TechGD

The site Cooperative Research has one of the most comprehensive timelines that I have seen with the events that lead up to the 9/11 attacks.

This timeline starts at November 1979 and includes sources for the information in each step.

Two of the most interesting points along the way:

1988: Bin Ladens Bail Out George W. Bush?

Prior to this year, President George W. Bush is a failed oilman. Three times, friends and investors have bailed him out to keep his business from going bankrupt. However, in 1988, the same year his father becomes president, some Saudis buy a portion of his small company, Harken, which has never performed work outside of Texas. Later in the year, Harken wins a contract in the Persian Gulf and starts doing well financially. These transactions seem so suspicious that the Wall Street Journal in 1991 states it “raises the question of … an effort to cozy up to a presidential son.” Two major investors in Bush’s company during this time are Salem bin Laden and Khalid bin Mahfouz. [Salon, 11/19/2001; Intelligence Newsletter, 3/2/2000] Salem bin Laden is Osama’s oldest brother; Khalid bin Mahfouz is a Saudi banker with a 20 percent stake in BCCI. The bank will be shut down a few years later and bin Mahfouz will have to pay a $225 million fine (while admitting no wrongdoing) (see October 2001)). [Forbes, 3/18/2002]

June 4, 1992: FBI Investigates Ties Between George W. Bush and Saudi Money

The FBI investigates connections between James Bath and George W. Bush, according to published reports. Bath is Salem bin Laden’s official representative in the US. Bath’s business partner contends that, “Documents indicate that the Saudis were using Bath and their huge financial resources to influence US policy,” since George W. Bush’s father is president. George W. Bush denies any connections to Saudi money. What becomes of this investigation is unclear, but no charges are ever filed. [Houston Chronicle, 6/4/1992]

After reading the entire timeline, it makes me wonder if most tax paying americans know exactly where their hard earned tax dollars are going and if they truly know the intentions of the people they elected to office.