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Report of the 9/11 Commission

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Drifter
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« Reply #1410 on: September 08, 2009, 12:29:57 am »

44. CIA cable, "Activities of Bin Ladin Associate Khalid Revealed," Jan. 4, 2000. His Saudi passport-which contained a visa for travel to the United States-was photocopied and forwarded to CIA headquarters.This information was not shared with FBI headquarters until August 2001. An FBI agent detailed to the Bin Ladin unit at CIA attempted to share this information with colleagues at FBI headquarters. A CIA desk officer instructed him not to send the cable with this information. Several hours later, this same desk officer drafted a cable distributed solely within CIA alleging that the visa documents had been shared with the FBI. She admitted she did not personally share the information and cannot identify who told her they had been shared.We were unable to locate anyone who claimed to have shared the information. Contemporaneous documents contradict the claim that they were shared. DOJ Inspector General interview of Doug M., Feb. 12, 2004; DOJ Inspector General interview of Michael, Oct. 31, 2002; CIA cable, Jan. 5, 2000; DOJ Inspector General report,"A Review of the FBI's Handling of Intelligence Information Related to the 9/11 Attacks," July 2, 2004, p. 282.

45. CIA cables,"Identification of UBL Associate Khalid Transiting Dubai," Jan. 4, 2000;"UBL Associate Travel to Malaysia-Khalid Bin Muhammad bin 'Abdallah al-Mihdhar," Jan. 5, 2000; "Arrival of UBL Associate Khalid Bin Muhammad bin 'Abdallah al-Mihdhar," Jan. 6, 2000.

46. CIA cable, "UBL Associates Travel to Malaysia and Beyond-Khalid Bin Muhammad bin 'Abdallah al-Midhar," Jan. 6, 2000.

47. CIA cable,"UBL Associates Depart Malaysia," Jan. 8, 2000.

48. CIA cable,"UBL Associates: Flight Manifest," Jan. 9, 2000. None of the CIA personnel at CIA headquarters or in the field had checked NSA databases or asked NSA to do so. If this had been done, on the basis of other unreported intelligence associated with the same sources, analysts would have been able to quickly learn "Nawaf " was likely Nawaf al Hazmi. Such analysis was not conducted until after 9/11. After 9/11 it also was determined that Salahsae was part of a name being used by Tawfiq bin Attash, also known as Khallad. One reason he was traveling around East Asia at this time is that he was helping to plan possible hijackings on aircraft in connection with an early idea for what would become the 9/11 plot.

49. CIA cable,"Efforts to Locate al-Midhar," Jan. 13, 2000.We now know that two other al Qaeda operatives flew to Bangkok to meet Khallad to pass him money. See chapter 8.That was not known at the time. Mihdhar was met at the Kuala Lumpur airport by Ahmad Hikmat Shakir, an Iraqi national. Reports that he was a lieutenant colonel in the Iraqi Fedayeen have turned out to be incorrect.They were based on a confusion of Shakir's identity with that of an Iraqi Fedayeen colonel with a similar name, who was later (in September 2001) in Iraq at the same time Shakir was in police custody in Qatar. See CIA briefing by CTC specialists (June 22, 2004);Walter Pincus and Dan Eggen,"Al Qaeda Link to Iraq May Be Confusion over Names," Washington Post, June 22, 2004, p. A13.

50. Richard interview (Dec. 11, 2003); CIA briefing materials, UBL unit briefing slides, Jan. 3-Jan. 14, 2000; Intelligence reports,"UBL Situation Report," Jan. 5, 10, 12, 2000; CIA email, Rob to John and others,"Malaysia- for the record," Jan. 6, 2000.

51. CIA cable,"Efforts to Locate al-Midhar," Jan. 13, 2000.

52. CIA cable,"UBL Associates: Identification of Possible UBL Associates," Feb. 11, 2000.

53. CIA cable,"UBL Associates: Identification of Possible UBL Associates," Mar. 5, 2000. Presumably the departure information was obtained back in January, on the days that these individuals made their departures. Because these names were watchlisted with the Thai authorities, we cannot yet explain the delay in reporting the news. But since nothing was done with this information even in March, we do not attribute much significance to this failure alone.

54. See, e.g., Joint Inquiry testimony of George Tenet, Oct. 17, 2002, pp. 110-112; DOJ Inspector General interview of John, Nov. 1, 2002.

55. CIA briefing, CTC Update, "Islamic Extremist Terrorist Threat," Jan. 5, 7, 2000; George Tenet interview (Jan. 22, 2004). Tenet described the millennium alert as probably the most difficult operational environment the CIA had ever faced.

56. NSC memo, Clarke to Berger,"Post-Millennium Soul Searching," Jan. 11, 2000.

57. NSC memo,"Review of Terrorism Alert and Lessons Learned," Jan. 3, 2000 (draft).This paper is part of a packet Clarke sent to Deputy Attorney General Thompson, copying White House officials, on Sept. 17, 2001.

58. NSC memo, McCarthy to Berger, need for new strategy, Jan. 5, 2000.

59. NSC memo, Kurtz to Berger, roadmap for March 10 PC meeting, Mar. 8, 2000.

60. NSC memo, Cressey to Berger, Summary of Conclusions for March 10, 2000, PC on Millennium After-Action Review,Apr. 3, 2000; Samuel Berger letter to the Commission,"Comments on Staff Statements 5-8," May 13, 2004, p. 9.

61. NSC memo,"The Millennium Terrorist Alert-Next Steps," undated.

62. DOS memo, Sheehan and Inderfurth to Albright, "Pakistan Trip Report-A Counterterrorism Perspective," Jan. 26, 2000; DOS cable, Islamabad 00396, "Inderfurth Delegation Meeting with General Musharraf," Jan. 24, 2000.

63. In February 2000, the CIA began receiving information about a possible Bin Ladin-associated plot to attack Air Force One with Stinger missiles if President Clinton visited Pakistan; this information was deemed credible by early March. The CIA also reviewed reported threats to the President in Bangladesh and India. CIA briefing, "Reported Plan To Attack U.S. Presidential Plane If He Visits Pakistan," Feb. 18, 2000; NSC email, Clarke to Berger, terrorism update, Feb. 29, 2000; CIA briefing, chief of CTC for the President, "Threats to the President's Visit to Asia," Mar. 2, 2000; NSC memo, Kurtz,"Summary of Conclusions of March 14, 2000 Meeting on Clinton Trip to South Asia;" NSC email, Kurtz to Berger, two new threats to assassinate the President in Bangladesh, Mar. 16, 2000. Berger told us that the Secret Service was vehemently opposed to a presidential visit to Islamabad; it took the extraordinary step of meeting twice with the President and offering very serious warnings. Samuel Berger interview (Jan. 14, 2004).

64. President Clinton meeting (Apr. 8, 2004). President Clinton told us he offered Musharraf aid and help in improving U.S.-Pakistani relations.A conversation that day between the two leaders in the presence of several close advisers is described in DOS cable, State 073803, "Memorandum of the President's Conversation with Pervez Musharraf on March 25, 2000," Apr. 19, 2000. A third meeting was apparently held in front of additional aides. Berger told that President Clinton did not want to press the Bin Ladin issue too heavily at the main meeting because ISID (Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate) members were present. Samuel Berger interview (Jan. 14, 2004).

65. NSC email, Camp for Berger,"Musharraf 's Proposed Afghanistan Trip," May 8, 2000. Clarke wrote Berger that Musharraf seemed to have "said the right things to Omar." NSC email, Clarke to Berger, May 11, 2000.
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« Reply #1411 on: September 08, 2009, 12:30:15 am »

66. DOS cable, Islamabad 002902,"Summary of May 26, 2000 Meeting Between Pickering and Musharraf," May 29, 2000.

67. DOS cable, Islamabad 79983, "DCI Meets with Chief Executive General Musharraf," June 21, 2000. Musharraf agreed to create a counterterrorism working group to coordinate efforts between Pakistani agencies and the CIA.Tenet noted that he was not asking the Pakistanis to deliver Bin Ladin next Tuesday; the DCI said he was "ambitious, but not crazy."

68. DOS cable, State 185645,"Concern that Pakistan is Stepping up Support to Taliban's Military Campaign in Afghanistan," Sept. 26, 2000.

69. UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1333, Dec. 19, 2000. UNSCR 1333 also called for countries to withdraw their officials and agents from the Taliban-held part of Afghanistan. Sheehan said that the new UN sanctions were aimed at the Taliban's primary supporters: Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. Michael Sheehan interview (Dec. 16, 2003).

70. Madeleine Albright prepared statement, Mar. 23, 2004, p. 11; Madeleine Albright interview (Jan. 7, 2004).

71. Michael Sheehan interview (Dec. 16, 2003).

72.The CIA appears to have briefed President Clinton on its "Next Steps and New Initiatives" in February 2000, noting the need to hire and train the right officers with the necessary skills and deploy them to the right places, as well as to work with foreign liaison.The CIA noted in its briefing that the President should press foreign leaders to maintain pressure on terrorists. See CIA briefing materials,"Targeting the Terrorists: Next Steps and New Initiatives," Feb. 1, 2000 (for the President); NSC email, Cressey to Berger,"CT Briefing for Clinton," Feb. 8, 2000.

73. For the CTC's perspective, see CIA briefing materials,"Talking Points for the DCI for the Principals Committee meeting on Terrorism:The Millennium Alert-After Action Review," Mar. 9, 2000. Deputy Chief of CTC Ben Bonk noted in the talking points that the CTC had obligated 50 percent of its fiscal year 2000 budget by Jan. 31, 2000, spending about 15 percent of its budget directly on the millennium surge. He stated that without a supplemental, it would be impossible for the CTC to continue at its current pace, let alone increase the operational tempo. On Tenet meeting with Berger, see George Tenet interview (Jan. 28, 2004).

74. Joan Dempsey interview (Nov. 12, 2003); George Tenet interview (Jan. 22, 2004).Tenet called the supplemental appropriation "a lifesaver." See, for example, the request for supplemental appropriations in CIA briefing materials,"Targeting the Terrorists: Next Steps and New Initiatives," Feb. 1, 2000 (for the President).

75. Richard Clarke interview (Feb. 3, 2004).

76. James Pavitt interview (Jan. 8, 2004).

77. Richard Clarke interviews (Dec. 18, 2003; Feb. 3, 2004).

78. CIA memos, summary of weekly Berger/Tenet meeting, Apr. 5, 12, 2000; NSC memo, "April 19, 2000 Agenda for Deputies Committee Meeting on CT:The Millennium Threat FY00 and FY01 Budget Review;" NSC memo, "Summary of Conclusions of April 18, 2000 CSG Meeting," Apr. 26, 2000. On May 2, 2000, Berger was updated on budget issues relating to the CIA and other agencies; there was agreement on the most critical items to be funded, but not on the source of that funding. In CIA's case, it had already reprogrammed over $90 million, but Tenet wanted to use most of this money on non-counterterrorism programs. NSC memo, Kurtz to Berger, "Budget Issues," May 2, 2000. On June 29, 2000, the President authorized raising the CIA's covert action funding ceiling. NSC memo, McCarthy to CSG, "DCI Wants to Raise Funding Ceiling," May 8, 2000; NSC memo, McCarthy to others July 7, 2000 (appendix on authorities). But funding issues in other agencies remained unresolved. Clarke complained that neither Treasury nor Justice would identify offsets. Clarke encouraged OMB to tell both departments that if they would not identify offsets then OMB would. NSC email, Clarke to Rudman and Mitchell, May 9, 2000. On August 1, 2000, Clarke wrote Berger that one of five goals by the end of the Clinton administration was to secure appropriations for cybersecurity and millennium after-action review projects. NSC memo, Clarke to Berger,"Goals and Wildcards,"Aug. 1, 2000.As late as September 2000, Clarke was advising Berger that unfunded counterterrorism requests continued to be his number one priority. NSC note, Clarke to Berger, Sept. 9, 2000.

79. Executive Order 13099 (Aug. 20, 1998); Rick Newcomb interview (Feb. 4, 2004); Robert McBride interview (Nov. 19-20, 2003); NSC memo, Kurtz to Berger, June 28, 2000. OFAC did freeze accounts belonging to Salah Idris, the owner of the al Shifa facility bombed in response to the East Africa embassy bombings. Idris filed suit against his bank and OFAC. OFAC subsequently authorized the unfreezing of those accounts. James Risen, "To Bomb Sudan Plant, or Not: A Year Later, Debates Rankle," New York Times, Oct. 27, 1999, p. A1.The inability to freeze funds is attributed in part to a lack of intelligence on the location of Bin Ladin's money, OFAC's reluctance or inability to rely on what classified information there may have been, and Bin Ladin's transfer of assets into the hands of trusted third parties or out of the formal financial system by 1998. Even if OFAC had received better intelligence from the intelligence community, it would have been powerless to stop the bulk of the problem.Al Qaeda money flows depended on an informal network of hawalas and Islamic institutions moving money from Gulf supporters to Afghanistan. These funds would not therefore have touched the U.S. formal financial system. OFAC's authorities are only against U.S. persons, financial institutions, and businesses. Frank G. and Mary S. briefing (July 15, 2003); Rick Newcomb interview (Feb. 4, 2003).

80. Executive Order 13129;Treasury memo, Newcomb to Johnson, "Blocking of Taliban-Controlled Assets," undated (probably Oct. 18, 1999).

81. DOS cable, State 184471, Sept. 30, 1999; 18 U.S.C. § 2339B.

82. The Financial Action Task Force, a multilateral government organization dedicated to standard setting, focused on money laundering, particularly as it related to crimes such as drug trafficking and large-scale fraud that involved vast amounts of illegally procured money.Although the UN General Assembly adopted the International Convention for the Suppression of Financing Terrorism in December 1999, the convention did not enter into force until April 2002.

83. Doug M. interview (Dec. 16, 2003); Frank G. interview (Mar. 2, 2004). See also Mike interview (Dec. 11, 2003), setting forth the goals of the UBL station; none relate specifically to terrorist financing. Another witness recalled that the UBL station made some effort to gather intelligence on al Qaeda financing, but it proved to be too hard a target, the CIA had too few sources and, as a result, little quality intelligence was produced. Ed G. interview (Feb. 3, 2004). Some attributed the problem to the CIA's separation of terrorist-financing analysis from other counterterrorism activities.Within the Directorate of Intelligence, a group was devoted to the analysis of all financial issues, including terrorist financing. Called the Office of Transnational Issues (OTI), Illicit Transaction Groups (ITG), it dealt with an array of issues besides terrorist financing, including drug trafficking, drug money laundering, alien smuggling, sanctions, and corruption. ITG was not part of the CTC, although it rotated a single analyst to CTC. Moreover, OTI analysts were separated from the operational side of terrorist financing at CTC, which planned operations against banks and financial facilitators.William Wechsler interview (Jan. 7, 2004); Frank G. and Mary S. briefing (July 15, 2003).

84. CIA analytic report,"Funding Islamic Extremist Movements:The Role of Islamic Financial Institutions," OTI 97-10035CX, Dec. 1997.

85. Mike interview (Dec. 11, 2003).

86. CIA analytic reports,"Usama Bin Ladin: Some Saudi Financial Ties Probably Intact," OTI IR 99-005CX, Jan. 11, 1999; "How Bin Ladin Commands a Global Terrorist Network," CTC 99-40003, Jan. 27, 1999; "Islamic Terrorists: Using Nongovernmental Organizations Extensively," CTC 99-40007, Apr. 9, 1999.

87. See NSC memo, Kurtz to Berger, June 28, 2000; NSC document,TNT to Berger, Nov. 3, 1998, roadmap for Small Group, undated.The problem continued until 9/11. Intelligence reporting was so limited that one CIA intelligence analyst told us that, unassisted, he could read and digest the universe of intelligence reporting on al Qaeda financial issues in the three years prior to the 9/11 attacks. Frank G. and Mary S. briefing (July 15, 2003).

88. Richard Clarke interview (Feb. 3, 2004); see, e.g., NSC memo, Clarke to CSG,"Concept of Operations for Task Force Test of the Foreign Terrorist Asset Tracking Center," Nov. 1, 2000; Treasury memo, Romey to Sloan, "FTAT SCIF," May 17, 2001;Treasury memo, Newcomb to Sloan,"Response to Romey Memo," May 23, 2001. Despite post-9/11 declarations to the contrary, on the eve of 9/11 FTAT had funds appropriated, but no people hired, no security clearances, and no space to work.Treasury memo, Newcomb to Dam,"Establishing the Foreign Asset Tracking Center,"Aug. 3, 2001. One Treasury official described CIA's posture as "benign neglect" toward the Foreign Terrorist Asset Tracking Center (FTATC), and characterized the CIA as believing that financial tracking had limited utility. Treasury memo, Mat Burrows to O'Neill, "Your PC on Counterterrorism on 4 September," Sept. 4, 2001. National Security Advisor Rice told us she and her staff had determined by spring 2001 that terrorist financing proposals were a good option, so Treasury continued to plan to establish an office for 24 financing analysts. Condoleezza Rice meeting (Feb. 7, 2004). In fact, as noted above,Treasury failed to follow through on the establishment of the FTATC until after 9/11.

89.This assessment is based on an extensive review of FBI files and interviews with agents and supervisors at FBI Headquarters and various field offices.

90. Although there was an increased focus on money laundering, several significant legislative and regulatory initiatives designed to close vulnerabilities in the U.S. financial system failed to gain traction. Some of these, such as a move to control foreign banks with accounts in the United States, died as a result of banking industry pressure. Others, such as the regulation of money remitters within the United States, were mired in bureaucratic inertia and a general antiregulatory environment. In any event, it is an open question whether such legislative or regulatory initiatives would have significantly harmed al Qaeda, which generally made little use of the U.S. financial system to move or store its money.

91.Treasury report,"The 2001 National Money Laundering Strategy," Sept. 2001.

92. NSC email, Berger's office to executive secretaries,"Millennium Alert After Action Review," Mar. 9, 2000.

93. PDD-62, "Protection Against Unconventional Threats to the Homeland and Americans Overseas," May 22, 1998, pp. 8-9; NSC email, Berger's office to executive secretaries, "Millennium Alert After Action Review," Mar. 9, 2000.
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« Reply #1412 on: September 08, 2009, 12:30:40 am »

94. PDD-62, May 22, 1998; PDD-39,"U.S. Policy on Counterterrorism," June 21, 1995, p. 2.

95. NSC email, Berger's office to executive secretaries,"Millennium Alert After Action Review," Mar. 9, 2000.

96. PDD-62, May 22, 1998, p. 9. Congress had authorized the Alien Terrorist Removal Court at the request of the Justice Department in 1996, and it was established in 1997. Clarke noted the court had not been "highly useful." NSC email, Berger's office to executive secretaries,"Millennium Alert After Action Review," Mar. 9, 2000. Indeed, it had not been used at all.

97. PDD-62, May 22, 1998, p. 8; NSC memo, Clarke,"Summary of Conclusions for March 31, 2000 Millennium Alert Immigration Review Meeting,"Apr. 13, 2000. One provision from PDD-62 not updated and reiterated in 2000 was a directive to CIA to ensure that names (and aliases) of terrorists were collected and disseminated to State, INS, and the FBI in a timely way, so that the border agencies could place them on a watchlist and the FBI could identify them in the United States.

98. NSC email, Berger's office to executive secretaries,"Millennium Alert After Action Review," Mar. 9, 2000.

99. Richard Clarke interview (Feb. 3, 2004); Samuel Berger interview (Jan. 14, 2004); Scott Fry interview (Dec. 29, 2003); Scott Gration interview (March 3, 2004); NSC email, Clarke to Berger, Mar. 2, 2000. Clarke apparently took the comment as a presidential instruction to take another look at what additional actions could be taken against Bin Ladin. Given diplomatic failures to directly pressure the Taliban through Pakistan, the NSC staff saw increased support to the Northern Alliance and Uzbeks as alternative options. NSC memo,"The Millennium Terrorist Alert- Next Steps," undated.

