I believe the roles of Atta and Gavril Princip may have been similar.
Just as Princip and his group planned a terrorist attack
before they encountered any members of the 'Black Hand',
and then went to them for weapons and assistance,
Atta and his friends came up with an idea,
(the idea of crashing hijacked airplanes into buildings, had,
of course, been 'floating in the wind' for some time)
and then they went to Al Qaeda for financial and logistical support
(and some personnel)
and to Iraq (probably) for 'weapons'.
(The 09-11-01 group probably provided their own box-cutters)
I am sure Al Qaeda was happy just with the promise
that many Americans would be killed.
Saddam (if it was him) would have demanded complete control
over how the Anthrax was used.
That is one reason why I believe the envelopes were filled in Iraq
(if the anthrax came from there).
All this, of course, IMHO, as always,
but given the will-power, organizational ability and determination
that the maniac Atta (look at those eyes!) must have had
I cannot see him as being just a puppet
whose strings were being pulled
by that pompous bearded fool in Jalalabad
or by Saddam.
Anyway, Saddam couldn't have organized such an operation.
I don't see why some people see Saddam
as being such a genius of evil,
tell me ONE clever thing Saddam ever has done
in his career??
Well, the seemingly pointless act of booby-trapping all the oilfields of Kuwait -- a completely unnecessary provocation of a vastly superior enemy when the Gulf War was already lost -- now seems kind of smart. It lays the groundwork for this little caper with the anthrax -- we know he's serious, that there's no limit to the destruction he will wreak when cornered. The fact is, Saddam has stuck to certain principles in his career, and they have served him well. The first principle is, always be more ruthless than your opponent. Never show any mercy, never shirk from any cruelty. Even if you get a bloody nose, your opponent will be more intimidated when you get up off the floor to go the next round. Every thug and every tyrant knows this works.