Recently another Kossack published a diary entitled Bush Knew. Some took umbrage to the diary, claiming it was a "conspiracy theory" festival that should be yanked. Acronyms started flying: LIHOP ("Let it happen on purpose"), MIHOP ("Made it happen on purpose") and God knows how many other letter tangles. Well, the diarist was right. Bush DID know, and I've got the links to prove it. Did he know that the attacks were coming? Specifically? During the morning of September 11? That's a good question, and I don't have the answer to that; I've seen no evidence to prove that claim. Did he, or Cheney, or Condi, or Scooby and the gang, plan, coordinate, and execute the attacks? I strongly doubt it. But there's a stack of evidence higher than Bush's ego showing that he knew plenty, and by implication, chose to ignore 99.99% of it. Follow me over the transom to take a look. Kos, lose the banhammer, I'm not going down Conspiracy Road.
Update: You guys are the bomb. Thanks for the rec. Anyone interested in a "regular" series of specific info from HC? We've got a ton lot of info, and most of it isn't 9/11 related. My two personal topics now are domestic terrorism and domestic propaganda. Others have wide and varying interests, including continuing to update and develop the 9/11 timeline.
We've documented a hell of a lot of information at the History Commons about 9/11 and Islamist terrorism. There's a double-dozen ways to sort through the almost 7,000 entries in the 9/11 project. One category in that project, Warning Signs, is where I got much of the info linked below. Please take a good look at the individual entries. You'll notice that the sources are not 911OMGWTF.com or such. This is solid information culled from reliable sources. I started this as, not a diary, but a comment responding to the possibility of airplanes being used to strike US targets, a possibility that Condoleezza Rice and many others said had never been envisioned by anyone, nope no way nuh-uh, before the attacks. Yeah, well, bullshit. Rice, Bush, Cheney, and anyone else with the connections to get the info knew that not only had such attacks been envisioned many, many times before, they had been anticipated and planned for since at least 1989, and in the weeks preceding 9/11, dozens of warnings about aircraft being hijacked and flown into US targets were pouring into Washington.
The History Commons has no time for the 9/11 conspiracists. We don't "document" the crap about remote-controlled drones being flown into the WTC by Dick Cheney from a based underneath Cheyenne Mountain (besides, isn't that where the Stargate is??). Nor do we want to hear about laser-guided missiles masquerading as jumbo passenger planes, holograms masking explosive devices, yadda yadda fucking yadda. What's here is a very small, specific slice of what Bush did know, or what he could have known had he bothered to pay any attention whatsoever, before the attacks.
Again, this string of data is only about the use of airplanes in a possible attack. There's plenty more on related topics where this came from.
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July 28, 1945: Empire State Building Struck by US Army B-25 Bomber
May 2, 1968: Advert in New York Times Warns of WTC Danger, Shows Plane About to Strike One of the Towers
April 1977: Movie Has Terrorists Attempting to Crash Explosive-Laden Blimp into Super Bowl Stadium
February 20, 1981: Boeing 707 Nearly Hits Television Mast atop World Trade Center
November 1985: Office of Special Planning Report Calls WTC a ‘Most Attractive Terrorist Target’
March 1989: Possibility of Suicide Attacks Using Planes Is ‘Nightmare’ of Governments, Paper Says
1990-2001: NORAD Regularly Launches Fighters to Intercept Suspicious Aircraft before 9/11
February 11, 1993: Hijacking Raises Concern of Plane Being Crashed into New York Building
After February 26, 1993: Security Chief Predicts Terrorists Flying Plane into WTC
February 27, 1993: WTC Engineer Says Building Would Survive Jumbo Jet Hitting It
After February 26, 1993: Threat Assessments Predict Possibility of Terrorists Crashing Plane into WTC
Spring 1993: ’Blind Sheikh’ Plot to Crash Airplane into US Embassy in Egypt
May 1, 1993: Iran Trains Suicide Pilots at Secret Terror School, Expert Says
April 1994: Disgruntled Worker Tries to Fly Passenger Jet Into Memphis Building
August 17, 1994: Tom Clancy Bestseller Includes Plane Deliberately Crashed into US Capitol Building
