Many in the media have been considering connections of OKC to the 9-11 attacks

Recently the Associated Press ran a story entitled “Weeks Before Oklahoma Bombing, Government Warned of Possible Terror Attacks.”  It was picked up by The NY Times, LA Times, MSNBC, FOX News, and dozens of other TV, radio, and print media all over the nation and world.  After seven years, and for those who have worked so hard and sacrificed so much, it was a bittersweet admission from one of the world’s largest media conglomerates.  For those who have followed the Oklahoma City Bombing over the years it comes as no big surprise that some in our government had prior knowledge of an impending attack.  Why?

 The reason this information comes as no surprise is that these and many other proofs of prior knowledge have been known and talked about since 1995.  The first information about Middle-Eastern terrorists came through the FBI’s All Points Bulletin (APB) issued the morning of the bombing.  The source was a female eyewitness who saw two Middle-Eastern (ME) males wearing blue jogging suits fleeing the scene of the crime in a late model brown Chevrolet pick-up parked near the building.  A third man was driving the truck.  FBI agent Henry Gibbons filed an affidavit in Federal Court, the first legal action by the government, which included a laundry list of information about ME suspects.

It was during the next few days and weeks that many witnesses came forward to confirm that the attack included ME.  Some described seeing McVeigh with one or two ME John Does.  Some of the witnesses even heard these John Does speaking in a ME dialect.But the list of evidence of prior knowledge is a long one.

●  Two informants warn the Justice Department and ATF months in advance of individuals planning to blow up government buildings.

●  Warnings were given to various officials such as Federal Judge Wayne Alley, the OKC Fire Department, and the OKC Police Department

●  Other information came from a U.S. Congressman, ATF agents, and the Governors office indicating prior knowledge.

●1-2 hours before the bombing, the OK County Sheriff’s Bomb Squad was sighted around the Murrah and/or the Federal Courthouse by at least five individuals.

Other evidence also points to prior knowledge, but new revelations during the past 6-12 months continue to put more pieces of the puzzle together.  Some FBI agents, now retired, have taken legal counsel because of the possibility they may give testimony in court or Congress regarding the orders they were given to stop pursuing ME suspects in the OKC case. Also, much more detail has been revealed about Terry Nichols many trips and phone calls to the Philippines.

Among his trips, Nichols and an ‘American friend’ met at a Dole processing plant with members of several terrorist groups including Ramsey Yousef.  Yousef was the mastermind of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and Project Bojinka (big boom).   According to interviews and sworn affidavits, Nichols and his ‘friend’ discussed targets and detailed instruction on building bombs with the terrorists.  On the list of targets was a place called Uklahuma (Oklahoma).

Philippine authorities discovered project Bojinka in January 1995 when a fire broke out in Ramsey Yousef’s apartment.  It included various terrorist acts such as a plan to fly commercial airliners into American landmarks such as the Pentagon, the Sears Tower, and the World Trade Center.  Other elements of Bojinka were flying a small plane loaded with explosives into CIA headquarters, and placing bombs on 11 commercial airliners departing from cities in Asia then exploding them simultaneously.  Details of Bojinka were turned over to both the CIA and FBI.  It is also noteworthy that Terry Nichols was in the Philippines at the time Bojinka was discovered.  He quickly changed his airline ticket and obtained a one-way ticket back to the U.S.

Many in the media have been considering connections of OKC to the 9-11 attack.  The recent lawsuit filed against Iraq as a participant and financier of the OKC Bombing will be an opportunity through discovery to find more of the truth about both cases.

It is noteworthy that even though there has been much press play about who knew what and when, the Bush Administration has not admitted to Project Bojinka’s details.  Nor have the mainstream media or Bush’s most ardent critics – left-wing Democrats.  Of course the Administration, Congress, CIA, and FBI continue to claim they had no specific information such an attack was planned.

Also interesting is that as the so-called mainstream media moves more into the OKC case and its possible connections to 9-11, the largest paper in our state has remained relatively silent.  The AP story, which ran all over the country, never ran in the Daily Oklahoman’s