Possible Terrorist Connection in Tennessee

NewsChannel5 (WTVF - Nashville) ^ | Oct. 7, 2001

[Brian Mosely]

FBI agents have been looking into whether associates of Osama bin Laden may traveled to Middle Tennessee this past summer in search of aircraft that could be used for training pilots, NewsChannel 5 has learned.

The name of one man who spent some time here has made it onto an official list of some 370 possible suspects.

That list was inadvertently released by Finnish banking authorities, who say they received it from American investigators as part of the effort to track down the terrorists' finances.

The list, which includes the names of the now infamous Mohammed Atta and other hijackers, also includes the name of Khalid Alzeedi (also known as Khalid Al-Zeedi and Khaleed Al-Zedi).

Alzeedi's address is listed as 200 Airport Road, Building 5 in Clarksville.

That's the same address as an aircraft sales company.

Airport workers told NewsChannel 5 investigative reporter Phil Williams that Alzeedi and four other Middle Eastern men visited there back in August looking to buy planes.

Their main interest: used single-engine Tampico aircraft, a type of aircraft commonly used to train pilots.

A possible coincidence, the aircraft were previously owned by Embry-Riddle University, a Florida flying school where one of the terrorists involved in the Sept. 11th attacks may have graduated.

Alzeedi identified himself as the owner of Zidi Aviation, a Saudi Arabian company. A prototype web page developed for the company lists "pilot training" among its services and shows the cockpit of commercial jetliners. Zidi was also an authorized distributor of high-tech flight simulation equipment produced by a Boeing subsidiary.

According to FAA records, Alzeedi ended up buying two Tampicos that had been listed on the Internet... aircraft that he told service workers he planned to fly to Morocco in North Africa to train pilots.

FBI agents visited the Clarksville airport after the Sept. 11th attacks and questioned people about Alzeedi's activities.

One airport worker described Alzeedi as a "good family man" and expressed doubt that he would be involved in such a horrible plot.

In addition, NewsChannel 5 has learned that Alzeedi may have had contact with two local FBI agents back in August at the Hilton Suites, just across from Nashville's arena. Alzeedi and his party kept three rooms there for about a month while they waited on the aircraft.

Alzeedi listed Room 412 as his room.

One night, Alzeedi was inside Eddie George's Grill in the hotel, when someone apparently stepped on his foot. That's when, hotel workers say, he identified himself as an Iranian diplomat and demanded that the hotel compensate him for his injuries.

Then, in late August, the hotel locked Alzeedi and his party out of their rooms because of an unpaid bill of approximately $2,500. Inside the rooms, hotel workers found satellite navigation equipment and wet suits.

Suspicious, they called the FBI.

It is believed that agents talked to Alzeedi at that point, but found nothing at that time to justify further investigation. Aviators say, when flying a single-engine plane across the Atlantic, such equipment can be just basic survival gear.

Today, the phone number once listed by Zidi Aviation is out of service, and email sent to Zidi Aviation's publicized address have been returned as "undelivered mail."

All that leaves unanswered questions: were the activities here part of a terrorist plot or just a simple coincidence?

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[The Raven]

If they come back to Tennessee - the rednecks will kill them.

[gaspar]

I wonder what it is that makes the FBI suspicious? Pathetic.

[markfiveFF]

The key here is 1) airplanes and 2) flight simulation equipment. I bet that's what they need to follow up on.

[LurkedLongEnough]

My observation today... there is a little dam that encloses part of the NYC water supply, and its access roads are wire-fenced (new) with full dump-trucks parked strategically inside the gates, on a one-way road with steep banks, making it impossible to drive a vehicle through there. I hope this gives some FR readers here some peace of mind that authorities are indeed being vigilant.

[ALOHA RONNIE]

...A Tennesee Connection...?

...Terrorists in AL GORE's Tennessee...?

...Terrorists tried to ..'SINK the COLE'.. the very day before AL GORE of Tennesse was scheduled to definately lose his 2nd Presidential Debate in a Row with total TV Disaster Coverage cancelling out that Debate as its Goal...?

...For the True M.O. of CLINTONISM has always been...

..'It's the TV, Stupid, no matter WHO pays for it'...

[citizen]

That list [of 370 hunted terrorists or supporters] was inadvertently released by Finnish banking authorities, who say they received it from American investigators as part of the effort to track down the terrorists' finances.

"inadvertently released"??? Hey take them off the mailing list, weren't the Finns lukewarm in their support anyway?

Inadvertant - why am I skeptical that it was an accident?

Most of the terroristbastards already know they are on the list but a few may have felt they were unknown till now.

[Chaos]

Yes, well sorta. He done a lot of living in DC with his corrupt father through his younger years and then when he wanted to run for office he claimed his home was here in TN. Sorta like Hitlary and Bill's home is...., was Arkansas, uh no, was that Washington, uh no New York, that's it New York.

