# We were warned! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 19, 2001, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-were-warned/82649 "2001-09-19T19:01:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2001, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-were-warned/82649/1 "2001-09-19T19:01:50Z")
Isreal’s MOSSAD has said that they warned of impending attacks on US soil **last month**! CIA claims it “misplaced” the report. ---
**Author:** ![BunnyGirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@BunnyGirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BunnyGirl)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2001, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-were-warned/82649/2 "2001-09-19T19:06:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jeff Olsen \* > \*\*Isreal’s MOSSAD has said that they warned of impending attacks on US soil **last month**! CIA claims it “misplaced” the report. \*\* “misplaced”? No, misplaced is something you do with your car keys, not a report detailing a potential terrorist attack. “Misplaced” is some kind of weird spin. Good lord! ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2001, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-were-warned/82649/3 "2001-09-19T19:14:59Z")
Just realized that this may have been better off as my first Pit thread. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![magdalene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df788c/32.png) [@magdalene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magdalene)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2001, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-were-warned/82649/4 "2001-09-19T19:15:58Z")
Do you have a linky-linky? ---
**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2001, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-were-warned/82649/5 "2001-09-19T19:22:35Z")
Of course there are so many stories that came out which turned out to be false, so this could be one of them, too… I also heard, either on CNN, Fox News or NPR (can’t remember which, and have been watching/listening to all 3) that an Iranian who’s serving a sentence in a German prison, phoned some law enforcement agency (the Baltimore police or the FBI?) in the U.S. 2 days before the attacks and told them exactly what was going to happen. No word on what they did with that information - probably filed it under “C” for Crackpot. Scary, huh? If it’s true, how’d you like to have been the person who took that call and dismissed it? * * * Jeg elsker dig, Thomas ---
**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2001, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-were-warned/82649/6 "2001-09-19T19:41:24Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by magdalene \* > \*\*Do you have a linky-linky? \*\* [Here you go](http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/170072.html). Doesn’t say anything about the CIA misplacing files, but it is rather scary to think that intelligence agencies all over the world have known about this for months, yet apparently didn’t do anything to stop it because they couldn’t agree on _how_. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2001, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-were-warned/82649/7 "2001-09-19T19:45:01Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by magdalene \* > \*\*Do you have a linky-linky? \*\* No link yet. I posted from an ABC news feed but the story has yet to make it to any news sites. As **Shayna** pointed out, this may turn out to be yet another false report. A google search turned up one site about a US memo concerning an impending attack, but that site has a conspiracy slant and implicates the Israleis as taking part. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2001, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-were-warned/82649/8 "2001-09-19T19:57:54Z")
Looks like **Shayna** has better ways of searching than I do. 🙂 In the news report I heard, our Government was at a loss to explain why they didn’t take action like they normally do with Israeli reports of similar nature. The “misplacement” of the papers may not be an exact quote. ---
**Author:** ![thinksnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thinksnow/32/2849_2.png) [@thinksnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thinksnow)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2001, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-were-warned/82649/9 "2001-09-19T20:15:37Z")
Clearly, it’s easier to say “A-ha! I knew about that before it happened!” after teh event has occured. Hind sight and all that. The number of threats to U.S. interests is staggering and to look back, after the fact and say “We heard about that and did nothing” is painfully easy to do, but in truth, looking forward and seeing dozens or hundreds of claimed threats, it’s well nigh impossible to track them all down. After-the-fact news [example](http://www.msnbc.com/local/WLEX/M93935.asp). ---
**Author:** ![Skelji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b38774/32.png) [@Skelji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skelji)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2001, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-were-warned/82649/10 "2001-09-19T20:48:55Z")
I heard mention last week of the report alleging the Iranian in Germany had phoned US police. I caught the tale-end of something last night that I can’t verify. A guy being interviewed said there were also plans to fly planes into the Sears Tower in Chicago and the Transamerica building in San Francisco. Anyone know anything about this report? ---
**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2001, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-were-warned/82649/11 "2001-09-19T20:58:04Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Dire Wolf \* > \*\*I heard mention last week of the report alleging the Iranian in Germany had phoned US police. > > I caught the tale-end of something last night that I can’t verify. A guy being interviewed said there were also plans to fly planes into the Sears Tower in Chicago and the Transamerica building in San Francisco. Anyone know anything about this report? \*\* I haven’t heard about those buildings specifically, but there’s fairly strong evidence (from what I understand) that the 4 planes involved were not the only planes they were planning on hijacking. Apparently there was a plane in Houston (?) that was also supposed to have been hijacked, but the flight was cancelled due to mechanical problems and so never got off the ground to begin with. ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2001, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-were-warned/82649/12 "2001-09-20T00:11:46Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jeff Olsen \* > **Looks like Shayna has better ways of searching than I do. 🙂** Dude, you better believe it. That woman can hunt down and shoot a link at 300 yards. An ICQ session with her consists of a full time stream of links. “Check this out!! [http://www.outrageouslink.org](http://www.outrageouslink.org)” “OMG, this is hilarious! [http://www.pinkpoodlesonice.com](http://www.pinkpoodlesonice.com)” “AAAARGH!!! WTF were THEY thinking? [http://www.godhateslefthandedgoatmilkers.com](http://www.godhateslefthandedgoatmilkers.com)” But hey, I still love her. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![pantom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/34f0e0/32.png) [@pantom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pantom)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2001, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-were-warned/82649/13 "2001-09-20T03:27:09Z")
I heard tonight that some guy was locked up in Minnesota because he went to a flight school wanting to learn how to fly, but not interested in taking off or landing, only steering. He was in jail at the time of the attacks on immigration violations, if I’m remembering this right. I mean, come on fellas, couldn’t anyone think to interview this guy? Find out why he only wanted to learn how to steer? See if he had, maybe, a few friends? ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2001, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-were-warned/82649/14 "2001-09-20T17:44:33Z")
