Cole Bombing: New FOIA Request Filed

I have filed another FOIA request regarding the bombing of the USS Cole. It is for an FBI document entitled “Source reporting on al-Qaeda” and is dated January 16, 2001. It is mentioned in the 9/11 Commission Report in endnote 132 on page 507.

The reason I want this document is because it is related to the identification of al-Qaeda leader Khallad bin Attash in a photograph provided by the Yemeni authorities and in the Malaysia summit photographs in January 2001 by a joint FBI/CIA informer being used for the USS Cole investigation. Bin Attash was a key player in the 9/11 and Cole plots. The document should have mentioned his identification in the Malaysia photographs, which would have been a key link for the Cole investigators and an important piece of information that could have helped prevent 9/11. However, for some reason it is said to only mention the identification in the Yemeni photographs.

Welcome Aboard, Erik

The History Commons is proud to welcome its newest member, Erik Larson, who posts under the moniker “Erik91.” He describes himself as “a user and supporter of cooperativeresearch / historycommons since late 2005.” He maintains his own blog, 9/11 Reports. On his blog, he describes himself as a non-violent activist and agent of change. Erik works a little differently from the average contributor; he isn’t so much interested in creating material of his own as he is working with the nuts and bolts of others’ entries. We appreciate his willingness to tackle the less glamorous (glamorous??) aspects of maintaining the Commons. He creates tons of original material on his own, and others’ blogs; we’re just glad he has some time for us. So far he’s helped post a large amount of material in the new Anthrax timeline. We welcome him to the History Commons community, and extend the invitation for you to join as well.