Feds Establish New Link to Hijackers

WASHINGTON (AP) — Box-cutting tools like those used by hijackers were found on airliners grounded by the Sept. 11 attacks, authorities said Saturday, as investigators linked a man arrested in London with one of the terrorist pilots.

The discoveries could indicate that attackers planned to commandeer more than the four planes that crashed into the Pentagon, the World Trade Center and a field in western Pennsylvania, said the head of a traveler's advocacy group.

``We don't know how many of the hijackers that actually died were pilots, but there was suspicion that a lot more planes were going to be hit,'' said David Stempler, president of the Air Travelers Association.

A law enforcement source said one of four people arrested in England on Friday took flying lessons at the same Arizona school, and at the same time, as a terrorist in the Pentagon attack.

The 27-year-old man left the United States before the hijackings, said the investigator, who is familiar with the probe but insisted on anonymity. The man, his wife, 25, and his brother, 29, were arrested in west London on Friday by Scotland Yard. A fourth man, in his 40s, was arrested in Birmingham, north of London. Their names were not released.

The 29-year-old man was released from custody Saturday, a Scotland Yard spokeswoman said. The individuals in custody had not been cooperating with authorities, the law enforcement source said.

``They have direct connections to the suicide pilots,'' a second law enforcement source, also involved in the terrorist investigation, told The Associated Press Saturday.

The FBI has identified a Hani Hanjour as one of the terrorists who attacked the Pentagon. FAA records show a Hani Hanjoor as receiving a commercial pilot's license in 1999, listing a post office box in Saudi Arabia as his address.

T. Gerald Chilton Jr., a corporate officer for CRM Airline Training Center in Scottsdale, Ariz., said a man named Hani Hanjoor received pilot training there for three months in 1996, and in December 1997. He put down a $100 deposit toward additional training in 1997, but did not attend more classes.

Justice Department spokesman Charles Miller confirmed that box-cutting tools were discovered when planes were scoured for evidence after airliners were ordered grounded just after the attacks.

Miller said he couldn't confirm how many box-cutters were found or the routes the planes were flying. But another government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they were discovered on two planes.

The Washington Post said the tools were found under adjoining seat cushions on a flight that originated in Boston, and in the trash bin of another plane that was bound for Brussels from Atlanta.

Before the attacks, federal regulations allowed knives with blades up to 4 inches, although state and local laws could be more restrictive.

In an indication of increased U.S. security, the Coast Guard has begun checking all lists of crew members and passengers on vessels entering the United States, and comparing names with those on law enforcement databases, said Cmdr. Jim McPherson.

He cited the example last week of the captain of a cruise ship returning to Miami from Cozumel, Mexico, who reported that two passengers were acting suspiciously. The Coast Guard was contacted, detained the men and found that one was wanted in connection with terrorist acts unrelated to the Sept. 11 hijackings. The man was turned over to the FBI.

Associated Press Writers Pat Milton and Jonathan Salant contributed to this story.

Please prove the credibility of DEBKA.

What level of proof is required? Beyond a reasonable doubt? Preponderance of evidence? Reasonably prudent man? Reasonable suspicion?

The thread I posted certainly passes the lowest two levels just on its internal contents. Sources such as books about the geopolitics of the Gulf War and general histories about Saud Arabia and the House of Saud (The Kingdom is a good one) indicate that Saudi Arabia is less a nation than a family-run corporation. Such spats described in my post are common, and in the past have been violent. Nor, despite the common belief in this country, was the Saudi decision to admit U.S. forces in 1990 a foregone conclusion. There was a deep and bitter arguement at the time, which according to many books written (including that of Powell and the Saudi Prince Bandar) was settled only by King Fahd's intervention.

Or are we to hold DEBKA to a different standard because of who they are and because they have somehow got wrapped around the axle of the Administrators. That FreeRepublic will allow postings from tinfoil hat conspiracy sites, or such notably accurate and admired publications and organizations like the tabloid whose wacky thread on C&W music was allowed to stand, DU, etc, but not DEBKA?

Beyond that, the idea of pulling threads because of the source is Clintonesque. I can see Joe Lockhart standing in front of the Presidential Press Corps refusing to answer questions that had their origins in a report by one Matt Drudge. Additionally, it makes it easier for outsiders to disregard information and activities of Freepers, because all they have to do is hold themselves to the same standards as FreeRepublic. (Well, after all, it is from FreeRepublic. We know what those people are like.)

Still it is said that one danger of a war is that you tend to become your enemies, if not careful. So I am really not surprised.

Again, the thread I posted lacked military content, and was reasonable in the context of the nation with which we were dealing. If we are going to hold to a "beyond a reasonable doubt" standard, it would be impossible to post any thread involving the internals of a government's decisions until after the war was over, and the memoirs are written. Since this article involved a family dispute, the family puts a united face once the decision is made -- even if it is later reversed (and this could have been) and then they put on a united face that they never held the first position.

And no, I will not post any more threads originating from DEBKA, until they are pulled from the purdah list.

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