James Woods was in first class on Flight 11 on 9/4. The only other passengers in first class were a group of 4 men of Arabic appearance, who were behaving strangely. Didn’t eat, didn’t drink, no interaction with the flight crew. They just sat, kept their eyes straight ahead, and talked amongst themselves. The actor reported this to the flight crew and recently relayed his story to the FBI. In the wake of this, a stewardess that had been on Flight 77 a few days before Tuesday came forward with a similar story. This group was reportedly making notes of which way the plane turned and what landmarks could be seen from altitude. ---
**Author:** ![curious\_george](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b487fb/32.png) [@curious\_george](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curious_george)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2001, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-were-warned/82649/15 "2001-09-20T18:09:14Z")
Cecil’s column was about Echelon only two months ago, 7/20/01: [http://www.straightdope.com/columns/010720.html](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/010720.html) Regarding the alleged warning, the LA Times wrote an article supporting that today, Of course, the CIA denies it: [CIA: Reports Of Attack Warnings ‘Nonsense’](http://www.channel3000.com/sh/news/stories/nat-news-96712320010920-070954.html) Posted: 8:02 a.m. EDT September 20, 2001 WASHINGTON – The CIA is calling a Los Angeles Times report today “utter nonsense.” The report this morning said that Israel warned the FBI and CIA in August that the U.S. could be in for a “major assault.” The agency reportedly said it had picked up indications that a “large-scale target” had been picked, and that Americans would be “very vulnerable.” The report claimed that government officials were advised that there might be a “major assault” by 200 Muslims. The article quoted an unnamed law enforcement official, and says that Israel’s intelligence agency warned the FBI and CIA about an attack last month… ---
**Author:** ![curious\_george](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b487fb/32.png) [@curious\_george](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curious_george)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2001, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-were-warned/82649/16 "2001-09-20T21:55:07Z")
Here is a Great Debate I started about this topic: [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?postid=1631682#post1631682](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?postid=1631682#post1631682) ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2001, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-were-warned/82649/17 "2001-09-22T18:23:04Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Shayna \* > **I also heard, either on CNN, Fox News or NPR (can’t remember which, and have been watching/listening to all 3) that an Iranian who’s serving a sentence in a German prison, phoned some law enforcement agency (the Baltimore police or the FBI?) in the U.S. 2 days before the attacks and told them exactly what was going to happen. No word on what they did with that information - probably filed it under “C” for Crackpot.** [Chief Wiggum]Okay, I’ll just type that up on my invisible typewriter! Hm hm…hm hm hm hm…[/Chief Wiggum] ---
**Author:** ![El\_Zagna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d2c977/32.png) [@El\_Zagna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Zagna)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2001, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-were-warned/82649/18 "2001-09-22T22:16:09Z")
The problem I have with this sort of thing is that there is no way to put it in context. How often do we get warnings about \*\*possible[/] terrorist attacks? Once a day? Once a year? Who knows? And was the warning something like “Look out, this is going to be the big one!” or was it “We’ve picked up some suspicious activity which may or may not mean anything.” And how often do we act on similar warnings and thwart the terrorists? Again it could be daily for all we know, and we will never know. It is the very nature of this sort of thing that it be secret. Maybe in the next few days or weeks more information about this alleged warning will come to light, but for now it’s pretty meaningless to me. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2001, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-were-warned/82649/19 "2001-09-26T13:57:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by curious george \* > \*\*Cecil’s column was about Echelon only two months ago, 7/20/01: [http://www.straightdope.com/columns/010720.html](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/010720.html) > Regarding the alleged warning, the LA Times wrote an article supporting that today, Of course, the CIA denies it: > > [CIA: Reports Of Attack Warnings ‘Nonsense’](http://www.channel3000.com/sh/news/stories/nat-news-96712320010920-070954.html) > Posted: 8:02 a.m. EDT September 20, 2001 > > WASHINGTON – The CIA is calling a Los Angeles Times report today “utter nonsense.” > > The report this morning said that Israel warned the FBI and CIA in August that the U.S. could be in for a “major assault.” The agency reportedly said it had picked up indications that a “large-scale target” had been picked, and that Americans would be “very vulnerable.” > > The report claimed that government officials were advised that there might be a “major assault” by 200 Muslims. The article quoted an unnamed law enforcement official, and says that Israel’s intelligence agency warned the FBI and CIA about an attack last month… \*\* The intelligence version of “He said/She said.” 😃 Here’s a cite from [The Jerusalem Post](http://www.jpost.com/Editions/2001/09/17/News/News.34954.html) regarding my OP. ---
**Author:** ![Tretiak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a88e57/32.png) [@Tretiak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tretiak)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2001, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-were-warned/82649/20 "2001-09-26T15:00:42Z")
Well the L.A. Times had a followup the next day [http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-000075807sep21.story](http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-000075807sep21.story) > [@](#): > > The law enforcement official who was the source of The Times’ story said Thursday that his information came from an intelligence report citing a British newspaper account, not independent data. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-were-warned/82649.md?page=2)