100.A good account of the episode is found in Steve Coll, Ghost Wars:The Secret History of the CIA,Afghanistan, and bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001 (Penguin, 2004), pp. 487-491; see also ibid., pp. 495-496, 502-503, 517-519; Richard interview (Dec. 11, 2003). "Richard" told us the attack had already occurred when CIA headquarters heard about it;"within this building, they were breathless," he remarked.The CIA concern was apparently over possible casualties and whether, by sharing intelligence with Massoud on Bin Ladin's possible location, the CIA might have violated the assassination ban.Tenet did not recall the incident, saying it was no doubt just "a blip" on his screen within the context of the millennium alerts. George Tenet interview (Jan. 22, 2004).The incident was, however, noticed by the NSC counterterrorism staff, which pointedly asked to be kept in the loop in the future. NSC memo,"Review of Terrorism Alert and Lessons Learned," Jan. 3, 2000 (draft).

101. See, e.g., CIA officers' visits to Tashkent noted in CIA briefing materials, DCI Update,"Islamic Extremist Terrorist Threat," Feb. 18, 2000; CIA briefing materials, EXDIR Update,Visit to Tashkent, Apr. 5, 2000. CTC teams were deployed to Afghanistan to meet with Massoud on March 13-21, 2000, and possibly on April 24-28, 2000. CIA briefing materials, EXDIR Update,"Islamic Extremist Terrorist Threat," Mar. 6, 2000; CIA briefing materials, "CTC PowerPoint," Apr. 3, 2000. Massoud's representatives also met with Clarke, the State Department's Michael Sheehan, and CIA senior managers in Washington. CIA briefing materials,"DDO Update,"May 22, 2000.

102. On Black and Clarke's positions, see Cofer Black interview (Dec. 9, 2003); Roger Cressey interview (Dec. 15, 2003). On reasons for caution, see, e.g., Strobe Talbott interview (Jan. 15, 2004).

103. See, e.g., CIA briefing materials, CTC Update for the DDCI, July 7, 2000 ("Direct engagement with Massoud will enhance our ability to report on UBL and increase retaliation options if . . . we are attacked by UBL").

104.The deputy chief for operations of CTC,"Henry," told us that going into the Afghanistan sanctuary was essential. He and Black proposed direct engagement with Massoud to the CIA's senior management, but the idea was rejected because of what "Henry" called "a question of resources"-the CIA did not have effective means to get personnel in or out of Afghanistan.When he proposed sending a CIA team into northern Afghanistan to meet with Massoud in August 2000, the idea was turned down; local helicopters were not deemed airworthy, and land access was too risky. Henry interview (Nov. 18, 2003); Henry briefing (Apr. 22, 2004).

105. The alleged attempt was reported on August 10, 2000; see CIA memo, Bonk to McCarthy and Clarke, "Attempted Interdiction of Suspect Bin Ladin's Convoy," Aug. 11, 2000. For doubts as to whether the tribals made this attempt, see Cofer Black interview (Dec. 9, 2003); Richard interview (Dec. 11, 2003).

106. The Joint Chiefs of Staff Warning Order of July 6, 1999, was still in effect. See DOD memo, "Military Response Options," Oct. 23, 2000.
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« Reply #1413 on: September 08, 2009, 12:31:02 am »

107.The 13 options included B-2 bombers, missiles, AC-130 gunships, the armed UAV, and raids to capture and destroy al Qaeda leaders and targets. DOD briefing materials, Joint Chiefs of Staff,"Operation Infinite Resolve Brief," June 2000.

108. Scott Gration interview (Mar. 3, 2004). See also Scott Fry interview (Dec. 29, 2003).

109.This quotation is taken from Daniel Benjamin and Steven Simon, The Age of Sacred Terror (Random House, 2002), p. 318. President Clinton confirmed that he made this statement. President Clinton meeting (Apr. 8, 2004).

110. President Clinton meeting (Apr. 8, 2004); Hugh Shelton interview (Feb. 5, 2004);William Cohen interview (Feb. 5, 2004).

111. Scott Gration interview (Mar. 3, 2004); Scott Fry interview (Dec. 29, 2003).

112. NSC memo, Clarke to CSG members, "Follow-Up to bin Ladin Review,"Apr. 25, 2000. See also CIA briefing materials, "DDCI Update,"Apr. 21, 2000 (J-39 "has decided to do everything possible to support CIA's UBL efforts").This reportedly included J-39's belief that it would be able to pay for all costs-though, as it turned out, that would not be the case. CIA managers were reluctant to go ahead with either the telescope or the Predator options. Executive Director David Carey told us they saw the projects as a "distraction" that would pull personnel and resources away from other, high-priority activities, such as worldwide disruptions. The telescope program, for instance, was considered too challenging and risky for the CIA's Afghan assets; development continued through the summer, but the idea was eventually dropped. David Carey interview (Oct. 31, 2003); Scott Fry interview (Dec. 29, 2003); Scott Gration interview (Mar. 3, 2004).

113. According to Charles Allen, the CIA's senior management, especially within the Directorate of Operations, was originally averse to the Predator program mostly because of the expense-approximately $3 million, which the directorate claimed it did not have. Charles Allen interview (Jan. 27, 2004).The argument between CIA and DOD over who would pay for proposed operations continued for months. On the CIA side see, for example, CIA briefing materials,"DDO Update," May 22, 26, 2000 (at which the DCI was told that unless funding was identified within the next 10 days, the military advised that the Predator could not be deployed that fiscal year; the military was waiting for an NSC request that it fund the projects). See also NSC memo, Clarke to Tenet, June 25, 2000 ("The other CSG agencies are unanimous that the Predator project is our highest near-term priority and that funding should be shifted to it"). Clarke noted that the CSG plan was to use DOD money to jump-start the program. On the cost-sharing agreement, see NSC memo, Kurtz to Berger, June 28, 2000; NSC memo, "Small Group agenda," June 29, 2000. Eventually, "after some pushing," the CIA found $2 million from its funds to pay for two months of trial flights. DOD agreed to fund $2.4 million. NSC memo, Kurtz to Berger, June 28, 2000.

114. NSC memo, Kurtz to Berger, June 28, 2000. On UAV tests, see CIA briefing materials, "DCI Update," July 14, 2000. On modifications, see NSC memo, Clarke to Berger, update, July 18, 2000.

115. NSC memo, Clarke to Berger,"Predator,"Aug. 11, 2000.

116. NSC memo, Cressey to Berger,Aug. 18, 2000 (underlining in the original); NSC memo, Cressey to Berger, Aug. 21, 2000 (attaching informational memo to President Clinton).

117. NSC note, Clarke to Berger, Sept. 9, 2000.
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« Reply #1414 on: September 08, 2009, 12:31:40 am »

118. John Maher III interview (Apr. 22, 2004).The CIA's Ben Bonk told us he could not guarantee from analysis of the video feed that the man in the white robe was in fact Bin Ladin, but he thinks Bin Ladin is the "highest probability person." (Bin Ladin is unusually tall.) Ben Bonk briefing (Mar. 11, 2004). Intelligence analysts seem to have determined this might have been Bin Ladin very soon after the September 28 sighting; two days later, Clarke wrote to Berger that there was a "very high probability" Bin Ladin had been located. NSC note, Clarke to Berger, "Procedures for Protecting Predator," Sept. 30, 2000.

119. NSC note, Clarke to Berger,"Procedures for Protecting Predator," Sept. 30, 2000. Clarke pointed to a silver lining: "The fact that its existence has become at least partially known, may for a while change the al Qida movement patterns," he wrote, but "it may also serve as a healthy reminder to al Qida and the Taliban that they are not out of our thoughts or sight." Ibid.

120. Clarke wrote to Berger that "it might be a little gloomy sitting around the fire with the al Qida leadership these days." NSC note, Clarke to Berger, Sept. 9, 2000.

121. For the number of dead and wounded, see Indictment, United States v. Jamal Ahmed Mohammed Ali al-Badawi, No. S12 98 Cr. 1023 (KTD) (S.D. N.Y. filed May 15, 2003), p. 16.

122. See Intelligence report, interrogation of Abd al Rahim al Nashiri, Feb. 21, 2004. For Khallad, see Intelligence report, interrogation of Khallad,Aug. 20, 2003. For Khamri and Nibras's full names, Quso's responsibility to film the attack, and Nibras and Quso delivering money, see Indictment, United States v. al-Badawi, May 15, 2003, pp. 13-14. Badawi was supposed to film the attack but had to travel, so he instructed Quso to do it instead. FBI notes, notes of Nov. 11 and 13 executive conference call, Nov. 13, 2000, p. 2. For Quso's admission of delivering money, see Al S. interviews (Aug. 26, 2003; Sept. 15, 2003).

123. For Bin Ladin's decision, Nashiri's trip to protest, and Nashiri's instructions, see Intelligence report, interrogation of Nashiri, Feb. 21, 2004. For a report that Nashiri did not instruct the operatives to attack, see Intelligence report, interrogation of Nashiri, Nov. 21, 2002.

124. For the attack, see Indictment, United States v. al-Badawi, May 15, 2003, p. 16. For Quso not filming the attack, see FBI report of investigation, interview of Fahd Mohammed Ahmad al-Quso, Feb. 3, 2001, p. 8. Quso apparently fell asleep and missed the attack. See FBI notes, notes of Nov. 11 and 13 executive conference call, Nov. 13, 2000, p. 2.

125. For Bin Ladin's order to evacuate and subsequent actions, see Intelligence report, interrogation of Abu Zubaydah, Dec. 13, 2003. For Bin Ladin's,Atef's, and Zawahiri's movements, see Intelligence report, interrogation of Khallad, Sept. 27, 2003.

126. Intelligence report,Terrorism Activities, Oct. 1, 2001.

127. For the media committee, the video, and its effect, see Intelligence report, autobiography of KSM, July 12, 2003; Intelligence report, interrogation of KSM, Apr. 4, 2003. On the bombing of the Cole sparking jihadist recruitment, see Intelligence report, interrogation of Khallad, Sept. 5, 2003.

128. See Barbara Bodine interview (Oct. 21, 2003); Al S. interviews (Aug. 26, 2003; Sept. 15, 2003). On the problems with having Americans bring firearms into the country, see also NSC email, Clarke to Berger, USS Cole- situation report for PC meeting, Oct. 13, 2000. U.S. officials cannot travel to a country without the clearance of the U.S. ambassador to that country.

129. For suspicion of Egyptian Islamic Jihad, see NSC memo, Berger to President Clinton, update on Cole attack, Oct. 12, 2000. For McLaughlin's statement, see John McLaughlin interview (Jan. 21, 2004). In this vein, the State Department advised the investigation not to rush to judgment that al Qaeda was responsible. Barbara Bodine interview (Oct. 21, 2003).

130. For Yemen barring the FBI, see Al S. interviews (Aug. 26, 2003; Sept. 15, 2003). For the CIA's characterization, see CIA report, threat to U.S. personnel in Yemen, Oct. 18, 2000. For the high-level interventions, see Samuel Berger interview (Jan. 14, 2004); Kenneth Pollack interview (Sept. 24, 2003); CIA cable, CIA talking points for Tenet's call to chief of Yemen intelligence, Oct. 26, 2000. On secondhand information, see John McLaughlin interview (Jan. 21, 2004).

131. FBI notes, notes of Nov. 11 and 13 executive conference call, Nov. 13, 2000; FBI electronic communica-tion,"Summary of information from Yemen intelligence," Jan. 10, 2001.

132. For the FBI agent's role, see Al S. interviews (Aug. 26, 2003; Sept. 15, 2003). For Yemen providing the photograph, see FBI electronic communication,"Summary of information from Yemen intelligence,"Jan. 10, 2001. For the source identifying the photograph, see FBI electronic communication,"Source reporting on al Qaeda," Jan. 16, 2001.

133. For Khallad's involvement in the embassy bombings, see FBI report of investigation, interview of Mohammad Rashed Daoud al Owhali, Sept. 9, 1998. For Yemen identifying Nashiri, see FBI electronic communication, "Information provided by Yemen intelligence," Dec. 17, 2000.

134. Richard Clarke interview (Feb. 3, 2004). Richard Miniter offers an account of the Clinton administra-tion's deliberations about the Cole in Richard Miniter, Losing Bin Laden: How Bill Clinton's Failures Unleashed Global Terror (Regnery, 2003), pp. 222-227. Berger told us the account is "a crock." Samuel Berger interview (Jan. 14, 2004). Clarke was less critical. Richard Clarke interview (Feb. 3, 2004).

135. For the additional covert action authorities, see NSC memo, McCarthy to Berger, new covert action authorities, Oct. 31, 2000. For Tenet developing options, see NSC memo, Berger to President Clinton, update on Cole investigation, Nov. 25, 2000.

136. For Berger's authorization, see NSC memo,TNT to Berger, responding to Taliban's September overture, Oct. 20, 2000. For Berger's statement, see NSC memo, Berger to TNT, reply to Oct. 20, 2000, memo. For the administration working with Russia, see NSC memo, Berger to President Clinton, update on Cole investigation, Nov. 25, 2000.

137. President Clinton meeting (Apr. 8, 2004).

138. Samuel Berger interview (Jan. 14, 2004).

139. In the first ten days after the bombing, between October 13 and 23, at least three high-level briefing items discussed responsibility for the attack.The next such briefing item we can find summarized the evidence for the new Bush administration on January 25, 2001. On the guidance, and the presumed reasons for it, see Barbara Bodine interview (Oct. 21, 2003); Pattie Kindsvater interview (Mar. 29, 2004); Ben Bonk statement during John McLaughlin interview (Jan. 21, 2004); see also John McLaughlin interview (Jan. 21, 2004); Richard interview (Dec. 11, 2003).

140. For Clarke's statement, see NSC email, Clarke to Berger, Nov. 7, 2000. For the November 10 briefing, see CIA briefing materials, preliminary findings regarding the Cole attack for the Nov. 10, 2000, Small Group meeting, undated (appears to be Nov. 10, 2000). For Berger and Clarke's communication with the President, see NSC memo, Berger to President Clinton, USS Cole investigation update, Nov. 25, 2000.

141. See Gregory Newbold interview (Sept. 29, 2003);William Cohen interview (Feb. 5, 2004). For Shelton tasking Franks, see DOD memo, Joint Chiefs of Staff tasking, Mod 005 to Joint Planning Directive to U.S. Central Command, Nov. 30, 2000. For Shelton briefing Berger, see NSC memo, Berger to President Clinton, USS Cole investigation update, Nov. 25, 2000. For the 13 options, see also DOD briefing materials, Operation Infinite Resolve Contingency Plan Brief, undated. For the briefing to Kerrick, see DOD briefing materials, briefing to Lt. Gen. Kerrick, Dec. 20, 2000. For the briefing of other DOD officials, see DOD briefing materials, "Evolution of Infinite Resolve Planning, Summary of TLAM Availability (1998-2001), Evolution of the Armed Predator Program," Mar. 19, 2004, p. 5.

142. NSC memo, Berger to President Clinton, USS Cole investigation update, Nov. 25, 2000.

143. Ibid. For Clarke's ideas, see NSC memo, Clarke to Sheehan and Hull,"Ultimatum Strategy with the Tal-iban," Nov. 25, 2000.

144. CIA briefing materials,"Intelligence Assessment:The Attack on the USS Cole," Dec. 21, 2000.

145. Ibid.

146. President Clinton meeting (Apr. 8, 2004); Samuel Berger interview (Jan. 14, 2004).

147. For Albright's advisers, see DOS memo, Inderfuth to Albright, Dec. 19, 2000; DOS memo, Hull and East-ham to Albright, preparation for Principals Committee meeting, Dec. 21, 2000. See also DOS briefing materials, talking points for Principals Committee meeting, Dec. 21, 2000; William Cohen interview (Feb. 5, 2004); Hugh Shelton interview (Feb. 5, 2004).
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« Reply #1415 on: September 08, 2009, 12:32:04 am »

148. Richard Clarke interview (Feb. 3, 2004)

149. Richard Clarke, Against All Enemies: Inside America's War on Terror (Free Press, 2004), p. 224. Sheehan has not disavowed Clarke's quote.

150. George Tenet interview (Jan. 28, 2004).

151. Pattie Kindsvater interview (Mar. 29, 2004). For Clarke's awareness, see NSC email, Clarke to Cressey, "Considerations," Oct. 25, 2000.

152. For the lack of meaningful targets, see Scott Fry interview (Dec. 29, 2003);Walter Slocombe interview (Dec. 19, 2003).

153. CIA memo, Black to Clarke,"NSC Requests on Approaches for Dealing with Problems in Afghanistan," Dec. 29, 2000.

154. See Samuel Berger letter to the Commission, "Comments on Staff Statements 5-8," May 13, 2004. For the Blue Sky memorandum's proposals being rolled into proposals considered by the new administration, see George Tenet interview (Jan. 28, 2004); John McLaughlin interview (Jan. 21, 2004). On the internal CIA draft of the Blue Sky memorandum, Deputy Director for Operations James Pavitt added a handwritten note that he posed no objection if the memorandum was for transition discussion purposes, but "I do not believe a proposal of this magnitude should be on the table for implementation" so late in the Clinton administration. He also questioned the proposal for support to Massoud. CIA memo,"Options to Undermine Usama Bin Ladin and al-Qa'ida," Dec. 18, 2000.

155. NSC memo, "Strategy for Eliminating the Threat from the Jihadist Networks of al Qida: Status and Prospects," undated (appears to be Dec. 29, 2001), attached to NSC memo, Clarke to Rice, Jan. 25, 2001.

156. Ben Bonk interview (Jan. 21, 2004); John McLaughlin interview (Jan. 21, 2004).

157. Robert McNamara, Jr., interview (Apr. 19, 2004).

158. President Bush and Vice President Cheney meeting (Apr. 29, 2004); Condoleezza Rice meeting (Feb. 7, 2004); James Pavitt interview (Jan. 8, 2004). Pavitt also recalls telling the President-elect that killing Bin Ladin would not end the threat.Vice President-elect Cheney, Rice, Hadley, and White House Chief of Staff-designate Andrew Card also attended the briefing, which took place about a week before the inauguration.The President noted that Tenet did not say he did not have authority to kill Bin Ladin.Tenet told us he recalled the meeting with Bush but not what he said to the President-elect. George Tenet interview (Jan. 28, 2004). He told us, however, that if circumstances changed and he needed more authority, he would have come back to either President Clinton or President Bush and asked for the additional authority. See George Tenet testimony, Mar. 24, 2004.The Blair House CIA

briefing is recounted in some detail in Bob Woodward, Bush at War (Simon & Schuster, 2002), pp. 34-35.

159. President Clinton meeting (Apr. 8, 2004).

160. President Bush and Vice President Cheney meeting (Apr. 29, 2004).

161. NSC briefing materials,"CT Briefing for Bush-Cheney Transition Team, APNSA-Designate Rice,"Pol-icy, Organization, Priorities," undated. Powell was briefed by the full CSG, at his request.

162. Richard Clarke interview (Feb. 3, 2004); Samuel Berger interview (Jan. 14, 2004); Condoleezza Rice meeting (Feb. 7, 2004); Roger Cressey interview (Dec. 15, 2003); Paul Kurtz interviews (Dec. 16, 2003; Dec. 22, 2003).

163. Condoleezza Rice meeting (Feb. 7, 2004); Stephen Hadley meeting (Jan. 31, 2004). Hadley told us that he was able to do less policy development than in a normal two-month transition.

164. Public references by candidate and then President Bush about terrorism before 9/11 tended to reflect these priorities, focusing on state-sponsored terrorism and WMD as a reason to mount a missile defense. See, e.g., President Bush remarks,Warsaw University, June 15, 2001.

165. Rice and Zelikow had been colleagues on the NSC staff during the first Bush administration and were coauthors of a book concerning German unification. See Philip Zelikow and Condoleezza Rice, Germany Unified and Europe Transformed: A Study in Statecraft (Harvard Univ. Press, 1995). As the Executive Director of the Commission, Zelikow has recused himself from our work on the Clinton-Bush transition at the National Security Council.

