Posted on 01/02/2002 10:21:33 AM PST by Wallaby
Not for commercial use. Solely to be used for the educational purposes of research and open discussion.
Zacarias Moussaoui -- the weakest link? Agence France Presse Domestic, non-Washington, General News January 2, 2002 Wednesday 1:27 PM Eastern Time WASHINGTON, Jan 2
Zacarias Moussaoui, the first man to face trial in connection with the September 11 attacks on the United States, may have been the one flaw in the terrorists' diabolically seamless plans.Nineteen hijackers boarded four planes to carry out the terrorist onslaught and investigators suspect the Frenchman of Moroccan descent was planning to be the 20th.
Three of the planes hijacked on September 11 had five hijackers on board. A fourth, which crashed in Pennsylvania after passengers apparently rose up against their hijackers, had only four. If Moussaoui had plans to board that plane, they went awry when his odd behaviour drew the attention of law enforcement officers in August, when he was arrested on immigration charges.
In August, Ramzi Bin al-Shibh -- identified as having formed an al-Qaeda cell in Germany with hijackers Mohammad Atta, Marwan al-Shehhi and Ziad Jarrah -- wired some 14,000 dollars to Moussaoui's Oklahoma account.
In a federal court Wednesday, the 33-year-old French national declined to respond to the six charges against him, four of which carry the death penalty.
He is accused of conspiring with Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network in the airborne attacks on New York's World Trade Center and the Pentagon outside Washington that left more than 3,000 people dead. "In the name of Allah, I don't have anything to plea. I enter no plea," he said in the Alexandria. Virginia, courtroom.
Judge Leonie Brinkema entered pleas of not guilty on his behalf and set a trial date of October 14.
Born on May 30, 1968, in Saint-Jean-de-Luz in southwestern France, Moussaoui grew up in a Muslim family headed by a divorced mother who did not regularly practice her religion.
A poor student, he was not admitted to academic high school and enrolled in a trade school instead, which he grew to despise, his mother, Aicha el-Wafi, told the French weekly L'Express.
Nevertheless, he went on to obtain a Master's Degree from London's South Bank University, according to the indictment.
It was during his time living in London in the 1990s that Moussaoui became a devout Muslim and, investigators believe, began to mingle with militant Islamists and terrorists.
According to French intelligence sources, he traveled frequently to Pakistan in the 1990s.
In April 1998, the indictment states, he was at an al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorist training camp in Afghanistan, Khalden Camp.
On February 23, 2001, a heavy-set Moussaoui entered the United States on a student visa with a shaven head and a goatee. Three days later he opened a bank account in Norman, Oklahoma, with 32,000 dollars in cash, according to the indictment.
From late February to May he took classes at Norman's Airman Flight School, but he turned out to be such a poor student that the instructors refused to let him fly solo.
Moussaoui then left for Minnesota and the Pan Am International Flight Academy, in Eagan.
There, he explained that he wanted to train on a Boeing 747 flight simulator, but only to learn how to turn, not how to land or take off. He offered 8,000 dollars in cash for the privilege.
While the other 19 hijackers apparently managed to draw little attention to themselves and to their September 11 plans, Moussaoui's bizarre behavior was noted by managers of the flight school who called law enforcement authorities on August 13. He was taken into custody on August 16 and then questioned by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
His student visa had expired, and Moussaoui was detained by the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) while he awaited deportation. The FBI questioned him but he refused to cooperate. The indictment lists other details that seem to link Moussaoui to the terrorists. In August, Ramzi Bin al-Shibh -- identified as having formed an al-Qaeda cell in Germany with hijackers Mohammad Atta, Marwan al-Shehhi and Ziad Jarrah -- wired some 14,000 dollars to Moussaoui's Oklahoma account.
In June 2001, Moussaoui inquired about starting a crop dusting company in Oklahoma, as Mohammed Atta did in Florida. His possessions at the time of his arrest included a flight simulator computer program, fighting gloves and shin guards, knives, and a computer disk with information about the aerial application of pesticides.
the guy had a masters, but couldn't pass flight school?
Aicha el-Wafi, mother of terrorist Zacarias Moussaoui, makes a statement outside the terminal at Dulles Airport before catching her flight, Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2002 in Herndon, Va. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
Yes, he is obviously a mommas-boy - weak indeed.
On February 23, 2001, a heavy-set Moussaoui entered the United States on a student visa with a shaven head and a goatee. Three days later he opened a bank account in Norman, Oklahoma, with 32,000 dollars in cash, according to the indictment.
Lets see, thats Achmed Doe #2, Abdul Roe #3....
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