T5 B14 Misc Correspondence Fdr- Tab 3-3-23-04 Heller Letter Re 10 Common Questions 172
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^CZ^QLC,V>1
n^lf S
-IKean * H Hamilton VICE CHAIR
Date:
\d-^jr IQ_ y
Aard Bet Veniste otOeland sd F. Fielding
TO:
TEAM
£o^<
FROM: Dianna Campagna
JieS.Gorelick le Gorton i Lehman othyj. Eoemer ss R. Thompson
The attached correspondence
from
.
_ . —-
is being forwarded to you for information and consideration. A copy has rf /^-' also been sent to Team(s) ^^.s for their information. If you
/ CL I— '
have any questions, please call me on 331 -4082. Thank you.
- -
pD.Zelilaow ^JTIVE DIRECTOR
TEL (202) 331-4060 FAX (202) 296-5545 www.9-1 Icommissioagov
9/11
Personal Privacy
q_ England Telephone Fax e-mail Book www.business-minds.com
Governor Thomas H Kean Chairman National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States 301 7th Street SW Room 5125 Washington DC 20407 USA March 23,2004 Dear Governor Kean, As I am certain you know, the work of your Commission is of great interest to this country, which lost 69 people in the attacks. It also of course interests the entire world, and not only the 90 nations which suffered a direct loss of life. Everyone on Earth has been affected in some way by the events of 911. I can tell you that the reports in the British media on the Commission have inspired great confidence in its independence and integrity, and in your own. I am writing as an ordinary British citizen. I was not directly affected by 911, other than being born a New Yorker and feeling numbed and devastated by the attack on the city, and anxious for family and friends. I wanted to make a specific suggestion for this phase of your inquiry and then to mention a few specific topics which have raised concerns among many British people. Your inquiry now seems to be focused on the priorities of the Bush administration in the months leading up to September 11, and whether these gave sufficient attention to the threat from Al-Qaeda. Of course this is a highly contentious issue, particularly in an election year, and the evidence you receive from American witnesses could be colored by partisanship. I wonder therefore whether the Commission has considered seeking evidence from the British government on this very point? Given the close relationship between our countries, not only at a political level but at a working level
throughout the diplomatic, defense, intelligence and security communities, British government sources could say a great deal about the degree of focus of the administration on Al-Qaeda or Iraq or other issues, without any element of partisanship. Of course you have no power to compel the production of evidence or witnesses from an overseas government. But given the intense interest of the British people in your inquiry I do not think that our government would refuse your request. Perhaps you have had evidence from them already, but if so there has been no account of this in the British media or Parliament. Broadly speaking, the British people are surprised that so many questions surrounding 911 are unanswered so long after the event. I would like to mention ten which crop up regularly in our media and in ordinary conversations. It would give people here great relief if your Commission could clear these up: 1) What responses were made by the Bush administration to the numerous warnings it received of an impending attack by Al-Qaeda, including specific references to hijacking, and including two from British intelligence? 2) What was the content of the memorandum of 6 August 2001 delivered to President Bush at his ranch in Crawford, Texas, and what was his response? 3) If the administration was unaware of any threat from hijacking and aerial attack, why did Attorney General Ashcroft refuse to travel in commercial flights in the summer of 2001, and why was the President given extra protection against air attack, including the morning of September 11? 4) Was the FBI ordered to back off investigating Saudi links to Al Qaeda in the summer of 2001, and what were the reasons for the resignation of FBI Deputy Director John O'Neill? (Mr O'Neill took up a post as head of security in the World Trade Centre, where he was killed on September 11). 5) Who were the speculators who suddenly started selling short stock in United and American airlines, just before September 11? 6) Why did the President continue his visit to a school after he was given the news of the first attack on the World Trade Center? Why (on his own subsequent account) did he assume that the Center had been hit by a small private plane rather than an airliner? 7) Were America's fighter defences reduced in the summer of 2001? Even allowing for the reduction, fighters should have been available to intercept all of the hijacked planes in time, under standing orders and well-rehearsed procedures of the American air force. Why was there so much delay in getting
any fighters into the air? Were any orders or procedures changed during the months leading up to September 11? 8) Why were members of Osama Bin Laden's family allowed to leave the United States in a private plane days after September 11 without being questioned? 9) September 11 was an evil act but also a highly sophisticated one. It required years of planning and the acquisition of specialized flying skills. It is unlikely that any terrorist organization, even one as well financed and connected as Al Qaeda, could mount such an operation on its own, from a base in one of the most backward countries in the world. Was Al-Qaeda assisted by an organized state other than Afghanistan? 10) Has anyone in any agency of government been disciplined in any way for any failure on September 11?
