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AL
QAEDA AND
AFFILIATED TRANSNATIONAL TERRORIST GROUPS
Lines
of
Inquiry
and Key
Questions
A. We propose to organize our
initial
research around
three over-arching questions,
which
will be used as principal
"lines
of inquiry."
1.
Whatis thehistoryof
al-Qaeda
and itslinkagestoother transnational terroristentities
prior
to the 9/11
attack?
2.
What can we determine, through a comprehensive examination of
all
evidence
now
available
-
synthesizing
the
information available earlier with that obtained
post-9/11
-
regarding
the
planning, preparation,
financing,
and
execution
of the
9/11
attacks?
3.Whatis nowknownof thepresent compositionandthreat posedbyal-Qaedaandits
affiliated
entities, and what does this indicate regarding the threat
posed?
Each of these lines of inquiry is building blocks that encompasses many specificcomponent questions.We can
identify
some
ofthese component questionsat theoutset
of
the research and are listed below as a means of
focusing
the
initiation
of our research,
and
they are listed below as a means of focusing the initiation of our research. However,
new
component questions will emerge
from
ourdiscoveriesas ourresearch progresses.Thus, one of theaimsof theinitial researchis be to
identify
theadditionalkeycomponent
questions
for our research. One of the crosscutting issue to which we will pay
close
attention
is
al
Qaeda's
collaborative
relationships
and
connections with various other
entities,
as these
will
be critical in
assessing
the means and capabilities for
future
attacks.B.The following is a list
some
of the key subsets of component questions that
will
be engaged to focus the initial research:
1.
Whatis thehistoryofal-Qaeda priorto the
9/11
attack?a. What are its origins,
ideological
roots, doctrines, and worldview, and how have
these evolved over time? Who have been its key
functionaries?
How has it
recruited personnel?b. What attacks before
9/11
can we now connect
with
al-Qaeda, mounted on its ownor in collaboration with other terrorist groups? How were they carried out?c.With what other terrorist groupshas itbeen
affiliated,
whetherincollaborativeoperationsorthrough
funding
andlogistic support?
d.How has al
Qaeda functioned organizationally
and
financially?e. What have been its relationships with governments, or government components,or
government components acting outside
the
purview
of
their
own
political
leadership, including but not limited to those governments or factions thatprovidedalQaeda with supportandsanctuary?
 
2.What can we determine, through a comprehensive examination of all evidence nowavailable
-
synthesizing
the
information available earlier with that obtained
post-9/11
-
regarding the planning, preparation,
financing,
and execution of the
9/11
attacks?a. What can we now understand regarding strategic objectives of the attack?b. How were the targets and the means of attack chosen? By whom? How was
intelligence
collected and employed for this purpose?c. What do we know of the origins and details of the operational planning? E.g. thedesignation
of
operational command,
the
selection
of the
hijacking teams,
the
establishment of logistic and financial support? When was the plan finalized?Was it
fixed
orflexible?d. What were
the key
planning
and
decision variables?
For
example,
is
there
any
evidence
of
variables that would have resulted
in a
decision
to
abort
the
plan?Who had the
final
authority to carry out the plan or abort it?
e.
What training, exercises,
and/or
rehearsals were carried out?
f.
What staging areas and support networks were employed were employed incarrying out the plan? Did
affiliated
entities play any role in staging or supportingthe attacks?
3.
What
is now
known
of the
present composition
and
threat posed
by
al-Qaeda
and its
affiliated
entities, and threat dotheynow
pose?
a.
How has al-Qaeda sought to adapt and compensate for its
losses?
What changeshave taken place since
9/11 in
such areas
as
tactics, doctrine, personnel,
and
financial
practices?
b.
What
is the
current status
of al
Qaeda's
active membership
and its
access
to
weapons and training?c. What has happened to the many thousands who passed through the training andvetting camps in Afghanistan?
d.
What role
has al
Qaeda played
in
terrorist attacks mounted since
9/11,
whetherthwarted or actually carried out?e. What has been the role, if any, of
affiliated
and collaborative entities in theseattacks, and what is the status of the connections between al Qaeda and otherterrorist groups?
f.
Is there any evidence that al Qaeda is currently receiving any support
from
anystatesactor?
g.
What is the status of the
efforts
to acquire WMD?
We
will start
our
research
on the
first
line
of
inquiry
- in
effect,
the
construction
of
the
"base
building
block"
-in the
1989-90
time
frame,
when
bin
Laden's
"foundation,"
or "al
Qaeda,"
was set up in
Peshawar, Pakistan,
and bin
Ladenhimself returned to Saudi Arabia.
After
the deployment of U.S. forces to SaudiArabia
and
other Gulf states
in
1990,
bin
Laden intensified
his
tirades against
the
"apostate"
regimes in the Muslim world and called for expulsion of the American"infidels"
from
the
land
of the
"sacred
sites"
of
Islam.
In1991bin
Laden movedhis base
to
Sudan. Some context:
 
