The al-Qaeda pilot who got cold feet (about LA attack)

UK Times ^ | Feb. 10, 2006 | Simon Freeman

[FairOpinion]

I guess not all of them are ready to give their lives for Al qaeda.

[neodad]

He also helped to organise a plot to assassinate Bill Clinton

Probably the only way to get dims behind the WOT.

[dead]

A Malaysian pilot recruited by al-Qaeda to fly a hijacked airliner into the tallest building on the US West Coast pulled out of the plot when he realised it was a suicide mission.

As opposed to one of those "fly a plane into a building and then run away" missions.

Can't fool this guy.

[capt. norm]

pulled out of the plot when he realised it was a suicide mission

Hey, they are starting to catch on.

[Starve The Beast]

Zaini, 38, visited al-Qaeda camps in Afghanistan in 1999...

There's your problem, right there. The guy was in his mid-thrities when he caught on. Killing yourself for glory and virgins is really stops sounding like a good idea at about age twenty.

[DennisR]

Guy must not have wanted his 72 virgins. Oh well, sex is not as much fun when you are dead.

What idiots!

[Cindy]

ON THE NET...

WHITEHOUSE.gov - News (Washington, D.C.) "PRESIDENT DISCUSSES PROGRESS IN WAR ON TERROR TO NATIONAL GUARD" (February 9, 2006)

CNS NEWS.com: "BUSH HAILS COOPERATION WITH SE ASIA IN REMARKS ON TERROR PLOT" BY Patrick Goodenough (February 10, 2006)

JIHAD WATCH.org (REUTERS): Islamabad - "MALAYSIA HOLDING LA's AL QAEDA PLOTTERS" (FEBRUARY 10, 2006)

stepping back in time...WASHINGTON TIMES.com: "CHICAGO, L.A. TOWERS WERE NEXT TARGETS" by Paul Martin (March 30, 2004)

stepping back in time...TIMES ONLINE.co.uk: "FOCUS: THE CONFESSIONS OF KHALID SHEIKH MOHAMMED" by Christina Lamb in Chicago (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "Sears Tower in Chicago and Library Tower in Los Angeles -- which was 'blown up' in the film Independence Day -- were both potential targets, according to transcripts of interrogations of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the Al-Qaeda operations chief. "We were looking for symbols of economic might," he told his captors. He recounted sitting looking at the books with Ramzi Yusuf, his nephew by marriage, who was the man behind the first World Trade Center bombing in 1993. In that attack Yusuf succeeded only in ripping a crater into the foundations with a van bomb. "We knew from that experience that explosives could be problematic," said Mohammed, "so we started thinking about using planes.") (March 28, 2004)

stepping back in time...NewsMax.com: "KHALID SHEIKH MOHAMMED'S ACCOUNT LINKS 9/11 TO '93 WTC ATTACK" by Carl Limbacher and NewsMax.com staff (September 22, 2003)

[nopardons]

bttt

[308MBR]

Too bad the Egyptian Airlines pilot who lawn darted the jet into the drink a few years ago......

Oh wait a minute. That wasn't terrorism.

[nopardons]

bttt

[FairOpinion]

Thanks for posting those links on this thread, Cindy. A lot of good info.

[HiTech RedNeck]

whaddya mean this craft has no ejection seat?

[TheLion]

One of our saving graces is that they may actually begin to like it here in the land of the free and the brave!

[RichInOC]

Heh. He was in JI and he was planning to learn to fly airliners. What exactly did he think he was getting trained for, if not a suicide run? Flying Osama's luxury bird? Dude, it's okay. You saw the 9/11 footage, you realized old Stretch really did mean to have you broadside the First Interstate Tower, and you soiled your pants. That's how it really was, wasn't it? Man up.

"Why are we hearing about this four years later other than to change the subject back to Bush’s favourite topic?," said Jennifer Palmieri, of the Centre for American Progress, a Democrat think-tank.

Jen, just tell me. What buildings would have to be T-boned by Jihad Air before you all would take this seriously? How many?

[SuziQ]

he surrendered himself to Malaysian authorities in Kelantan in December 2002, apparently because he was worried about the health of a relative.

Yeah, himself and his family, no doubt!

[FairOpinion]

"he was worried about the health of a relative. "


===

Maybe Al Qaeda threatened his family and he did the smart thing.

[Our man in washington]

Zaini, 38, visited al-Qaeda camps in Afghanistan in 1999, where he met senior figures in the terrorist network including Riduan Isamuddin, the organisation's leader in South-East Asia, also known as Hambali. When he returned to Malaysia, Zaini enrolled in a flying school and obtained a license to fly a small plane. He then began making inquiries in Australia about obtaining a license to fly a jet.

Let's imagine there's another Zaini out there today just getting started. He would like to go to Afghanistan, but that would be pointless, as the terrorist training camps are closed.

But let's say he's one incredible human being who hikes into the mountains of Pakistan, gets lucky, and meets an Al-Qaeda leader in a cave. The best that leader could do is say "Figure out how to fly a plane into a building."

He then goes to Malaysia, he enrolls in a flying school. With shared knowledge across borders, Malaysia is likely to report a guy just back from Al-Qaeda country.

But let's say again he gets lucky and Malaysia doesn't notice. He tries to go to Australia. Odds are he doesn't even get in the country. And if he does, his efforts to try to fly a jet would fall under intense scrutiny. It would be very likely the man would be placed on a terrorist watch list. He could probably never get in the United States.

So tell me again how we're "just lucky" we haven't been hit again since September 11th? It would be nearly impossible to pull off the same crap today as was done in 2001.

[FairOpinion]

What makes you think it's so easy to track these people?

[Cindy]

You're welcome Fair Opinion.

I apprecite you starting this thread.

[Cindy]

sp=appreciate