Phoenix Memo
| Company type | Memorandum |
|---|---|
| Industry | Law enforcement, intelligence |
| Founded | 2001-07-10 |
| Founder | Kenneth Williams |
| Headquarters | Phoenix, Arizona , United States |
The Phoenix Memo refers to a letter dispatched to the FBI headquarters on July 10, 2001, authored by FBI Special Agent Kenneth Williams. In this communication, Williams proposed establishing a comprehensive list of civil aviation training institutions worldwide. At the time, Williams was stationed in Phoenix, Arizona and was conducting inquiries into students enrolled at several such schools for possible terrorist associations.
Content
The memo aimed to:[1]
Alert the Bureau and New York offices about a potential coordinated initiative by Osama bin Laden to send individuals to the United States for enrollment in civil aviation universities and colleges. Phoenix has identified an unusually high number of persons under investigation attending or having attended such institutions in Arizona.
Despite these warnings, Williams’s suggestions received minimal attention due to competing priorities. Although the memo was reviewed by at least twelve FBI personnel, including John P. O'Neill, it did not reach acting director Thomas J. Pickard, his successor Robert Mueller, or the Central Intelligence Agency.[2] The existence of this memo remained undisclosed to President George W. Bush and senior national security officials until May 2002.
In congressional testimony in May 2002, Mueller acknowledged that the FBI’s oversight in acting on the memo revealed deficiencies in its intelligence analysis capabilities.[3]
Coleen Rowley (2002)
In June 2002, FBI Agent Coleen Rowley invoked provisions under the federal Whistleblower Protection Act to dispute Director Mueller’s public assertions regarding the bureau’s absence of "advance knowledge." Through her memorandum, Rowley emphasized what she described as the obstruction of investigations connected to Zacarias Moussaoui.[4]
See also
- Bin Ladin Determined To Strike in US, dated August 6, 2001
- Capture of Zacarias Moussaoui, dated August 16, 2001
- Khalid al-Mihdhar
- Nawaf al-Hazmi
- Risk aversion
Further reading
- ↑ "Special Report: A Review of the FBI's Handling of Intelligence Information Related to the September 11 Attacks, Appendix 2". Office of Inspector General. Retrieved March 30, 2025.
- ↑ Behar, Richard (22 May 2002). "FBI's 'Phoenix' memo unmasked". Fortune. CNN. Archived from the original on 25 November 2011. Retrieved 11 September 2013.
- ↑ Johnston, David; Don van Natta, Jr. (21 May 2002). "Traces of Terror: The F.B.I. Memo; Ashcroft Learned of Agency's Alert Just After 9/11". New York Times. Retrieved 11 September 2013.
- ↑ Rowley, Coleen (21 May 2002). "Coleen Rowley's Memo to FBI Director Robert Mueller: An edited version of the agent's 13-page letter". Time. Archived from the original on 2 June 2002.