1993 World Trade Center Bombing
In 1984, Peter Goldmark, executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, recognized a potential vulnerability of the Twin Towers to terrorism. He created the Office of Special Planning (OSP) to assess the vulnerability and susceptibility of an attack. The OSP issued an internal report in November 1985 that recommended banning parking at the World Trade Center. The report also recommended guarding all garage entrances, restricting pedestrian access, and randomly inspecting vehicles (9/11 Interactive Timelines, n/d). Unfortunately, none of these suggestions were implemented.
On the evening of November 5, 1990, Rabbi Meir Kahane was fatally shot by El Sayyid Nosair. When local police searched his home in New Jersey, they seized ammunition, bomb making literature, and pictures of New York City landmarks, including the Twin Towers. The local officials only focused on
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Upon searching the apartment, the FBI obtained information that led to the arrests of three co-conspirators: Ahmad Ajaj, Nidal Ayyad, and Mahmoud Abouhalima. Another suspect, Abdul Yasin, was interviewed and released. Upon his release, Yasin flew to Jordan. Ramzi Yousef and Eyad Ismoil, who were also involved in the plot, had fled the United States on the evening of the bombing.
Through continued investigations, the JTTF uncovered another terrorist plot to bomb numerous New York landmarks simultaneously, including the Lincoln Tunnel, the Holland Tunnel, the U.N. building and the federal plaza. On June 24, 1994, the FBI raided a warehouse in Queens where followers of Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman were assembling a bomb. Rahman was subsequently convicted of seditious conspiracy and sentenced to life in prison.
On March 4, 1994, the four accused bombers of the World Trade Center were convicted of all counts. Each of terrorists was sentenced to 240 years in