January 5-6, 2000: Al-Qaeda Operatives’ Failure to Meet in Singapore Has Important Consequences

On January 5, 2000, al-Qaeda operatives Ibrahim al-Thawar and Fahad al-Quso arrive in Bangkok, Thailand. They were part of an attempt to sink the USS The Sullivans, which failed in Yemen just a couple of days ago (see January 3, 2000). Al-Qaeda leader Khallad bin Attash has been a part of the same plot, and has been in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, for the past two weeks or so (see Mid-December 1999). Al-Thawar and al-Quso are bringing thousands of dollars for bin Attash (different accounts will name different amounts, but it could be as much as $36,000), and they plan to meet in Singapore. However, all three of them are unable to get Singapore visas. Bin Attash is attending an important al-Qaeda summit in Kuala Lumpur from January 5 to 8 (see January 5-8, 2000), and Malaysia does not require visas at all for most Middle Eastern countries. However, for whatever reason, bin Attash flies to Bangkok on January 6, instead of having one or both of the others fly to Kuala Lumpur. Apparently, the money is handed over and bin Attash flies back to Kuala Lumpur the next day to continue with the summit (see January 6, 2000). [9/11 Commission, 7/24/2004, pp. 159]
Important Consequences – These interactions will have important consequences, because al-Quso will be questioned by the FBI in Yemen later in 2000 (see Late October-Late November 2000), after taking part in the bombing of the USS Cole there (see October 12, 2000). Al-Quso will confess to giving a large sum of money to bin Attash (see Early December 2000), and FBI agents will discover phone calls between al-Quso’s Bangkok hotel and a phone booth in front of the condominium where the al-Qaeda summit was held (see (January 5-8, 2000)). But the FBI agents will be unable to find out about the summit, and the CIA will not share the information it has about it, ruining a chance for the FBI to discover the 9/11 plot that had been discussed at the summit (see for instance April 2001).