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July 2001:
==Jul.01 > [•X] California Senator Diane Feinstein, who is on
the Intelligence Committee, warns CNN “Intelligence staff tell me that
there is a major probability of a terrorist incident within the next three
months.” [time.May.27.2002]
==Jul.02 > [•X]
The FBI warns law enforcement agencies and the White House of possible
overseas attacks by al-Qaeda - although it does not rule out domestic
attacks. The warning is reiterated on July 18.
[time.May.27.2002 / jdw]
==Jul.03 > [•X]
Convicted terrorist Ahmed Ressam, who has been giving detailed accounts
of al-Qaeda’s plans, testifies that US airports are a prime target.
[nwwk.May.27.2002]
==Jul.03 > [•X]
CIA Director Tenet urgently appeals to 20 foreign intelligence services
for the arrest of known al-Qaeda operatives.
[wap.May.17.2002]
==Jul.04 > [•]
The Israeli Cabinet gives the army almost complete freedom to assassinate
‘security risks’ in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Next day,
the Cabinet falls into an uproar as right-wing members demand full-scale
military action against the occupied territories. Continued assassinations,
bombings, and other violence by both sides continues through the summer.
[gdn.Oct.17.2001]
==Jul.05 > [•X]
Bush becomes aware of the increasing intelligence chatter indicating an
imminent terror attack: he directs National Security Adviser Rice to review
the situation, and Rice meets with anti-terrorism chief Richard Clarke.
In addition to his conference with Rice, the busy Clarke convenes two
meetings this same day on the possibility of terrorist attacks.
The larger briefing is held in the White House Situation Room with officials
from a dozen federal agencies - Clarke tells them “Something really spectacular
is going to happen here, and it's going to happen soon,” and warns that
the attack will be designed to inflict mass casualties and will come with
little or no warning. For several weeks, the US government is on
the highest level of alert. July marks the pre-9/11 height of
US government fears of a major terrorist attack.
[nyt.May.17.2002 / wap.May.17.2002 / jdw]
==Jul.05 > [X]
In Florida, Atta is pulled over for speeding. During the routine
check, the police computer fails to report that he has an outstanding
warrant for failing to appear in court for a traffic violation.
[inside]
==Jul.06 > [•X]
The Pentagon issues another anti-terrorism alert to US military forces.
[jdw]
==Jul.06 > [•X] Clarke
puts the Counterterrorism Security Group on full alert, directs its members
to restrict non-essential travel, and orders it to report anything unusual
- “even if a sparrow should fall from a tree.” On Jul.07, Clarke meets
with senior federal security officials and repeats this urgent request
for information… but in the weeks to come, both the CIA and the FBI fail
to disclose critical intelligence. [nyt.May.17.2002
/ clarke]
==Jul.08-19 > [X]
Atta visits Spain, probably to work out the final details of 9/11 with
an al-Qaeda operational commander. [lat.Sep.01.2002]
==Jul.10 > [•X]
Agent Kenneth Williams in Arizona sends a memo to FBI headquarters and
to two field offices warning that suspected terrorists have been attending
flight training schools, and urging a nation-wide investigation.
The FBI takes no action and neglects to pass the memo to other concerned
agencies. [time.Aug.04.2002 / wap.May.17.2002]
==Jul.12 > [•] The House
scuttles the campaign finance reform bill.
[info]
==Jul.16 > [•X] British
intelligence agencies warn Prime Minister Blair that al-Qaeda is in “the
final stages” of preparing an attack on the West, most likely against
US or Israeli interests. The report is presumably passed on to US
intelligence. [tml.Jun.14.2002]
==Jul.16 > [••] A Russian-Chinese friendship treaty
is signed, inspired by their opposition to the Bush administration’s missile
defense program. [info]
==Jul.17 > [•] India and Pakistan break off talks
on Kashmir. [info]
==Jul.17 > [•] Katherine Graham,
the widely admired former publisher of the Washington Post, dies at the
age of 84. [info]
==Jul.17-22 > [•X] At a
UN-sponsored conference on Afghanistan held in Berlin, senior American
diplomats tell former Pakistani Foreign Minister Niaz Naik that the US
is already planning to attack Afghanistan by mid-October unless bin Laden
is handed over. The warning is presumably passed on to the Taliban.
