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TEAM #1
Item 1: Key Questions
1. What is the history of al Qaeda and its linkages to other terrorist entities
prior to the 9/11 attacks?
Each of these lines of inquiry is a building block that encompasses many specific
component questions. We can identify some of these component questions at the
~ outset of the research, and they are listed below as a means of focusing the
initiation of our research. However, new component questions will emerge from
our discoveries as our research progresses. Thus, one of the aims of the initial
research is to identify additional key component questions for our research. One
of the erosscutting issues to which we will pay close attention is al Qaeda's
collaborative relationships and connections with various other entities because
these factors will be critical in assessing al Qaeda's means and capabilities for
future attacks.
B. The following is a list of some of the key component questions that will be the
focus of our initial research:
We will start our research on the first line of inquiry—in effect, the
construction of the "base building block"—in the 1989-1990 time frame, when
Usama bin Laden's "base" or "al Qaeda" was set up in Peshawar, Pakistan, and
bin Laden himself returned to~~Saudi Arabia. After the deployment of U.S. forces
to Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states in 1990, bin Laden began his tirades against
the "apostate" regimes in the Muslim world and called for the expulsion of the
-AmericanJ'infidels" from the land of the "sacred sites" of Islam. In 1991 bin —-
Laden moved his base to Sudan. Some context:
During this time frame several major terrorist operations took place in
which bin Laden is known to have been involved, as well as additional
attacks for which there is evidence of, at least, bin Laden's support. These
attacks include the 1992 bombing of a hotel in Yemen where American
troops on their way to Somalia were staying; the February 1993 bombing
of the World Trade Center (WTC I); the "Day of Terror" plot, targeted at
New York City landmarks, a plot that was broken up by law enforcement
in June 1993; the 1995 "Bojinka Plot" in Manila, which included plans to
blow up 12 airliners over the Pacific Ocean, assassinate the Pope and the
U.S. president, and fly an airplane laden with explosives into the CIA's
headquarters; and the 1995 bombing of the Saudi National Guard
building in Riyadh that killed five US. soldiers. In addition, although the
attacks on the American Embassiesln Kenya and Tanzania did not take
place until August 1998, the planning was already well underway while
bin Laden was residing in Sudan and he reportedly reviewed the plans for
the attacks and the reconnaissance photos used for those plans.
The multiple connections between these operations offer insights into the
evolving structure ofal Qaeda. For example, Wadih el-Hage served as
Our research will then follow bin Laden's move to Afghanistan in the spring of
1996 and the establishment of his infrastructure there. We will focus on one of the key
developmental lines during this period, the further expansion of al Qaeda's global reach
through recruitment, indoctrination, training and the dispersal of its cells, at least some of
which played critical roles in the later 9/11 attacks. Some context:
~ The results of these research efforts will provide a base for honing^specific areas
of focus and identifying sources for pursuing the third line of inquiry: WhaLhas
happened to al Qaeda in the wake of the 9/11 attacks and the intensified worldwide
coalition in a war against terrorism, and, of even greater importance, what this reveals
about al Qaeda's present composition and its threat to the United States-.
The research on al Qaeda's earlier developments will naturally feed into the
understanding of al Qaeda's current situation. However, we plan to step back at various
intervals to examine what specific component questions and branches of inquiry have
emerged from our research into al Qaeda's evolution and use these questions to sharpen
our focus on the current threat.
TEAM#1
Item 2: Suggested Readings
For insight into the Washington perspective and what was known of the
terrorist threat presented by bin Laden and al Qaeda prior to 9/11, we suggest
Daniel Benjamin and Steve_Simon, The Age of Sacred Terror (Random House,
2002).
TEAM#1
Item 3: Document Requests
2. The FBI's Penttbom file, which contains the details of what has been learned
from the investigations of the 9/11 conspiracy, including^ detailed timeline of
what the FBI knows of the origins and movements of each^of the plot's
participants. ~
and equipment captured since 9/11. We will start with the Director of Central
Intelligence's Review Group, which has been tasked with accumulating all
information on bin Laden, al Qaeda, and terrorist plots against the United
States worldwide.
Many key individuals and materials have been captured since the conclusion
of the Joint Inquiry, including, according to media accounts, individuals who
played key roles in the al Qaeda leadership circle, such as Khalid Sheikh
Mohammed and Abu Zubaida, as well as key field operators such as Ramzi
Binalshib, Umar Faruq and Mohammed Mansourf abarah. The latter two are
sources for information on al Qaeda's global reach because of their central
roles in the collaboration of al Qaeda and Southeast Asian terrorist groups in
the December 2000 attacks in Manila and Jakarta, the planned multiple attacks
in Singapore and Malaysia that were thwarted by local authorities in
December 2001, and the October 2002 Bali bombing.
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