Opinion

If like me, you have something to say about a news story please email them to us and they will be posted here.  

04.16.04

What Questions Need to Be Asked & Answered

From Woody Voinche, Marksville LA

It seems that a diversionary controversy has arisen over whether Condaleezza Rice should testify before the 9/11 commission. More importantly, George Tenet (he has testified but he should answer questions on the important issues that have already appeared in the open press)

Four major article have appeared in the mainstream press that shed light on the CIA/FBI relationship to Islamic terrorists:

1) The Atlantic Monthly of May 1996, titled, Foreign Affairs Blowback, on the CIAs relationship and use of Islamic terrorists and the mujahideen in the war against the Soviets in Afghanistan in the early 1980's including, Sheik Omar Abdul Rahman and the CIA's intervention on his behalf to obtain a visa to enter the US...he was convicted in the 1993 WTC bombing.

2) The New York Times, October 28, 1993, p.1, on the FBI having advanced knowledge and wiretaps of the 1993 WTC terrorists and the use of informant, Emad A Salem, in an attempt 'to thwart the plotters by secretly 
substituting harmless powder for the expolosives..."' Mr. Salem's relationship to FBI agents, John Anticev and Nancy Floyd, and their preventing him from reporting to FBI Headquarters on the bureau's failure '...to stop the bombing...'

3) The Wall Street Journal, Nov. 26, 2001, p.1 on US army sergeant Ali Mohamed and the 1989 para-military training of five of the terrorists later convicted in the 1993 WTC bombing. Mr. Mohamed was an informant and had links to the FBI and CIA. He was linked to Sheik Rahman and El Nosair convicted in the assassination of Rabbi Meir Kahane.

4) Newsweek, June 10, 2002, p. 22 on the CIA having knowledge of Almihdhar and Alhazmi's attendance of the Qaeda meeting in Kuala Lumpur and having Malaysian security follow and photograph them for the CIA...they were followed to L.A. then the CIA lost them!  Intelligence agencies had a phone tap on the Yemen phone of Ahmed Al-Hada (father in law of Almihdhar) the main center for relaying information to bin Laden.

More important than the testimony of Dr. Rice is the testimony of the heads of the CIA and FBI. Shouldn't these agency heads; Mr. Freeh, Mr. Mueller, Mr. Aschroft, Mr. Tenet, Ms. Reno, and the upper echelon personnel involved in the cases cited by the above publications answer specific questions about the relationships and intelligence involved in each of these cases? Should the CIA explain their relationship with Sheik Omar Rahman? Should Emad Salem, Nancy Floyd, John Anticev, and others mentioned in the New York Times article cited above testify about having advanced wiretaps and information about the bombing and not stopping it and the FBI agent overseeing the case answer specific questions about the facts of the NYT article? 

Over 3000 people were killed in New York City.Shouldn't the FBI release these wiretaps? How could this hurt National Security now? Should the FBI and CIA heads and agents involved with Ali Mohamed mentioned in the Wall Street 
Journal article answer questions about their relationship and his involvement with the 1993 terrorists? Should the CIA and FBI heads and personnel overseeing the information on the Kuala Lumpur meeting answer questions about this case? Should the agency heads and agents involved in installing the wiretap on the Yemen phone of Al Hada testify about the 
wiretaps? Should the transcripts be released?

Initially, I thought Dr. Condolleezza Rice's testimony would not be as important as the heads of the CIA and FBI, but since her reference to the Aug. 6th PDB, although it is a very generalized document, it might lead to other more important releases if the above listed Mr. Mueller, Mr. Freeh, Mr. Aschroft, Ms. Reno, Mr. Bush do not testify and answer specific question and release wiretaps mentioned in the NYT, WSJ, Newsweek article cited above will make the 9/11 Commission a whitewash and Thomas Kean, Lee Hamilton, Bob Kerry, John Lehman etc, are glossing over this investigation and going thru the motions to pacify the public. 

The NY Times, WSJ, Newsweek, Atlantic Monthly publications have this information...but the FBI and CIA don't know anything about this. Do you really believe this?