Axis

9/11 was not as much of a surprise as the world believes. As early as 1989, CIA became aware of a budding terrorist group rebelling against America’s military presence in Islam’s holiest region - Saudi Arabia. Calling itself al Qaeda, its attacks became increasingly virulent, but despite repeated warnings neither the Clinton nor the Bush administrations took the threats very seriously. Beginning in January, 2001, National Security Adviser Richard Clarke tried repeatedly to get an audience with President Bush to warn him of a major attack, but that audience was not granted until early in September – a week before the attack! The Cold War was long over; Americans - weary of foreign entanglements - wanted their peace dividend.

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, now in US custody, came up with the plan for simultaneous strikes against American icons: Wall Street, the White House, the Pentagon and others. Osama bin Laden funded it and al Qaeda’s Hamburg cell, code-named Axis, was charged with carrying it out.