Articles

Sunday, Jun 06, 2004 Abu Hamza and Yemeni kidnapping

From Holy War Inc.Arriving in Yemen in late 1998 was a group of second-generation British Muslims of Asian and Middle Eastern parentage, several of whom had ties to Abu Hamza. One was his son, Mohammad, another his son-in law, and another was the press officer for Abu Hamza’s SoS group. These eight Britons, between seventeen […]

Friday, May 14, 2004 Who is Zarqawi?

PETER BERGEN, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: Well, Zarqawi had his own group, which was called al-Tawhid, which in Arabic means unity. And it was a separate group according to both European and American counterterrorism officials I’ve talked to in the past.

He had his own group. We also know from a letter that was also discovered in January in 2004, a letter from Zarqawi to the al Qaeda leadership implying some sort of separation. So on the one hand, he has his own group and is his own man. On the other hand, CNN’s Henry Shuster has reported in the past that Zarqawi received financing from al Qaeda in Afghanistan.

Prior to Sept. 11, 2001, relatively few Americans had ever heard of a terrorist group called al Qaeda and its tall, bearded leader Osama bin Laden. The suicide hijackings that brought planes down that day in New York, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania seemed to come out of nowhere. And in part because they felt taken by surprise, the vast majority of Americans cut President Bush a great deal of slack over these horrific incidents that happened on his watch. He and his administration were new on the job, and who could possibly have foreseen such attacks anyway?

Thursday, Apr 22, 2004 Updated Mylroie piece

The War on Iraq She Wrote by Peter BergenAmericans did not support the war in Iraq because Saddam Hussein was an evil dictator–we had known that for many years–but because President Bush had made the case that Saddam might hand off weapons of mass destruction to his terrorist allies to wreck havoc on the United […]

Thursday, Apr 15, 2004 New OBL tape Special to site

He’s Back More than two and a half years after the attacks on Manhattan and Washington Osama bin Laden continues to influence the scope of the global jihad that al Qaeda put into motion with the 9/11 attacks. In October bin Laden released an audiotape calling for attacks on Spain, Britain and Italy, because of […]

On Thursday, Condoleezza Rice, President Bushs national security adviser, is scheduled to testify under oath before the commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks. The Op-Ed page invited two people with expertise in terrorism and national security to suggest questions for Dr. Rice.

Friday, Mar 26, 2004 new Zawahiri tape

WHITFIELD: Well, what does it mean for Mr. Musharraf and his allies, including the United States? CNN terrorism analyst Peter Bergen joins us live from our Washington bureau.Good to see you, Peter. PETER BERGEN, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: Hi, Fredricka. WHITFIELD: All right. Well, how powerful are these words coming from al-Zawahiri, in terms of on […]

Thursday, Mar 25, 2004 9/11 hearings Clarke

Let’s bring in our CNN terrorism analyst Peter Bergen who’s been watching all of these hearings all day long. There were some very dramatic moments in terms of missed opportunities and the criticism rather evenhanded going against Clinton administration officials and against Bush administration officials. What’s your bottom line thought of what you learned over […]

Wednesday, Mar 24, 2004 9/11 hearings

BLITZER: Secretary Cohen, thanks very much for joining us. You must be tired after all that questioning on the Hill. We’ll continue this conversation.Our terrorism analyst Peter Bergen has been closely monitoring today’s testimony as well. He’s watching it all of it. Peter is here in Washington. Peter, what surprised you, if anything, during these […]

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Al-Zawahiri may be involved in a fierce battle that’s been going on now for the past couple days. U.S. officials have told CNN that Pakistanis believe it is Ayman al- Zawahiri. U.S. officials have no independent confirmation of that right now. It’s the middle of the night, 2:30 a.m., along that border right now. But by daybreak, we do anticipate that Pakistani air assault will begin against these targets. Peter Bergen is our terrorism analyst. He’s an author on Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda and has interviewed Osama bin Laden. He’s joining us now live from Washington. Peter, how significant is Ayman al-Zawahiri?