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Stock response

Dear President Bush:

On September 11, or maybe September 12, I plan to hijack several airplanes and fly them into a building or two in lower Manhattan, and maybe a military facility of some sort in Northern Virginia. Consider yourself warned.

Yours sincerely,

Osama

White House spokesman Ari Fleischer rejected any suggestion that this letter should have alerted the administration about Bin Laden’s plans for Sept. 11. “Look,” he said, “This was a highly ambiguous signal, which was subject to a variety of interpretations. The letter says Sept. 11 or 12. How were we supposed to know that the attack would come on Sept. 11? It might have come on Sept. 12. It would have been the height of irresponsibility to alarm the American people about the possibility of an attack on Sept. 11 when it could just as easily have occurred Sept. 12.”

He also noted that there are many buildings in lower Manhattan—“most of which to this very day have never been subject to a terrorist attack of any sort”—and that Northern Virginia contains a variety of military facilities. “It is easy in hindsight to observe that the Pentagon is in Northern Virginia, but there was no way to be certain that Bin Laden knew this. Many foreigners are under the impression the Pentagon is in the District of Columbia.

“Governing is about judgment,” Fleischer continued. “It is about filtering the tremendous amount of information that pours in and deciding what is relevant and what is not. Do you know how many letters we get from terrorists every week? No, I'm not saying how many. The point is, you don’t know. And you’re not going to find out from me. This administration is not afraid to make the tough calls. It doesn't matter whether a call is right or wrong. What matters is that it's tough. Ignoring a clear warning from a known terrorist was one tough call, and this administration is proud to have made it.”