A US delegate later admits that Naik could have been told that America
“might be considering some military action” against the Taliban, but denies
mentioning any details. In any event, it is unlikely that American
public opinion would have supported large-scale military operations in
Afghanistan before the 9/11 attacks. See Sep.09
[hiro1 / gdn.Sep.22.2001]
==Jul.19 > [•] VP Cheney
refuses a demand from the GAO that he hand over the records of his energy
task force. [cnn.Jul.19.2001]
==Jul.19 > [•X] The State Department warns that terrorist attacks
could be imminent in the Arabian Peninsula.
[spi.Jul.19.2001]
==Jul.20 > [•X]
The Pentagon issues yet another anti-terrorism alert to US military forces.
[jdw]
==Jul.20-22 > [••X] The Genoa
G8 economic summit is held, with Bush, Blair, Chirac, Putin, and other
heads of state present. Western and Russian intelligence agencies
have had many warnings of terrorist attacks on the meeting - in particular,
Italian officials have received reports that Islamist terrorists are plotting
to crash a hijacked airliner into the conference. Security measures
are unprecedented, including deployment of 15,000 police and military
personnel in the town, emplacement of surface-to-air missiles at the airport,
underwater patrols by frogmen, and the closure of airspace over the city.
After an attack fails to materialize, US fears of terrorist attacks
subside until September 11. [lat.Sep.27.2001
/ time.May.27+Aug.04.2002 / cnn.Jul.18.2001]
==Jul.23 > [•] 178 nations
reach an accord on global warming. The United States is not one
of them. [info]
==Jul.24 > [•] Real estate
magnate Larry Silverstein finalizes the purchase of the lease of the World
Trade Center from the New York Port Authority for $3.2 billion.
[irei.Jul.26.2001]
==Jul.28 > [•X] al-Qaeda operative Jamal Beghal is arrested
in Dubai on his way to suicide bomb the US Embassy in Paris. He
eventually talks after rough interrogation and reveals the existence of
a widespread terrorist network in Western Europe - but the information
comes too late to compromise the 9/11 plot.
[nyt.Dec.28.2001 / time.May.27.2002 / gdn.Jan.20.2002]
==Jul.31 > [•X] The FAA issues another terrorism advisory, urging
“a high degree of alertness” for the possibility of hijackings.
The warning will expire before September 11.
[wap.May.17.2002]
==Jul.31 > [•X] A UN
Security Council Resolution calls for posting UN officials on Afghanistan’s
borders to enforce the arms embargo against the Taliban. The Taliban
and its Pakistani supporters threaten to kill any UN monitors they can
get their hands on. [hiro1]
==Jul.--- > [•X] Taliban Foreign Minister Wakil Ahmed Muttawakil,
who opposes his regime’s alliance with bin Laden, reportedly sends warnings
to both a US diplomat in Pakistan and UN personnel in Kabul that al-Qaeda
is preparing to launch a major attack within the United States.
The warnings are ignored. An American diplomat later says “We were
hearing a lot of that kind of stuff. When people keep saying the
sky's going to fall in and it doesn't, a kind of warning fatigue sets
in.” At about the same time, the CIA learns from an informant that
in Afghanistan “Everyone is talking about an impending (terrorist) attack.”
The agency notes an increase in al-Qaeda propaganda efforts.