166. Philip Zelikow interview (Oct. 8, 2003).

167. Condoleezza Rice meeting (Feb. 7, 2004).

168. Ibid.

169. Richard Clarke interviews (Dec. 18, 2003; Feb. 3, 2004); Roger Cressey interview (Dec. 15, 2003). As Clarke put it,"There goes our ability to get quick decisions." Richard Clarke interview (Feb. 3, 2004). However, Paul Kurtz told the Commission that even though Clarke complained about losing his seat on the Principals Committee on terrorism issues, Kurtz saw no functional change in Clarke's status. Paul Kurtz interviews (Dec. 16, 2003; Dec. 22, 2003).

170. President Bush and Vice President Cheney meeting (Apr. 29, 2004); George Tenet interview (Jan. 28, 2004).

171. President Bush and Vice President Cheney meeting (Apr. 29, 2004).

172. NSC memo, Clarke to Rice, al Qaeda review, Jan. 25, 2001 (italics and underlining of the word urgently in original). Clarke's staff called on other occasions for early Principals Committee decisions, including in a "100 Day Plan" that called for cabinet-level decisions on the Northern Alliance, Uzbekistan, Predator, and the Cole. See NSC memo, Fenzel to Rice, Feb. 16, 2001. Other requests for early PCs are found in NSC email, Fenzel to Hadley, "Early PC Meeting Priorities," Feb. 2, 2001; NSC email, Cressey to NSC Front Office,"TNT Meeting Priorities," Feb. 7, 2001; NSC email, Cressey to Moran,"Aid to NA,"Feb. 12, 2001; NSC memo, Cressey to Rice, Mar. 2, 2001.

173. NSC memo, Clarke to Rice, al Qaeda review, Jan. 25, 2001.

174.The Bush administration held 32 Principals Committee meetings on subjects other than al Qaeda before 9/11. Condoleezza Rice testimony,Apr. 8, 2004;White House information provided to the Commission. Rice told us the Administration did not need a principals meeting on al Qaeda because it knew that al Qaeda was a major threat. Condoleezza Rice meeting (Feb. 7, 2004) Condoleezza Rice testimony, Apr. 8, 2004.

175. CNN broadcast,"CNN Ahead of the Curve," Oct. 13, 2000.Vice presidential candidate Dick Cheney also urged swift retaliation against those responsible for bombing the destroyer, saying:"Any would-be terrorist out there needs to know that if you're going to attack, you'll be hit very hard and very quick. It's not time for diplomacy and debate. It's time for action."Associated Press,"Cheney: Swift Retaliation Needed," Oct. 13, 2000.

176. George Tenet interview (Jan. 28, 2004).

177. NSC memo, Clarke to Rice, al Qaeda review, Jan. 25, 2001.

178. NSC memo, Clarke to Vice President Cheney, Feb. 15, 2001.

179. CIA briefing materials,"UBL Strategic Overview and USS COLE Attack Update," Mar. 27, 2001.These briefing slides appear to have been recycled from slides prepared on Jan. 10, 2001.

180. In early March, Cressey wrote Rice and Hadley that at a belated wedding reception at Tarnak Farms for one of Bin Ladin's sons, the al Qaeda leader had read a new poem gloating about the attack on the Cole. NSC email, Cressey to Rice and Hadley, "BIN LADIN on the USS COLE," Mar. 2, 2001. A few weeks later, Cressey wrote Hadley that while the law enforcement investigation went on,"we know all we need to about who did the attack to make a policy decision." NSC email, Cressey to Hadley, "Need for Terrorism DC Next Week," Mar. 22, 2001.Around this time, Clarke wrote Rice and Hadley that the Yemeni prime minister had told State Department counterterrorism chief Hull that while Yemen was not saying so publicly,Yemen was 99 percent certain that Bin Ladin was responsible for the Cole. NSC email, Clarke to NSC Front Office, "Yemen's View on the USS Cole," Mar. 24, 2001. In June, Clarke wrote Rice and Hadley that a new al Qaeda video claimed responsibility for the Cole. NSC email, Clarke to Rice and Hadley, "Al Qida Video Claims Responsibility for Cole Attack," June 21, 2001. Later that month, two Saudi jihadists arrested by Bahraini authorities during the threat spike told their captors that their al Qaeda training camps in Afghanistan had held celebratory parties over the Cole attack. NSC email, Clarke to NSC Front Office and others,"Captured Al Qida Terrorist Met UBL Then Were to Attack US in Saudi Arabia," June 29, 2001.

181. President Bush and Vice President Cheney meeting (Apr. 29, 2004).

182. Condoleezza Rice meeting (Feb. 7, 2004); Donald Rumsfeld meeting (Jan. 30, 2004); Paul Wolfowitz interview (Jan. 20, 2004); Stephen Hadley meeting (Jan. 31, 2004).

183. See CIA memo, "History of Funding for CIA Counterterrorism,"Aug. 12, 2002. One of Clarke's concerns had been the level of funding for counterterrorism in the new administration's first budget. See, e.g., NSC memo, Clarke to Vice President Cheney, Feb. 15, 2001.

184. NSC note to Hadley, undated (attached to NSC memo, Cressey to Rice, aid to Northern Alliance and Uzbekistan, Mar. 2, 2001).

185. Condoleezza Rice meeting (Feb. 7, 2004). Rice remembered President Bush using this phrase in May 2001, when warnings of terrorist threats began to multiply. However, speaking on background to the press in August 2002, Richard Clarke described a directive from the President in March 2001 to "stop swatting at flies" and "just solve this problem." A reporter then said to Clarke that he understood Bush to have given that direction in May, and Clarke said:"No, it was March." Fox News transcript,"Clarke Praises Bush Team in '02," Mar. 24, 2004 (online at www.foxnews.com/printer_friendly_story/0,3566,115085,00.html).

186. Barton Gellman,"A Strategy's Cautious Evolution: Before Sept. 11, the Bush Anti-Terror Effort Was Mostly Ambition," Washington Post, Jan. 20, 2001, p.A1.

187. President Bush and Vice President Cheney meeting (Apr. 29, 2004).

188. NSC notes, John Bellinger notes from March 7, 2001, meeting; NSC email, Cressey to Rice and Hadley, "BIN LADIN on the USS COLE," Mar. 2, 2001; CIA briefing materials, Deputies Committee Briefing,"Coun-tering the Threat from al-Qa'ida," Mar. 7, 2001.

189. Condoleezza Rice meeting (Feb. 7, 2004). On the Iraq PC, see Bob Woodward, Plan of Attack (Simon & Schuster, 2004), p. 13. On the Sudan PC, see NSC memo,"Summary of Conclusions for March 27, 2001 Principals Committee Meeting on Sudan,"Apr. 10, 2001; CIA notes, Houdek's notes on March 27, 2001, Principals Committee meeting. On others, see NSC document, list of meetings, Jan. 20 to Sept. 11, 2001, undated.

190. CIA briefing materials,"U.S. Policy Against Al Qa'ida" (for the Apr. 30, 2001, Deputies Committee meeting). On the DC meeting, see also NSC email, Clarke to NSC Front Office,"Request for DC on al Qida Terror-ism,"Apr. 16, 2001. DCI Tenet had already talked with Rice and Hadley about Bin Ladin and al Qaeda, the Taliban, and the Predator program. See, e.g., CIA memos, summary of weekly Rice/Tenet meeting, Jan. 24, 2001; Feb. 7, 2001; Mar. 8, 2001 (when Rice received CIA assessments on the possible impact of Taliban actions against al Qaeda and on the likely regional impact of increased aid to anti-Taliban groups in Afghanistan). Both Secretary Powell and Secretary Rumsfeld appear to have already been briefed on these topics by the DCI as well. See, e.g., CIA briefing materials, talking points on the Predator for DCI meeting with Rumsfeld, Feb. 9, 2001; CIA briefing materials, talking points on Bin Ladin, the Taliban and Afghanistan for DCI meetings with Powell, Feb. 13, 2001; Mar. 13, 2001.

191. NSC memo, Summary of Conclusions for Apr. 30, 2001, Deputies Committee meeting.

192. Ibid.

193. NSC memo, Policy Coordinating Committee (PCC) Chairman's Summary Paper,"Key Issues for Al-Qida Deputies Meeting," Apr. 19, 2001.

194. For threats considered by the CSG, see NSC memo, agenda for March 19 CSG videoconference, Mar. 19, 2001 (agenda item about UBL interest in targeting a passenger plane at Chicago airport); NSC memo, agenda for CSG threat videoconference, May 17, 2001 (agenda item,"UBL: Operation Planned in US"). For Clarke's concern about an al Qaeda presence in the United States, see NSC briefing materials,TNT to Rice, counterterrorism briefing for Bush/Cheney transition team, undated, which noted that al Qaeda had "sleeper cells" in more than 40 countries, including the United States; NSC memo, "Strategy for Eliminating the Threat from the Jihadist Networks of al Qida: Status and Prospects," undated (appears to be Dec. 29, 2000), attached to NSC memo, Clarke to Rice, Jan. 25, 2001, discussing al Qaeda's presence in the United States. For Clarke's concerns about an attack on the White House, see NSC email, Clarke to Rice, briefing on Pennsylvania Ave, Mar. 23, 2001.

195. For the President's announcement, see White House press release,"Statement by the President, Domestic Preparedness Against Weapons of Mass Destruction," May 8, 2001 (online at www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/ 2001/05/print/02010508.html).

196. CIA memo, summary of weekly Rice/Tenet meeting, May 29, 2001.

197. Ibid.

198. Richard interview (Dec. 11, 2003).

199. CIA memo, summary of weekly Rice/Tenet meeting, May 29, 2001.

200. NSC memo, Hadley to Armitage,Wolfowitz, McLaughlin, and O'Keefe,"Next Steps on al-Qida," June 7, 2001.

201. NSC memo, draft National Security Presidential Directive, undated; Condoleezza Rice testimony,Apr. 8, 2004.

202. See, e.g., Condoleezza Rice testimony,Apr. 8, 2004; Richard Clarke interview (Feb. 3, 2004).

203. Richard Clarke interview (Jan. 12, 2004).

204. Condoleezza Rice meeting (Feb. 7, 2004).

205. DOS cable, State 111711,"Demarche on Threat by Afghan-based Terrorists," June 27, 2001. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Marc Grossman knew of Sheehan's severe demands and instructed Ambassador Milam to reiterate them to the Taliban. Marc Grossman interview (Jan. 20, 2004).

206. In early July 2001, shortly before retiring,Ambassador Milam met one last time with Taliban Deputy Foreign Minister Jalil in Islamabad. Milam tried to dispel any confusion about where Bin Ladin fit into U.S.-Taliban relations-the Saudi terrorist was the issue, and he had to be expelled. DOS cable, Islamabad 3628,"Taliban's Mullah Jalil's July 2 Meeting With The Ambassador," July 3, 2001.The State Department's South Asia bureau called for a less confrontational stance toward the Taliban. It opposed a policy to overthrow the Taliban and was cautious about aiding the Northern Alliance. DOS memo, Rocca to Grossman,"Your Participation in Deputies Committee Meeting, Friday, June 29, 2001," June 28, 2001; see DOS memo,"Pakistan/Afghanistan DC-Covert Action Issue," undated (appears to be mid-June 2001); Richard Armitage interview (Jan. 12, 2004).

207. For the Deputies Committee meeting, see NSC memo, Summary of Conclusions of June 29, 2001, Deputies Committee meeting, undated (attached to NSC memo, Biegun to executive secretaries, July 6, 2001). For officials who were impatient with the pace of the Deputies' Committee review, see, e.g., Richard Armitage interview (Jan. 12, 2004); John McLaughlin interview (Jan. 21, 2004). For Clarke's arguments, see NSC memo, PCC Chairman's Summary Paper,"Key Issues for Al-Qida Deputies Meeting,"Apr. 19, 2001. See also Richard Armitage testimony, Mar. 24, 2004; Stephen Hadley meeting (Jan. 31, 2004).

208. For Clarke and Black renewing their push, see, e.g., Cofer Black interview (Dec. 9, 2003). For Clarke's suggestion, see NSC email, Cressey to Moran, various matters concerning al Qaeda, Feb. 12, 2001.

209. Condoleezza Rice meeting (Feb. 7, 2004); Stephen Hadley meeting (Jan. 31, 2004); Zalmay Khalilzad interview (Nov. 21, 2003). For Clarke's view, see NSC memo, Clarke to Rice, al Qaeda review, Jan. 25, 2001.

210. For the draft authorities, see CIA briefing materials, talking points for DCI meeting with Rice on the draft Afghanistan counterterrorism finding and the draft UBL Memorandum of Notification, Mar. 28, 2001. For the draft explicitly stating that the goal was not to overthrow the Taliban, see Jonathan F. interview (Jan. 19, 2004).

211. See NSC email, Clarke to Khalilzad, Crawford, and Cressey, "Option for integrated al Qida-Afghan-Pakistan paper," June 30, 2001. For State's view, see DOS memo,"U.S. Engagement with the Taliban on Usama Bin Laden," undated (attached to NSC memo, Biegun to executive secretaries, July 16, 2001).

212. For an outline of the policy, see NSC memo,"Afghanistan:A Comprehensive Strategy," undated (attached to NSC memo, Biegun memo to executive secretaries, Sept. 7, 2001). For the September 10 meeting, see NSC memo, Biegun to executive secretaries, Summary of Conclusions for Sept. 10, 2001, Deputies Committee meeting on Afghanistan, India, and Pakistan, Sept. 26, 2001.

213. For the September 10 meeting, see NSC memo, Biegun to executive secretaries, Summary of Conclusions for Sept. 10, 2001, Deputies Committee meeting on Afghanistan, India and Pakistan, Sept. 26, 2001. For Armitage's view, see Richard Armitage interview (Jan. 12, 2004).

214. Colin Powell prepared statement, Mar. 23, 2004, p. 5.

215. For reviewing the possibility of more carrots, see DOS memo, Hull and Usrey to Grossman, "Deputies Committee Meeting on Terrorism and al Qaida," Apr. 20, 2001. For the possibility of lifting sanctions, see Colin Powell interview (Jan. 21, 2004); Richard Armitage interview (Jan. 12, 2004); DOS memo,"Engagement with Pakistan: From Negative to Positive," undated (appears to be May 29, 2001).

216. Condoleezza Rice meeting (Feb. 7, 2004).

217. For Rice's view on Sattar, see Condoleezza Rice meeting (Feb. 7, 2004). For Sattar urging the United States to engage the Taliban, see DOS cable, State 109130,"The Secretary's Lunch With Pakistani Foreign Minister Abdul Sattar,"June 22, 2001. For the deputies agreeing to review objectives, see NSC memo, Summary of Conclusions of June 29, 2001, Deputies Committee meeting, undated (attached to NSC memo, Biegun to executive secretaries, July 6, 2001). For Clarke urging Hadley, see NSC memo, Clarke to Hadley,"DC on Pakistan," June 27, 2001.

218. See White House letter, President Bush to Musharraf, Aug. 4, 2001. For Rocca's view, see DOS memo, "Engagement with Pakistan: From Negative to Positive," undated (possibly May 29, 2001); Christina Rocca interview (Jan. 29, 2004). For Armitage's comment, see Richard Armitage interview (Jan. 12, 2004).

219. For the Vice President's call, see CIA briefing materials,"Efforts to Counter the Bin Ladin Threat," Sept. 12, 2001. For Powell's meetings, see DOS cable, State 041824,"Secretary's 26 February Meeting With Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah," Mar. 8, 2001; DOS cable, State 117132, "The Secretary's June 29 Meeting With Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah," July 5, 2001.

220. Paul Wolfowitz interview (Jan. 20, 2004); Donald Rumsfeld interview (Jan. 30, 2004).

221. For Shelton's recollection, see Hugh Shelton interview (Feb. 5, 2004). For Sheridan's departure, see Austin Yamada interview (Dec. 23, 2003); Brian Sheridan interview (Feb. 24, 2004).

222. Donald Rumsfeld interview (Jan. 30, 2004). Rumsfeld had been a member of the Bremer-Sonnenberg Commission on Terrorism, created by Congress in 1998.

223.Tommy Franks interview (Apr. 9, 2004).

224. For Annex B, see NSC memo, draft National Security Presidential Directive, undated (attached to NSC email, Biegun to executive secretaries, July 13, 2001).The annex said that Pentagon planning was also to include options to eliminate weapons of mass destruction that the al Qaeda network might acquire or make.

225. Stephen Hadley meeting (Jan. 31, 2004).

226. Condoleezza Rice meeting (Feb. 7, 2004).

227. President Bush and Vice President Cheney meeting (Apr. 29, 2004).

228. Ibid.

229. John Ashcroft interview (Dec. 17, 2003).

230. NSC email, Clarke to Rice and Hadley,"Courtesy call on AG," Feb. 22, 2001.

231. On the FBI strategy, see FBI report, Counterterrorism Division, International Terrorism Program,"Strate-gic Program Plan FY 2001-2006,"undated (appears to be from summer 2000). On Watson's recollections, see Dale Watson interview (Jan. 6, 2004). On the FBI budget proposal, see statement of Attorney General John Ashcroft, Hearing on U.S. Federal Efforts to Combat Terrorism before the Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies of the Senate Appropriations Committee, May 9, 2001. See DOJ memo, Comments on Staff Statement 12, Apr. 7, 2004.

232.Testimony of John Ashcroft, Hearing on U.S. Federal Efforts to Combat Terrorism before the Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies of the Senate Appropriations Committee, May 9, 2001. On DOJ's priorities, see DOJ memo, Ashcroft to Heads of Department Components, "Guidance for Preparing FY 2003 Budgets," May 10, 2001. On Watson's reaction, see Dale Watson interview (Jan. 6, 2004).

233. DOJ letter, Ashcroft to Daniels, transmitting the Department of Justice FY 2003 budget request, Sept. 10, 2001;Thomas Pickard interview (Jan. 21, 2004). Pickard told us that he approached Ashcroft and asked him to reconsider DOJ's denial of the FBI's original counterterrorism budget request in light of the continuing threat. It was not uncommon for FBI budget requests to be reduced by the attorney general or by OMB before being submitted to Congress; this had occurred during the previous administration.
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« Reply #1416 on: September 08, 2009, 12:32:32 am »

234. In chapter 3, we discuss how this problem arose. By 2001, it had become worse. During 2000, the FBI had erred in preparing some of its applications for FISA surveillance, misstating how much information had been shared with criminal prosecutors and the nature of the walls between the intelligence and law enforcement functions within the FBI. In March 2001, Judge Royce Lamberth, chief judge of the FISA Court, chastised the FBI, sending a letter to Ashcroft announcing he was banning an offending supervisory agent from appearing before the court. Judge Lamberth also met personally with Ashcroft and his acting deputy, Robert Mueller, to complain about the performance of the FBI and the Office of Intelligence Policy and Review (OIPR). Judge Lamberth letter to Ashcroft, Mar. 9, 2001; John Ashcroft interview (Dec. 17, 2003). In May 2001, Ashcroft altered the FISA application process to ensure greater accuracy. See DOJ memo,Ashcroft to Freeh,"The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) Process," May 18, 2001.

In July 2001, the General Accounting Office criticized the way the 1995 procedures were being applied and criticized OIPR and FBI for not complying with the information-sharing requirements of the 1995 procedures. This was the third report in as many years by a government agency indicating that the procedures were not working as planned. In October 2000, December 2000, and March 2001, proposals for reform to the 1995 procedures were put forth by senior DOJ officials. None resulted in reform. One impediment was that the respective DOJ components could not agree on all the proposed reforms. A second impediment was a concern that such reforms would require a challenge to the FISA Court's position on the matter.This was considered risky because the FISA Court of Review had never convened, and one of the judges had previously voiced skepticism regarding the constitutionality of the FISA statute. Deputy Attorney General Larry Thompson did ask the court to accept the modifications described in the text, which were distributed as part of his August 2001 memorandum reaffirming the 1995 procedures. See DOJ memo, Thompson to the Criminal Division, the Office of Intelligence Policy and Review, and the FBI,"Intelligence Sharing,"Aug. 6, 2001.

