Note: Satter was the "postman" charged with acting as a surrogate for Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman since the 93 Trade Center bombing. The two most extensive articles I have on him are
FBI & Probers Targeted / Say terror sheik's Staten I. aide found (Agents) homes
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/671129/posts
Postman Held on Terror Charges
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/674790/posts
Cryptome published a Copy of Indictment (and press release)
http://cryptome.org/usa-v-4bad-ind.htm
Consider that this might be the smoking gun for the Iraq attack--if they find evidence of the anthrax burried somewhere on the property.
Possible scenario:
There was a report published in an Indian newspaper in July of 2001 that the US and others were planning to attack the Taliban in Afghanistan in October. We know now that the coalition was depending on Massoud to take power.
Both Iraq and al-Qaeda, as well the Saudis and the Taliban, would want to prevent that. The 9/11 attack, as well as the anthrax threat, might not have been able to go forward if Massoud was about to take power. They probably thought we couldn't defeat the Taliban without him. So they decided to assassinate him.
They continued to prepare for the 9/11 attack and prepared the anthrax threat, but getting the go-ahead would depend on successfully assassinating Massoud. That was the signal to go ahead.
If al-Masri was connected to the plot--especially if the thermos was burried on his property, he might have taken off the moment he heard of Massoud's assassination because the plan was compartmentalized enough that he didn't know nothing would happen until the 11th.
Of course, it's also possible that he was allied with Massoud and providing safehouses for the Afghani opposition...