RESEARCHER
There's a book called "Forbidden Truth"
Tue Mar 30 23:25:34 2004
63.228.144.66

There's a book called "Forbidden Truth"
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=04/03/30/1522243

AMY GOODMAN: Anton Gunn, has your family gotten any kind of compensation for -- on the death of Sharon?

ANTON GUNN: Other than the initial $6,000 burial benefit that all loved ones receive when they lose someone in the military, very, very little. I mean, and that's one of the major concerns that we have had for years is that, you know, we want to be treated as every other Al Qaeda victim has been treated. I mean, on September 11, you had lots of numbers people that lost their lives in the World Trade Center, as well as the Pentagon, that have all been allowed to be given redress in terms of the September 11 fund and access to compensation, but our families have been excluded. And, you know, we have talked until we were blue in the face. We have communicated with all levels of government and our elected officials about this issue, and, you know, we have kind of been ignored. I mean, we have truly been ignored, as if this was something totally different from what happened on September 11. You know, our families say that, you know, we were all victims of Al Qaeda terrorism. We were all let down by the military. We were all let down by the government and we were all let down by our elected leadership of this country. And the only difference between September 11 and October 12 is one year, one month and one day. There's no difference. No other difference. So, we expect and should be treated as September 11 victims have been treated, but we have yet to receive any access or compensation for what happened to our loved ones or how we are able to deal with this situation.

AMY GOODMAN: There's a book called "Forbidden Truth" by French journalists and Frenchmen who worked with the Secret Service in France investigating Al Qaeda. And in it they also talk about John O'Neill and say that he felt most thwarted in his attempts to investigate any terror links to Saudi Arabia, which he why he ultimately left the F.B.I. and went to work at security at the World Trade Center, and died on September 11. The Yemeni President about a month after the attack on the USS Cole said that the small boat that was used to attack the Cole had been bought in Saudi Arabia and that at least one of the attackers was a Saudi citizen. Do you understand this to be the case?

ANTON GUNN: Yes. Very much so. And, you know, it's -- the entire thing has been frustrating from the lack of information that we have officially gotten, and you know, we have all done our own investigation. I know many family members communicate daily and weekly with folks in Yemen, trying to get some answers. We understand exactly that the boat that was used in the attack aboard the USS Cole was purchased in Saudi Arabia and then, you know, driven or shipped to Yemen in some capacity, and it was used in the attacks. First, the attempted attack aboard the "USS Sullivan" in January of 2000, which was failed because they had too many explosives on the boat, so it sank. But they salvaged the same boat out of the harbor, put a new motor on it, then lined it with Semtex, a C-4 explosive, and used it in the "Cole attack. And yes, it was purchased in Saudi Arabia.

AMY GOODMAN: At this point is any further investigation being opened into the attack on the "USS Cole," and what kind of interactions have you had with government officials and demanding information?

ANTON GUNN: Well, Amy, since the beginning of this endeavor or this event that changed my family's life forever, I have attempted to contact the F.B.I. on numerous occasions, beginning back in January of 2001, and I didn't hear any contacts from anybody in the United States government or the F.B.I. until, you know, September of 2001 where they said, oh, you know, the Cole is related to 9-11. Then we didn't hear anything again for another year. So, it's been a terrible, terrible miscommunication and lack of communication on the part of the F.B.I. and the investigation. So, this has really been four years and I can probably say, the four years, coming up on the fourth anniversary of the "Cole," I have probably talked to the F.B.I. for maybe 12 months of that time frame, and have been ignored the rest of the time frame. But I do understand there's an investigation that's continuing. We were able to meet with Mr. Ashcroft sometime last February in terms of them announcing an indictment, that they did have a couple of suspects that they had officially named as being related to the attack on the USS Cole, and they were all Al Qaeda members, and they also named Al Qaeda as a part of that indictment. That took some three years after the Cole attack officially happened for them to do that. But we do understand that there's a continuing investigation, and they're trying to, you know, put together the pieces, and you know, we have been said to countless times by the members of the F.B.I. that they looked at the attack on the USS Cole as a blueprint for what happened in 9-11, and that everything from the 9-11 investigation has been informed by what happened aboard the USS Cole and therefore, they are continuing to investigate to put together all of the pieces. So, you know, they're investigating, but, you know, it's been almost a year since I have heard anything from them, other than maybe a brief email to say that, hey, somebody's escaped or, you know, they think they may have somebody else, but it's all -- our investigation, the families' investigation, we find our stuff out through the internet and through news programs as yours that really try to tell the truth, because we can't get it from the F.B.I. or from anyone in the government.

AMY GOODMAN: Anton Gunn, do you think that if a full investigation had been done of the USS Cole that perhaps September 11 would not have happened, the attacks?