235.This tasking may have occurred before Rice's March 15, 2001, meeting with Tenet. See CIA memo,"Talk-ing Points for DCI Meeting with Rice," Mar. 15, 2001. For Rice's recollections, see Condoleezza Rice meeting (Feb. 7, 2004).Attorney General John Ashcroft told us he told Rice on March 7, 2001, that his lawyers had determined that the existing legal authorities for covert action against Bin Ladin were unclear and insufficient, and that he suggested new, explicit kill authorities be developed. John Ashcroft testimony, Apr. 13, 2004. On the CIA draft documents, see CIA memo,"Talking Points for the DCI on the Draft Afghanistan Counterterrorism Finding and the Draft UBL MON,"Mar. 27, 2001. For the description of the meeting, see CIA memo, Moseman to Tenet, Mar. 28, 2001.

236. NSC memo, Sturtevant to Griffin, Levin, Krongard,Watson, and others, July 12, 2001.

237. See, e.g., NSC note, Clarke to Berger, Sept. 23, 2000; Richard Clarke interview (Feb. 3, 2004).

238. CIA memo, Black to Clarke, Jan. 25, 2001. For a Joint Staff view, see, e.g., Scott Gration interview (Mar. 3, 2004).The mission commander for the Predator flights, Air Force Major Mark A. Cooter, had registered his opposition to redeploying the aircraft back in December 2000: "given the cost/benefit from these continued missions it seems senseless." DOD letter, Cooter to Alec B.,"Continued Flight Operations," Nov. 14, 2000 (attached to CIA memo, Black to DCI and others, Predator Operation, Nov. 17, 2000).

239. See NSC memo, Summary of Conclusions of Deputies Committee meeting, Apr. 30, 2001.This document noted a consensus in favor of reconnaissance missions commencing in July. But DDCI McLaughlin told us that he and Black believed that no such decision had been made at the meeting. Hadley told us he believed that a decision had been made at the meeting to fly such missions. See John McLaughlin interview (Jan. 2, 2004). See also CIA briefing materials,"Summary of April 30, 2001 Deputies Committee meeting," May 3, 2001; Stephen Hadley meeting (Jan. 31, 2004). For Rice's perspective, see Condoleezza Rice meeting (Feb. 7, 2004).

240.Allen described the "quibbling" over financing the Predator program as "ridiculous." Charles Allen interview (Jan. 27, 2004). For a CIA senior management perspective, see, e.g., John McLaughlin interview (Jan. 21, 2004). The Defense Department's view is suggested in CIA briefing materials,"Summary of April 30, 2001 Deputies Committee meeting," May 3, 2001.

241. George Tenet interview (Jan. 28, 2004); Charles Allen interview (Jan. 27, 2004).

242. John Maher III interview (Apr. 22, 2004); Scott Gration interview (Mar. 3, 2004); John Jumper interview (Mar. 3, 2004).

243. On Hadley's efforts and directions, see NSC memo, Hadley to McLaughlin,Wolfowitz, and Myers,"Re: Predator," July 11, 2001. On Rice's intervention, see Condoleezza Rice meeting (Feb. 7, 2004).

244. On the Deputies Committee meeting, see NSC memo, Biegun to executive secretaries, July 31, 2001; CIA memo, Campbell to McLaughlin, Pavitt, and others,Aug. 2, 2001.The White House told us that it cannot find a formal Summary of Conclusions for this meeting.

245. NSC memo, Hadley to Armitage,Wolfowitz, Myers, and McLaughlin, resolving Predator issues, Aug. 3, 2001 (including McLaughlin's handwritten comment); NSC email, Clarke to Rice and Hadley, "Need to place a call to Tenet,"Aug. 8, 2001.

246. John Maher III interview (Apr. 22, 2004); John Jumper interview (Mar. 3, 2004); see also Scott Gration interview (Mar. 3, 2004).

247. NSC memo, Clarke to Rice,"Observations at the Principals Meeting on Al Qida,"Sept. 4, 2001 (text italicized here is underlined in the original).

248. Ibid.

249. Ibid.

250. Condoleezza Rice testimony, Apr. 8, 2004.

251. CIA memo, Black to Tenet, Sept. 4, 2001.

252.Various interviews with participants, as well as the Maher memo (see note 255 below), make it clear that the meeting focused on Predator, not the presidential directive.

253. Condoleezza Rice meeting (Feb. 7, 2004).

254. Ibid.; NSC memo, Cressey to Rice, September 4 PC on counterterrorism, Sept. 3, 2001.

255. CIA memo, Maher to limited group, "Principals Committee meeting, Sept. 4, 2001," Sept. 4, 2001. We have not found a formal summary of conclusions, which would usually be prepared after a Principals Committee meeting.

256. Ibid.

257. Ibid.

258. Ibid.

259. NSC memo, Clarke to CSG members, Sept. 7, 2001.

260. On Massoud's assassination, see Coll, Ghost Wars, pp. 574-575. On the Sept. 10 meeting, see NSC memo, Biegun to executive secretaries, "Summary of Conclusions for Sept. 10, 2001 Deputies Committee meeting on Afghanistan, India and Pakistan," Sept. 26, 2001. Note that the agenda for this meeting, distributed on September 7, 2001, listed its topics as "Pakistan, India, and Afghanistan"; the Summary of Conclusions, written after 9/11, flipped the order of the topics.

261. NSC memo, Hadley to Tenet, Sept. 10, 2001.

7 The Attack Looms

1. FBI report,"Summary of Penttbom Investigation," Feb. 29, 2004 (classified version), p. 16.

2. Intelligence report, interrogation of KSM, May 19, 2003.Although KSM's stated reasons for sending Hazmi and Mihdhar to California do not seem especially compelling, we have uncovered no evidence tending to establish any more plausible explanation for the California destination.The possibility that the two hijackers were pursuing another al Qaeda mission on the West Coast, while certainly conceivable-see, e.g., CIA analytic report, "Alternate View:Two 11 September Hijackers Possibly Involved in Previous US Plot," CTC 2002-30064, July 5, 2002-conflicts with the organization's preference for having its 9/11 operatives concentrate on that mission exclusively.

3. Intelligence reports, interrogations of KSM, May 19, 2003; Aug. 14, 2003.
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4. Intelligence report, interrogation of KSM, Aug. 18, 2003.According to Hambali, in late 1999 or early 2000 KSM sent an al Qaeda operative named Issa al Britani to visit Hambali in Malaysia.At the end of the visit, Issa provided Hambali with two addresses-one in the United States ("possibly in California") and one in South Africa- and told Hambali he could contact "people in those locations" if he "needed help." Hambali claims he never contacted anyone at either address or passed either address to anyone else, and claims not to remember the addresses. Intelligence report, interrogation of Hambali, Sept. 12, 2003. In an assessment of KSM's reporting, the CIA concluded that protecting operatives in the United States appeared to be a "major part" of KSM's resistance efforts. For example, in response to questions about U.S. zip codes found in his notebooks, KSM provided the less than satisfactory explanation that he was planning to use the zip codes to open new email accounts. CIA report, Intelligence Community Terrorist Threat Assessment,"Khalid Shaykh Muhammed's Threat Reporting-Precious Truths, Surrounded by a Bodyguard of Lies,"Apr. 3, 2003, pp. 4-5.

5. Notably, as discussed in chapter 5, precisely such arrangements-in the form of lodging and travel assistance provided by Hambali's minions-were in place when the first contingent of operatives (including Hazmi and Mihdhar) journeyed to Kuala Lumpur in late 1999 and early 2000.

6. Intelligence report, interrogation of KSM, May 19, 2003.

7. Intelligence reports, interrogations of KSM, May 19, 2003;Aug. 14, 2003. KSM also has stated that in addition to providing Hazmi and Mihdhar with a San Diego telephone book, he gave them another directory "possibly covering Long Beach, California." Intelligence report, interrogation of KSM, June 15, 2004.

8. Although Hazmi and Mihdhar told immigration authorities on January 15, 2000, that they would be staying at the Sheraton Hotel in Los Angeles, their names do not appear in the hotel's registration records for the second half of January. FBI searches of the records of other hotels near the airport and smaller establishments in Culver City failed to locate the hijackers, as did our own investigation. See FBI report,"Hijackers Timeline," Nov. 14, 2003 (Apr. 3, 1999, entry, citing 265A-NY-280350-CG, serial 4062; 265A-NY-280350-302, serial 7134); Commission investigation in Culver City;Vicki G. interview (Sept. 30, 2003).

9. For the FBI source's claims, see FBI letterhead memorandum, Penttbom investigation, Oct. 8, 2002. For Abdullah's recollections, see FBI report of investigation, interview of Mohdar Abdullah, Jan. 15, 2002. Other reporting indicates that Hazmi and Mihdhar spent time at the King Fahd mosque.A scholar lecturing at the mosque was reportedly approached by either Hazmi or Mihdhar about performing a wedding ceremony. Khalil A. Khalil interview (Feb. 24, 2004). On "Khallam," see FBI electronic communication, "Fahad Althumairy," Sept. 4, 2002; FBI electronic communication,"Ziyat Kharfan," Jan. 8, 2002 (giving description of visitor with whom Hazmi and Mihdhar met at mosque).The Khallam story has never been corroborated.The FBI considered the possibility that Khallam might be Khallad, the al Qaeda member whose role in the 9/11 plot and the Cole attack we discussed in chapter 5.This speculation was based on reporting that Khallad was in the United States in June 2000 and was seen in the company of Fahad al Thumairy, an imam at the mosque. FBI electronic communication, investigation of Cole bombing, interview of witness, Mar. 19, 2003; CIA cable, source reporting, Mar. 18, 2003. Neither we nor the FBI have found any travel documentation establishing Khallad's presence in the United States at any time.We doubt that the person allegedly seen with Thumairy actually was Khallad.

10. Patrick J. McDonnell,"Saudi Envoy in L.A. Is Deported," Los Angeles Times, May 10, 2003, p. B1; Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman, with Jamie Reno,"Failure to Communicate," Newsweek,Aug. 4, 2003, p. 34.As of January 2000,Thumairy was employed by the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Religious Endowments and Religious Guidance, to act as the consulate's liaison to the mosque. FBI electronic communication,"Fahad Al Thumairy," Sept. 4, 2002. Before 9/11, Saudi imams employed by the ministry often were dispatched to help serve Muslim communities around the world, sometimes-as in Thumairy's case-with diplomatic status in the host country. On Thumairy's leadership, see FBI letterhead memorandum, investigation of Mohammed bin Suleiman al Muhanna, July 9, 2003; FBI letterhead memorandum, investigation of Mohamed Ibrahim Aliter, Dec. 2, 2002.

11. FBI electronic communication,"Abdulaziz Alroomi," Apr. 2, 2003.

12. FBI letterhead memorandum, investigation of Khaled Charif, Dec. 4, 2002. After 9/11, arguments arose within the Saudi government over whether to allow reputedly radical imams, including Thumairy, to work for the Saudi government in the United States. FBI letterhead memorandum, investigation of Mohammed bin Suleiman al Muhanna, July 9, 2003. In May 2003, the U.S. government settled the matter, at least in Thumairy's case, by refusing to let him back into the country. DOS memo, Karl Hoffman to the Commission, June 8, 2004, and the attached materials.

13. On Thumairy's religious views, see FBI letterhead memorandum, investigation of Mohamed Aliter, Dec. 2, 2002; Fahad al Thumairy interviews (Feb. 23-25, 2004). However, two witnesses we interviewed who knew Thumairy and used to hear him preach at the King Fahd mosque deny that he promoted extremism. Sami A. Mekhemar interview (Apr. 21, 2004); Interview (Apr. 23, 2004). Despite the disparate views as to whether Thumairy qualified as an extremist while he was in Los Angeles, it does appear that both the Saudi Arabian government and the leadership of the mosque attempted to discipline him in the summer of 2002 and early 2003 for espousing extremist views. Thumairy denies incurring any such disciplinary measures. Fahad al Thumairy interviews (Feb. 23-25, 2004); FBI letterhead memorandum, investigation of Mohammed bin Suleiman al Muhanna, July 9, 2003. On Bayoumi, see Khalil A. Khalil interview (Feb. 24, 2004). Bayoumi and Thumairy had numerous telephonic contacts between December 1998 and December 2000. Specifically, Bayoumi called Thumairy's home telephone 10 times during this period, and Thumairy called Bayoumi's cellular and home phones 11 times between December 3 and December 20, 2000. FBI electronic communication, "Fahad Al-Thumairy," Nov. 20, 2002. Bayoumi recalls consulting with Thumairy, solely on religious matters, both by telephone and in person at the mosque. Omar al Bayoumi interview (Oct. 16-17, 2003).As to Thumairy's contact with Mohdar Abdullah, see FBI electronic com-munication,"Fahad Althumairy,"Oct. 25, 2002; FBI report of investigation, interview of Mohdar Abdullah, July 23, 2002.According to one individual,Abdullah visited the mosque frequently and was "very close" to radical followers of Thumairy. FBI electronic communication,"Fahad Althumairy," Oct. 25, 2002.

14.We have checked, for example, the records for apartments where Thumairy is known to have placed Saudi visitors during 2001.The most intriguing lead concerns an Arabic-speaking taxicab driver, Qualid Benomrane, who was arrested on immigration charges in early 2002.When asked to look at a series of photographs that included the 19 hijackers involved in the 9/11 attacks, Benomrane responded ambiguously, seeming first to pick out the photographs of Hazmi and Mihdhar but then denying that he recognized them. Later in the interview, Benomrane told the FBI about driving "two Saudis" around Los Angeles and to San Diego's Sea World after being introduced to them by Thumairy at the King Fahd mosque before 9/11. According to Benomrane, someone at the consulate had asked Thumairy to assist the two Saudis, who had recently arrived in Los Angeles and had moved to an apartment near the mosque. FBI electronic communication,"Fahad Althumairy," Sept. 4, 2002;Ashour E. interview (May 20, 2004); FBI reports of investigation, interviews of Qualid Moncef Benomrane, Mar. 7, 2002; Mar. 13, 2002; May 23, 2002.Working with agencies of the U.S. government, we have attempted to locate and interview Benomrane overseas, since he was deported in 2002. After checking many possible avenues of corroboration for this story, our investigation has not substantiated the hypothesis that Benomrane's "two Saudis" were Hazmi and Mihdhar. In fact, we have established that Benomrane did not obtain a taxi license, or even a driver's license, until months after he could be supposed to have chauffeured Hazmi and Mihdhar. Moreover, before his deportation, Benomrane described the two Saudis as sons of a sick father who was seeking medical treatment in Los Angeles. Ibid.We have found evidence corroborating this account.

15. FBI document made available to the Commission; Caysan Bin Don interview (Apr. 20, 2004); Omar al Bayoumi interview (Oct. 16-17, 2003); Interview (Apr. 23, 2004). In Bin Don's presence, Bayoumi met with a still-unidentified consular employee whom Bayoumi already knew and whom Bin Don says he saw in Anaheim as recently as November 2003.The employee provided Bayoumi with Qur'ans and other religious materials during the February 1, 2000, meeting. Omar al Bayoumi interview (Oct. 16-17, 2003). At the time of the February 1, 2000, restaurant encounter, Bin Don, a U.S. citizen, went by the name Isamu Dyson.

16. Caysan Bin Don interview (Apr. 20, 2004); FBI report of investigation, interview of Isamu Dyson, Oct. 8, 2001.

17. See Caysan Bin Don interview (Apr. 20, 2004); FBI report of investigation, interview of Isamu Dyson, Oct. 8, 2001. Bin Don himself has been inconsistent about visiting the mosque. In his initial interviews, he recalled praying with Bayoumi at the consulate before lunch and visiting the mosque only once, after the meal; when we interviewed him recently, however, he stated that both prayer sessions took place at the mosque. For Bayoumi's visits to Los Angeles, see FBI report of investigation, recovery of hotel records, Jan. 15, 2002.Although Bayoumi might deny visiting the mosque on February 1 to conceal some contact he may have made there that day, we have seen no evidence of such contact.

18. Saudi Civil Aviation Authority employment records for Bayoumi, Mar. 2000-Jan. 2002 (provided by the FBI); FBI report of investigation,"Connections of San Diego PENTTBOMB Subjects to the Government of Saudi Arabia," undated; FBI letterhead memorandum, investigation of Bayoumi,Apr. 15, 2002.While in San Diego, Bayoumi was officially employed by Ercan, a subsidiary of a contractor for the Saudi Civil Aviation Administration, although a fellow employee described Bayoumi as a "ghost employee," noting that he was one of many Saudis on the payroll who was not required to work. In April 2000, Bayoumi received a promotion and his status was also adjusted from "single" to "married" (despite the fact that he was already married). As a result, his salary was raised and his "other allowances" stipend increased significantly, from approximately $465 to $3,925 a month, remaining at that level until December 2000. In January 2001, the stipend was reduced to $3,427. It stayed constant until August 2001, when Bayoumi left the United States. Saudi Civil Aviation Authority employment records for Bayoumi, Mar. 2000-Jan. 2002 (provided by the FBI); Richard L. Lambert prepared statement, June 26, 2003, pp. 7-9; FBI reports of investigation, interviews of Samuel George Coombs,Apr. 8, 2002; July 24, 2002;Aug. 26, 2002.

19. On Bayoumi's activities, see FBI electronic communication, interview of Bayoumi, Sept. 17, 2003.Although Bayoumi admits knowing Thumairy, no telephone records document any contact between the two just before Bay-oumi's lunch with Hazmi and Mihdhar in Los Angeles. Nor do individuals who regard Thumairy as an extremist

place Bayoumi in Thumairy's circle of associates. KSM has denied knowing Bayoumi. Intelligence report, interrogation of KSM, Aug. 18, 2003.

Bayoumi was once the subject of an FBI counterterrorism investigation, prompted by allegations about him that appear to have been groundless. On the closing of the investigation, see FBI electronic communication,"Omar Ahmed Al Bayoumi," June 7, 1999. Another possible source of suspicion is his passport, which contains a cachet that intelligence investigators associate with possible adherence to al Qaeda. It is a marking that can be obtained by especially devout Muslims.Although we believe the marking suggests the need for further inquiry, it is not the kind of fraudulent manipulation that would conclusively link the document with a terrorist organization. INS records, copy of Bayoumi passport; CIA analytic report, Al-Qa'ida Travel Issues, CTC 2004-40002H, Nov. 14, 2003, pp. ii, 18.

20. On Abdullah's assistance to the hijackers, see FBI electronic communication, Abdullah investigation, May 19, 2004. In a post-9/11 interview with law enforcement, Abdullah claimed that Bayoumi specifically asked him "to be the individual to acclimate the hijackers to the United States, particularly San Diego, California."FBI report of investigation, interview of Mohdar Abdullah, July 23, 2002. Bayoumi, however, denies even introducing Hazmi and Mihdhar to Abdullah, much less asking him to assist them. Omar al Bayoumi interview (Oct. 16-17, 2003).

21. FBI report of investigation, interview of Mohdar Abdullah, July 23, 2002; FBI electronic communication, "Osama Bassnan," Oct. 17, 2001; FBI report of investigation, interview of Mohdar Abdullah, Sept. 22, 2001; FBI electronic communication, "Shareef Abdulmuttaleb el Arbi," Feb. 4, 2003. For the possibility of the notebook belonging to someone else, see FBI report, Behavioral Analysis Activity, Oct. 4, 2001.

22. FBI electronic communication, interview of Charles Sabah Toma, May 18, 2004.

23. On Abdullah's claims of advance knowledge, see FBI electronic communication, interview, May 17, 2004. On Abdullah's telephone use after August 25, 2001, and acting strangely, see FBI report of investigation, interview, Sept. 24, 2001; FBI report of investigation, interview of Mohdar Abdullah, July 23, 2002; Danny G. interviews (Nov. 18, 2003; May 24, 2004).
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24.The hijackers' mode of transportation and the exact date of their arrival in San Diego are not known. On their locating Bayoumi on February 4 and his assistance, see Richard L. Lambert prepared statement, June 26, 2003, pp. 6-7; Omar al Bayoumi interview (Oct. 16-17, 2003); FBI report of investigation, interview of Omar al Bayoumi, Aug. 4-5, 2003.The rental application states that Hazmi and Mihdhar resided in Bayoumi's apartment from January 15 to February 2, 2000, but Bayoumi denies it, and we have found no reason to dispute his denial.Accord-ing to Bayoumi, he was in such a hurry to complete the rental transaction that he signed the application form without reading it. Bayoumi also denies receiving any money from Hazmi or Mihdhar for helping them with the apartment. Omar al Bayoumi interview (Oct. 16-17, 2003). On opening an account, see FBI report,"Summary of Penttbom Investigation," Feb. 29, 2004, p. 12.