[reu.Sep.07.2002 / senic.Sep.18.2002]
==Jul.--- > [•X]
The FAA announces it intends to fine American Airlines $99,000 for lax
security. [wap.Sep.12.2001]
Summer 2001: == > [•X] The Taliban regime begins a harsh policy of burning villages in ethnic minority regions in northern, western, and central Afghanistan. Many of the troops used in these actions are foreign Muslims enlisted by al-Qaeda. [bbc.Sep.18.2001] August 2001: ==Aug.05 > [•X] The Taliban arrests 24 aid workers - eight foreigners and 16 Afghans - on the charge of propagating Christianity. The arrested Afghans could face the death penalty. [cnn.Aug.07.2001] ==Aug.06 > [•X] A couple days after Bush begins a month-long vacation at his ranch, CIA director Tenet briefs the president on al-Qaeda, raising the possibility of an airline hijacking being used as a domestic terrorist threat. [wap.May.17.2002] ==Aug.09 > [•X] A Hamas suicide bomber kills 15 Israelis and wounds 90 in a Jerusalem pizza restaurant. Six of the dead are children. Next day, Israel levels the Palestinian police headquarters in Ramallah with an air attack. [gdn.Oct.17.2001] ==Aug.13 > [•] A peace agreement is reached in Macedonia, which has been ravaged by fighting for months. [info] ==Aug.13-14 > [X] Mohammad Atta and the 9/11 hijacker pilots gather in Las Vegas. It is believed that the plans for 9/11 are finalized at this meeting. Al-Shehhi pays visits to the Olympic Garden Topless Club - afterwards, his dancer recalls “Some big-man terrorist, huh?… He gave me a really shitty tip.” [inside / tele.Oct.06.2001] ==Aug.14 > [•] Israeli tanks destroy the Palestinian police headquarters in Jenin, in the largest Israeli incursion into the West Bank since the Palestinians took over in 1994. [gdn.Oct.17.2001] 
Jeff Skilling
==Aug.14 > [•] Jeff Skilling resigns
as CEO of Enron, and Chairman Ken Lay takes over the job. Showing
signs of burn-out, Skilling publicly claims he wants to spend more time
with his family, but privately he’s horrified at the potential consequences
of Enron’s falling stock prices. The company is secretly approaching
a crisis, but analysts continue to rate it as a “strong buy.”
[wap.Jul.29.2002 / npr.Aug.13.2003]
==Aug.15 > [•] Enron Vice
President Sherron Watkins writes a memo to Ken Lay warning “I am incredibly
nervous that we will implode in a wave of accounting scandals.” By early
September, a feeble internal investigation concludes there are no serious
problems. But Watkins memo also reaches Enron’s accounting firm
Arthur Anderson, and the previously compliant accountants begin to worry.
[wap.Jul.29+Jul.30.2002]
==Aug.15-16 (night) > [•XX] Al-Qaeda operative
Moussaoui is arrested in Minnesota for visa violations while making a
second attempt at completing flight training, after the suspicious flight
school staff reports him to the FBI. [time.May.27.2002]
==Aug.17 > [•]
Popular support for Ariel Sharon is falling - because much of the Israeli
public considers him too soft on the Palestinians.
[gdn.Oct.17.2001]
==Aug.20 > [•] Stephen
S. Roach, chief economist of Morgan Stanley, says ''We have gone from
boom to bust faster than anytime since the oil shock (of 1973). When you
screech to a halt like that, it feels like getting thrown through the
windshield.'' [nyt.Aug.20.2001]
==Aug.21 > [•X]
Minneapolis FBI agents working on the Moussaoui case warn FBI Headquarters
that al-Qaeda may be planning to hijack a plane overseas and then use
it to attack Washington. [jdw]
==Aug.21-23 > [•XX] Twenty months after
it identified them at an al-Qaeda conference in Malaysia, the CIA finally
puts the future hijackers Almihdhar and Alhazmi on the terror watch list
and alerts the INS and the FBI. The FBI is unable to find them before
9/11. [wsj.Oct.16.2001 / senic.Oct.17.2002]
==Aug.21 > [•] Three weeks
before 9/11, the Washington Post prints an article on the “quiet debate”
over the nature of US foreign policy. Tom Donnelly, deputy
director of the highly influential neoconservative Project for the New
American Century, believes that the United States should openly conduct
itself as an imperial power and should adopt a far more aggressive foreign
policy. Retired army colonel Andrew Bacevich agrees that the US
is taking on an imperial role, but suspects “that we'll end up paying
a higher cost, morally and materially, than we currently can imagine.”
