Clarke's memo requests an immediate meeting of the National Security Council's Principals Committee to discuss broad strategies for combating al-Qaeda by giving counterterrorism aid to the Northern Alliance and Uzbekistan, expanding the counterterrorism budget and responding to the U.S.S. Cole attack. Despite Clarke's request, there was no Principals Committee meeting on al-Qaeda until September 4, 2001. Note that the memo bears a declassification stamp of April 7, 2004, <span style="font-style:italic;">one day prior to Rice's testimony before the 9/11 Commission on April 8, 2004.</span> Responding to claims that she ignored the al-Qaeda threat before September 11, Rice <span style="font-style:italic;">lied </span>in a March 22, 2004 Washington Post op-ed when she wrote that, "No al Qaeda plan was turned over to the new administration."