Contrary to highly publicized allegations, we have found no evidence that Hazmi or Mihdhar received money from another Saudi citizen, Osama Bassnan.

25. Omar al Bayoumi interview (Oct. 16-17, 2003).According to Bayoumi, he originally intended to hold the party at his own apartment, but moved it to the hijackers' apartment when one of the guests created an awkward social circumstance by bringing his wife; Bayoumi solved the problem by having the friend's wife stay with his own wife in Bayoumi's apartment and moving the party to the hijackers' residence. Bayoumi maintains that a visiting sheikh was the party's principal honoree. Ibid. Although Bin Don has recalled that the party was intended to welcome Hazmi and Mihdhar to the community, this is belied by the hijackers' apparent decision to sequester themselves in the back room, and by the account of another party attendee. Caysan Bin Don interview (Apr. 20, 2004); Khalid Abdulrab al Yafai interview (Feb. 24, 2004). Of the two operatives, only Mihdhar appears briefly on the video shot by Bin Don. Bayoumi videotape of party (provided by the FBI).

26. On the hijackers' efforts to relocate, see Omar al Bayoumi interview (Oct. 16-17, 2003); Interview (Apr. 23, 2004); FBI report,"San Diego Brief to 9/11 Commission," June 26, 2003, p. 17.Telephone records indicate that on February 9 and February 14, 2000, Bayoumi's cell phone was used to call the landlord of the operatives' acquaintance, Hashim al Attas, who had decided to vacate his apartment. On February 15, 2000, when the landlord returned a page from Bayoumi's cell phone, Hazmi answered the phone. Steve O. interview (Nov. 17, 2003); FBI report of investigation, interview of George Harb, Oct. 30, 2001. Hazmi and Mihdhar appear to have used Bayoumi's cell phone until telephone service (subscribed in Hazmi's name) was installed in their apartment.

27. FBI report of investigation, interview of George Harb, Sept. 16, 2001.The hijackers may actually have lived in Attas's apartment for a short while. Bayoumi has stated that he recalls hearing that Hazmi and Mihdhar moved into the apartment for two weeks but then returned to their original apartment while Bayoumi was in Washington, D.C. FBI report of investigation, interview of Omar al Bayoumi,Aug. 4-6, 2003.This account is confirmed by Attas's girlfriend, who recalls that Attas met Mihdhar and Hazmi either through friends or at the mosque, and that the pair moved into Attas's apartment for approximately two weeks before moving out and taking Attas's furnishings with them. FBI report,"San Diego Brief to 9/11 Commission," June 26, 2003, p. 18.

28. Interview (Apr. 23, 2004). Hazmi and Mihdhar did not officially vacate their first apartment until May 31, 2000. FBI report,"Hijackers Timeline," Nov. 14, 2003 (citing 265A-NY-280350-SD, serial 1445).The exact details

of the hijackers' move to their final San Diego address are not altogether clear, as their landlord-who has been interviewed many times by the FBI and once by us-has provided various accounts of how he first met them. See also FBI electronic communication, Penttbom investigation, Oct. 3, 2001. On Mihdhar's travels, see Interview (Apr. 23, 2004); FBI report, "Summary of Penttbom Investigation," Feb. 29, 2004 (classified version), p. 46. On Hazmi's departure, see FBI report,"San Diego Brief to 9/11 Commission," June 26, 2003, p. 18.

29. On the purchase of the car, see FBI report, "Hijackers Timeline," Nov. 14, 2003 (citing Bank of America records). Law enforcement officials recovered the blue 1988 Toyota from the parking lot at Dulles International Airport on September 11. On the wire transfer, see FBI report of investigation, interview, Sept. 17, 2001.After 9/11, the mosque administrator came forward because he feared he had unwittingly aided the hijackers. He recalled Hazmi and Mihdhar arriving at the mosque on their own and describing themselves as clerks employed by the Saudi Arabian government.The two said they needed help finding a school where they could study English, which neither spoke well enough, in the administrator's opinion, to permit them to become pilots. The administrator also suspected that Mihdhar might have been an intelligence agent of the Saudi government.After first declining Hazmi's request for a loan, the administrator agreed to permit him to use the administrator's bank account to receive the $5,000 wire transfer. Claiming to have been suspicious of the entire transaction, the administrator distanced himself from Hazmi and Mihdhar, but not before they had received the assistance they needed. Ibid.We have no evidence contradicting the administrator's account.

30. On visits to other mosques, see FBI letterhead memorandum, investigation of Ali Ahmad Mesdaq, Jan. 28, 2002; FBI reports of investigation, interviews of Samir Abdoun, Oct. 28, 2001; May 15, 2002. On Bayoumi's assistance, see Richard L. Lambert prepared statement, June 26, 2003, p. 7; FBI electronic communication,"Jay Steven Barlow," Sept. 24, 2002. On April 12, 2000, Hazmi registered for a one-month class in conversational English. FBI report,"Hijackers Timeline," Nov. 14, 2003 (Apr. 12, 2000, entry, citing Bank of America records).
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31. Even before learning of Abdullah's alleged jailhouse conversations, we attempted to interview him in November 2003, while he was incarcerated and awaiting deportation. Through counsel, Abdullah refused to be interviewed unless he was released from custody.The U.S. Department of Justice declined to obtain an order of use immunity so that Abdullah's testimony could be compelled. See Commission letter to Daniel Levin, DOJ, Dec. 31, 2003; DOJ letter, Daniel Levin to the Commission, Jan. 5, 2004. On Abdullah's deportation, see FBI electronic communication, Abdullah investigation, July 1, 2004. Abdullah appears to be at liberty in Yemen, although he claims Yemeni authorities are watching him. H. G. Reza, "Deported Friend of Terrorists in Report," Los Angeles Times, June 17, 2004, p. A31.

32. On Awadallah, see FBI electronic communication, interview of Osama Awadallah, June 6, 2002; FBI electronic communication, interview of Osama Awadallah, Feb. 4, 2003. On Bakarbashat, see FBI report of investigation, interview of Omar Bakarbashat, Sept. 17, 2001; FBI electronic communication, Penttbom investigation, Apr. 11, 2002. Another associate of Hazmi and Mihdhar allegedly referred to them after the September 11 attacks as "more than heroes." FBI letterhead memorandum,"Diah Thabet," Oct. 25, 2002.

33. On Anwar Aulaqi, see Wade A. interview (Oct. 16, 2003).The FBI investigated Aulaqi in 1999 and 2000 after learning that he may have been contacted by a possible procurement agent for Bin Ladin. During this investigation, the FBI learned that Aulaqi knew individuals from the Holy Land Foundation and others involved in raising money for the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas. Sources alleged that Aulaqi had other extremist connections. FBI electronic communication, background searches, Feb. 3, 2000; FBI report of investigation, interview, Sept. 24, 2001; FBI electronic communication, interview, Oct. 8, 2002. None of this information was considered strong enough to support a criminal prosecution. For evidence of possible early contacts between Hazmi/Mihdhar and Aulaqi, see Steve O. interview (Nov. 17, 2003), noting that four calls took place between Aulaqi's phone and Bay-oumi's phone on February 4, 2000, the day Bayoumi helped Hazmi and Mihdhar find an apartment and perhaps lent them his phone.

One witness remembered meeting Hazmi through Aulaqi and Mohdar Abdullah, and later meeting Mihdhar at Aulaqi's mosque.This same witness recalled seeing Hazmi and Mihdhar in the guest room on the second floor of the mosque and, on one occasion, leaving the room just after Aulaqi, at the conclusion of a meeting. FBI reports of investigation, interviews of Samir Abdoun, Oct. 28, 2001; May 15, 2002; FBI report of investigation, interview of Anwar Aulaqi, Sept. 25, 2001; FBI electronic communication, Penttbom investigation, Sept. 15, 2002.

34. FBI reports of investigation, interviews of Anwar Aulaqi, Sept. 17, 2001; Sept. 19, 2001.

35. Aulaqi took a position at the Dar al Hijra mosque in early 2001. By the time we sought to interview him in 2003, he had left the United States, reportedly returning to Yemen.We attempted to locate and interview him in Yemen, working with U.S. agencies and the Yemeni government, as well as other governments that might have knowledge of his whereabouts.Those attempts were unsuccessful.

36.Whereas Hazmi managed to speak broken English, Mihdhar did not even have this much command of the language, which he appeared uninterested in learning. Interview (Apr. 23, 2004); FBI report of investigation, interview of Omar Bakarbashat, Sept. 17, 2001; FBI report of investigation, interview of Ramez Noaman, Oct. 1, 2001. On April 4, 2000, Hazmi took his first flying lesson, a one-hour introductory session at the National Air College in San Diego. Exactly one month later, Hazmi and Mihdhar purchased flight equipment from an instructor at the Sorbi Flying Club in San Diego. On May 5, both of them took a lesson at Sorbi, followed by a second lesson at the same school five days later. FBI report,"Summary of Penttbom Investigation," Feb. 29, 2004, p. 18.

37. On the Sorbi Flying Club, see FBI report of investigation, interview of Khaled al Kayed, Sept. 15, 2001. For other instructors' views, see FBI electronic communication, Penttbomb investigation, Apr. 11, 2002.

38. On Mihdhar's phone calls, see, e.g., FBI report,"Hijackers Timeline," Nov. 14, 2003 (Mar. 20, 2000, entry, citing 265A-NY-280350-19426). On Mihdhar's travels, see FBI report,"Summary of Penttbom Investigation," Feb. 29, 2004 (classified version), p. 17. On KSM's views, see Intelligence report, interrogation of KSM, May 19, 2003. On Mihdhar's status, see INS record, NIIS record of Mihdhar, June 10, 2000.

39. On KSM's communication methods, see Intelligence report, interrogation of KSM, Oct. 15, 2003. Even here, the West Coast operatives' language limitation posed a problem, as KSM had to send emails in Arabic using the English alphabet. Ibid. In addition to having his nephew Ali Abdul Aziz Ali transmit funds to the operatives in the United States, KSM used Ali as an intermediary for telephone messages. Intelligence report, interrogation of detainee, Jan. 7, 2004. On Khallad's role, see Intelligence reports, interrogations of KSM, Oct. 15, 2003; Aug. 18, 2003; Intelligence report, interrogation of Khallad, Feb. 17, 2004. On KSM's annoyance with and views on Mihdhar, see Intelligence reports, interrogations of KSM, June 15, 2004; May 19, 2003.

40. Intelligence report, interrogation of Khallad, Feb. 17, 2004; FBI report of investigation, interview, Sept. 24, 2001; FBI electronic communication, Penttbom investigation, Sept. 15, 2001; FBI electronic communication, interview, July 26, 2002; Interview (Apr. 23, 2004); FBI electronic communication, Penttbom investigation, Sept. 15, 2001. Both KSM and Khallad were aware of Hazmi's interest in finding a bride, and KSM reportedly went so far as to promise Hazmi a monthly stipend of $700 in the event he succeeded in marrying. Intelligence reports, interrogations of KSM,Aug. 6, 2003; Jan. 9, 2004.Although Hazmi did not use his housemate's telephone to make calls, he apparently received calls on it, including calls from an individual named Ashraf Suboh, who called the house 16 times between July 20 and November 18, 2000. Suboh's name and address appear in a printed email recovered during searches at an al Qaeda site in Pakistan in May 2002.The document was dated Jan. 9, 2001, and included his name and a mailing address. FBI letterhead memorandum, San Diego investigation, July 2, 2002.

41. Salmi arrived in San Diego on August 7, 2000, and three days later moved into the house where Hazmi resided. Omar al Bayoumi-who reported (at least nominally) to Salmi's uncle at the Saudi Civil Aviation min-istry-found this accommodation for Salmi, although Salmi claims not to have known Bayoumi before coming to San Diego. FBI report of investigation, interview of Yazeed al Salmi, Oct. 8, 2001. On Salmi's move to Abdullah's house in La Mesa, see FBI report of investigation, interview of Salmi, Sept. 21, 2001. On possible financial links, see FBI report, "Hijackers Timeline," Nov. 14, 2003 (citing 265A-NY-280350-302, serial 59279); FBI electronic communication, Information and questions re Salmi interview, June 9, 2004; FBI report of investigation, interview of Salmi, June 17, 2004. For Salmi's possible link to Hanjour, see FBI report of investigation, interview of Abdullah, July 23, 2002.We made efforts with the assistance of the FBI to interview Salmi, but without success.The FBI interviewed Salmi on its own in June 2004 but failed to ask about his reported childhood ties to Hanjour. FBI report of investigation interview of Yazeed al Salmi, June 14, 2004.

42.At KSM's direction, Khallad notified Hazmi that another operative, who turned out to be Hanjour, would be joining Hazmi soon. Intelligence report, interrogation of Khallad, Feb. 17, 2004. On Hazmi's work at the gas station and his statement about becoming famous, see FBI report of investigation, interview, May 21, 2002. The owner of the gas station, Osama Mustafa, and the manager of the station, Iyad Kreiwesh, have both been the subject of FBI counterterrorism investigations. The investigations did not yield evidence of criminal conduct. Thumairy, the Saudi imam in Los Angeles, allegedly presided over Kreiwesh's wedding at the King Fahd mosque, witnessed by Abdullah and Benomrane, likely around September 2000. FBI report of investigation, interview of Mohdar Abdullah, July 23, 2002; 4377 Parks Avenue, San Diego record,"Application to Rent and Rental Deposit," Sept. 21, 2000.

43. On Hanjour's travel to San Diego, see INS record, NIIS record of Hanjour, Dec. 8, 2000. Hazmi's housemate remembers him taking an unexplained trip to the San Diego airport around this time. FBI report of investigation, interview, Sept. 24, 2001. On Hanjour and Hazmi leaving San Diego and the visit to the gas station, see FBI report of investigation, interview of Mohdar Abdullah, Sept. 19, 2001. On Hazmi's comment to his housemate, see Interview (Apr. 23, 2004). Although Hazmi's housemate claims that the "Hani" whom Hazmi introduced him to is not the same person pictured in Hanjour's photograph, we have little doubt that the housemate did in fact see Hanjour on the day he and Hazmi left San Diego. Ibid.; FBI electronic communication, Penttbom investigation, Sept. 15, 2001.

44. On Hazmi's contact with Abdullah, see FBI report of investigation, interview of Mohdar Abdullah, Sept. 19, 2001; FBI report of investigation, interview of Ramez Noaman, Oct. 1, 2001. On Hazmi's contact with his housemate, see FBI reports of investigation, interviews, Sept. 24, 2001; July 26, 2002. On Hazmi's contact to acquaintances in San Diego, see Danny G. interviews (Nov. 18, 2003; May 24, 2004).

45. For Shehhi's arrival, see INS record, NIIS record of Shehhi, May 29, 2000; Customs record, secondary inspection record of Shehhi, May 29, 2000. For Shehhi going to New York City, see FBI report,"Hijackers Timeline," Dec. 5, 2003 (May 30, 2000, entry citing Dresdner bank records). For Atta's travel to the Czech Republic,

see ibid. (June 2, 2000, entry citing Teletype, Sept. 21, 2001, 280350-PR, serial 111). Upon entry, Atta received the customary authorization to stay six months as a tourist. For Atta's arrival in Newark on June 3, 2000, see INS record, non-NIIS record of Atta, June 3, 2000. For Atta's apparent motivation, see CIA analytic report,"11 Sep-tember:The Plot and the Plotters," CTC 2003-40044HC, June 1, 2003, p. 13; Intelligence reports, interrogations of Binalshibh, Oct. 2, 2002; Mar. 3, 2004.

46. Demonstrating Atta and Shehhi's uncertainty regarding flight schools,Atta emailed a New Hampshire school on June 5, 2000, see FBI report,"Hijackers Timeline," Dec. 5, 2003 (citing 265A-NY-280350-302, serial 3975); and inquired with a New Jersey school on June 22, 2000, see ibid. (citing 265A-NY-280350-NK, serial 15965).As they looked at flight schools on the East Coast, Atta and Shehhi stayed in a series of short-term rentals in New York City. Ibid. (June 19, 2000, entry citing 265A-NY-280350-302, serials 80926, 86069; June 25, 2000, entry citing 265A-NY-280350-302, serial 74902). For Jarrah's travel and training, see INS record, NIIS record of Jarrah, June 27, 2000; FBI letterhead memorandum, profile of Jarrah, Mar. 20, 2002. For Jarrah living with instructors, see ibid. For Jarrah purchasing a vehicle, see FBI briefing materials, Penttbom, Dec. 10-11, 2003, p. 150 (citing 265A-NY-280350-302, serials 21113, 66098).

47. For Atta and Shehhi visiting the Oklahoma school, see FBI report,"Hijackers Timeline,"Dec. 5, 2003 (July 2, 2000, entry citing FBI electronic communication, Sept. 13, 2001). For Moussaoui's enrollment, see Superseding Indictment, United States v. Moussaoui, Crim. No. 01-455-A (E.D.Va. filed July 16, 2002), para. 44. For Atta's initial training in Florida, see FBI report,"Hijackers Timeline," Dec. 5, 2003 (July 7, 2000, entry citing 265A-NY-280350-TP-5382). Atta and Shehhi did not take their return flight to New York, and there are no travel records indicating how they traveled from Oklahoma to Florida. Ibid. (July 7, 2000, entry citing FBI electronic communication, Sept. 19, 2001). For Atta and Shehhi's enrollment in the advanced course, see ibid. (July 17, 2000, entry citing 265A-NY-280350, serial 4234; 265A-NY-280350-CE, serial 632).The two also soon rented an apartment and opened a joint bank account. Ibid. (July 13, 2000, entry citing 265A-NY-280350-TP-5679; July 7, 2000, entry citing 265A-NY-280350-302-16752). Atta bought a car. FBI briefing materials, Penttbom, Dec. 10-11, 2003, p. 150. For their solo flights, see FBI report,"Hijackers Timeline," Dec. 5, 2003 (July 30, 2000, entry citing 265A-NY-280350-CE-624, 632). For passing the test, see ibid. (Aug. 14, 2000, entry citing 265A-NY-280350-302, serials 9715, 26590). For Atta and Shehhi continuing training, see ibid. (Sept. 1, 2000, entry citing 265A-NY-280350-2435). For Jarrah's training, see ibid. (June 27, 2000, entry citing 265A-NY-280350-TP (FD-302), serial 1442).

48. Ali reportedly received the money sent to the United States from KSM in Pakistan and via courier. Intelligence reports, interrogations of detainee, Feb. 11, 2004 (two reports). Ramzi Binalshibh wired some funds withdrawn from Shehhi's bank account in Germany, a total of more than $10,000 in four transfers between June 13 and September 27, 2000. FBI report, "Summary of Penttbom Investigation," Feb. 29, 2004, pp. 16-17; German BKA (Bundeskriminalamt) report, investigative summary re Binalshibh, July 4, 2002, pp. 39-41.

49. Adam Drucker interview (Jan. 12, 2004); wire transfer documents (provided by the FBI), pp. 6-37. Ali did provide identification for his initial wire transfer to Hazmi in April that, along with some contact information he provided when he made subsequent transfers, helped the FBI unravel his aliases after 9/11. Intelligence reports, interrogations of detainee, Feb. 11, 2004 (two reports).

50.The applications of Atta and Shehhi for student status include the same supporting financial documentation. See INS record, Atta application to change status, Sept. 19, 2000; INS record, Shehhi application to change status, Sept. 15, 2000. For Atta and Shehhi's enrolling at Jones Aviation, see FBI report,"Hijackers Timeline," Dec. 5, 2003 (Sept. 23, 2000, entry citing SunTrust Financial Records). For Atta and Shehhi's behavior, see FBI report of investigation, interview of Ivan Chirivella, Sept. 15, 2001. For their failure, haste, and return to Huffman, see FBI report,"Hijackers Timeline,"Dec. 5, 2003 (Oct. 4, 2000, entry citing 265A-NY-280350-TP, serial 1474; 265A-NY-280350-302, serial 1361).

