Purple Haze
Literally Stimulated
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By Curt Anderson
June 16, 2004 _|_ WASHINGTON (AP) --
Sept. 11 plot mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed originally planned a much bigger attack involving 10 hijacked planes, one of which he would pilot and land after killing all the male passengers. Once on the ground, he was to deliver an anti-American harangue.
The plan was among new details revealed Wednesday in a report by the staff of the independent commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks.
Based on documents and interviews with government officials, the panel said Mohammed initially proposed using 10 planes to hit CIA and FBI headquarters, unidentified nuclear plants and tall buildings in California and Washington state, in addition to the World Trade Center, Pentagon and White House or Capitol.
Mohammed, who is in U.S. custody at an undisclosed overseas location, told interrogators that rather than crashing his hijacked plane into a target, he wanted to land and make a political statement. He proposed killing every male passenger aboard, landing at a U.S. airport and making a ‘‘speech denouncing U.S. policies in the Middle East before releasing all the women and children," the report said.
A second prong of the attack involved hijacking of U.S. planes flying over the Pacific and crashing or exploding them in mid-air ‘‘to maximize the psychological impact," according to the report.
Both of the broader plots were rejected by Osama bin Laden, who ultimately approved the mission targeting the United States with four planes.
The Associated Press first reported Mohammed's plan to use 10 planes last September.
The commission staff report said Mohammed wanted up to 26 hijackers for the scaled-down plan, instead of the 19 who actually participated. The commission said at least 10 al-Qaida operatives were to participate but could not for various reasons including visa problems and suspicion by officials at airports in the United States and overseas.
Far from a smooth operation, the report portrays a plot riven by internal dissent, including disagreement over whether to target the White House or the Capitol -- a conflict that apparently never was resolved. Bin Laden also had to overcome opposition to attacking the United States from Mullah Omar, leader of the Taliban government in Afghanistan, who was under pressure from Pakistan to keep al-Qaida confined and feared U.S. retribution after an attack.
The pilot of the plane that crashed in Pennsylvania, Ziad Jarrah, nearly quit the plot, leading Mohammed to consider replacing him with Zacarias Moussaoui, who was taking flight training in Minnesota, according to the report. Mohammed, however, has told his interrogators that Moussaoui actually was being considered for a second wave of attacks still in the early planning stages.
Moussaoui is awaiting trial on conspiracy charges. He's the only person charged in the United States in connection with the Sept. 11 plot.
The report said Jarrah had disagreements with Mohamed Atta, ringleader of the U.S. hijackers, and may have considered dropping out. Ultimately, Jarrah was persuaded to participate by Ramzi Binalshibh, who helped plan and finance the attacks from Germany. He also is in U.S. custody overseas.
Among other disclosures in the commission report:
-- Mohdar Abdullah, an illegal immigrant living in San Diego, provided assistance to two of the hijackers and later made jailhouse claims that he had advance knowledge of the attacks. Abdullah last month was deported to Yemen and the FBI has been unable to fully corroborate his contentions.
-- Bin Laden originally wanted the attacks to occur on May 12, 2001, seven months after the al-Qaida attack on the USS Cole in Yemen that killed 17 sailors. Later, bin Laden sought to have the attacks occur in June or July 2001 because Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was scheduled to visit the White House. In both cases, Mohammed insisted the teams were not ready. Ultimately, Atta picked Sept. 11 because Congress would be in session then.
-- Bin Laden wanted the fourth plane to strike the White House, but Atta believed the White House was too difficult to hit. Eventually, Atta agreed to the White House but kept the Capitol in reserve. However, based on other exchanges between the hijackers, it remains unclear exactly which was the target on Sept 11.
-- Atta said the hijackers planned to crash their planes to the ground if problems arose during the flights. Atta himself intended to crash his into the streets of New York if he couldn't strike the World Trade Center. The fourth plane crashed into a Pennsylvania field after passengers fought back against the hijackers.
-- The plot cost more than $500,000. No credible evidence has emerged that anyone in the United States provided financial support. There also is no evidence that Saudi Princess Haifa al Faisal, wife of that country's U.S. ambassador, Prince Bandar, provided any money to the conspiracy, directly or indirectly.
