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Stories from 2002-05-17

1999 Report Warned of Suicide Hijack

John Solomon | Associated Press | May 17, 2002

"Exactly two years before the Sept. 11 attacks, a federal report warned the executive branch that Osama bin Laden's terrorists might hijack an airliner and dive bomb it into the Pentagon or other government building." [more]

Analysis: Afghan Media Reforms Under Scrutiny

Breshna Nazari | Institute for War and Peace Reporting | May 17, 2002

"The new Kabul authorities say they've jettisoned Taleban-era press censorship, but some journalists aren't so sure." [more]

Arafat Says No Free Elections Until Israel Withdraws

Diala Saadeh | Reuters | May 17, 2002

"Israeli forces have encircled Palestinian cities in the West Bank and set up checkpoints across Palestinian territories which they say are meant to prevent attacks on Israelis. But Palestinians have branded it collective punishment." [more]

Body Found May Be Pearl's

Karl Vick and Kamran Khan | Washington Post | May 17, 2002

"Pakistani police this morning unearthed what appeared to be the remains of Daniel Pearl, the Wall Street Journal correspondent kidnapped in January and shown dead in a videotape delivered almost a month later." [more]

Crash Course

Michael Crowley | New Republic | May 17, 2002

"For people like Condi Rice to suggest they had never considered this possibility of suicide hijackings is either a bald-faced lieóor a more scathing indictment of our anti-terrorism establishment than any memo the president actually did see." [more]

Credibility Gap Redux

Michael Waldman | Newsweek | May 17, 2002

"The long-hidden warnings, given to George W. Bush, of possible Al Qaeda hijackings last summer suggests less a 'finest hour' than a return of LBJís 'credibility gap.' " [more]

Transcript: Democrats Ask for Hearings on Terror Warnings

John Conyers, Jr, et al. | Washington Post | May 17, 2002

"A draft letter to [the] House Judiciary Committee Chairman ... formally requesting hearings on the Bush administration's knowledge prior to Sept. 11 of possible terror attacks." [more]

Disclosures Shake Invincible Image of Bush

Dana Milbank and Mike Allen | Washington Post | May 17, 2002

"The aura of invincibility that President Bush has enjoyed since Sept. 11 received a sharp jolt with the revelation that he had been told that Osama bin Laden's followers might try to hijack American airplanes." [more]

Analysis: How Much Do US Presidents Know about Terror?

STAFF | DEBKAfile | May 17, 2002

"How come that a terrorist organization with a hard core numbering no more than 3,000ń5,000 members commands better tactical intelligence than the United States as well as a counterintelligence capability effective enough to fend off hostile penetration?" [more]

Lessons From Pre-9/11 Warnings

Abraham McLaughlin | Christian Science Monitor | May 17, 2002

"Eight months after Sept. 11, it is becoming increasingly apparent that various arms of the US government had pieces of information that, if put together, might have provided sketchy advance warning of the terrorist strikes to come." [more]

New Battle in S.E. Afghanistan

STAFF | ABC News | May 17, 2002

"Coalition troops have engaged Taliban and al Qaeda fighters in what appears to be a major new battle brewing in southeast Afghanistan." [more]

News Blackout on New Afghan Battle

Paul Adams | British Broadcasting Corporation | May 17, 2002

"Military commanders in Afghanistan have put a virtual news blackout on a coalition operation against suspected Taleban and al-Qaeda fighters in the eastern Paktia province." [more]

Nomads Select District Representatives for Loya Jirga

STAFF | United Nations | May 17, 2002

"Close to 1,000 nomads representing 12 tribes from provinces in central and south-central Afghanistan have chosen six district representatives for Afghanistan's Loya Jirga, or tribal council, according to the United Nations mission in the country." [more]

Omar Warns US of War

Badie Qarhani | Arab News | May 17, 2002

"The former Taleban ruler of Afghanistan Mullah Muhammad Omar has warned that his war with the United States has only started and its flames would engulf the White House. Omar also said that Osama Bin Laden is alive." [more]