51. For Jarrah's certificate, see FBI letterhead memorandum, profile of Jarrah, Mar. 20, 2002. For Jarrah's leaving the United States, see FBI report, "Hijackers Timeline," Dec. 5, 2003 (Oct. 7, 2000, entry citing 265A-NY-280350-302-7134). For Jarrah and Senguen's travel to Paris, see FBI letterhead memorandum, profile of Jarrah, Mar. 20, 2002. For Jarrah's return to the United States, see FBI report,"Hijackers Timeline,"Dec. 5, 2003 (Oct. 29, 2000, entry citing INS NIIS Report; 265A-NY-280350-302, serial 7134). For their telephone contact, see FBI letterhead memorandum, profile of Jarrah, Mar. 20, 2002. For their email contact, see FBI electronic communication, Penttbom investigation, Sept. 18, 2001, p. 5.

52. For Binalshibh's deposit, see FBI report, "Hijackers Timeline," Dec. 5, 2003 (June 27, 2000, entry citing 265A-NY-280350-TP (FD-302), serial 1442; 265A-NY-280350-TP, serial 9500). For his May and June visa applications, see DOS records, Binalshibh visa applications, May 31, 2000; July 18, 2000; FBI briefing materials, Penttbom, Dec. 10-11, 2003, pp. 136-137; CIA analytic report,"The Plot and the Plotters," June 1, 2003, pp. 10, 12. For his September application in Yemen, see DOS record, Binalshibh visa application, Sept. 16, 2000. For his October application in Berlin, see DOS record, Binalshibh visa application, Nov. 1, 2000. Even after the last application was rejected, Binalshibh sought ways to get a visa, such as by marrying a U.S. citizen. He corresponded by email with a woman in California, but Atta told him to discontinue this effort. Intelligence report, interrogation of Binalshibh, Sept. 24, 2002.

Essabar may have been intended to replace Binalshibh. Like Atta, Shehhi, and Jarrah, Essabar obtained a new passport even though his old one was nearly a year from expiration, evidently to conceal his prior travel to Afghanistan during the first half of 2000. On December 12, 2000, and January 28, 2001-after Binalshibh's four

U.S. visa applications had been denied-Essabar made two unsuccessful U.S. visa applications, stating that he wished to visit the United States during the week of February 15, 2001. DOS records, Essabar visa applications, Dec. 12, 2000; Jan. 8, 2001. See Federal Prosecutor General (Germany), response to Commission letter, June 25, 2004, p. 14. Neither Binalshibh nor Essabar were denied visas based on terrorism concerns.

53. FBI report,"Summary of Penttbom Investigation," Feb. 29, 2004 (classified version), p. 82.

54. For KSM sending Moussaoui to Malaysia, see Intelligence Report, interrogation of KSM, Mar. 24, 2003. For Moussaoui not finding a flight school, see Intelligence report, interrogation of detainee, Jan. 22, 2002. For the ammonium nitrate purchase, see Intelligence report, interrogation of detainee,Apr. 9, 2002; Intelligence report, interrogation of detainee,Apr. 12, 2004. For the cargo planes operation, see Intelligence report, interrogation of detainee, Apr. 12, 2004. For KSM's reaction, see Intelligence Report, interrogation of KSM, Mar. 24, 2003. For Moussaoui's and Binalshibh's trips and Moussaoui's emails, see FBI report,"Summary of Penttbom Investigation," Feb. 29, 2004 (classified version), p. 85.There are no witnesses who report that Moussaoui and Binalshibh actually met in London, but Moussaoui's subsequent travel to Afghanistan implies that he received instructions from Binalshibh. See ibid., p. 86. Somewhere in his travels, Moussaoui obtained the funds he would bring to the United States. He declared $35,000 upon arrival on February 23, 2001, and he deposited $32,000 into a Norman, Oklahoma, bank account on February 26. FBI report,"Summary of Penttbom Investigation," Feb. 29, 2004, p. 78.

55. For Hanjour's entry, see INS record, NIIS record of Hanjour, Oct. 3, 1991. For his university studies, see FBI report,"Hijackers Timeline,"Dec. 5, 2003 (Oct. 14, 1991, entry citing 265A-NY-280350-PX, serial 3792). For Hanjour being religious, see FBI letterhead memorandum, Penttbom investigation, Jan. 4, 2004, p. 10. One witness interviewed by the FBI after 9/11 remembers Hanjour and Nawaf al Hazmi becoming so entranced during a prayer that both men began to cry. FBI report of investigation, interview of Mourad Jdaini, Sept. 22, 2001. For Hanjour's trip to Afghanistan, his initial studies in the United States, his rejection by the Saudi flight school, and his desire for flight training in the United States, see Intelligence report, interviews of Saudi hijackers' families, Dec. 22, 2001; FBI report of investigation, interview of Adnan Khalil, Sept. 29, 2001.

56. For Hanjour's 1996 trip to the United States, see, e.g., FBI report,"Hijackers Timeline," Dec. 5, 2003 (Apr. 1, 1996, entry citing 265A-NT-280350, serial 2746; 265A-NT-280350-302, serial 9130). For his interest in flight training in Florida and his training in California, see FBI report of investigation, interview of Adnan Khalil, Sep. 14, 2001; FBI report, "Hijackers Timeline," Dec. 5, 2003 (Sept. 3, 1996, entry citing 265A-NY-280350-SF, serial 1847). For his 1996 flight instruction in Arizona and return to Saudi Arabia, see ibid. (Sept. 29, 1996, entry citing 265A-NY-280350-IN, serial 953; Nov. 26, 1996, entry citing INS: 265A-NY-280350-NK). For his return to Florida, see FBI letterhead memorandum, investigation of Bandar al Hazmi, Jan. 15, 2002. For his 1998 flight training in Arizona, see FBI report, "Hijackers Timeline," Dec. 5, 2003 (Feb. 2, 1998, entry citing 265A-NY-280350-IN, serial 4468). For his flight training in Arizona with his two friends, see ibid. (Feb. 24, 2000, entry citing 265A-NY-280530-IN, serial 4468). Hanjour initially was nervous if not fearful in flight training. FBI letterhead memorandum, investigation of Lotfi Raissi, Jan. 4, 2004, p. 11. His instructor described him as a terrible pilot. FBI letterhead memorandum, interview of James McRae, Sept. 17, 2001.
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« Reply #1420 on: September 08, 2009, 12:33:55 am »

We have seen no evidence of a familial relationship between Bandar al Hazmi and hijackers Nawaf al Hazmi and Salem al Hazmi.Tim T. interview (Jan. 5, 2004); Ken Williams interview (May 11, 2004). Bandar al Hazmi claims he met Hanjour in Florida, as they were both studying at the same English-language institute. FBI letterhead memorandum, investigation of Bandar al Hazmi, Jan. 15, 2002. Rayed Abdullah, who knew Bandar al Hazmi from high school, says he moved to Florida to become a commercial pilot after speaking with Bandar al Hazmi, and claims he met Hanjour upon arriving in Florida. FBI report of investigation, interview of Rayed Abdullah, Sept. 15, 2001; FBI letterhead memorandum, investigation of Abdullah Rayed Abdullah, Nov. 16, 2001, p. 8.This account is not credible, because Abdullah arrived in the United States on November 15, 1997, the day before Hanjour arrived. Ken Williams interview (May 11, 2004); FBI report,"Hijackers Timeline," Dec. 5, 2003 (citing 265A-NY-280350-NK, serial 1379).The three of them did attend language school together but not until after all three had arrived in the United States. FBI report of investigation, interview of Rayed Abdullah, Sept. 15, 2001. The Phoenix FBI office remains suspicious of Abdullah and Hazmi and their association with Hanjour. Ken Williams interview (May 11, 2004). (Williams is the FBI agent who authored what is referred to as the "Phoenix memo," discussed in chapter 8.)

For Hanjour obtaining his pilot's license in three months, see FBI report of investigation, interview of Amro Hassan, Sept. 17, 2001, p. 2. For Hanjour receiving his commercial pilot's license, see FBI report,"Hijackers Timeline," Dec. 5, 2003 (Apr. 15, 1999, entry citing 265A-NY-280350-PX, serial 334). For Hanjour's apparent return to Saudi Arabia, see ibid. (Apr. 28, 1999, entry citing INS I-94, 265A-NY-280350-NK, serial 1379). Bandar al Hazmi continued his training at Arizona Aviation with intermittent trips home to Saudi Arabia, before departing the United States for the last time in January 2000. Tim T. interview (Jan. 5, 2004); FBI report of investigation, interview of Amro Hassan, Sept. 19, 2001. Rayed Abdullah trained at Arizona Aviation and obtained a private pilot's license in December 1998. FBI letterhead memorandum, investigation of Rayed Abdullah, May 5, 2001, p. 9. Abdullah then worked as a computer programmer in Arizona before resuming flight training during the summer of 2001. FBI report of investigation, interview of Rayed Abdullah, Sept. 16, 2001, p. 5.

57. Intelligence report, interviews of Saudi hijackers' families, Dec. 22, 2001.

58. Al Qaeda figures at the university or in Tucson included Mubarak al Duri, reportedly Bin Ladin's principal procurement agent for weapons of mass destruction; Muhammad Bayazid, an al Qaeda arms procurer and trainer; Wadi al Hage, an operative convicted for the East Africa bombings; and Wail Julaidan, a Saudi extremist with ties to al Qaeda. CIA and FBI joint analytic report, "Arizona: Long Term Nexus for Islamic Extremists," May 15, 2002, p. 3.

59. Rayed Abdullah, who lived and trained with Hanjour, was a leader at the Islamic Cultural Center in Phoenix and reportedly gave extremist speeches at the mosque. Ken Williams interview (Jan. 7, 2004); FBI electronic communication, Rayed Abdullah, Sept. 22, 2003. Another Hanjour associate, Faisal al Salmi, took flight training with Rayed Abdullah but wanted to keep his training secret. FBI letterhead memorandum, investigation of Rayed Abdullah, May 5, 2001; FBI report of investigation, interview of Malek Seif, Oct. 25, 2001.When polygraphed on whether he had taken flight training at the behest of an organization, al Salmi's negative response was deemed deceptive. FBI electronic communication, investigation of Zakaria Soubra, June 5, 2002, p. 8.

60. For al Qaeda activity in Arizona, see Ken Williams interview (Jan. 7, 2004). On al Qaeda directing individuals in the Phoenix area to enroll in flight training without telling them why, see FBI electronic communication, investigation of Rayed Abdullah, Sept. 22, 2003. Ghassan al Sharbi, who was captured in March 2002 in Pakistan along with Abu Zubaydah, studied at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott,Arizona. Greg Krikorian, "Detainee Facing Deportation Summoned to Probe," Los Angeles Times, Jan. 24, 2003; Ken Williams interview (Jan. 7, 2004). Although Sharbi has not been tied to the 9/11 attacks, he reportedly attended the training camps in Afghanistan and swore bayat to Bin Ladin during the summer of 2001. FBI memorandum, investigation of Hamed al Sulami, Aug. 1, 2002, p. 6.

After he left the camps, Sharbi looked for his friend Hamdan al Shalawi, another student in Arizona, for a secret project. Shalawi reportedly trained in the camps in November 2000, learning how to conduct "Khobar Towers"-type attacks that he and a colleague planned to execute in Saudi Arabia. FBI electronic communication, investigation of Hamdan al Shalawi, Oct. 16, 2003, p. 2; Intelligence report, trace request on Shalawi, Nov. 27, 2000. Shalawi, however, denies this, claiming to have been studying in Arizona at the time, which neither the FBI nor we have been able to confirm. Shalawi was involved in a widely publicized incident in November 1999, when he and his friend Muhammed al Qudhaieen were detained because the crew of a cross-country America West flight reported that Qudhaieen had attempted to open the cockpit door on two occasions. FBI letterhead memorandum, Hamed al Sulami, July 25, 2002, p. 7. After the 9/11 attacks, FBI agents in Phoenix considered whether the incident was a "dry run" for the attacks. See, e.g., FBI letterhead memorandum, investigation of Fahad al Wahedi, Nov. 8, 2002, p. 4. In our interviews of Shalawi and Qudhaieen, they both claimed that Qudhaieen was only looking for the lavatory on the plane. Mohammad al Qudhaieen interview (Oct. 25, 2003); Hamdan al Shalawi interview (Oct. 22, 2003). Shalawi admits having gone to Afghanistan, but only once in the late 1980s after the war with the Soviet Union. Shalawi interview (Oct. 22, 2003).

Finally, another admitted associate of Hani Hanjour in Arizona, Hamed al Sulami, has had telephone contact with Sulayman al Alwan, a radical Saudi cleric from Qassim Province who was reported to be Abu Zubaydah's spiritual advisor and, as discussed later in this chapter, may have had a role in recruiting one or more of the muscle hijackers. FBI memorandum, investigation of Hamed al Sulami,Aug. 1, 2002, p. 2; FBI memorandum, investigation of Fahad al Wahedi, Nov. 8, 2002, p. 4; CIA analytic report,"The Plot and the Plotters," June 1, 2003, p. 27.

61. For Hanjour's meeting KSM, experience in the camp, and incorporation into the 9/11 operation, see Intelligence report, interrogation of KSM, Feb. 20, 2004. It is unknown how Hanjour got to the camps or who may have directed him to go there. For new arrivals' procedures, see Intelligence report, interrogation of KSM, May 15, 2003.

62. For Hanjour returning home and obtaining a visa, see DOS records, visa applications for Hanjour, Sept. 10, 2000; Sept. 25, 2000. For Hanjour's statement to his family, see Intelligence report, interviews of Saudi hijackers' families, Dec. 22, 2001. For the meeting, see Intelligence report, interrogation of detainee, Jan. 7, 2004.

63.Ali initially gave Hanjour $3,000 to open the account and later deposited another $5,000 into the account. See FBI report, financial timeline of 9/11 hijackers, Dec. 9, 2004, p. 36 (Dec. 5, 2000, and Jan. 28, 2001, entries). Intelligence report, interrogation of detainee, Feb. 11, 2004. Hanjour also maintained another account, into which more than $9,600 was deposited. While in the United States, he accessed both accounts via ATM. FBI Report, "Summary of Penttbom Investigation," Feb. 29, 2004, pp. 9, 11, 13, 17-18, 19. For Hanjour's travel and supposed destination, see INS record, NIIS record of Hanjour, Dec. 8, 2000; DOS record, Hanjour visa application, Sept. 25, 2000. For his enrollment but failure to attend, see FBI report, "Hijackers Timeline," Dec. 5, 2003 (Nov. 6, 2000, entry citing 265A-NY-280350-302, serial 11165; 265A-NY-280350-SF, serial 160).

64. For Hanjour's refresher training, see FBI report, "Hijackers Timeline," Dec. 5, 2003 (Dec. 13, 2000, entry citing 265A-NY-280350-IN, serial 29652). For his desire to train on multi-engine planes, his language difficulties, the instructor's advice, and his reaction, see FBI report of investigation, interview of Rodney McAlear, Apr. 10,

2002. For his training at Pan Am International Flight Academy and completion by March 2001, see FBI report, "Hijackers Timeline," Dec. 5, 2003 (Feb. 8, 2001, entries citing 265A-NY-280350, serial 2870; 265A-NY-280350-PX, serials 334, 1033). For the Academy's instructor's reaction, see FBI report of investigation, interview of James Milton,Apr. 12, 2002; FBI electronic communication, Penttbom investigation, Sept. 16, 2001, pp. 2-3. For his perseverance, see ibid., p. 3. For vacating their apartment, see FBI report,"Hijackers Timeline," Dec. 5, 2003 (Mar. 31, 2001, entry citing 265A-NY-280350-PX, serial 762). During the cross-country drive, Hazmi received a speeding ticket in Oklahoma on April 1, 2001. Ibid. (citing 265A-NY-280350-W, serial 693, items k2453, k2454; 265A-NY-280350-OC, serial 1541; 265A-NY-280350-302, serials 58753, 58757). For arrival in Virginia, see ibid. (citing 265A-NY-280350-NH, serial 1859).

65. For Atta's training at Huffman, see, e.g., FBI report,"Hijackers Timeline," Dec. 5, 2003 (Nov. 19, 2000, entry citing 265A-280350-TP-5382). For Atta's certificate, see ibid. (Nov. 20, 2000, entry citing FAA records). For She-hhi's training at Huffman, see FBI report of investigation, interview of Erik Seiberlich, Sept. 12, 2001. For Shehhi's certificate, see FBI report,"Summary of Penttbom Investigation," Feb. 29, 2004, p. 20. For Atta and Shehhi taking the commercial pilot test, see FBI report, "Hijackers Timeline," Dec. 5, 2003 (Dec. 19, 2000, entry citing 265A-NY-280350-302-9715, serial 26590). For Atta and Shehhi's commercial pilot licenses, see ibid. (Dec. 21, 2000, entries citing FAA records; 265A-NY-280350-302-2340). For Atta and Shehhi's simulator training, see ibid. (Dec. 30, 2000, entry citing 265A-NY-280350-302, serial 1177). For Jarrah's training, see ibid. (Dec. 15, 2000, entries citing 265D-NY-280350-1399, serial 8048).

66. For Jarrah's trip to Beirut and return trip with Senguen, see FBI letterhead memorandum, profile of Jarrah, Mar. 20, 2002. For Senguen accompanying Jarrah to flight training, see German BKA report, investigative summary re Jarrah, July 18, 2002, p. 60.According to Binalshibh, Senguen visited Jarrah in order to verify that he actually was studying to become a pilot. Intelligence report, interrogation of Binalshibh, June 9, 2004. For Jarrah's second trip to Beirut and visiting Senguen, see FBI letterhead memorandum, profile of Jarrah, Mar. 20, 2002; FBI electronic communication, Penttbom investigation, Sept. 18, 2001, p. 5.

67. For Atta's trip to Germany and meeting with Binalshibh, see Intelligence reports, interrogations of Binalshibh, Sept. 24, 2002; Dec. 10, 2002; FBI Penttbom timeline briefing (Dec. 10-11, 2003). For Atta giving money to Binalshibh, see ibid. For Atta returning to Florida, see FBI report, "Hijackers Timeline," Dec. 5, 2003 (Jan. 10, 2001, entry citing INS NIIS report; 265A-NY-280350-302, serial 7134). For Binalshibh's trip to Afghanistan, see FBI Penttbom timeline briefing (Dec. 10-11, 2003).

68. For Shehhi's trip, see FBI report, "Hijackers Timeline," Dec. 5, 2003 (Jan. 11 and 12, 2001, entries citing 265A-NY-280350-TP, serials 11182, 11183; 265A-NY-280350-OUT, serials 2248, 2256, Intelligence report).We do not have information on what Shehhi did in Morocco.Atta's cell phone was used on January 2 to call the Moroccan embassy in Washington, D.C. before Shehhi left. FBI report,"Hijackers Timeline," Dec. 5, 2003 (citing cellular telephone records). Shehhi's trip occurred at a time when Abdelghani Mzoudi, one of the Hamburg cell associates, was also in Morocco. Mzoudi claims he went home to Morocco to get married but could not because he was injured in a car accident there. German BKA report, investigative summary re Mzoudi, Jan. 13, 2003, p. 43. He denies having met with Shehhi, and neither German nor U.S. investigators have uncovered evidence of a meeting. See Federal Prosecutor General (Germany), response to Commission letter, June 25, 2004. For Shehhi's family contacting the UAE embassy, which contacted Hamburg police, and the UAE official's search, see German BKA report, investigative summary re Shehhi, July 9, 2002, p. 23. For Shehhi's call home, see FBI report,"Hijackers Timeline," Dec. 5, 2003 (citing 265A-NY-280350-BN-98). For the search being called off, see German BKA report, investigative summary re Shehhi, July 9, 2002, p. 24.

69. Reports that Atta was in the Prague airport on May 30-31, 2000, and that he was turned back because he lacked a visa appear to be a case of mistaken identity: a Pakistani traveler with a name similar to Atta's attempted to enter the Czech Republic from Saudi Arabia via Germany but was forced to return to Germany because he lacked a valid Czech visa. CIA cable, report re traveler to Prague, Dec. 8, 2001.