Other critics point out that greater American belligerence will provoke
greater international resistance to American power. Historian Richard
Kohn argues that most Americans would not give long-term support to an
imperialist foreign policy, and that they “recognize that it would cost
us our soul.” [wap.Aug.21.2001]
==Aug.22 > [•] The Bush
administration admits that the budget surplus is dwindling.
[info]
==Aug.23 > [•] Bush confirms
that the US is abandoning the anti-ballistic missile treaty of 1972.
[info]
==late Aug. > [•] The
height of the Gary Condit flap. The conservative Democratic Congressman,
whose intern/lover has vanished, is being furiously attacked by pundits.
[info]
==late Aug. > [•X]
About this time, Abdel-Bari Atwan, editor of the London-based Arabic magazine
al-Quds al-Arabi, is told by sources close to bin Laden that al-Qaeda
will soon launch a “huge and unprecedented attack” on American interests.
Atwan, who has heard claims like this before, doesn’t take the warnings
seriously. [irex.Sep.11.2001]
==late Aug. > [•X]
An anonymous letter accuses three Afghans detained in the Cayman Islands
of being involved in “a major terrorist act against the U.S. via an airline
or airlines.” [lat.Sep.20.2001]
==Aug.26-Sep.05 > [X]
The 9/11 hijackers buy their tickets - Atta buys his online on August
28. By this time many of the hijackers are holed up in small
groups in modest motels and apartments in Florida.
[inside / aubc.Nov.12.2001 / annot]
==Aug.27 > [•XX] In an intercepted phone call to an al-Qaeda
leader in Madrid, an operative says “In our lessons we have entered the
field of aviation. We’ve even cut the throat of the bird.”
Another translation of the last sentence could be “We are even going to
cut the eagle's throat,” possibly a reference to the impending attacks
on America. [nyt.Dec.28.2001 / obs.Nov.25.2001]
==Aug.27 > [•XX] French intelligence
informs the FBI that the arrested flight school student Moussaoui has
“Islamic extremist beliefs.” FBI investigators working on the case
begin to suspect that Islamists could be planning a terrorist attack involving
hijacker-pilots seizing control of airliners - in a memo to FBI Headquarters
one of the Minneapolis agents writes that he wanted to make sure that
Moussaoui “did not take control of a plane and fly it into the World Trade
Center.” See August 28 [nyt.May.24.2002
/ jdw]
==Aug.28 > [•XX] FBI Headquarters refuses to approve a
search warrant for Moussaoui’s laptop computer, despite urgent requests
from its Minneapolis field office. [jdw]
==Aug.28-30 > [•]
After four days of bloody attacks and reprisals, the first extended Israeli
troop incursion into a Palestinian ruled area occurs at Beit Jala near
Jerusalem. [info / gdn.Oct.17.2001]
==Aug.29 > [•] Bush refuses
to alter his spending plans despite the rising budget crunch.
[info]
==Aug.29 > [•XX] FBI Headquarters rejects urgent requests
from a New York agent for an investigation into the whereabouts of 9/11
hijacker Almihdhar. In response, the agent angrily e-mails “Whatever
has happened to this - someday someone will die....the public will not
understand why we were not more effective in throwing every resource we
had at certain ‘problems.’” [jdw]
==Aug.29 > [XX] Mohammad Atta informs
al-Qaeda leader Ramzi bin al-Shibh that the attacks will take place on
September 11. Bin al-Shibh presumably orders al-Qaeda cells in Europe
and elsewhere to evacuate. [gdn.Sep.09.2002]
==Aug.30 > [•X] According to Egyptian President Mubarak, he
warns the US that al-Qaeda is in the final stages of preparing a major
attack against an American target - information he has gained from an
Egyptian agent who has penetrated the terrorist organization. US
officials deny they received such a warning.
