America Attacked: 9/11

On 7 August 1998, Al-Qaeda terrorists bombed the U.S. Embassy Compounds in Nairobi, Kenya and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The coordinated attacks took place about four minutes apart. At least 212 people died and thousands more were injured.

In Nairobi, many of the victims were working in nearby buildings when the bomb exploded at approximately 10:40 a.m. local time. The American Embassy, located in a congested part of town, was gutted as the blast ripped through each floor and pulverized nearby vehicles.

The FBI, in the largest overseas deployment of agents in FBI history, conducted more than 1,000 interviews. As a result of that massive investigation, 22 people were charged with bombing the embassies. In May of 2001, four individuals were convicted even as a primary defendant - Osama Bin Laden - remained a fugitive. Those convicted men were sentenced to life in prison in October of 2001.

In August of 1997, about one year before the embassy bombings, Kenyan police and FBI agents found a very disturbing letter on the computer hard drive of longtime Bin Laden aide, Wadih El Hage. (He was one of the four convicted for bombing the embassies.) Near its end (scroll down about 80%) the letter states:

As you know, the decision to declare war on America was taken...

Government officials understandably observe that they receive so many warnings it is frequently impossible for them to determine which are real. But on 12 October 2000, another terrorist attack killed more Americans - this time aboard the U.S. guided missile destroyer USS Cole (DDG 67).