During this time frame several major terrorist operations took
place
in which binLadenisknowntohave been involved,aswellasadditional attacksforwhich thereis
evidence
of,
at
least,
bin
Laden's
support. These include
the
1992 bombing
of
a
hotel
in
Yemen
used as a stopover for
American
troops on their way to Somalia; the February
193
bombing
World
Trade
Center
(WTCI); the
pre-empted "Day
of
terror"
plot
targeted
at New
York City
landmarks;
the
1994-95
"Bojinka
Plot"
in
Manila, which included
plans
to
blow
up 12
airliners over
the
Pacific
Ocean, assassinate
the
Pope
and the U.S
president, and fly an airplane laden with explosives into the
CIA's
headquarters; and theNovember 1995 bombing
of
the
Saudi National Guard building
in
Riyadh that killed five
US
soldiers.
In
addition, although
the
attacks
on the
U.S. embassies
in
Kenya
andTanzania
did nottake
place
until
August
1998,the
planning
wasalready well underwaywhile bin-Laden was residing in Sudan where he reportedly reviewed the
plans
for theattacks
and
reconnaissance
photos
used
for
these
plans.
The
multiple connections
offer
insights into
the
evolving structure
of
al
Qaeda.
Forexample,
Wadih
el-Hage,who served as bin
Laden's personal
"secretary
"
while he
was
based
in
Sudan
and who has now
been
identified
as a key
player
in the
African
embassy
bombings, had previously (in1991-92)headed a so-called charitableorganization
in New
YorkCity
that ostensibly raised funds
for
veterans
of
the
Afghan
Jihad. The
organization
had
previously raised funds
to
support those fighters during
theJihad.
While
in new
York
el-Hage also
had
contact
with
at
least
one
of
the
participants
in
WTC I and was
later convicted
for his
role
in the
1998 embassy bombings. Similarly,Ramzi
Yousef,
who
managed
the WTC I,
escaped
after
the
attack
and
ended
up in
Manila,
where he worked with future 9/11 commander Khalid Sheikh Mohammed on theaborted Bojinka
plot.
Ourresearch will then follow bin
Laden's move
to Afghanistan in the spring of1996 and the establishment of his infrastructure there. One of the key developmentallines
to be
examined
in
this period will
be the
further
expansion
of al
Qaeda's
globalreachthrough recruitment, indoctrination, training and dispersal of cells, at least some ofwhich played critical
roles
in the
later
9/11
attacks.
Some
context:
Al
Qaeda's
base
and
operational infrastructure expanded
by a
significant
order
of
magnitude
after
bin
Laden's
move
to
Afghanistan
in
1996, entrenched
its
"army"
infrastructure
of
bases
for
training
in
weapons, tactics,
and
production
of
explosivedevices.
This
infrastructure also provided centersforideological indoctrinationand forscreening
the
ranks
to
spot
and vet
individuals
for the
inner cadre
of
terrorist cells. This
was the
source
of
a
large
portion
of
the
individuals dispatched
to
form cells
in
citiesaround
the
globe
- aprocess
vividly demonstrated
in
what
is
know known
of
many
of
the
9/11
hijackers.
The home-base system in Afghanistan also facilitated sequestered gatherings forstrategic and operational planning, and for collaboration sessions with leaders of other
major
terrorist groups. We now have evidence revealing a significant expansion ofcollaborative arrangements with other terrorists took place from the
Afghan
bases. It isnowknown,forexample, thatalQaeda collaborated withtwoAsian terrorist groupsin
of 00

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