70. For Czech source reporting and credibility assessment, see CIA briefing (Jan. 28, 2004); Eliska T. interview (May 20, 2004). For the information being reported to CIA, see CIA briefing (Jan. 28, 2004). For the leak and the ministers' statements, see CIA briefing (Jan. 28, 2004); Shirley interview (Apr. 29, 2004). On April 4, 2001, Atta cashed an $8,000 check at a bank in Virginia Beach; he appears on a bank surveillance tape. For FBI evidence of Atta being in Virginia Beach, see FBI report,"Hijackers Timeline," Dec. 5, 2003 (Apr. 4, 2001, entry citing 265A-NY-280350-302-615, 688, 896, 898). For FBI evidence of Atta being in Coral Springs, see ibid. (Apr. 11, 2001, entries citing 265A-NY-280350-302, serial 381; 265A-NY-280350-MM, serials 3817, 5214). For Czech government finding no evidence of Atta's presence and having evidence that Ani was not in Prague, see CIA briefing (Jan. 28, 2004). Aside from scrutinizing various official records, the Czech government also reviewed surveillance photos taken outside the Iraqi embassy. CIA briefing (Jan. 28, 2004); Shirley interview (Apr. 29, 2004). None of the people photographed that day resembled Atta, although the surveillance only operated from 8:00 A.M. to 3:00 P.M. CIA cable, review of surveillance photos, Feb. 27, 2002. For Ani's denials of any meetings and request to superiors, see CIA briefing (Jan. 28, 2004); Intelligence report, interrogation of Ahmad Khalil Ibrahim Samir al Ani, Oct. 1, 2003. For KSM's denial of the meeting, see Shirley interview (Apr. 29, 2004). Binalshibh has stated that Atta and he were so close that Atta probably would have told him of a meeting with an Iraqi official. Intelligence report, interrogation of Binalshibh, Oct. 2, 2002. Binalshibh also stated that Bin Ladin was upset with Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein for committing atrocities against Iraqi Muslims, and that Bin Ladin would never have approved such a meeting. Intelligence report, interrogation of Binalshibh, Oct. 4, 2002. For Atta not using an alias during his July 2001 trip, see FBI memo, Penttbom investigation, Jan. 14, 2002.

71.Atta was admitted as a tourist for an eight-month stay, even though the legal limit for tourists is six months. Shehhi was admitted for a four-month "business" stay.The Atta and Shehhi applications to change status were ultimately adjudicated on July 17 and August 9, 2001. Each received until October 1, 2001, to complete his studies. For Atta's INS inspection, see INS records, NIIS record of Atta, Jan. 10, 2001; copy of Atta's Egyptian passport;Atta's inspection results; student/school form presented by Atta; primary and secondary inspectors interviews (Mar. 25, 2004). For Shehhi's INS inspection, see INS records, NIIS record of Shehhi, Jan. 18, 2001; Shehhi's inspection results; primary inspector interview (Mar. 26, 2004); secondary inspector interview (Mar. 22, 2004).

72. For Atta and Shehhi staying in Norcross and Decatur, see FBI report, "Hijackers Timeline," Dec. 5, 2003 (Jan. 25, 2001, entry citing 265A-NY-280350-3631; 265A-NY-280350-AT-141). For the plane rental in Lawrenceville, see ibid. (Jan. 31, 2001, entry citing 265A-NY-280350, serial 13850). These locations are all near Atlanta. For return to Virginia, see ibid. (citing 265A-NY-280350-NF-48). For mailbox rental, see ibid. (Feb. 20, 2001, entry citing 265A-NY-280350-NF-48, 51). For check cashing, see FBI report,"Summary of Penttbom Investigation," Feb. 29, 2004, p. 26. For return to Georgia, see FBI report, "Hijackers Timeline," Dec. 5, 2003 (Feb. 21, 2001, entry citing 65A-NY-280350-302, serial 49563). For Jarrah staying in Decatur, see FBI report, "Hijackers Timeline," Dec. 5, 2003 (Mar. 15, 2001, entry citing 265A-NY-280350, serial 15661). For Atta-Jarrah call, see FBI letterhead memorandum, profile of Jarrah, Mar. 20, 2002. For Jarrah's apparent visit with Senguen, see INS records, NIIS record for Jarrah, Feb. 25, 2001 (with departure date of Mar. 30, 2001); NIIS record for Jarrah,Apr. 13, 2001. For Atta and Shehhi returning to Virginia Beach, see FBI report,"Hijackers Timeline," Dec. 5, 2003 (Apr. 3, 2001, entry citing FBI electronic communication, Sept. 17, 2001). For Atta closing the mailbox, see ibid. (Apr. 4, 2001, entry citing FBI electronic communication, Sept. 18, 2001).

73. For Atta and Shehhi arriving in Virginia, see FBI report,"Hijackers Timeline," Dec. 5, 2003 (Apr. 3, 2001, entry citing 265A-NY-280350-302-615, 688, 896, 898). For Hazmi and Hanjour arriving in Virginia, see ibid. (Apr. 4, 2001, entry citing 265A-NY-280350-NH, serial 1859). For their attendance at the Dar al Hijra mosque, see FBI electronic communication, request for interviews, Aug. 6, 2002.

74. For Aulaqi moving to Virginia, see FBI electronic communication, analysis related to Penttbom investigation, Oct. 23, 2001. For his denial of contacts with Hazmi and Hanjour, see FBI report of investigation, interview of Anwar Aulaqi, Sept. 17, 2001.

75. The apartment was already occupied by two other individuals. The al Qaeda operatives spent little time with their roommates, but did mention at one point that they had considered going to Afghanistan for jihad. FBI report of investigation, interview of Ahmad Ahmad, Oct. 4, 2002. For Hazmi and Hanjour meeting Rababah, see FBI electronic communication, request for interviews of certain individuals, Aug. 6, 2002. For Rababah seeking work at the mosque, his meeting them, and his assistance in finding them an apartment, see FBI report of investigation, interview of Eyad al Rababah, June 10, 2002. For Hazmi and Hanjour renting the apartment, see FBI report of investigation, interview of Derar Mohammed Saleh, Jan. 16, 2003.

76. For FBI agents' suspicions, see Jim B. interview (Nov. 6, 2003). Rababah was reluctant to admit meeting the hijackers at the mosque and initially told a story about meeting them for the first time at a store. Rababah attributed his initial prevarication to wanting to protect the mosque from anti-Arab sentiment following September 11. FBI report of investigation, interview of Eyad al Rababah, June 10, 2002; Robert B. interview (Nov. 6, 2003). For Rababah's deportation, see Peter A. interview (Oct. 10, 2003).

77. FBI report of investigation, interview of Eyad al Rababah, June 10, 2002.

78. For Rababah going to the apartment and finding new roommates, see FBI report of investigation, interview of Eyad al Rababah, June 10, 2002. For the trips to Connecticut and New Jersey, see FBI report,"Hijackers Timeline," Dec. 5, 2003 (May 8, 2001, entries citing 265A-NY-280350-NH, serial 1859); FBI electronic communication, summary of Penttbom investigation, June 3, 2002. For the telephone calls, see FBI report,"Hijackers Timeline," Dec. 5, 2003 (May 8, 2001, entry citing 265A-NY-280350-NH, serial 1859). For return to Connecticut and Rababah not seeing the hijackers again, see ibid. (May 10, 2001, entry citing 265A-NY-280350-NH, serial 1859); FBI report of investigation, interview of Eyad al Rababah, June 10, 2002.

79. For the apartment rental in New Jersey, see FBI report of investigation, interview of Eyad al Rababah, June 10, 2002; FBI report,"Hijackers Timeline," Dec. 5, 2003 (May 21, 2001, entry citing 265A-NY-280350-302, serials 25453, 25445). For the landlord finding six people, see FBI report of investigation, interview of Jimi Nouri, Sept. 19, 2001. Although no specific evidence places Omari in the apartment, the muscle hijackers based in New Jersey likely lived together, as they apparently conducted other activities jointly, such as obtaining identification cards. See, e.g., FBI report,"Hijackers Timeline," Dec. 5, 2003 (July 1, 2001, entries citing 265A-NY-280350-FD-302, serials 4718, 11815, 20900, 21529).

80. For Atta's renting the apartment, see FBI report, "Hijackers Timeline," Dec. 5, 2003 (citing 265A-NY-280350-302, serial 381; 265A-NY-280350-MM, serial 3817). For Shehhi's presence in Florida, see, e.g., ibid. (Apr. 13, 2001, entry citing 265A-NY-280350-302, serial 17575).

81. For Shehhi's ticket purchase, see FBI report, "Hijackers Timeline," Dec. 5, 2003 (Apr. 13, 2001, entry citing 265A-NY-280350-302, serial 17575;Apr. 18, 2001 entry citing 265A-NY-280350-CG, serial 1928; 265A-NY-280350-302, serial 16379;Apr. 19, 2001, entry citing CIA report; 265A-NY-280350-302, serial 17575). For Shehhi's visit with Atta's father, see ibid. (Apr. 20, 2001, entry citing CIA report). For Atta having license during April 26, 2001, traffic stop and Shehhi spending two weeks abroad, see ibid. (citing 265A-NY-280350-MM, serial 2746; May 2, 2001, entry citing 265A-NY-280350-302, serial 16379; 265A-NY-280350-CG, serial 1928); FBI Penttbom timeline briefing (Dec. 10-11, 2003).
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« Reply #1421 on: September 08, 2009, 12:34:13 am »

82. For Shehhi's return, see INS record, NIIS record of Shehhi, May 2, 2001. For Atta and Jarrah obtaining driver's licenses, see FBI report,"Hijackers Timeline," Dec. 5, 2003 (May 2, 2001, entry citing 265A-NY-280350-MM, serial 59). Also on May 2, Atta and two unidentified companions appeared at the Miami District Immigration Office, where an inspector reduced Atta's authorized length of stay by two months, correcting the mistake made back in January. Interview of inspector (Mar. 25, 2004).

83. For a description of the muscle hijackers, see CIA analytic report,"The Plot and the Plotters," June 1, 2003, pp. 34-52.

84. On Banihammad, see CIA analytic report,"Facilitating Disaster:An Overview of 11 September Finance," CTC 2002-40093H, Aug. 22, 2002, p. 4

85. Intelligence reports, interviews of Saudi hijackers' families, Dec. 22, 2001; July 17, 2002; Saudi Arabian Mabahith briefing (Oct. 17, 2003) (disclosing that two of the muscle hijackers had married shortly before joining the plot and only one,Wail al Shehri, was employed, as a physical education teacher).

86. CIA analytic report,"The Plot and the Plotters," June 1, 2003, p. 25.

87. Ibid.

88. Ibid., p. 26.

89. Ibid., p. 25. On Nawaf 's efforts on behalf of his brother, see CIA analytic report,"Afghanistan Camps Central to 11 September Plot: Can al-Qa'ida Train on the Run?" CTC 2003-40071CH, June 20, 2003, p. 1; Intelligence report, interrogation of detainee, Oct. 18, 2001.

90. Intelligence report, interrogation of Binalshibh, Feb. 18, 2004; Intelligence report, interrogations of KSM and another detainee, Feb. 18, 2004; Intelligence report, interrogation of Abu Zubaydah, Feb. 19, 2004; Intelligence report, interrogation of Nashiri, Feb. 2004; Intelligence report, interrogation of detainee, Feb. 18, 2004.

91. Intelligence report, interrogation of KSM, Jan 7, 2004. Khallad agrees about the recruit pool, but also argues that operatives' ethnicity was important for symbolic reasons, citing the Nairobi and Dar es Salaam embassy bombings and the planes operation as examples. In the planes operation, Khallad notes, Bin Ladin selected operatives from Mecca (Mihdhar and the Hazmi brothers) and would have used more had they been available. Moreover, with respect to the remaining Saudi muscle hijackers, Khallad claims Bin Ladin chose them because he wanted the 9/11 attacks to resound across Saudi Arabia, especially among the southern tribes and those of the hijackers themselves. According to Khallad, Bin Ladin wanted operatives from strong tribal areas of Saudi Arabia and chose two Saudi brothers from the al Shehri tribe, of which their father was a leader. Intelligence report, interrogation of Khallad, Feb. 18, 2004.

92. CIA analytic report,"The Plot and the Plotters," June 1, 2003, pp. 24, 26. According to Saudi authorities, none of the hijackers had any record of extremist activity, but Satam al Suqami and Salem al Hazmi both had minor criminal offense records. Saudi Arabian Mabahith briefing (Oct. 17, 2003).

93. CIA analytic report,"Afghanistan Camps Central to 11 September Plot," June 20, 2003, pp. 1-2.

94. For trainer's comments, see Intelligence report, interrogation of detainee, Feb. 8, 2002. For Omari's, Ghamdi's, and Shehri's backgrounds, see CIA analytic report,"The Plot and the Plotters," June 1, 2003, p. 27; Intelligence reports, interviews of Saudi hijackers' families, Dec. 22, 2001; July 17, 2002.

95. CIA analytic report,"The Plot and the Plotters," June 1, 2003, p. 26; Intelligence reports, interviews of Saudi hijackers' families, Dec. 22, 2001; July 17, 2002.According to Saudi authorities, a substantial number of the hijackers isolated themselves and became religious only within a few months of leaving the Kingdom. All but Ahmad al Haznawi, who called his aunt to inquire about his sick mother, ceased contact with their families about six months before the attacks. Saudi Arabian Mabahith briefing (Oct. 17, 2003).

96. CIA analytic report,"The Plot and the Plotters," June 1, 2003, p. 26; Intelligence reports, interviews of Saudi hijackers' families, Dec. 22, 2001; July, 17, 2002.

97. On Khattab, see CIA analytic report,"The Plot and the Plotters," June 1, 2003, p. 26, n. 2. For KSM's claim, see Intelligence report, interrogation of KSM, May 15, 2003. For difficulties traveling to Chechnya, see also Saudi Arabian Mabahith briefing (Oct. 17, 2003).

98. Intelligence reports, interrogations of Khallad, Sept. 5, 2003; Mar. 26, 2004; Jan. 8, 2004; Jan. 7, 2004. Khallad claims he also encouraged Salem al Hazmi to participate in a suicide operation. Intelligence report, interrogation of Khallad, Apr. 13, 2004.

99. Intelligence reports, interrogations of KSM, May 15, 2003; Jan. 9, 2004; Oct. 21, 2003. KSM does acknowledge that the commander of al Faruq training camp was known to urge trainees to swear bayat. Moreover, peer pressure certainly appears to have been a factor in swaying recruits to choose "martyrdom." Intelligence report, interrogation of KSM,Apr. 30, 2004.

100. Intelligence report, interrogation of KSM, Feb. 18, 2004; Intelligence report, interrogation of Khallad, Jan. 8, 2004.

101. Intelligence report, interrogation of Khallad, Feb. 18, 2004; Intelligence report, interrogation of KSM, Jan. 7, 2004; Intelligence report, interrogation of detainee, Feb. 8, 2003.

102. CIA analytic report,"Afghanistan Camps Central to 11 September Plot," June 20, 2003, pp. 2-3.

103. Ibid., p. 8; Intelligence report, interrogation of KSM, May 15, 2003.
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« Reply #1422 on: September 08, 2009, 12:34:40 am »

104. Intelligence reports, interrogations of KSM, May 15, 2003; Jan. 9, 2004;Apr. 2, 2004; Intelligence report, interrogation of Khallad, Apr. 13, 2004; Intelligence report, interrogation of detainee, Apr. 14, 2004. For description of martyrdom video filming, see Intelligence report, interrogation of KSM, May 21, 2004.

105. Intelligence report, interrogation of Khallad, Apr. 13, 2004; Intelligence reports, interrogations of KSM, Aug. 20, 2003; Apr. 13, 2004; Apr. 5, 2004;Apr. 3, 2004.

Dates of U.S. visas obtained in 2000:Ahmed al Ghamdi (September 3), Saeed al Ghamdi (September 4), Hamza al Ghamdi (October 17), Mohand al Shehri (October 23),Wail and Waleed al Shehri (October 24),Ahmed al Nami (October 28), Ahmad al Haznawi (November 12), Majed Moqed (November 20), and Satam al Suqami (November 21). Five Saudi muscle hijackers obtained visas in 2001: Ahmed al Nami (April 23), Saeed al Ghamdi (June 12),Khalid al Mihdhar (June 13), Abdul Aziz Omari (June 18) and Salem al Hazmi (June 20). For Nami, Ghamdi, and Mihdhar, this was their second visa, and each applied using a new passport. Banihammad, the only non-Saudi muscle hijacker, also obtained his visa much later than most of the Saudi muscle hijackers, on June 18, 2001. See Commission analysis of DOS records; CIA analytic report,"The Plot and the Plotters," June 1, 2003, p. 55.Accord-ing to KSM, the three hijackers who obtained their first visas much later than the others were not replacements for unsuccessful candidates. KSM simply wanted to get as many hijackers into the United States as possible to enhance the odds for success, even if each flight ended up with as many as six or seven. Intelligence report, interrogation of KSM, Feb. 20, 2004.

106. Only the passports of Satam al Suqami and Abdul Aziz al Omari were recovered after 9/11. Both had been doctored. According to KSM, two hijacker passports were damaged in the doctoring process. These may have belonged to Saeed al Ghamdi and Ahmed al Nami, as both acquired new passports and new U.S. visas, although the old visas were still valid. Of the hijacker visa applications we were able to review, all were incomplete.Tourist visas were granted anyway. On obtaining "clean" passports and the two damaged passports, see Intelligence reports, interrogations of KSM, July 3, 2003; Sept. 9, 2003.Wail and Waleed al Shehri had a family member in the Saudi passport office who provided them with new passports for their trip to the United States. See CIA analytic report, Al Qaeda Travel Issues, CTC 2004-40002H, Jan. 2004, p. 12.

107. Intelligence report, interrogation of Khallad,Apr. 5, 2004; Intelligence report, interrogation of KSM, Mar. 20, 2004. The candidate operatives were

    1. Muhammad Mani Ahmad al Kahtani. Currently in custody, he is the last known Saudi muscle candidate to be sent to the United States, in early August 2001, to round out the number of hijackers. As discussed later in this chapter, he was refused entry. Secretary of Defense interview with David Frost (BBC), June 27, 2004, available at www.defenselink.mil. CIA analytic report, "Threat Threads: Recent Advances in Understanding 11 September," CTC 2002-30086CH, Sept. 16, 2002, p. 4; Intelligence report, interrogation of KSM, July 3, 2003; Intelligence report, interrogation of detainee, Apr. 3, 2003.

    2. Khalid Saeed Ahmad al Zahrani. He traveled to Afghanistan illegally after being prohibited by Saudi authorities from leaving Saudi Arabia.After being assigned to a mission in the U.S., he secretly reentered the Kingdom but failed in an attempt to have his name removed from the list of prohibited travelers so that he could obtain a U.S. visa. See Intelligence reports, interrogations of detainee, Apr. 20, 2002; Oct. 4, 2002; Apr. 3, 2003.

    3. Ali Abd al Rahman al Faqasi al Ghamdi. (aka Abu Bakr al Azdi) He reportedly was to have been part of the planes operation but was held in reserve by Bin Ladin for a later, even larger operation. Like other muscle hijackers, he reportedly set out for Chechnya but diverted to Afghanistan. See Intelligence reports, interrogations of Abu Bakr al Azdi, July 23, 2003; Sept. 25, 2003; Intelligence report, interrogation of Khallad, Nov. 6, 2003.

    4 and 5. Saeed al Baluchi and Qutaybah al Najdi. Both were sent to Saudi Arabia via Bahrain, where Najdi was stopped and briefly questioned by airport security officials. Both were so frightened by the experience that they withdrew from the operation. KSM urged Baluchi to obtain a U.S. visa, but Baluchi refused, fearing that he might be watchlisted at the U.S. embassy. See Intelligence report, interrogation of Khallad, July 9, 2003; Intelligence reports, interrogations of KSM, Mar. 27, 2003; July 3, 2003; Feb. 20, 2004.

