Al-Qa'ida 9/11 chief reveals US got off lightly

The Australian, From The Sunday Times ^ | March 29, 2004 | Sunday Times sources

[Texasforever]

My only hope is the next attack is against the NYT right after they publish their next "Terror warning is political to help Bush".

[piasa]

Mohammed Atta stayed a couple months in the summer of 2001 in the Atlanta area, flying private planes out of a small airport on the northeast side of town. He stayed in a little motel about 5 miles from where I live. To my knowledge there has never been any firm evidence as to what he was doing or why he was here.

Maybe he was just visiting with Cynthia McKinney.

SEPTEMBER 11, 2001 : (ABDUL RAHMAN ALAMOUDI DONATES TO DEMOCRAT CONGRESSWOMAN CYNTHIA MCKINNEY) On 9/11/01,while the United States was reeling from the attacks of violent Muslims,al-Amoudi was one of several influential Muslims who rushed sizeable contributions to the Cynthia Mc Kinney for Congress campaign: earning her lone opposition to American retaliation. - "Clinton Era "Good Will Ambassador" Arrested," multi-sourced, 9/29/03 , vanity VIA FREEREPUBLIC

[DefCon]

This is a news story that came out back in Oct 2001.
- - -
FBI tracing hijackers' Georgia steps
By ERIN McCLAM
The Associated Press
LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. -- The FBI is examining the tracks of at least three hijackers who spent time in Georgia in the months before the Sept. 11 attacks, including two who practiced flying outside Atlanta.

Mohamed Atta and Marwan al-Shehhi, believed to have crashed separate planes into the World Trade Center, visited a Gwinnett County flight school twice earlier this year, renting a small plane for one hour each time, workers there told the FBI.

And the owner of a Decatur travel agency told investigators that she sold Ziad Jarrah, who was aboard the flight that crashed in rural Pennsylvania, a round-trip ticket to Germany in March.

Once in late February and once in early March, Atta and al-Shehhi rented and flew a single-engine Piper Warrior plane from Advanced Aviation, based along Briscoe Field in Gwinnett County, company president Bruce Buell said.

The men were accompanied by an instructor on their first flight and flew alone the second time, Buell said. They paid $171 total in cash, according to the flight school, which provided computer records to the FBI two days after the attacks.

Flight school employees said Atta and al-Shehhi were well-dressed and polite, briefly engaging in small talk on their two visits.

"They were Westernized," Buell said. "They were obviously familiar with American customs, mannerisms. They didn't come in robes and turbans, that sort of thing."

Buell alerted the FBI after dispatcher Chrissy Ross recognized Atta's name in news accounts Sept. 13, when authorities released the names of the 19 men they believe carried out the suicide hijackings.

Ross said the men produced pilot licenses obtained in Florida and were proficient fliers. Neither man acted suspicious, she said, and she felt chills when FBI agents later showed her pictures of the hijackers.

"It brought tears to my eyes," she said. "There was nothing to notice about these guys, nothing to make me think they'd blow up buildings."

The FBI has talked to managers of an extended-stay motel in Decatur, an eastern Atlanta suburb, where the two men are believed to have stayed in February and March. Motel managers declined to discuss their FBI interviews.

Atlanta-based SunTrust Banks has also provided the bureau information about terror suspects' bank accounts. The bank declined to discuss details of the accounts.

"Nothing about the way these accounts were opened or maintained was unusual or aroused our suspicion," bank spokesman Barry Koling said.

The FBI and Georgia authorities have repeatedly declined public comment on specifics of the investigation.

Later in March, Jarrah visited Skyglo Enterprises travel agency and bought a round-trip to Dusseldorf, Germany, agency owner Joy White said. Jarrah paid $494 cash for the KLM flight and picked up the tickets March 29, the day before his departure, she said.

White provided the FBI paper records, including one sheet on which Jarrah had printed his name. White said the man was courteous and told her he lived nearby. Even with a thick accent and an international reservation, he did not stand out, she said.

"We're right by Emory and the CDC, and it's a diverse international community," she said. "We do a lot of international travels -- Africa, Asia, all over the place."

Atta and al-Shehhi apparently returned to metro Atlanta this summer. Managers of an LA Fitness gym in Lawrenceville told the FBI the men worked out there on one-month guest memberships.

Atta worked out periodically from July 19 to early August, and al-Shehhi worked out from July 19 to late August, assistant manager Derrick Johnson said.

The men told gym managers they were cousins. The FBI has said it believes al-Shehhi is a cousin or nephew of Atta.

[piasa]

thanks

[Vinomori]

One of the men had a computer file labeled "killpresidentbush.exe,"

We've heard a lot about how bright these people are and how sophisticated their codes and covert skills are. Obviously, these are just crude animals. They must be destroyed.