# OBL "warning" us prior to the attacks **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 2, 2001, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obl-warning-us-prior-to-the-attacks/84926 "2001-10-02T05:46:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Viscera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/258eb7/32.png) [@Viscera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Viscera)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2001, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obl-warning-us-prior-to-the-attacks/84926/1 "2001-10-02T05:46:35Z")
Have seen several new reports over the past few days, saying that there were warnings about the Sept. 11th attacks beforehand (latest ones I heard was a letter from the Cayman Islands). My question isn’t whether they were legitimate or not. WHY would OBL “warn” us in the first place? I mean, I can understand someone in the organization getting cold feet and growing a spine, but I could almost swear that OBL himself planted some hints prior. He is the (alleged) mastermind of the whole thing. Why would he want to potentially stop his plan? Vis ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2001, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obl-warning-us-prior-to-the-attacks/84926/2 "2001-10-02T06:03:17Z")
… OBL said something “spectacular” (quotes mine) was going to happen a few months prior to the WTC tragedy. Does anyone remember anything further? And to your question as to why would he warn us… well, if what I remember _is_ correct, some might consider that statement as being too vague to be considered a warning as such. Also, one must ask oneself, “What did we know and _when_ did we know it?” A lot of questions will remain unanswered for a long time, I’m afraid, V. Quasi ---
**Author:** ![Caracticus\_Potts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bcef8e/32.png) [@Caracticus\_Potts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caracticus_Potts)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2001, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obl-warning-us-prior-to-the-attacks/84926/3 "2001-10-02T06:13:16Z")
OBL has issued “warnings” a couple times a year for the last several years. It seems most of them were false, or simply stopped before they could be carried off. Even if he had said something big would happen on September 11th. How would we have prevented it? He could have targeted anyplace. And who would have suspected commercial aircraft being the tool? ---
**Author:** ![suziek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8491ac/32.png) [@suziek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suziek)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2001, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obl-warning-us-prior-to-the-attacks/84926/4 "2001-10-02T06:22:05Z")
I think he would hint because he is frankly nuts and couldn’t resist hints at his big plans for the bad ole USA. His ego (along with his psychosis) is bigger than the risk. I heard today that he called his mother shortly before the attack and told her, somewhat in more detail, about the attack. This story was accompanied by a picture of his mother when she was attending the wedding of his daughter to the son of a fellow terriorist. Too bad we weren’t monitoring that call. I also heard on the news (only once) that two agents from the Mossad had travelled to the U.S. two weeks before the attack to give our government information they had about such an attack. My son keeps telling me that, one, we no longer have any real, live spys in the Middle East, and that it’s now all listening devices and satellites; and, two, that the CIA gets information about hundreds of threats a day and it would take a psychic to be able to tell which ones are credible. I think the idea of deporting every Arab in the U.S. who is here in a temporary status (not citizens) until we can do a real background check is a good idea. There are about 5 million I understand, which is why we can’t do it while they remain here. I don’t know if that number is good. ---
**Author:** ![ruadh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@ruadh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruadh)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2001, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obl-warning-us-prior-to-the-attacks/84926/5 "2001-10-02T06:52:44Z")
Yeah, like it would be easier to deport _five million people?_ :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2001, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obl-warning-us-prior-to-the-attacks/84926/6 "2001-10-02T07:03:39Z")
You think it’s easy to identify and locate, let alone deport, 5 million people in the United States. Good luck on trying to get an international flight anywhere if the government tries that. Pretty much every airliner in the world would have to be pressed into duty. Unless you just wish to drive them over either border and leave them all in Vancouver, Tijuana, etc. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2001, 10:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obl-warning-us-prior-to-the-attacks/84926/7 "2001-10-02T10:23:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by suziek \* > \*\*I think the idea of deporting every Arab in the U.S. who is here in a temporary status (not citizens) until we can do a real background check is a good idea. There are about 5 million I understand, which is why we can’t do it while they remain here. I don’t know if that number is good. \*\* This is fodder for GD, and does not belong in GQ. bibliophage moderator GQ ---
**Author:** ![sirjamesp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@sirjamesp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sirjamesp)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2001, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obl-warning-us-prior-to-the-attacks/84926/8 "2001-10-02T11:57:31Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Caracticus Potts_ > And who would have suspected commercial aircraft being the tool? Anyone but the intelligence services, it would seem. An attempt was made to explode a hijacked French commercial airliner over Paris in ´94. This failed, not least due to the fact that the hijackers could not fly the plane and were reliant on the pilots, who diverted to Marseilles giving the French commandos chance to storm the plane. We now discover that intelligence services have been alerted to the fact that, since then, suspicious individuals have been learning to fly commercial airliners (and, oddly, only wanting to know how to steer, not land or take-off). You would think that our highly paid intelligence officers could have put two and two together… I know this may be straying off the point, but I would say that this was a far better warning than OBL’s regular “Oooohhh, I’m coming to get you” threats. I know I’m speaking from the high horse of hindsight, but still… James ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2001, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obl-warning-us-prior-to-the-attacks/84926/9 "2001-10-02T14:19:37Z")
They have been warning us for a long time. Even after they tried to do it to the wtc around 92. As they say, hindsight is 20/20