    6. Zuhair al Thubaiti: He has reportedly admitted membership in al Qaeda, stating "proudly" that he was among a select number of operatives who had the personal endorsement of Bin Ladin. He was not ultimately selected for the 9/11 attacks because the al Qaeda leadership considered him too high-strung and lacking the necessary temperament. CIA analytic report,"Threat Threads," Sept. 16, 2002, p. 3; Intelligence reports, interrogations of detainee, May 21, 2002; June 17, 2002; June 20, 2002; Intelligence reports, interrogations of KSM, Feb. 20, 2004 (two reports).

    7. Saeed Abdullah Saeed ("Jihad") al Ghamdi. He arranged to travel to Afghanistan in March 2000, swore allegiance to Bin Ladin (agreeing to serve as a suicide operative), and was sent to Saudi Arabia by KSM with 9/11 hijacker Ahmad al Haznawi to obtain a U.S. visa, but his visa application was denied because he appeared to be intending to immigrate. DOS record, Ghamdi visa application, Nov. 13, 2000. CIA analytic report,"Threat Threads," Sept. 16, 2002, p. 4; Intelligence reports, interrogations of detainee, Apr. 11, 2002; Sept. 11, 2002; Intelligence report, interrogation of KSM, Feb. 20, 2004.

    8. Saud al Rashid. Describing him as headstrong and immature, KSM says he disappeared after being sent to Saudi Arabia for a U.S. visa, either because he had second thoughts or because his family interceded and confiscated his passport. Passport photos of Rashid and three 9/11 hijackers-Nawaf al Hazmi, Mihdhar, and Omari-were found together during a May 2002 raid in Karachi.After discovery of the photos in 2002, Rashid turned himself in to the Saudi authorities, but he has since been released from custody. In a Commission interview, he has admitted training in Afghanistan but denies hearing of al Qaeda before returning from Afghanistan or meeting Bin Ladin, KSM, or any 9/11 hijacker other than Ahmad al Haznawi, whom he claims seeing only once or twice at a guesthouse. He has no credible explanation why photos of him were found with those of three other hijackers, or why others identified him as a candidate hijacker. See Intelligence report, interrogation of KSM, Mar. 27, 2003; June 11, 2003; July 3, 2003; Feb. 20, 2004; Intelligence report, interrogation of Khallad, July 9, 2003; Saud al Rashid interview (Feb. 24, 2004).

    9. Mushabib al Hamlan. Sent to Saudi Arabia to acquire a U.S. visa, he and his travel companion, 9/11 hijacker Ahmed al Nami, both applied for and received visas on October 28, 2000. Hamlan never returned to Afghanistan, probably dropping out either because he changed his mind or because his family intervened.

    In December 1999, while still in high school in Saudi Arabia, Hamlan became involved with a group that gathered periodically to watch jihad propaganda tapes, and was encouraged by a mentor named Bandar Marui to pursue jihad, especially as practiced in the Bosnia-Herzegovina and Russian-Afghan wars and a book titled Gladiator of Passion. As instructed, Hamlan acquired a passport, on February 15, 2000, and agreed to go to Afghanistan after the hajj in mid-March 2000. He and two travel companions obtained Pakistani visas in Sharjah, UAE, and traveled to Islamabad, where al Qaeda facilitator Hassan Ghul took them to a guesthouse managed by Abu Zubaydah. Days later, two men helped Hamlan cross the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.

    At the Khaldan camp, Hamlan received military training courses. Upon hearing that the camp was to be closed, he and others traveled to al Faruq camp near Kandahar, where they received more training. He also met and proclaimed allegiance to Bin Ladin at this time. Injured during a further training session, Hamlan was assigned to guard the airport, where he met future hijacker Ahmed al Nami (whose recent laser eye surgery had interrupted his training).An individual named Abu Basir al Yemeni indoctrinated the two in Bin Ladin's anti-U.S. position and extolled the virtues of martyrdom. Hamlan and Nami eventually agreed to approach Abu Hafs al Mauritani about participating in a suicide operation.The day after visiting Abu Hafs, Hamlan and Nami heard from Abu Basir that Bin Ladin was planning an attack against the United States. After taking their passports, Abu Basir arranged for Hamlan and Nami to meet Bin Ladin and instructed them to use the following phrase to express their desire to become martyrs:"I want to be one of this religion's bricks and glorify this religion."The al Qaeda leader accepted both applicants.

    In October 2000, Abu Basir took Hamlan and Nami to Kandahar to meet KSM, who impressed on them the high expectations for martyrs and instructed them on using coded telephone numbers. He returned their passports, which had been altered and now contained forged tourism stamps for Singapore, Malaysia,Turkey, and Egypt. KSM told them to meet with Atef before returning to Saudi Arabia, where they should contact hijacker future 9/11 hijacker Waleed al Shehri for additional documentation.

    After meeting with Atef, Hamlan and Nami traveled by car and by air to an address KSM had given them in Tehran, where arrangements were made for them to fly to Qatar. From Qatar they traveled onward to the UAE and then to Mecca. Nami contacted KSM and received coded instructions to go to Jeddah, call Waleed al Shehri, and obtain visas at the U.S. consulate. In Jeddah, they briefly shared an apartment with Shehri, who provided them with directions to the consulate and showed them how to fill out the visa application. After acquiring visas, Hamlan and Nami presented their passports to Shehri for inspection and returned to Mecca. Nami called KSM, who told them to return to Afghanistan the next day.

    Despite instructions to the contrary, Hamlan insisted on calling his family before leaving Saudi Arabia because he had begun to have second thoughts after acquiring the visa.Told by his brother that their mother had fallen ill. Hamlan decided not to return to Afghanistan even after Nami reminded him of his allegiance to Bin Ladin and commitment to complete the suicide mission. In Riyadh, he told his brothers that he had been on jihad in Chechnya. Fearing that they might ask for his passport, he removed the U.S. visa-as later confirmed by forensic analysis performed by Saudi authorities. Hamlan returned to college and resumed living with his parents, who confiscated his passport.

    Thereafter, Hamlan received a visit at the college from a former associate at al Faruq camp, Khalid al Zahrani, who asked why he had not returned to Afghanistan. Zahrani admitted having been sent by KSM to convince Hamlan to return to Afghanistan. Hamlan never did. Intelligence report, interrogation of detainee, Mar. 16, 2003.

    10. Abderraouf Jdey, a.k.a. Faruq al Tunisi. A Canadian passport holder, he may have trained in Afghanistan with Khalid al Mihdhar and Nawaf al Hazmi and received instruction from KSM with Atta and Binalshibh.A letter recovered from a safehouse in Pakistan, apparently written by Sayf al Adl, also suggests that Jdey was initially part of the 9/11 operation at the same time as the Hamburg group. A videotape of Jdey's martyrdom statement was found in the rubble of Atef 's house near Kabul following a November 2001 airstrike, together with a martyrdom video of Binalshibh. While both Binalshibh and Khallad confirm Jdey's status as an al Qaeda recruit, KSM says Jdey was slated for a "second wave" of attacks but had dropped out by the summer of 2001 while in Canada. FBI briefing (June 24, 2004); Intelligence report, interrogation of Binalshibh, Sept. 11, 2003; Intelligence report, interrogation of Khallad, May 21, 2004; Intelligence report, interrogation of KSM, July 1, 2003.
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« Reply #1423 on: September 08, 2009, 12:35:01 am »

108. On the few operatives fully aware of the plot and Abu Turab's training, see Intelligence report, interrogation of KSM, Feb. 23, 2004.Abu Turab was the son-in-law of Ayman al Zawahiri. Intelligence report, interrogation of Zubaydah, Feb. 18, 2004. KSM also taught the muscle hijackers English and provided lessons about airplanes. Intelligence report, interrogation of KSM, Apr. 2, 2004. Binalshibh also has discussed this training in post-capture statements, describing it as hand-to-hand combat training. Intelligence report, interrogation of Binalshibh, Jan. 8, 2004. According to Binalshibh, after returning to Afghanistan, muscle hijacker recruits fought on the front lines alongside the Taliban and participated in the March 2001 destruction of the giant Buddha statues in Bamian Province, Afghanistan. Intelligence report, interrogation of Binalshibh, Mar. 31, 2004.

109. Intelligence report, interrogation of KSM, Feb. 23, 2004.According to KSM, the muscle hijackers learned about the specific targets and the Atta's completed operational plan only in late August. Intelligence report, interrogation of KSM, Apr. 2, 2004.

110. On the facilitator's comments, see Intelligence reports, interrogations of detainee, Sept. 14, 2002; Oct. 3, 2002; May 5, 2003 (two reports), in which he claims also to have assisted the Hamburg pilots and Binalshibh. On KSM's funding of the hijackers, see Intelligence reports, interrogations of KSM, June 15, 2004; July 25, 2003.

111. On Ali's role and the transit of the hijackers, see Intelligence report, interrogation of detainee, Feb. 12, 2004. According to the detainee, the operatives arrived with their own money to buy plane tickets and anything else they needed. Ali referred them to places where they could obtain travelers checks. He also helped Ahmed al Ghamdi, one of the earliest operatives to transit Dubai, acquire a mobile phone account so that the operatives could use that number as a travel agency point of contact. Ibid.

112. In May 2001, however,Ali asked KSM to participate in a suicide mission and offered to travel to the United States and assist the operatives there.As discussed in a set of Atta-Binalshibh exchanges in August 2001,Ali (referred to by the nickname "Losh") appears to have contacted Atta and expressed the desire to join the operation.Ali actually applied for a U.S. visa on August 27, 2001, listing his intended arrival date as September 4 for a one-week stay. His application was denied because he appeared to be an economic immigrant. DOS record, visa application of Ali Abdul Aziz Ali,Aug. 27, 2001. Intelligence report, interrogation of detainee, Nov. 17, 2003; Intelligence report, documents captured with KSM, Sept. 24, 2003; CIA notes,"DRG Research Notes," Jan. 17, 2004; FBI report,"Sum-mary of Penttbom Investigation," Feb. 29, 2004, p. 72.

113. Intelligence reports, interrogations of detainee, May 6, 2003; Jan. 8, 2004. See also Intelligence report, interrogation of Binalshibh, Sept. 11, 2003. Hawsawi's role as financial facilitator appears to have begun when he and hijacker Banihammad opened bank accounts at the same UAE bank while Banihammad was his way to the United States. Banihammad, who was from the UAE, was familiar with the country's procedures and helped Hawsawi complete his account application. Banihammad gave Hawsawi roughly $3,000 and granted him power of attorney over his account so that Hawsawi could forward the bank card to him in the United States. After Banihammad arrived in the United States, Hawsawi deposited $4,900 into the account. FBI report, "Summary of Penttbom Investigation," Feb. 29, 2004, p. 29.

114. All but 2 of the 15 muscle hijackers were admitted as tourists, affording a six-month stay in the United States (except in the case of Mihdhar, who received four months).The first pair to arrive were Waleed al Shehri (Flight 11) and Satam al Suqami (Flight 11), who flew from the UAE to London and arrived in Orlando on April 23, 2001, where Atta most likely met them. Suqami was admitted as a business visitor, allowing him only a one-month stay and thus making him an illegal overstay by May 21, 2001. INS records, NIIS records of Waleed al Shehri and Satam al Suqami, Apr. 23, 2001. Suqami was the only hijacker not to obtain a U.S. identification document.

Shehri and another individual (presumably Suqami) settled in Hollywood, Florida, moving into a motel on April

30. FBI report, "Hijackers Timeline," Dec. 5, 2003 (citing London EC, serial 2236; 315N-NY-280350-302, serial 7134; 315N-NY-280350, serial 8082).

The next set,Ahmed al Ghamdi (Flight 175) and Moqed (Flight 77), arrived at Dulles Airport on May 2, 2001, on a flight from London originating in Dubai. INS records, NIIS records of Ghamdi and Moqed, May 2, 2001. Although Customs declarations of the two indicate that Moqed claimed to be carrying more than $10,000, the Customs Service generated no report of this event. Both Ghamdi and Moqed gave the Hyatt Hotel in Washington as their intended destination, but instead moved into the apartment in Alexandria,Virginia, that Nawaf al Hazmi and Hani Hanjour had rented. FBI report,"Hijackers Timeline," Dec. 5, 2003 (citing flight manifest and Customs records, referenced in 265A-NY-280350, serial 2746; 265A-NY-280359-RY, serial 5; 265A-NY-280350-302, New Hampshire ECs dated Sept. 28, 2001, Sept. 29, 2001; 265A-NY-280350, serial 9776; 265A-NY-280350-IN, serial 5151; 265A-NY-280350-302).

Hamza al Ghamdi (Flight 175), Mohand al Shehri (Flight 175), and Ahmed al Nami (Flight 93) arrived in Miami on May 28, 2001. INS records, NIIS records of Hamza al Ghamdi, Mohand al Shehri, and Ahmed al Nami, May 28, 2001.The three had taken a flight from London after starting out in Dubai. Atta probably picked up the group at the airport, having rented a Ford Explorer for the day. Shehri and Nami gave the Sheraton in Miami as their intended destination, but do not appear to have stayed there. Marwan al Shehhi helped them settle in Florida. Within a few days, Shehhi found the group an apartment in Delray Beach, Florida. FBI report,"Hijackers Timeline," Dec. 5, 2003 (citing 265A-NY-280350-NK, serial 2851; 265A-NY-280350-CG, serial 1928; 265A-NY-280350-NK, serial 2851; 265A-NY-280350-DL, serial 1778; 265A-NY-280350-DL, 838; 265D-NY-280350-A, serial 16; 265A-NY-280350-NK, serial 2851; 265A-NY-280350-MM-302, serial 11703).
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« Reply #1424 on: September 08, 2009, 12:35:15 am »

Haznawi (Flight 93) and Wail al Shehri (Flight 11) arrived in Miami from London on June 8, 2001 using the same route as the previous three. INS records, NIIS records of Haznawi and Wail al Shehri (June 8, 2001). FBI report, "Hijackers Timeline," Dec. 5, 2003 (citing 265A-NY-280350-RY, serial 5).

Saeed al Ghamdi (Flight 93) and Banihammad (Flight 175) arrived in Orlando from London on June 27, 2001. INS records, NIIS records of Saeed al Ghamdi and Banihammad, June 27, 2001. Saeed al Ghamdi was questioned by immigration authorities as a possible intending immigrant, as he spoke little English, had no return ticket, and listed no address on his arrival record. INS record, inspection results for Ghamdi, June 27, 2001; primary inspector interview (Mar. 17, 2004); secondary inspector interview (Apr. 19, 2004). Ghamdi and Banihammad presumably stayed with the hijackers who preceded them or with Atta and Shehhi in the Hollywood, Florida, apartment. Post-9/11 investigation revealed that during this time period Atta and Shehhi also checked into hotels or rented apartments with unidentified males, probably the newly arrived muscle hijackers. FBI report,"Hijackers Timeline,"Dec. 5, 2003 (citing 265A-NY-280350-302-19615; 265A-NY-280350-MM, serial 3255; 265A-NY-280350-MM-302, serial 34927; 265A-NY-280350-MM-Sub, serial 3255; 265A-NY-280350-RY, serial 5; 265A-NY-280350-MM-302, serial 34927; 265A-NY-280350-MM, serials 48418, 2374, 4449, 4696; 265A-NY-280350, serials 925, 449, 18695).

The remaining hijackers entered the United States through New York. Salem al Hazmi (Flight 77) and Omari (Flight 11) arrived at JFK on June 29, 2001, from Dubai with a connection in Zurich. INS records, arrival records of Salem al Hazmi and Omari, June 29, 2001.They likely were picked up by Salem's older brother Nawaf-who was then living in Paterson, New Jersey, with Hani Hanjour-the following day, for on June 30, Nawaf had a minor car accident traveling eastbound on the George Washington Bridge, toward JFK. FBI report,"Hijackers Timeline," Dec. 5, 2003 (citing Bern EC Sept. 15, 2001; INS NIIS report; 265A-NY-280350-302, serial 7134; 265A-NY-280350-HQ, serial 11297; Bern EC (Omari PNR, Swiss Air); 265A-NY-280350-302, serial 60839). On Salem al Hazmi in the Paterson apartment, see FBI report of investigation, interview of Jimi Nouri, Oct. 6, 2001, p. 5.

115. FBI report,"Summary of Penttbom Investigation," Feb. 29, 2004, pp. 29-41;Adam Drucker interview (Jan. 12, 2004).

116. In some cases, bank employees completed the Social Security number fields on the new account application with a hijacker's date of birth or visa control number, but did so on their own to complete the form.Adam Drucker interview (Jan. 12, 2004). Contrary to persistent media reports, no financial institution filed a Suspicious Activity Report (SAR)-which U.S. law requires banks to file within 30 days of a suspicious transaction-with respect to any transaction of any of 19 hijackers before 9/11. A number of banks did file SARs after 9/11, when the hijackers' names became public.Adam Drucker interview (Jan. 12, 2004); James Sloan interview (Nov. 14, 2003). Nor should SARs have been filed.The hijackers' transactions themselves were not extraordinary or remarkable. See Commission analysis of financial transactions; Adam Drucker interview (Jan. 12, 2004); Dennis Lormel interview (Jan. 16, 2004).

117. Intelligence report, interrogation of Khallad, Mar. 26, 2004; Intelligence report, interrogation of KSM, May 19, 2003.

118. Intelligence reports, interrogations of detainee, Nov. 27, 2001; Feb. 5, 2002.

119. FBI report, "Hijackers Timeline," Dec. 5, 2003 (citing 315N-NY-280350-DL, serial 2812; 315N-NY-

280350-302, serial 21529; 315N-NY-280350-NK, serials 21529, 11815, 4718).

120. Intelligence reports, interrogations of detainee, Oct. 18, 2001; Mar. 13, 2002; Intelligence report, interrogation of detainee, Mar. 7, 2002; Intelligence reports, interrogations of KSM,Aug. 20, 2003; Sept. 12, 2003, July 16, 2004; Intelligence report, interrogation of Khallad, Sept. 12, 2003; Intelligence report, interrogation of detainee, Sept. 30, 2003; CIA analytic report, "Iran and al-Qa'ida: Ties Forged in Islamic Extremism," CTC 200440009HCX, March 2004, pp. i, 6-12.

121. Intelligence report, analysis of Hezbollah, Iran, and 9/11, Dec. 20, 2001; Intelligence report, interrogation of Binalshibh, July 16, 2004.

122. Ibid.; Intelligence report, Hezbollah activities, Oct. 11, 2001; Intelligence report, operative's travel to Saudi Arabia,Aug. 9, 2002.

123. Intelligence reports, hijacker activities, Oct. 11, 2001; Oct. 29, 2001; Nov. 14, 2001; Intelligence report, operative's claimed identification of photos of two Sept. 11 hijackers, Aug. 9, 2002.

124. Intelligence reports, hijacker activities, Nov. 14, 2001; Oct. 2, 2001; Oct. 31, 2001.

125. Intelligence reports, hijacker activities, Oct. 19, 2001; Dec. 7, 2001.

126. Intelligence report, interrogation of KSM, July 16, 2004; Intelligence report; interrogation of Binalshibh, July 16, 2004.

127. Intelligence report, analysis of Hezbollah, Iran, and 9/11, Dec. 20, 2001.

128. Intelligence report, Hezbollah and Sunni terrorist activities, Sept. 21, 2001; Intelligence report, Hezbollah denies involvement in 9/11, Sept. 22, 2001.

129. For Atta and Shehhi's efforts, see FBI report, "Summary of Penttbom Investigation," Feb. 29, 2004, pp. 25-37.

130. Ibid., pp. 29-41.

131. FBI report, "Hijackers Timeline," Dec. 5, 2003 (citing 315N-NY-280350-302, serials 12436, 7134); see Intelligence report, interrogation of KSM, June 15, 2004; Intelligence report, interrogation of Binalshibh, June 9, 2004. Another example of unusual travel was a trip by Suqami on July 10 from Fort Lauderdale to Orlando; he stayed at a hotel in Lake Buena Vista with an unidentified male through July 12. FBI report, "Summary of Penttbom Investigation," Feb. 29, 2004, p. 31.

132. FBI report, "Hijackers Timeline," Dec. 5, 2003 (citing 315N-NY-280350-302, serial 27063; 315N-NY-280350-DL, serial 2245); Commission investigation in Las Vegas.
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