as I was concerned, to accept the notion that naiveté prevented you from seeing through the game Vice President Dick Cheney and then-CIA Director George Tenet were playing on Iraq.

WeAreChangeLA meets Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson: "The 9-11 Commission's findings have a number of imperfections..."

Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson was in town on Wednesday, and Garko and I from WeAreChangeLA got a chance to listen to an interesting conversation and ask him about 9-11. Ian Masters, the moderator, defensively jumped the gun on my question about 9-11. Wilkerson dodged the question on whether he supports a genuine investigation of 911. What he did give was an insightful perspective on the "totally useless" intelligence community. I still think that he is harboring serious anger at Cheney and serious resentment at the intelligence community. I want to know what he knows and thinks about 9-11.

He started out, after saying that it was total news to him that all these CIA vets had questioned the 9-11 Commission, by stating that "the 9-11 Commission's findings have a number of imperfections..." He then went on to describe the uselessness of the hi-tech intelligence apparatus. I agree with him on much of his statement, but he spun away from answering the yes or no new investigation question fairly skillfully.

Dick Cheney’s Song of America, By David Armstrong

Posted On Information Clearing House: 02/27/08

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article1544.htm

NEWS YOU WON'T FIND ON CNN.

In Case You Missed It

Dick Cheney’s Song of America

The Plan is for the United States to rule the world. The overt theme is unilateralism, but it is ultimately a story of domination. It calls for the United States to maintain its overwhelming military superiority and prevent new rivals from rising up to challenge it on the world stage. It calls for dominion over friends and enemies alike. It says not that the United States must be more powerful, or most powerful, but that it must be absolutely powerful.

By David Armstrong

Harper's Magazine, 0017789X, Oct 2002, Vol. 305, Issue 1829

Iraq war anniversary misses 9/11 focus

Source: http://www.medina-gazette.com/Articles.asp?num=59666344

Medina-Gazette - Mar 20 12:04 AM

Iraq war anniversary misses 9/11 focus

It's the fourth anniversary of the start of the Iraq War. It also feels like the anniversary of the end of our national focus on bringing the architect of 9/11 to justice.

Just a quick tour of the numbers, to help us get our bearings.

According to the Pentagon, there are about 27,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan — the highest number since the October 2001 invasion. They are part of a NATO-led force of around 50,000. According to the Department of Defense, there have been 369 American service personnel killed in Afghanistan, as well as 676 who were wounded and unable to return to action.

In Iraq, there are upwards of 142,000 U.S. troops. The Associated Press puts the current number killed at 3,217. Those wounded and unable to go back: 10,685, according to the DOD.

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