According to the Moussaoui indictment, on September 29, 2000, Moussaoui made e-mail contact with Airman Flight School in Norman. Then, on February 23, 2001, he flew from London to Chicago and then to Oklahoma City. What he did in the next few days is unknown or at least not accounted for in the indictment. But on February 26, Moussaoui opened a bank account in Norman, depositing $32,000. From February 26 to May 29, he attended flight school in Norman. Then he suddenly quit the school. Between July 29 and August 4, Moussaoui made calls from public pay phones in Norman to Germany. On August 1 and 3, Ramzi Bin al-Shibh wired Moussaoui a total of about $14,000 from two train stops in Germany to somewhere in Oklahoma. This wire transfer does imply a connection to terrorist plotters because al-Shibh, an alleged al Qaeda member, wired money to other hijackers. On August 3, Moussaoui purchased two knives in Oklahoma City. And on August 10 or 11, an acquaintance drove Moussaoui from Oklahoma to Minnesota for enrollment in a new flight school. Authorities arrested Moussaoui in Minnesota on August 17 on an immigration violation. As has been widely reported, Moussaoui attracted attention because he said he was interested in flying a plane but not learning how to take off or land. He was in federal custody when the 9/11 attacks occurred.
As for the terrorists who took part in 9/11, Atta and Marwan al-Shehhi visited the Airman Flight School in Norman in July 2000, according to the Moussaoui indictment. (The motel owner identifies al-Shehhi as the third person with Atta and Moussaoui when they allegedly inquired about a room.) And on April 1, 2001, Nawaf al-Hazmi, who helped hijack American Airlines Flight 77, which crashed into the Pentagon, was stopped for speeding in Oklahoma and given two tickets. The Oklahoma state trooper found no outstanding warrants and turned al-Hazmi loose. The media has since reported that the CIA had been tracking al-Hazmi, but never told the immigration service or the FBI that he was a suspected terrorist during his 21-month U.S. stay. Authorities have never publicly accounted for Atta and al-Shehhi's whereabouts during the time of the alleged motel encounter.
The Moussaoui indictment lays out a tantalizing possible association between Atta and Moussaoui, but never puts the two in the same place at the same time. The link could exist, however, along a dusty Oklahoma roadside, off Interstate 40, at a small motel that is indistinguishable from hundreds of others, except for its possible connection to terrorists.
Contrast with published timeline of Atta...
July 1
Atta flies from Boston to NY.
July 3
Atta flies from Newark to Fort Lauderdale
July 7
Spanish Police say that according to airline records, Atta flies into Madrid, where he rents a car and then checks into a seaside hotel about 375 miles away, near Barcelona. He visits Spain extensively, logging more than 1200 miles in a rented car, and intelligence officials believe there were meetings with suspected members of bin Laden's network (who were recently arrested in Spain on charges unrelated to September 11). Hotel records confirm that Atta spends his last night at the Monstsant Hostal in Salou, where he pays with visa and registers under his own name. There are also reports that Atta went to a prison in southern Spain, where he asked to visit an Algerian being held on murder charges. the Guardian reports that this trip included a brief visit to Switzerland. July 19
Atta departs Madrid and enters the US for the last time.
August
Atta and several other men ask about crop-dusting planes at an airstrip in Belle Glade, Florida. They want to know how much fuel and chemicals the planes can carry and whether special skills are needed to pilot them. They also approach South Florida Crop Care again, where Atta leaves an impression of being "real persistent".
August 6-13
Atta and Al-Shehhi rent a white Ford Escort from Warrick's Rent-a-Car, Pompano Beach
August 13-14
Mohammed Atta goes to Las Vegas and stays in the Econo Lodge. Both Hani Hanjour and Nawaf Alhazami are also in Las Vegas at this time.
August 14
Atta flies from Las Vegas to Houston.
August 15-19
Atta and Al-Shehhi rent a blue Chevy Corsica from Warrick's Rent-A-Car, in Pompano Beach, Florida, and return it with almost 3,000 miles logged
August 16-19
Atta rents a single engine, four seater Piper Archer from the Palm Beach County Airport at Lantana for three consecutive days of flying.
August 23
Atta's drivers license is suspended indefinitely when he fails to appear in traffic court.
August 28
Atta flies from Baltimore to Fort Lauderdale. He buys two tickets for American Airlines Flight 11 on the Internet, for himself and Al-Omari.
And they all met and conspired in a motel in Norman Oklahoma.