[Melinda in TN]

TVA is all over the place. Tennessee has nuclear plants along the Tennessee River. I don't know if anybody else noticed or not but that Greyhound bus hijacking happened just a hop, skip and jump from a huge Airforce base in Tullahoma. Don't know if that means anything or not but the hijacker was very obsessed with the time. BTW, old Al is probably hiding underground by now, big wuss.

[Beep]

OMG! You are not calming down this Nashvillian much. Too much has happened here lately, and now this little gem? (I ordinarily watch WSMV, and not WSMV. Although they are considerably better than WKRN!) Yikes!

According to my mother (who works as an RN in a local ER on Thursday and Fridays nights), many more Islamic people than usual have been seen in the ER lately. Naturally, they did not reveal if they were extremists, but the increase in numbers is frightening enough. :-O

[Rockitz]

Tennessee is full of dams (i.e. TVA). Maybe they want to blow a dam or two and flood some cities.

[poweqi]

The hijacker also had a croation passport. Which makes me suspicious. A terrorist could assume a passport. Did they ever reveal the nationality of the hijacker? I never heard.

[poweqi]

Blow it with what? Maybe a suitcase nuke? I pray and pray NOT!

[Chicagoan]

Searching Google for Zidi Aviation leads to Saudi Arabia based company involved in "World Flight".

You can read the slightly suspicious World Flight Journal here. Below are some interesting journal entries.

August 14, 2001 Our engineer was able to obtain a Visa for Saudi Arabia. What a relief! He'll be leaving tomorrow for Riyadh to start on the annual inspection for the aircraft. One bad news though: After almost 4 months in customs, and after finally receiving authorization from the Civil Aviation to release our radio tester, we found out to our big surprise and disappointment that the customs official sent the device back to the States!

July 3, 2001 We have sent over 20,000 emails to all news agencies in North America. Unfortunately, that wasn't such a great thing to do. Many accused us of spam, and some vulgar words were used in our Flight Forum. As a result, we have closed the Flight Forum, and decided to post messages only after being reviewed by us. We all learn from mistakes!

July 2, 2001 I finally filled my passport with all the African and Eastern Europe visas possible (some African and Eastern Europe countries have no Embassies in Saudi Arabia). I now have two passports stapled together, and all pages filled with visas except 5 pages. I will have to wait before getting the South American and Asian visas. Most countries we applied for a visa gave us no trouble whatsoever, and welcomed our project. Many Ambassadors and Consuls of African and Eastern Europe countries personally called me on the phone. It was not always easy to find all the Embassies, and a lot of time was wasted locating them. The scorching heat of Summer, with temperatures sometimes as high as 50° Celsius, did not help matters. Sometimes, we used to finish three visas a day! That of course is the hard work of my faithful Manager Mr. Gamal Abd Alrazak. Another problem we had obtaining visas was negotiating for at least a three month validity period. Not all countries complied, putting lots of stress on our schedule.

The Najaco site also has a funny pictures section here that seems to like to make fun of George Bush, Bill Clinton, very large breasts, very fat women, sex between animals, etc. Some of it is funny, but it seems to be humor at the expense of Americans/Westerners.

Check it out. This all seems a little weird to me.

[Beep]

You got that right, Chaos! If Algore is a "native Tennessean," I am a native Tibetan monk! (I'm not! LOL!) Bill Frist is a native Tennessean, Fred Thompson could be considered a native Tennesean, Andrew Jackson was a native Tennessean, but Algore? No way! I heard he often got lost driving in and around Carthage! I have relatives in Carthage, on my mother's side of the family. They hear about his navigational difficulties, as Carthage is a fairly small town, and the local pharmacy is fodder for such discussions. (My relatives are all elderly there; they hang out at the drug store quite often!)

[Beep]

Not really. His photo was never released either. His family (the person whose name was on the passport's family) claimed that their son was here, and had emotional problems, but they did not see their "son" to verify his identity. If I were going to take advantage of someone, I would choose one with "emotional problems." Easier to intimidate.

[Beep]

You need a scale on that map! *G* Many Clarksville residents work in Nashville; it's about a 45-minute drive. Some of the interstate is 65mph, and some is 55mph. The two are very close in proximity. Clarksville is also home to many Fort Campbell soldiers and families.

[Servant of the Nine]

Where are the 2 airplanes he bought now?

Were they really flown to Morrocco?

So9

[poweqi]

WWWWWHHHHHAAAAATTTT! That sounds just TOOOOO wierd. I think they are not telling us everything. It was hushed up pretty quick.

[Melinda in TN]

Actually they don't say much about it. Hushed it all up pretty fast. I'm very suspicious. From what I understand the bus was Southbound and his agitation over the time and the fact that if they were Southbound they had just passed the Airforce base is very suspicious.