Early February 2001: Richard Clarke Urges Vice President Cheney to Take Action Against Al-Qaeda

Counterterrorism “tsar” Richard Clarke briefs Vice President Cheney about the al-Qaeda threat. He urges decisive and quick action against al-Qaeda. Cheney soon visits CIA headquarters for more information about al-Qaeda. However, at later high-level meetings Cheney fails to bring up al-Qaeda as a priority issue. [Time, 8/4/2002; Clarke, 2004, pp. 227-30]