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WASHINGTON, D.C. -- With U.S. President W. George Bush again coming under fire with the Sept. 11 Commission saying that there was no proof linking Iraq to al-Qaida, it was revealed in a report released by the commission today that during the course of planning the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, plans to simultaneously attack U.S. targets in Korea, Japan and Singapore were also pushed.
According to the report, al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden met with a high-ranking Iraqi intelligence official in 1994, but there was no evidence that they cooperated in attacking the United States.
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Investigators and security experts of the U.S government take an oath prior to their testimony before the Sept. 11 Commission, which was held in Washington on June 16. Those on the platform: (from left) commission member Jamie S. Gorelick; chairman Thomas H. Kean, and vice chairman Lee Hamilton. /Reuter
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Meanwhile, the commission said, "In order to use those al-Qaida operatives who were refused U.S. visas, plans for terrorist attacks in Southeast Asia were also made." It said Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed proposed scenarios involving hijacking civilian airliners crossing the Pacific and Southeast Asia and blowing them up in midair or flying them into U.S. targets in Korea, Japan or Singapore. After an operative had conducted inspections in Hong Kong, Bangkok and other places, however, bin Laden decided that it would be too difficult to carry out attacks simultaneously against targets in the U.S. mainland and Southeast Asia, the commission reported.
The report also said al-Qaida had also planned a very daring attack involving 10 airliners attacking targets on the east and west coasts of the U.S. simultaneously.
(Gang In-seon, insun@chosun.com )
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