Palestinians Must Reject Separate State and Change Israel

Jalal Ghazi | Pacific News Service | May 17, 2002

"Not every Palestinian wants a Palestinian state. PNS contributor Jalal Ghazi wants justice and freedom for Palestinians, but says it's time to face facts. Because of Israeli settlements and their control of water, any Palestinian state encompassing the West Bank will be fractured, parched and powerless. Palestinians should emulate the U.S. civil rights movement, and gain their freedom within Israel through non-violent civil disobedience." [more]

Signs Suggested 'That Something Was Up'

Bill Gertz | Washington Times | May 17, 2002

"U.S. intelligence agencies had indications for months and even years before September 11 that terrorists were planning attacks with aircraft." [more]

Troops Leave US Airports, Fears Linger

Lydia Adetunji | Financial Times | May 17, 2002

"The last National Guard soldiers are pulling out of US airports this week ... [while] security breaches continue." [more]

Analysis: US Asks a Disturbing Question ó What Did the President Know?

Rupert Cornwell | Independent | May 17, 2002

"The very fact that something was on paper before the eyes of the President has changed the dynamic, at a watershed political moment. The shooting war against al-Qa'ida is winding down, and the trail of Osama bin Laden has gone cold. Meanwhile the mid-term elections in November, in which control of both Houses is at stake, grow steadily nearer." [more]

US Takes its Battle to the Airwaves

James Borton | Asia Times | May 17, 2002

"Washington's policy shapers, the US Congress and the Broadcasting Board of Governors unanimously agreed that the US needed to wage a specific and untraditional media effort to reach the 'Arab population' — not merely the political leadership." [more]

Analysis: US Tariffs Fuel Global Trade War

Conor O'Clery | Irish Times | May 17, 2002

"IndustrialisedÝcountries are ganging up against the United States in an escalating trade war that threatens to trigger a chain reaction of protectionism, setting back the goal of free trade and open markets worldwide." [more]

US Wants Secret Questioning of Lindh Witnesses

Larry Margasak | Associated Press | May 17, 2002

"Taliban and al-Qaida prisoners may soon be answering questions from lawyers for fellow Taliban fighter John Walker Lindh, but the government doesn't want the detainees to know who posed the questions." [more]

US Warplanes Wipe Out Afghan Wedding, Kill 10

STAFF | Reuters | May 17, 2002

"U.S. planes pounded the village of Bul Khil of Sabari district in Khost province for several hours overnight after crew flying U.S. helicopters in the area mistook traditional firing at a wedding for an attack." [more]

Veteran Anchor Attacks Media for Being Timid

Andrew Buncombe | Independent | May 17, 2002

"Dan Rather, one of the most respected and well-known broadcasters in the United States said last night that the mood of extreme patriotism engulfing the country since 11 September had stopped the media asking difficult questions of America's leaders. He said he was personally guilty of self-censorship." [more]

Warnings Raise Troubling Questions

Eric Lichtblau and Josh Meyer | Los Angeles Times | May 17, 2002

"All four episodes took place within a few weeks of each other last summer. But poor communication, disjointed coordination among intelligence agencies and questionable attention to counter-terrorism operations may have hindered the ability of any one individual or agency to determine their collective significance, experts said." [more]

What If?

A.R. Torres | Salon | May 17, 2002

"I used to ask myself what I could have done to save Eddie. Now I realize: I was asking the wrong person." [more]

What the White House Knew

STAFF | Chicago Tribune | May 17, 2002

"The public can and should be trusted with information, including information that might be alarming. The warnings of terrorist plots timed to the Millennium celebrations are a case in point. People were told of the possibility, no one panicked, security was tightened. At least one apparent plot was stopped." [more]

Yemeni Tribes Say They Hide No Qaeda Suspects

Ahmed al-Haj | Associated Press | May 17, 2002

"Yemeni tribes in provinces on the Saudi Arabian border warned the United States on Friday not to launch military attacks on their territories as part of the war on terrorism, saying it would be 'a strategic mistake.' " [more]

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This website is a tribute to Why War?, one of the nation's first and most innovative post-9/11 student antiwar organizations. Born on October 22, 2001 at Swarthmore College, we were a handful of freshmen and sophmores who vocally opposed the wars in Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere. And now, seven years later, we are retiring this website as we focus our efforts on new directions. We hope that it continues to serve future activists and we remain confident that humanity is on the verge birthing a better world.