I agree it is of concern WHY he fibbed about his purpose for visiting the U.S. Of course, he would have known that, had he volunteered the 'whole truth', he likely would not have been granted the tourist visa. While his actions are somewhat suspicious, my only point is that we not turn a blind eye to the possibility that he might truly hate Saddam for the blatant wife-stealing of his mother from his father (whom he possibly admires and loves deeply) by that true-blue, faithful Islamic servant of Allah: Sad-Dam Hussein!
Of course that's true -- enrolling in a flight school is not what a tourist visa is for. He should have applied for a student visa. If he really were an Iraqi dissident, perhaps he could have made arrangements to do this.
But your point is well-taken. We don't know the true story here; there appear to be a lot of twists and turns.