[ap.Dec.07.2001 / nyt.Jun.04.2002]
==Aug.--- > [•] Newt Gingrich,
historian Bernard Lewis, and others complete a report for Defense Secretary
Rumsfeld’s office on how ancient and medieval empires maintained dominance.
New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd later ridicules the study in a piece
entitled ‘What Would Genghis Do?’ [nyt.Mar.05.2003]
==Aug.--- > [•X] A former FAA special agent warns the agency
that security is lax at Boston's Logan Airport. Two of the four hijacked
flights will take off from Logan on 9/11. [911cm]
==Aug.--- > [•X] US intelligence learns that al-Qaeda has obtained
a highly detailed map of the US diplomatic compound in Jakarta - one of
the first indications that al-Qaeda and its allies are becoming active
in Indonesia. In August and October, Indonesian authorities briefly
detain a number of foreign Muslims who are later found to be linked to
al-Qaeda. [wap.Jan.11.2002]
Late summer 2001: == > [•X] A senior political appointee says that CIA Director Tenet has "repeated (warnings of a terrorist attack) so often that people got tired of hearing it.” The intense anti-terrorist alert of the early summer is relaxing. [wap.May.17.2002] September 2001: Early September: == > [X] Speaking at a conference in Frankfurt, structural engineer Les Robertson says he designed the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center to be strong enough to withstand a collision with a Boeing 707. [ctr.Sep.11.2001] September 1: == > [•X] In northern Afghanistan, the Northern Alliance detects a build-up of Taliban and al-Qaeda forces, evidently in preparation for an offensive. See Sep.09 [time.Aug.04.2002] September 4: == > [•X] More than seven months after Richard Clarke first urgently requested it, the Bush administration finally holds a Cabinet-level ‘Principals’ meeting on terrorism. Most of the counterterrorism plan Clarke drew up at the end of the Clinton administration is agreed to, but no funding is provided for it. A proposal to use armed Predator drone planes to hunt bin Laden is opposed by the CIA and the Defense Department. Rumsfeld continues to insist that Iraq is the major source of terrorism and to downplay the significance of al-Qaeda. Clarke’s proposals amount to "everything we have done since 9/11," a senior administration official later admits. The new policies are not implemented until after the attacks. [wap.May.17.2002 / clarke / time.Aug.04.2002] == > [•X] Robert Mueller is sworn in as FBI Director. [fbi] ==Sep.04 or Sep.05 > [•XX] The FBI cables information on the Moussaoui case to the FAA and to other intelligence agencies. Nothing in the cable indicates that Moussaoui is linked to terrorist groups, and nothing indicates that he might be part of a larger, ongoing plot. [senic.Sep.24.2002 / jdw] == > [•] General Mahmood Ahmad, the pro-Taliban head of Pakistani intelligence (the ISI) arrives in Washington and meets with senior US State Department and intelligence officials over the next week. He is evidently bluntly told to cut the ISI’s ties to the Taliban or face grave consequences. Ahmad is still in Washington on 9/11 and is left stranded after the attacks. [tele.Sep.14.2001 / hiro1] September 5: == > [•X] Three weeks after a Wall Street Journal piece by the anti-Muslim scholar Daniel Pipes had called on federal authorities to suppress anti-Israeli websites, a task force of 80 agents raids InfoCom ISP near Dallas, searching for alleged links to the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas. InfoCom’s shut-down causes 500 mostly Arab websites to crash, including al-Jazeera news. The raid is only the beginning of prolonged legal troubles for InfoCom’s Muslim owners. [gdn.Sep.10.2001] September 6: == > [•] The Bush administration drops the anti-trust case against