Yours sincerely,
Richard Heller
n^lf S
-IKean * H Hamilton VICE CHAIR
Date:
\d-^jr IQ_ y
Aard Bet Veniste otOeland sd F. Fielding
TO:
TEAM
£o^<
FROM: Dianna Campagna
JieS.Gorelick le Gorton i Lehman othyj. Eoemer ss R. Thompson
The attached correspondence
from
.
_ . —-
is being forwarded to you for information and consideration. A copy has rf /^-' also been sent to Team(s) ^^.s for their information. If you
/ CL I— '
have any questions, please call me on 331 -4082. Thank you.
- -
pD.Zelilaow ^JTIVE DIRECTOR
TEL (202) 331-4060 FAX (202) 296-5545 www.9-1 Icommissioagov
9/11
Personal Privacy
q_ England Telephone Fax e-mail Book www.business-minds.com
Governor Thomas H Kean Chairman National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States 301 7th Street SW Room 5125 Washington DC 20407 USA March 23,2004 Dear Governor Kean, As I am certain you know, the work of your Commission is of great interest to this country, which lost 69 people in the attacks. It also of course interests the entire world, and not only the 90 nations which suffered a direct loss of life. Everyone on Earth has been affected in some way by the events of 911. I can tell you that the reports in the British media on the Commission have inspired great confidence in its independence and integrity, and in your own. I am writing as an ordinary British citizen. I was not directly affected by 911, other than being born a New Yorker and feeling numbed and devastated by the attack on the city, and anxious for family and friends. I wanted to make a specific suggestion for this phase of your inquiry and then to mention a few specific topics which have raised concerns among many British people. Your inquiry now seems to be focused on the priorities of the Bush administration in the months leading up to September 11, and whether these gave sufficient attention to the threat from Al-Qaeda. Of course this is a highly contentious issue, particularly in an election year, and the evidence you receive from American witnesses could be colored by partisanship. I wonder therefore whether the Commission has considered seeking evidence from the British government on this very point? Given the close relationship between our countries, not only at a political level but at a working level
throughout the diplomatic, defense, intelligence and security communities, British government sources could say a great deal about the degree of focus of the administration on Al-Qaeda or Iraq or other issues, without any element of partisanship. Of course you have no power to compel the production of evidence or witnesses from an overseas government. But given the intense interest of the British people in your inquiry I do not think that our government would refuse your request. Perhaps you have had evidence from them already, but if so there has been no account of this in the British media or Parliament. Broadly speaking, the British people are surprised that so many questions surrounding 911 are unanswered so long after the event. I would like to mention ten which crop up regularly in our media and in ordinary conversations. It would give people here great relief if your Commission could clear these up: 1) What responses were made by the Bush administration to the numerous warnings it received of an impending attack by Al-Qaeda, including specific references to hijacking, and including two from British intelligence? 2) What was the content of the memorandum of 6 August 2001 delivered to President Bush at his ranch in Crawford, Texas, and what was his response? 3) If the administration was unaware of any threat from hijacking and aerial attack, why did Attorney General Ashcroft refuse to travel in commercial flights in the summer of 2001, and why was the President given extra protection against air attack, including the morning of September 11? 4) Was the FBI ordered to back off investigating Saudi links to Al Qaeda in the summer of 2001, and what were the reasons for the resignation of FBI Deputy Director John O'Neill? (Mr O'Neill took up a post as head of security in the World Trade Centre, where he was killed on September 11). 5) Who were the speculators who suddenly started selling short stock in United and American airlines, just before September 11? 6) Why did the President continue his visit to a school after he was given the news of the first attack on the World Trade Center? Why (on his own subsequent account) did he assume that the Center had been hit by a small private plane rather than an airliner? 7) Were America's fighter defences reduced in the summer of 2001? Even allowing for the reduction, fighters should have been available to intercept all of the hijacked planes in time, under standing orders and well-rehearsed procedures of the American air force. Why was there so much delay in getting
any fighters into the air? Were any orders or procedures changed during the months leading up to September 11? 8) Why were members of Osama Bin Laden's family allowed to leave the United States in a private plane days after September 11 without being questioned? 9) September 11 was an evil act but also a highly sophisticated one. It required years of planning and the acquisition of specialized flying skills. It is unlikely that any terrorist organization, even one as well financed and connected as Al Qaeda, could mount such an operation on its own, from a base in one of the most backward countries in the world. Was Al-Qaeda assisted by an organized state other than Afghanistan? 10) Has anyone in any agency of government been disciplined in any way for any failure on September 11?
Yours sincerely,
Richard Heller
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