[spetznaz]

Has the credence of this lady been verified? The reason i ask is due to the fact her assertations seem a little too 'fantastical.' I really doubt Atta would go to get a federal loan, and then tell the loan officer that he was going to 'blow up American monuments' or that he could 'slit her throat and make with the cash!' That just does not fit the profile of someone who is trying to blend in as much as possible and hide from any potential discovery until his time for performing his 'duties to aLLAH' arrive!

Hence i find her story a little too 'outrageous.' Especially when you consider the number of kooks who would do anything for a spot of fame.

For example in Oklahoma they are looking for a guy who masqueraded as an 'army colonel' and went to the site of the bridge collapse, and he was actually talking to people and was captured on telly. There are a lot of people who would use national disasters for their own little nefarious plots, or maybe for simply greed, or probably just to get some attention and media spotlight.

Think of it: Why would Atta risk exposing himself through such actions? It just does not add up!

Actually after thinking it true i am prone to believe she lied! From the reports being given out on Atta one can assume he was intelligent, definitely intelligent enough not to go and apply for a federal loan that would require checks, threaten a federal officer with bodily harm, state his intentions and what group he belongs to, and even assert that certain monuments would be destroyed.

The probability of Atta being that aloof about secrecy, and of this lady being so plain dumb, is just not probable. The two occuring at the same time must have a probability approaching zero!

[Shermy]

I was thinking he may have gone for the loan, but perhaps the story was spiced up a bit from things in the news.

[VOA]

Has the credence of this lady been verified? The reason i ask is due to the fact her
assertations seem a little too 'fantastical.'

This report is being covered as "for real" on ABC's AM radio station in Los Angeles,
KABC.

I agree that it does sound more like a Saturday Night Live sketch.

And maybe we'll find out it's a hoax in a couple of days.

BUT...I think it could be true. And here's my amateur reasoning.

I think that to some degree The Talented Mr. Atta and his Butt Boys must have gauged something
about the American approach to terrorists: if you walk in from off the street acting like one,
we presume that you aren't.

IIRC (in all the flood of 9-11 aftermath reports) Atta and a colleague flew into a small airport
in rural Tennessee near a large, but mostly inactive, chemical plant.
Atta supposedly quizzed a pilot (or airport employee) at the small airport about the plant.
I think the guy said he told Atta the plant was basically just a shell...and then
Atta got p-ssed and accused the guy of not telling the truth, then Atta and his friend left
in a huff.
Now...what terrorist would have done that?

And it is documented that Atta and a friend ABANDONED the small plane they had
moved into line for take-off at the major Miami airport when it stalled.
They just walked off, leaving the plane to sit there, blocking take-off traffice.
The airport towed it off so traffic could resume.
Did Atta and friend get a rectal exam from the INS, local police and the FBI?
Heck no! The incident was just chalked up to those stupid foreigners in flight school.

And this sort of stupidity that should have been fatal to Atta's enterprise also went on with
Moussaui, the 20th hijacker.
The Los Angeles Times had a full-page article about his odyssey about two months ago.
Reprints of his e-mails revealed a guy whose English is so poor that an honest
flight school probably should have insisted on cram school in English before taking him.


I hope Dubya's planned reorganization will stop another 9-11 from happening.

But seeing all the cock-ups that Atta and his buddies made...maybe the next group will
put on the same sort of "these guys are too stupid to be terrorists" front.

But one thing does really sound like this is a true report. The lady didn't have a
clue who Osama bin Laden was. This sounds about the level of world knowledge I'd
expect from a lower-level Federal employee.
(Although if this is all real, I do appreciate this report that she has made.)

[seamus]

Think of it: Why would Atta risk exposing himself through such actions? It just does not add up!

Exactly. With Osama and other wealthy Arabs bankrolling their murderous plots, they hardly needed to apply for a freepin' federal loan.