September 11, 1994: Suicidal Man Attempts to Crash Small Airplane into White House
December 24, 1994: Al-Qaeda Connected Militants Attempt to Crash Passenger Jet into Eiffel Tower
Spring 1995: More Evidence that WTC Remains a Target
June 3, 1995: Plot to Crash Plane in CIA Headquarters First Mentioned in Media
1996: Chechen Rebels Threaten to Fly Airplane into Kremlin
January 1996: Muslim Extremists Plan Suicide Attack on White House
July 6, 1996-August 11, 1996: Atlanta Rules Established to Protect Against Attacks Using Planes as Flying Weapons
September 5, 1996: Bojinka Defendants Convicted; Trial Ignores 9/11 Blueprint Plot
November 24, 1996: Passenger Plane Suicide Attack Narrowly Averted
1997: Possible Unmanned Aerial Attacks Raise Concerns at FBI, CIA
February 12, 1997: Vice President Gore’s Aviation Security Report Released
1998: Training Exercise Held at the White House, Based Around Militants Using a Plane as a Weapon
Early 1998: CIA Ignores Ex-Agent’s Warning KSM Is ‘Going to Hijack Some Planes,’ Visiting Germany
Between 1998 and 2001: Pentagon Official Concerned about Plane Being Used as a Weapon
April 26, 1998: Columbine Gunmen Consider Hijacking Plane and Crashing It into New York
August 1998: CIA Warns That Arab Militants Plan to Fly Bomb-Laden Plane From Libya into WTC
Autumn 1998: Rumors of Bin Laden Plot Involving Aircraft in New York and Washington Surface Again
September 1998: Bin Laden’s Next Operations May Involve Crashing Airplane into US Airport
November 1998: Turkish Extremists’ Plan to Crash Airplane into Famous Tomb Uncovered
December 4, 1998: Clinton Warned ‘Bin Laden Preparing to Hijack US Aircraft’ Inside US
December 21, 1998: Bin Laden May Be Planning Attacks on New York and Washington
1999: British Intelligence Warns Al-Qaeda Plans to Use Aircraft, Possibly as Flying Bombs
February 18, 1999: Novel by CIA Official Features Plane-as-Missile Terror Plot
March 1999: Plot to Use Hang Glide Bomb Tested, Thwarted
March 24, 1999-2001: NEADS Officer Presents Briefing on Threat of Terrorists Crashing Planes into Buildings
July 1999: Terrorists Could Use Drones to Commit Attacks, Expert Says
August 4, 1999: FAA Considers Suicide Hijacking Possibility: Al-Qaeda Could Hijack Jet and ‘Slam It into a US Landmark’
September 1999: US Report Predicts Spectacular Attack on Washington; Al-Qaeda Could ‘Crash-Land Aircraft’ into Buildings
October 31, 1999: Suicide Pilot Crashes Commercial Airliner into Ocean
2000: Security Consultant Warns of Someone Flying Plane into WTC
February 2000: Fear of Airborne Terror Attack Keeps Air Defense Chief ‘Awake at Night’
February 7, 2000: Aviation Thriller Novel Predicts Plane Hitting WTC and Other Events Similar to 9/11
March 2000: US Intelligence Learns Bin Laden May Target Statue of Liberty, Skyscrapers, Other Sites
April 2000: British Man Tells FBI about Al-Qaeda Plot to Hijack Plane in US, Possibly Fly It into Building
June 2000: GAO Warns of ‘Large-Scale Incidents Designed for Maximum Destruction’
June 2000: Multiple Web Domains Related to 2001 and/or WTC Attack Are Registered
June 2000: Report Warns of Danger of ‘Catastrophic Terrorism’
August 12, 2000: Italian Intelligence Wiretap of Al-Qaeda Cell Reveals Plan for Massive Aircraft-based Strike
September 15-October 1, 2000: Sydney Olympics Officials’ Top Concern: Airliner-Based Al-Qaeda Attack
October 2000: Bin Laden Decides Next Action Against US Will Involve Hijacking; French Later Pass Warning to US
(Between October 15 and November 21, 2000): FBI Bin Laden Expert Warns of Al-Qaeda Threat to WTC
Early 2001: Bin Laden Warns of Massive Attack on US in Training Camp Speech
January 5, 2001: French Report Al-Qaeda Plan to Hijack Plane Possibly Headed to US; CIA Apparently Informed
January 11, 2001: Rumsfeld Warns of Surprise Attack Like Pearl Harbor
March 2001: Bin Laden Targets Passenger Planes at Chicago Airport
March-April 2001: Al-Qaeda Defector Describes Plot to Hijack US Airplane
March 4, 2001: Television Show Eerily Envisions 9/11 Attacks
April 2001: Speculation that Bin Laden Could Be Interested in Using Commercial Pilots as Terrorists
April 2001: Courier Working for Bin Laden and CIA Flees Afghanistan, Warns Al-Qaeda Planning to Hijack Airplane in US
April 2001: FBI Translators Learn Al-Qaeda Suicide Pilots Plan to Hit Skyscrapers in US and Europe
