Moussaoui Arrest Might Have Halted 9/11 Attack -Panel

My Way News ^ | 7/22/04 | Deborah Charles/Reuters

[wagglebee]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Top al Qaeda planners of the Sept. 11 hijackings might have canceled the attack had they known that Zacarias Moussaoui -- chosen by Osama bin Laden as one of the pilots -- had been arrested, the commission investigating the attacks said on Thursday.

The commission said news of Moussaoui's Aug. 16, 2001, arrest did not reach bin Laden and top al Qaeda planners like Khalid Sheikh Mohammed before Sept. 11.

"According to (attack coordinator Ramzi bin al-Shaibah), had bin Laden and KSM learned prior to 9/11 that Moussaoui had been detained, they might have canceled the operation," the report said, using KSM to refer to Mohammed.

Moussaoui, a French citizen, is awaiting trial on conspiracy charges connected to the attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people. He was arrested on immigration charges after he raised suspicions at a flight school in Minnesota.

In its final report, the panel called Moussaoui an "al Qaeda mistake" and a "missed opportunity." The FBI has been criticized for failing to act quickly on suspicions about Moussaoui, which could have helped unravel the Sept. 11 attacks. The panel gave the most detailed information to date of Moussaoui's importance in the plot.

The commission's report said in the month before the attack Moussaoui was being primed to take part as a pilot, possibly to replace one of the pilots who was showing signs of wanting to pull out of the plot in the summer of 2001.

Moussaoui denies involvement in the Sept. 11 attacks but admits to being a member of al Qaeda.

The report said that though Mohammed did not approve of Moussaoui, he did not remove him from the operation because Moussaoui had been "selected and assigned by bin Laden himself."

The report based its findings on comments made by bin al-Shaibah -- known as Binalshibh in the West -- during interrogation while in U.S. custody.

"KSM did not hear about Moussaoui's arrest until after September 11," the report said, citing reports from interrogations of Mohammed, who is also in U.S. custody.

"When Binalshibh discussed Moussaoui's arrest with KSM after September 11, KSM congratulated himself on not having Moussaoui contact the other operatives, which would have compromised the operation," it said.

"Moussaoui had been in contact with Binalshibh, of course, but this was not discovered until after 9/11."

The trial of Moussaoui, who could face a death sentence if convicted, has been delayed repeatedly over his right to have access to al Qaeda detainees like Mohammed and bin al-Shaibah.

Moussaoui's lawyers were furious that the interrogation reports were made public, saying they were supposed to remain classified and their release could impact the trial.

[wagglebee]

Top al Qaeda planners of the Sept. 11 hijackings might have canceled the attack had they known that Zacarias Moussaoui -- chosen by Osama bin Laden as one of the pilots -- had been arrested, the commission investigating the attacks said on Thursday.

And if BJ Clinton had taken his 'nads out of Monica's mouth and actually used them, OBL would have been dead years ago.

[Vigilanteman]

Good retort. I don't know how the 9-11 Commission thinks they can read Bin Laden's mind. If so, maybe they are to blame for the attacks for failing to do so in advance.

[Thebaddog]

This is a wet kiss to the goofy whistleblower from Minnesota. She made the nonsexual being of the year on Time Magazine that year for doing the I-told-you-so after the fact. Just think what might have happened if she really tried.

[SpyGuy]

Here's a more accurate title:

Moussaoui Arrest Might Have Halted Postponed 9/11 Attack

[oolatec]

It's sad when a rag resorts to speculation as news...

[Shermy]

Oh, so now all that info about Moussaoui being part of a second wave attack is ignored without comment.

Here's a fun fact: Neither the word "cropduster" or "cropdusting" appear anywhere in the Commission's report. Not related to Atta's inquiries, not related to Moussaoui's computer, nowhere at all.

[Shermy]

Here's part of the Report. They mention the "second wave" ...don't know if it's true or not, but the conclusion helps the feds in their current "theory" of changing Moussaoui.

________________________

...KSM denies ever considering Moussaoui for the planes operation. Instead he claims that Moussaoui was slated to participate in a “second wave” of attacks.

KSM also states that Moussaoui had no contact with Atta, and we are unaware of evidence contradicting this assertion.160
Yet KSM has also stated that by the summer of 2001, he was too busy with the planes operation to continue planning for any second-wave attacks. Moreover, he admits that only three potential pilots were ever recruited for the alleged second wave, Moussaoui plus two others who, by midsummer of 2001,
had backed out of the plot.161

We therefore believe that the effort to push Moussaoui forward in August 2001 lends credence to the suspicion that he was being primed as a possible pilot in the immediate planes operation.

Binalshibh says he assumed Moussaoui was to take his place as another pilot in the 9/11 operation. Recounting a post-9/11 discussion with KSM in Kandahar, Binalshibh claims KSM mentioned Moussaoui as being part of the 9/11 operation. Although KSM never referred to Moussaoui by name, Binalshibh understood he was speaking of the operative to whom Binalshibh had wired money. Binalshibh says KSM did not approve of Moussaoui but believes KSM did not remove him from the operation only because Moussaoui had been selected and assigned by Bin Ladin himself.162

[Shermy]

Ping you too.

Note: report doesn't specify in any fashion what the "second wave" of attacks would be.

Also, one of the two that dropped out of the second wave is Abderraouf Jdey, a.k.a. Faruq al Tunisi. He's on the recent BOLO lists.

[WilliamofCarmichael]

Didn't the Minneapolis FBI agent Colleen Rowley name some HQ folks who squashed the efforts of her office?

According to a Time magazine article at the time, "FBI director Mueller isn't denying Rowley's charges. He said Thursday night he has asked Justice Department Inspector General Glen Fine to investigate her claims."

But, alas..

"Report on Moussaoui remains under wraps," Greg Gordon, Star Tribune Washington Bureau Correspondent July 11, 2004

http://www.startribune.com/stories/1576/4870130.html

"But the report, completed about 10 days ago by inspector general Glenn Fine, is classified. It's unclear how much of it will become public. . . Fine is believed to have examined whether any FBI headquarters officials should face disciplinary action for their lapses. His report also explores how headquarters treated a Phoenix agent's July 2001 memo urging a nationwide canvass of flight schools for Middle Eastern students and alleged bureau failures to stop two of the hijackers from entering the country after the CIA had linked them to Al-Qaida, an inspector general's spokesman said." [End excerpt]

CY[buddy's]A?

[okie01]

Here's a fun fact: Neither the word "cropduster" or "cropdusting" appear anywhere in the Commission's report.

Does "anthrax"?

[FairOpinion]

Thanks for the ping.

Please do ping me, because I am pretty busy nowadays, and may not see everything, but I do try to look at the threads I get pinged to.

[jpl]

CY[buddy's]A?

No doubt about it whatsoever. Nobody is accountable, it's "the system".

Furthermore, anyone who believes that everything the government knows is contained within the public "Report" with the nice cover on it is a fool. The public report probably at most contains about half of the real information they have.