Saudi Arabia is the birthplace of bin Laden and 15 of the 19 hijackers. Members of Congress, among others, have questioned whether the royal family provided some support to the hijackers or to al-Qaida in general.
http://www.salon.com/news/wire/2004/06/16/attack/index.html
By Curt Anderson
June 16, 2004 _|_ WASHINGTON (AP) --
Sept. 11 plot mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed originally planned a much bigger attack involving 10 hijacked planes, one of which he would pilot and land after killing all the male passengers. Once on the ground, he was to deliver an anti-American harangue.
The plan was among new details revealed Wednesday in a report by the staff of the independent commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks.
Based on documents and interviews with government officials, the panel said Mohammed initially proposed using 10 planes to hit CIA and FBI headquarters, unidentified nuclear plants and tall buildings in California and Washington state, in addition to the World Trade Center, Pentagon and White House or Capitol.
Mohammed, who is in U.S. custody at an undisclosed overseas location, told interrogators that rather than crashing his hijacked plane into a target, he wanted to land and make a political statement. He proposed killing every male passenger aboard, landing at a U.S. airport and making a ‘‘speech denouncing U.S. policies in the Middle East before releasing all the women and children," the report said.
A second prong of the attack involved hijacking of U.S. planes flying over the Pacific and crashing or exploding them in mid-air ‘‘to maximize the psychological impact," according to the report.
Both of the broader plots were rejected by Osama bin Laden, who ultimately approved the mission targeting the United States with four planes.
The Associated Press first reported Mohammed's plan to use 10 planes last September.
The commission staff report said Mohammed wanted up to 26 hijackers for the scaled-down plan, instead of the 19 who actually participated. The commission said at least 10 al-Qaida operatives were to participate but could not for various reasons including visa problems and suspicion by officials at airports in the United States and overseas.
Far from a smooth operation, the report portrays a plot riven by internal dissent, including disagreement over whether to target the White House or the Capitol -- a conflict that apparently never was resolved. Bin Laden also had to overcome opposition to attacking the United States from Mullah Omar, leader of the Taliban government in Afghanistan, who was under pressure from Pakistan to keep al-Qaida confined and feared U.S. retribution after an attack.
The pilot of the plane that crashed in Pennsylvania, Ziad Jarrah, nearly quit the plot, leading Mohammed to consider replacing him with Zacarias Moussaoui, who was taking flight training in Minnesota, according to the report. Mohammed, however, has told his interrogators that Moussaoui actually was being considered for a second wave of attacks still in the early planning stages.
Moussaoui is awaiting trial on conspiracy charges. He's the only person charged in the United States in connection with the Sept. 11 plot.
The report said Jarrah had disagreements with Mohamed Atta, ringleader of the U.S. hijackers, and may have considered dropping out. Ultimately, Jarrah was persuaded to participate by Ramzi Binalshibh, who helped plan and finance the attacks from Germany. He also is in U.S. custody overseas.
Among other disclosures in the commission report:
-- Mohdar Abdullah, an illegal immigrant living in San Diego, provided assistance to two of the hijackers and later made jailhouse claims that he had advance knowledge of the attacks. Abdullah last month was deported to Yemen and the FBI has been unable to fully corroborate his contentions.
-- Bin Laden originally wanted the attacks to occur on May 12, 2001, seven months after the al-Qaida attack on the USS Cole in Yemen that killed 17 sailors. Later, bin Laden sought to have the attacks occur in June or July 2001 because Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was scheduled to visit the White House. In both cases, Mohammed insisted the teams were not ready. Ultimately, Atta picked Sept. 11 because Congress would be in session then.
-- Bin Laden wanted the fourth plane to strike the White House, but Atta believed the White House was too difficult to hit. Eventually, Atta agreed to the White House but kept the Capitol in reserve. However, based on other exchanges between the hijackers, it remains unclear exactly which was the target on Sept 11.
-- Atta said the hijackers planned to crash their planes to the ground if problems arose during the flights. Atta himself intended to crash his into the streets of New York if he couldn't strike the World Trade Center. The fourth plane crashed into a Pennsylvania field after passengers fought back against the hijackers.
-- The plot cost more than $500,000. No credible evidence has emerged that anyone in the United States provided financial support. There also is no evidence that Saudi Princess Haifa al Faisal, wife of that country's U.S. ambassador, Prince Bandar, provided any money to the conspiracy, directly or indirectly.
Saudi Arabia is the birthplace of bin Laden and 15 of the 19 hijackers. Members of Congress, among others, have questioned whether the royal family provided some support to the hijackers or to al-Qaida in general.
http://www.salon.com/news/wire/2004/06/16/attack/index.html