ANTON GUNN: There is no doubt in my mind if the USS Cole attack was fully investigated, which means that, you know, Ambassadors like Bodine would step out of the way and allow us to do our jobs, if we were being cooperative as agencies with each other, to fully investigate what happened aboard the USS Cole, there's no doubt in my mind that 9-11 could have been fully thwarted at a minimum, and that they could have really stopped many other terrorist plots that are in the making, that are being planned as we speak, but, you know it, was -- 9-11 was allowed to happen because we refused to do our job. We had no leadership that wanted to do a job. President Clinton said, listen, I'm trying to get out of office. And so, he was trying to close up everything that he was doing so he could get out of office. And when Bush got in he was like, it didn't happen on my watch, so I'm not really worried about it. And that's how we felt for so many years. We were saying, if you don't do something, if you don't answer these questions, if you don't investigate this, this will happen again. And 11 months later, September 11 happened. And there was no doubt, the day when I saw the buildings on fire, that I knew what had happened.

AMY GOODMAN: Finally, what you're calling for now, Anton Gunn.

ANTON GUNN: I'm calling for some truth-telling. I want a clear and open investigation. I want Condoleezza Rice on the carpet to tell what she knows about 9-11, what she knows about the USS Cole and every other elected official. Bill Cohen as well needs to be open and upright about what happened. So, we want some truth-telling in terms of what happened aboard the "USS Cole," and then we want our families to be treated equally as victims of Al Qaeda. We want access to compensation just as everyone else has had. You know, you don't understand the tragedy of what terrorism can do to you and your family until you live it. And I don't want anyone else to deal with what my family has dealt with over the last four years. So, we want to be treated equally as all other victims of Al Qaeda terrorist attacks have been treated. And give us our just due, our respect and treat us fairly.

AMY GOODMAN: Have you sued the U.S. government?

ANTON GUNN: No, we're in the process of figuring that out. Because you hear people say, oh, you can't sue the government, you can't sue the government. But we have retained counsel. And we are in the process of looking at our options. We felt like this wasn't necessary, that if they would just treat us all as equals and, just as they have allowed the families in the Pentagon and the families in the World Trade Center to receive compensation for what happened to their loved ones, you know, we thought that if we were able to get access and the same kind of support services that they received, there was no need to file a lawsuit. But, you know, we have since reconsidered that, just because of the -- how we have been ignored for so much in terms of this complaint and this, you know, this question about fairness and equity for all victims of Al Qaeda terror. So, that is a possibility, but, you know, again, where that success goes or what actually happens is, you know -- your guess is as good as mine. But I really think it's unnecessary for to us have to go to those lengths to actually get someone to treat us, you know, the way we should be treated for what has happened to our families and to our loved ones.

AMY GOODMAN: Anton Gunn, I want to thank you for being with us. Anton Gunn lost his brother, Sharon Lewis Gunn on October 12, 2000, in the attack on the USS Cole off the coast of Yemen. Anton Gunn is currently Executive Director of South Carolina Fair Share, a non-partison organization made up of low and moderate income people in South Carolina concerned with progressive social change. I thank you for being with us.

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http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=04/03/30/1522243

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The Commission investigating the Sept. 11th attacks last week wrapped up two days of high-profile hearings in Washington.

The public hearings grabbed headlines across the country and continued to dominate the airwaves over the weekend as a political firestorm brewed over former counterterrorism chief Richard Clarke's testimony and National Security Adviser Condoleeza Rice's refusal to give one.

In the wake of the controversy over the handling of the war on terror by both the Clinton and Bush administrations, a lesser-known terrorist attack 11 months before 9/11 is once again in the news - The USS Cole.

On Oct. 12, 2000 a small boat filled with C4 explosives motored alongside a U.S. destroyer, the USS Cole, which was fuelling up of the coast of Yemen. Two men aboard the small craft waved at the larger vessel, then blew themselves up. Seventeen American sailors died, and thirty-nine others were seriously wounded.

In an interview on Meet the Press last Sunday, NBC's Tim Russert questioned former counterterrorism chief Richard Clarke about the Cole.

* Richard Clarke on NBC's Meet the Press with Tim Russert March 28, 2004.

Today, in a Democracy Now! exclusive, we are joined by Anton Gunn, his brother Cherone Louis Gunn was one of the 17 Americans killed aboard the Cole. He was just 22 years old.

* Anton Gunn, executive director of South Carolina Fair Share, a nonpartisan membership organization made up of low and moderate income South Carolinians concerned with consumer and progressive social change issues.

http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=04/03/30/1522243

• URGENT!! Demand Condaleeza Answer THIS QUESTION — Bill Douglas, Tue Mar 30 23:37