"Is the fact there is a crescent moon out right now have anything to do with timing of these attack?"
We are watching our grandkids for a few days. We went out to eat this evening and as we pulled into our carport looking west in the N California sky, the crescent moon and Venus were bright in the sky as the sun had just set.
My wife who reads the CIA MI6 anti terrorist best sellers as fast as they come out made the same comment that you did after we saw the Crescent Moon and Venus just after sunset.
http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051005/COLUMNISTS0402/510050360/1085/news02
October 5, 2005
Crescent moon near Venus
Venus shines brightly above the southwest horizon after sunset Wednesday. The new moon is a waxing crescent that might be seen after sunset and before 7:30 p.m. to the lower right of Venus. Sighting the first appearance of a waxing crescent is always a challenge at the beginning of a new lunar month.
Interesting that Hinrich's car had an atlas in the front seat... I generally don't keep an atlas in my car unless I'm going somewhere that I'm not familiar with. Where was Hinrich going, and why did he have explosives in his car & apartment? Maybe the page for NYC was dog-eared in his atlas...