Microsoft. [info] == > [X] In a high school classroom in Bensonhurst in Brooklyn, the son of Pakistani immigrants points out the window at the World Trade Center and tells his teacher “Do you see those two buildings? They won’t be standing there next week.” Police investigations after 9/11 found no trace of al-Qaeda involvement by the boy or his family. One cop says “It’s creepy. But what the hell are we going to do about it now?” (This unlikely story seems to have been reliably confirmed.) [msnbc.Oct.12.2001] == > [X] The 9/11 hijackers evidently begin casing Logan airport in Boston. [jdw] == > [XX] Osama bin Laden learns of the date of the 9/11 attacks through a message from Ramzi bin al-Shibh. [gdn.Sep.09.2002] September 7: == > [•] America’s jobless rate jumps sharply to 4.9%, a four-year high. [bbc.Sep.10.2001] == > [•] Fashion Week begins in New York City. The fashion shows will come to an abrupt end on September 11. [spi.Sep.14.2001] == > [X] In south Florida, Mohamed Atta, al-Shehhi, and a third hijacker spend an evening at Shuckum’s Oyster Bar. While his companions down mixed drinks, Atta drinks cranberry juice and intently plays video golf for four hours. The hijackers get irate when presented with the bill. “You think we cannot pay?” Atta screams at the manager. “Who do you think we are? We are American Airlines pilots!” Four days later, Atta flies American Flight 11 into the World Trade Center. [inside] == > [•X] The US State Department issues a little-noticed worldwide travel advisory in connection with threats from al-Qaeda. The warnings are mainly directed to American military personnel in Korea and Japan, and no mention is made of any possibility of domestic attacks. [usdos.Sep.07.2001] == > [•X] While officiating at a wedding in Todi, Italy, Father Jean-Marie Benjamin reportedly mentions to a judge and several politicians that terrorists are preparing an attack on American and British population centers using hijacked airplanes. Father Benjamin is internationally known for his work in Islamic countries, where he has many contacts. [zen.Sep.16.2001] ==Sep.07-09 > [X] Most of the hijackers split up and move north to Newark and Boston, staying in hotels. [jdw / wsj.Oct.16.2001] September 9: ==Sep.09 or Sep.10 > [•] The carrier USS Carl Vinson replaces the USS Enterprise in the Persian Gulf. After the 9/11 attacks, the departing Enterprise will be ordered to turn back and remain in the region. [wap.Sep.13.2001] 
Ahmad Shah Massoud
== > [•X] Northern
Alliance leader Ahmad Shah Massoud is fatally wounded by al-Qaeda suicide
bombers posing as journalists. Within hours of the assassination,
the Taliban launch a powerful offensive, but the Northern Alliance conceals
Massoud’s death until September 15 and holds out against the Taliban assault.
[time.Aug.04.2002 / wiki]
== > [•X] Defense Secretary Rumsfeld threatens to urge
a veto if the Senate diverts $600 million from missile defense to counter-terrorism.
[wap.Jan.20.2002]
== > [•X] A National
Security Directive authorizing military strikes against al-Qaeda bases
in Afghanistan is on Condoleeza Rice’s desk, awaiting Bush’s approval.
[msnbc.May.16.2002]
== > [XX] A foreign intelligence service reportedly
intercepts a phone call from Osama bin Laden to his adoptive mother in
Syria, in which he tells her “In two days, you're going to hear big news,
and you're not going to hear from me for a while.” But the story
is apparently false, and US intelligence soon discounts it.
[cnn.Oct.02.2001]
== > [X] Ziad Jarrah is ticketed in Maryland for driving
90 mph in a 65 mph zone. The fine remains unpaid.
[jdw]
==Sep.09-10 > [X] In Boston, some of the hijackers sow their
last oats. Two hire a hooker, and four others price call girls but
evidently can’t afford their last-minute services.
