9/11 Plotter Wanted 10 Planes
WASHINGTON, June 16, 2004
(CBS/AP) Sept. 11 plot mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed originally envisioned an attack involving 10 hijacked planes with himself as the pilot of one in which all male passengers would be killed and he would deliver an anti-American harangue upon landing.
The assertion was among new details about the plot and the al Qaeda terrorist network revealed Wednesday in reports by the staff of the independent commission investigating the attacks.
Another revelation was that — contrary to assertions by Bush administration officials — there is "no credible evidence" of ties between Iraq and al Qaeda.
The Sept. 11 commission is working toward a July 26 deadline to release its final report. The panel is holding its final two days of hearings this week, focusing on the plot and the response by U.S. air defenses.
According to the staff report, Mohammed initially proposed hitting CIA and FBI headquarters, unidentified nuclear plants and tall buildings in California and Washington state, in addition to the World Trade Center, Pentagon and White House or Capitol.
Mohammed, who is in U.S. custody at an undisclosed overseas location, told interrogators that rather than crashing his hijacked plane into a target, he wanted to land and make a political statement. Mohammed proposed killing every male passenger aboard, landing at a U.S. airport and making a "speech denouncing U.S. policies in the Middle East before releasing all the women and children."
That plan was rejected by Osama bin Laden, who ultimately approved a scaled-back mission involving four planes. Training for it began in 1999.
The report said Mohammed wanted more hijackers — up to 26, instead of the 19 who actually participated. The commission also identified at least 10 al Qaeda operatives who were to participate but could not take part for various reasons including visa problems and suspicion by officials at airports in the United States and overseas.
Far from a seamless operation, the report portrays a plot riven by internal dissent, including disagreement over whether to target the White House or the Capitol — a conflict that apparently never was resolved before the attacks. Bin Laden also had to overcome opposition to attacking the United States from Mullah Omar, leader of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, who was under pressure from Pakistan to keep al Qaeda confined. ...cont'd
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/06/16/terror/main623367.shtml
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