President Bush Releases Details of Foiled Terrorist Hijacking (updated)

By Andrew Cochran

President Bush today at the National Guard Association (text of speech at White House website): In October 2001, Khalid Sheik Mohammed, who masterminded the 9/11 attacks, set in motion a shoebombing plot to hijack plane and fly into Liberty Tower in Los Angeles (actually the "Library Tower," since renamed the U.S. Bank Tower), the highest building on the West Coast. He recruited young men from SE Asia and tapped Hambali of JI (Jemaah Islamiyah) to lead it, who then recruited operatives training in Afghanistan. They met with Osama Bin Laden and began preparations. In early 2002, a "South East Asian nation" arrested "a key operative." The debriefings revealed the plot and helped others capture the other operative. Then, in the summer of 2003, our "partners in South East Asia" captured Hambali. The President did not refer to NSA intercepts in this segment. In a post-speech press briefing, the White House told the press that this attack was supposed to be virtually simultaneous with the 9/11 attacks, but OBL vetoed it because of a lack of personnel. Also, four unnamed countries were apparently involved in the capture of the plotters. Lorenzo Vidino's comment to "Christian Science Monitor": "The timing of this clearly has to do with politics...but that doesn't mean the [L.A. plot] isn't true."

On October 7, 2005, the White House released a list of foiled terrorist plots. This was described as follows at that point: "1. The West Coast Airliner Plot: In mid-2002 the U.S. disrupted a plot to attack targets on the West Coast of the United States using hijacked airplanes. The plotters included at least one major operational planner involved in planning the events of 9/11."

Zachary Abuza has referred to Hambali's activities before:

The Thai Insurgency Two Years On: "Hambali, JI�s operational chief and a senior member of al-Qaeda, was of course captured in Thailand, along with his two lieutenants, Zubair Mohamad and Bashir bin Lap (Lillie) who were charged with perpetrating a major terrorist attack in Bangkok."
More on the Thai Passport Scandal
Bombings in Thailand

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