April 1, 2001-September 10, 2001: Nearly Half of FAA’s Daily Intelligence Summaries Mention Bin Laden or Al-Qaeda; No Action is Taken
April 18, 2001: FAA Warns Airlines About Middle Eastern Hijackers
May 2001: NSA Analyst Warns of Terrorist Planes into Buildings Plot; But Described as ‘Obsessed’ By Superiors
May 2001: ABC Fails to Report al-Qaeda Plan to Hijack Plane, after Pressure from Unknown Intelligence Agency
May 30, 2001: FBI Is Warned of Major Al-Qaeda Operation in the US Involving Hijackings, Explosives, and/or New York City
June 13, 2001: Egypt Warns that Bin Laden Wants to Assassinate President Bush with an Explosives-Filled Airplane
June 20, 2001: Time Magazine Mentions Al-Qaeda Planning to Use Planes as Weapons
June 29, 2001: Surveillance Indicates Al-Qaeda Will Attack Genoa Summit with Multiple Planes
June 30-July 1, 2001: New York Times Reporter Told Al-Qaeda Is ‘Planning Something So Big the US Will Have to Respond,’ but Fails to Publish Warning
July-August 2001: FBI Agent Is Deliberately Deceived regarding Skyscraper Warning
Mid-July 2001: More G-8 Summit Warnings Describe Plane as Flying Bomb
July 20-22, 2001: During G8 Summit, Italian Military Prepare against Attack from the Sky
Late Summer 2001: Jordan Warns US that Aircraft Will Be Used in Major Attack Inside the US
August 2001: US Learns of Plot to Crash Airplane into US Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya
August 2001: FAA Told to Warn Airlines of Hijacking or Airliner Bombing in New York, Atlanta, and Other Locations
August 2001: Russia Warns US of Suicide Pilots
Early August 2001: Britain Warns US Again; Specifies Multiple Airplane Hijackings
Early August 2001: Government Informant Warns Congressmen of Plan to Attack the WTC
August 1, 2001: Actor Communicates Concerns to Stewardess that Airplane Will Be Hijacked; Warning Forwarded to the FAA
August 6, 2001: President Bush Tells CIA Regarding Bin Laden Warning, ‘You’ve Covered Your Ass, Now’
August 23-27, 2001: Minnesota FBI Agents ‘Absolutely Convinced’ Moussaoui Plans to Hijack Plane; They Are Undermined by FBI Headquarters
August 27, 2001: Spanish Police Tape Phone Calls Indicating Aviation-Based Plans to Attack US
August 29, 2001: Cayman Islands Letter Warns of ‘Major Terrorist Act against US via an Airline or Airlines’
Early September 2001: Defense Department Has Evidence of ‘Kamikaze Bombers’ Trained to Fly in Afghanistan
September 6, 2001: FAA Places Severe Flight Restrictions on Author Because of Attack Threat
September 7, 2001: Priest Is Told of Plot to Attack US and Britain Using Hijacked Airplanes
September 9, 2001: New York Times Reports Bin Laden ‘Promises More Attacks’; Article Will Be Removed Shortly After 9/11
Before September 11, 2001: NEADS Staff Briefed on Possibility of Plane Hitting WTC
September 10, 2001: Suspicious Passengers on Flight to Boston Ask about WTC
September 10, 2001: US Generals Warned Not to Fly on Morning of 9/11
September 11-12, 2001: Senior US Officials Claim No Specific Warnings or High Threat Recently
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My friend and colleague Paul Thompson, knows more about the events and issues before, during, and after the attacks than anyone I know, or know of, with the possible exception of Richard Clarke and maybe some senior analysts who, like Clarke, weren't listened to. Thompson says that he isn't sure what was known and not known in the administration in the days and months leading up to the attacks, but the facts clearly demonstrate that virtually nothing any member of the Bush administration said for public consumption was true.
Bush did know, or should have known, that an attack was imminent and he should have done something about it. There's no evidence to show that he or Dick the Puppetmaster planned or orchestrated the events of 9/11, but there's a tsunami of evidence showing that they ignored or blew off more warnings than anyone should have needed to take effective precautions. If they "let it happen," it was due to incompetence, ignorance, and a breathtakingly callous approach to their responsibilities. And it's pretty damn clear that once it did happen, they scrambled -- within hours -- to take advantage of it for their own political and ideological ends.
That's where the previous diarist was going, and that's where the facts take us. We'll leave the conspiracies to Jesse Ventura and Alex Jones, and the nutbags who take them seriously. The facts are quite damning enough.