[reu.Oct.10.2001]
September 10: == > [•] Michael Jordan’s pending return to professional basketball is perhaps the hottest news story in America on September 10. [wap.Sep.12.2001] == > [•] On the eve of 9/11, American stock prices are volatile, but at the end of the trading day the Dow Jones index manages to remain flat. In the rest of the world, however, share prices drop sharply - the Nikkei index in Tokyo reaches a 17-year low. Overall, prospects are gloomy but not yet desperate. The New York Times writes of “the darkening economic outlook” while noting that most economists don’t anticipate a full-blown recession. [bbc.Sep.10.2001 / nyt.Sep.11.2001] == > [•] The Saudis cancel high-level military talks with the US, in protest against the Bush administration’s inaction in the Israeli-Palestinian crisis. Anti-American sentiment is rising in the Arab world. [bbc.Sep.10.2001] == > [•] Iran denies US charges that it is seeking to develop a nuclear arsenal, pointing out that Iran itself was a victim of weapons of mass destruction during the Iran-Iraq War of the 1980s. [reu.Sep.10.2001] == > [•X] A conference of deputy Cabinet secretaries agrees on a three-step strategy to force the Taliban to deport bin Laden. The plan is expected to take up to three years. [ap.Mar.23.2004] == > [•X] Attorney General Ashcroft rejects a proposed $58 million increase in FBI anti-terrorist funding - ignoring urgent requests for more translators, counterterrorism agents, and intelligence researchers - and proposes a $65 million cut in spending for state and local counterterrorism efforts. [nyt.Jun.02.2002 / camp.Mar.22.2004] == > [•X] After being ignored for weeks, California Senator Feinstein contacts Vice President Cheney’s office to check on the status of urgent proposals for anti-terrorism reforms that she submitted on July 20 (Cheney heads the administration’s counter-terrorism efforts). An aide tells her that it could take Cheney another six months to get around to reviewing the material. [nwwk.May.27.2002 / feinst] == > [•X] The Congressional Research Service releases the report ‘Terrorism: Near Eastern Groups and State Sponsors.’ The paper describes al-Qaeda as a “global threat” and rates its terrorist activity level as ‘Extremely High,’ the highest of any terrorist group on the list. [crs.Sep.10.2001] == > [•XX] The NSA intercepts several conversations between al-Qaeda members indicating that a terrorist attack is imminent, including “tomorrow is zero hour” and “the match begins tomorrow.” The messages aren’t translated until September 12. [ust.Jun.20.2002] == > [X] Neil Levin - executive director of the New York Port Authority, operator of the city’s airports, port facilities, bridges, and tunnels, and landlord of the World Trade Center - tells a reporter what he thinks of his job: “It's just fabulous. I wake up each morning having no idea what challenges the day will bring.” Levin works out of the North Tower of the WTC, and next morning he is having breakfast at Windows on the World on the 107th floor when the first plane hits. [nyt.Sep.15.2001] == > [X] John O’Neill enjoys an evening at Elaine’s Restaurant in New York City. Formerly the FBI’s leading anti-terrorism expert, O’Neill was recently forced out by bureaucratic infighting, and began his new job as head of security for the World Trade Center on August 23. At Elaine’s he discusses the possibility of a terrorist attack: “We're due. And we're due for something big. Some things have happened in Afghanistan (evidently referring to the al-Qaeda assassination of Massoud the day before). I don't like the way things are lining up in Afghanistan… I just -- I sense a shift, and I think things are going to happen.” When asked when, he says, “I don't know, but soon.” Next morning, O’Neill is in the South Tower when it collapses. [nykr.Jan.14.2002 / pbsf.Oct.03.2002] == > [X] In the late afternoon, Atta and fellow hijacker al-Omari drive from Boston to Portland, Maine, for undetermined reasons. They eat their last dinner at a Pizza Hut, buy a pair of box cutters at Wal-Mart, and spend their last night in a Comfort Inn. [inside / prsac.Dec.01.2001] =The hijackers have apparently been issued a five-page set of instructions that includes a section meant to console them during their final night. They are advised to pray and to “be optimistic,” and are assured that they are about to enter “the infinite paradise.” [wap.Sep.29.2001] =Hijacker Ziad Jarrah has carefully concealed his extremist beliefs from his family and from his longtime girlfriend. On the last night of his life, Jarrah writes the girlfriend a farewell letter: “You should be very proud, because it is an honor and in the end you will see that everyone will be happy.” [bbc.Nov.19.2001] 
Ziad Jarrah
|
| This chronology is intended as an outline of developments related to 9/11 and its aftermath, and tends to focus on unrest, war, and terrorism. It is not meant to be a comprehensive timeline of Middle East history. |