04 October 2001

UK Information Links bin Laden to September 11 Attacks

Washington -- British Prime Minister Tony Blair said October 4 that the evidence against Usama bin Laden and his network is "overwhelming." Speaking to an emergency meeting of Parliament in London, Blair said he had absolutely "no doubt that bin Laden and his network were responsible" for the September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States.

Following the Prime Minister's statement to the House of Commons, the British government released a 21-page document titled "Responsibility for the Terrorist Atrocities in the United States, 11 September 2001." The document summarizes information linking Usama bin Laden and his al Qaida network to the September 11 terrorist attacks, as well as to previous terrorist attacks, including the bombing of two U.S. embassies in Africa in 1998, and the attack on the USS Cole when it was anchored in Yemen in October 2000. The document also implicates the Taliban in al Qaida's terrorist activities.

"Much of the evidence we have is intelligence and highly sensitive. It is not possible without compromising people or security to release precise details," Blair said. "But I hope the House will find it at least useful as an interim assessment."

Blair said the Leader of the Opposition and the Leader of the Liberal Democrats had seen the full document. "For myself and all other Government ministers who have studied the full information we have absolutely no doubt that bin Laden and his network were responsible for the attacks on September 11. That was also the unanimous view of the NATO members who were taken through the full facts on October 2," Blair told the House of Commons.

The Prime Minister said, "Since the attacks we have obtained the following intelligence. Shortly before September 11 bin Laden told associates that he had a major operation against America under preparation, a range of people were warned to return back to Afghanistan because of action on or around September 11, and most importantly, one of bin Laden's closest lieutenants has said clearly that he helped with the planning of the September 11 attacks and admitted the involvement of the al Qaida organization."

He added, "There is another intelligence, we cannot disclose, of an even more direct nature indicating guilt."

Turning to the role of the Taliban, Blair said, "The closeness of bin Laden's relationship with the Taliban is also plain. He provides them with troops, arms and money to fight the Northern Alliance, is closely involved with their military training, planning and operations, he is represented in their military command structure.... For its part, the Taliban regime has provided bin Laden with a safe haven within which to operate, and allowed him to establish terrorist training camps. They jointly exploit the Afghan drugs trade. In return for active al Qaida support, the Taliban allow al Qaida to operate freely, including the planning, training and preparing for terrorist activities."

The document, released on October 4, is a compendium of facts about the September 11 terrorist attacks, and previous attacks to which Usama bin Laden and al Qaida have been linked.

The introduction to the document notes that material relating to the 1998 Embassy bombing attacks in Africa and the 2000 attack on the USS Cole comes from indictments and intelligence sources. The material relating to the September 11 attacks comes from intelligence and the criminal investigation to date. The introduction further notes that the document does not contain the totality of material known to the British government, given the continuing need to protect intelligence sources.

Usama bin Laden claimed credit for the attack on US soldiers in Somalia in October 1993, which killed 18, and for the attack on the US Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in August 1998, which killed 224 and injured nearly 5,000. The attack on the USS Cole in October 2000 killed 17 crew members and wounded 40. The death toll in the September 11 attacks is believed to be about 6,000.

Regarding Bin Laden's links to the September 11 attacks, the documents says in the run-up to them, bin Laden was mounting a concerted propaganda campaign among like-minded groups -- including videos and documentation -- justifying the attacks, and claiming that those who died in the course of them were "carrying out God's work." Intelligence obtained after September 11 revealed that bin Laden himself, shortly before September 11, asserted that he was preparing a major attack on America. In August and early September, close associates were warned to return to Afghanistan from other parts of the world by September 10, and immediately prior to September 11, some known associates of bin Laden were naming the date for action as on or around September 11.

The detailed planning for the terrorist attacks of September 11 was carried out by one of Usama bin Laden's close associates. Of the 19 hijackers involved in the September 11 attacks, it has already been established that at least three had links to al Qaida. The document shows that the September 11 attacks bear all the hallmarks of a bin Laden operation: meticulous long term planning, a desire to inflict massive casualties, multiple simultaneous attacks, the use of suicide attackers, and a total disregard for civilian lives, including Muslims. In an interview after the African embassy bombings, Usama bin Laden insisted that the need to attack the United States excused the killing of innocent civilians, Muslim and non-Muslim alike.

According to the document's conclusion, "The attacks of the 11 September 2001 were planned and carried out by al Qaida, an organization whose head is Usama bin Laden. That organization has the will, and the resources to execute further attacks of similar scale. Both the United States and its close allies are targets for such attacks. The attack could not have occurred without the alliance between the Taliban and Usama bin Laden, which allowed bin Laden to operate freely in Afghanistan, promoting, planning and executing terrorist activity."