Research Paper on "FBI Has No Hard Evidence Connecting Osama Bin Laden to 9-11"

Research Paper 6 pages (2147 words) Sources: 5

[EXCERPT] . . . .

FBI Has No Hard Evidence Connecting Osama Bin Laden to 9/11

The issue concerning Osama bin Laden and the way in which he represents one of the most important figures of terrorism of all time is a rather controversial one. His role in the terrorist attacks which took place in the U.S. On September 11, 2001, although accepted by everyone, cannot be proved beyond a reasonable doubt.

The debate over this matter has been long and the people involved in the issue are part of all walks of life, from the common people who argue the truthfulness of the implication of Osama bin Laden to the fiercest critics of the American intervention in Afghanistan, considered to be the response of the U.S. To the terrorist attacks.

However, given the fact that we live in a society where the rules of democracy at least theoretically apply, the media has its part to play. The famous Watergate scandal is a proof in this sense. In the matter of bin Laden, the media can play a vital role, similar to the Watergate scandal. This is largely due to the fact that the media can discover, under the privileges offered by the First Amendment, issues, elements, stories which otherwise would remain uncovered. At the same time however, there is the belief that given the nature and desire for breaking news the media can turn any story into a big hit subject for the public.

Given these two situations, one in which the public and the authorities are convinced about the implications of bin Laden in the attacks, and the one in which the media has that much power to reveal, the issue of whether Osama bin Laden is responsible for the attacks, proved with hard evidence, is a rather controversial one.

This conclusion is arrived at by considering several aspects: the U.S., through its leading investigation bodies, the FBI and the CIA, at the moment, failed to indict bin Laden for the 9/11 attacks; the U.S. went to war in Afghanistan and Iraq, a war which, given its global implications, did not receive the approval of the United Nations; the media fails to give proper account on what was the basis of the 9/11 attacks, as well as the actions the U.S. government takes in this sense. However, probably the most important element in this case is the several voices such as the one of Ed Haas who argues that the U.S. has no clear evidence against Osama bin Laden.

The connection between all the elements mentioned above is the media, as the fourth power in a democratic state. The fact that the FBI and the CIA do not have evidence to indict bin Laden is an information received from the media and not from the official sources of these institutions. The fact that the U.S. went to war in Afghanistan and Iraq has also been influenced by the media, if one remembers the wide campaigns made in support of the war. Finally the fact that the media is unable to give proper account of the 9/11 attacks taken as a whole is also deeply entrenched in the way the media functions in the modern world.

Ed Haas is in this context an important figure. He was the one to suggest and afterwards claim that the U.S. has no evidence on bin Laden to indict him for the terrorist attacks on 9/11. His web page is conclusive in this sense. Therefore, he argues that

On June 5, 2006, the Muckraker Report contacted the FBI Headquarters, (202) [HIDDEN], to learn why Bin Laden's Most Wanted poster did not indicate that Usama was also wanted in connection with 9/11. The Muckraker Report spoke with Rex Tomb, Chief of Investigative Publicity for the FBI. When asked why there is no mention of 9/11 on Bin Laden's Most Wanted web page, Tomb said, "The reason why 9/11 is not mentioned on Usama Bin Laden's Most Wanted page is because the FBI has no hard evidence connecting Bin Laden to 9/11." (Haas, 2006)

This is an important if not crucial element to be taken into account. Given the nature of the way in which he made this information public, Haas made sure that people would become aware of the issues presented. The internet has come to be considered sometimes more important than the written media due to the accessibility of the sources and the wide variety of news available in an instant. The Muckraker Report established to secure and develop this information became a tool for investigation and analysis. In a sense, the power of the press became, at the moment of those investigations, obvious through the Muckraker Report.

With this thesis in mind, how true is it? Is the U.S. unable to find evidence against bin Laden or they cannot find them because they do not exist? It can be that the United States was, if not completely involved, aware of the events that were about to take place early September 2001. In this sense, the media had its part. Below, some arguments are outlined in support of the idea that the U.S. was somewhat part of the 9/11 attacks.

The entire United States intelligence community knew of the 9/11 attacks before including the fact that commercial jets were to be used as bombs; they also knew the approximate dates and possible targets but were called off their investigations. Western intelligence had been aware of plans for such terrorist attacks on U.S. soil as early as 1995. The plan was known as "Project Bojinka." (Global Security, 2010) It was known to both the CIA and FBI and was described in court documents in the trial in New York of Ramzi Yousef and Abdul Murad for their participation in the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center (WTC). At the moment however, when searching the internet for this fact, on the first page of the search engine, there is no internet site from a media corporation. Individual bloggers or few think tanks view this fact as important to be discussed. This comes to point out that on the one hand, for the media, such a subject is not relevant, as it fails to make the news, and on the other hand, little is know about this project which in fact could shed light to what happened on 9/11.

Seven to eight weeks prior to September 11th, all internal U.S. security agencies were warned of the impending Al-Qaeda attacks. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) was warned of the attack but did nothing to beef up security. At least two weeks prior to September 11th the FBI agents again confirmed that an attack on lower Manhattan was imminent. Then National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice was warned about potential attacks on the United States, as the Washington Post reveals in 2006 (Washington Post, 2006).

As early as 1997, Russia, France, Israel, the Philippines and Egypt all warned the U.S. Of the possibility of the attack. Warning also came from several others sources as well. Apparently the Russian Federation warned the U.S. weeks before the attacks took place (What really happened, 2010) Therefore, it could be said that the U.S. had been warned about this issue.

This information however did not make the headlines. The reason remains unclear, however, given the fact that the media is most of the times partisan, the appearance of such a news on prime time shows would have shed some doubt about the victim type impression the U.S. had to portray in order to ensure the sympathy of the international community following the attacks.

Prior to 9/11, the U.S. intelligence agencies should have stopped the nineteen terrorists from entering this country for intelligence reasons, alone. Fifteen of the nineteen hijackers' visas should have been unquestionably denied because their applications were incomplete and incorrect.

The visa obtaining process in the United States is a rather hard, difficult, and strict process which does not allow people who could become soon illegal immigrants to enter the country. In the 9/11 case, most of the 19 hijackers were young, unmarried, and un-employed males. They were, in short, the "classic over-stay candidates." A seasoned former Consular officer stated in the National Review magazine, "Single, idle young adults with no specific destination in the United States rarely get visas absent compelling circumstances." (The 9/11 Commission)

This is an important issue given the fact that usually most of the people requesting a visa are subject to scrutiny and intense process application. At the same time however, it is important to note that neither the previous point made on this issue, nor this one actually made the headlines. In this sense, the accounts are from the National Committee assigned to investigate the attacks, and not from the main stream media. Given the fact that the alleged terrorists had entered the country without any issues with the visa, the issue that the U.S. offered them assistance in taking flight lessons represents an important part in what could… READ MORE

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