Information
Concerning an Impending Terrorist Threat Known Prior to 9/11 as a
Result of ZM Investigation
ZM was training on a Boeing 747
flight simulator, even though he had minimal flight experience
The flight simulator used by ZM in Minnesota
Minneapolis FBI Agent
Harry Samit had this to say about ZM's flight training in his
initial (8/15/01) memo: "His excuse is weak: he just wants to learn how
to do it!! That's pretty ominous and obviously suggests some sort of
hijacking plan."
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French Intelligence (Legat Paris) says ZM
was active in the Radical Isalmic Fundamentalist movement
In an 8/30/2001
communication to Minneapolis FBI, French Intelligence reported ZM "was
wholly convinced of Jihad." The memo described ZM's "ardent and
emotional preaching in favor of jihad," and quoted a source who
described ZM as "extremely cynical, completely devoted to the Wahabite
cause and concerned with progressing that cause."
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ZM's Oklahoma friend's (Al Attas's) will:
"Death is approaching"
The FBI identified
Hussien Bin Ali Al-Attas becaause he shared a room at the Residence Inn
in Minnesota. Hussien Bin Ali Al-Attas, who drove
ZM from Oklahoma to Minnesota in early August, allowed an FBI search of
his Norman, Oklahoma residence. The search turned up a document
in Arabic that, when translated, turned out to be Al-Attas's
"Last Will and Testament." In it, Al-Attas (who was young and
healthy) says "death is approaching" and "I hope that Allah will award
me with paradise and keep me with the prophets, martyrs and
pious." This document led the Minneapolis FBI to conclude that he
and ZM were planning to participate in an imminent suicide attack on a
U.S. target.
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Bin
Ali Al-Attas, arrested because of his association with ZM, describes
Moussaoui as dangerous
FBI Agent Harry Samit,
in an 8/22/2001 memo, quoted
Al-Attas as telling the FBI that ZM "believes it is acceptable to kill
civilians who harm Muslims and the he approves of martyrs."
Al-Attas said that he might have heard ZM mention that he planned to
"become a martyr." Samit tells Washington in his 8/22 memo,
"Minneapolis opines that Moussaoui and Al Attas were, at the time of
their arrest,involved in preparing for a terrorist attack involving a
Boeing 747-400 aircraft at the direction of an as yet unknown
international radical Islamic fundamentalist group."
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When arrested on immigration charges, ZM
denied authorities consent to search his property
ZM's refusal to allow
a search of his property, while not conclusive, suggestst that he had
something to hide. In an 8/24 memo to Washington, Minneapolis
agent Samit noted that ZM's property inclused "a laptop computer,
cellular telephone and numerous spiral notebooks and 747 flight
manuals." In the 8/24 memo, Minneapolis requested--but was
denied--approval from FBI headquarters in Washington to obtain an
emergency search warrant from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance
Court that would have revealed the phone number of the Al Qaeda
operative in Germany who arranged payments for flight classes for many
of the 9/11 hijackers.
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Bin Al-Attas, in a call from jail, urgently
tells his iman "not to talk now" about the jihad.
Islamic Society in Norman, Oklahoma
In an 8/20/2001 phone
call--intercepted by the FBI--from jail in Oklahoma, Bin Al-Attas is
asked by his imam in Norman, "I heard you wanted to go to Jihad."
Al-Attas replies urgently, "Sheikh, do not talk about it now. Do
not
talk about it now, Sheikh."
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ZM paid cash to enroll in his flight
training course
According to an 8/18
memo from Minneapolis to Washington, ZM "paid $8,000-$9,000 dollars in
cash for training on the Boeing 747 Model 400 aircraft
simulator." If FBI had given approval for a search to "follow the
cash," it would have taken them to Germany and, eventually, to Al Qaeda
9/11 planners.
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ZM was engaged in
martial arts training
According to the Al
Attas, when interviewed by the FBI, he said that ZM "was able to
persuade him to begin physical exercise and martial arts
training." He also revealed that Moussaoui purchased "padded
gloves and shin guards for training in the martial arts."
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ZM was armed with a knife when arrested on
immigration charges
According to an 8/24
memo sent
from Minneapolis to Washington, "When arrested, Moussaoui was armed
with a small sheathed knife in his pocket and admitted that a larger
folding blade knife found under the seat of A
Al-Attas' car was his."
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Two Memos from Minneapolis
1. Initial Memo (8-15-2001): The Day Before Moussaoui's Arrest
(FBI Agent Harry Samit to W. Jay Abbot)
>>>HARRY
SAMIT 08/15/01 08:53 PM>>>
Jay,
Minneapolis has a short notice check request for info on a French
citizen. We really don't know what we have here, here's the
(weird) story:
Our duty agent received a call from a company that does flight
simulator training for Boeing 747 Series 400 pilots. They are now
training a student who just showed up to learn to fly the 747. He
has no pilot's license and minimal previous flight experience (in any
aircraft type.) He paid between $6000 and $8000 dollars to
essentially learn to take off and land the 747-400. His exuse is
weak: he just wants to learn how to do it! That's pretty ominous
and suggests a hijacking plan.
He's in the U.S. since 02/2001 on a visa waiver from the UK, where he
claims to reside. He's traveling on a French passport, although
the flight instructor who has been with him for the last few days
believes he's Middle Eastern. Indices show his last name in
Lebanese. [line blacked out for security reasons.]
I'm not even sure if you can run a check on French citizens, but if so,
here he is:
Zacarias Moussaoui, DOB 05/30/1969
French Passport 00AE270016
Can you determine if he is known to [blacked out] or other [blacked
out]. I will do an EC to follow up if you need one, but we're
working on a fairly short notice since his training is only scheduled
to go for a few more days and we don't want him to depart this
area. Our INS guy on the JTTF is pretty sure we can arrest him on
a visa overstay, but we want to get all we can on him first.
Thanks in advance for anything you can do.
Harry Samit
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1.
Last Memo (9-10-2001): The Day Before the September 11 Attacks
(FBI Agent Harry Samit to
Catherine Kisar)
>>>HARRY
SAMIT 09/10/01 03:38 PM>>>
Cathy,
ITOS/RFU SSA Maltbie has determined that we do not have enough
for either a criminal search warrant or a FISA search warrant of
Moussaoui's computer. We did not pursue this further because they
have directed that this is an INS matter and that the "FBI does not
have a dog in this fight." Of course, I strongly disagree.
The current plan is to deport Moussaoui to France. [Blacked out]
has advised that they have the legal authority to hold Moussaoui and
search his effects. This search was a distant third in my list of
desired outcomes, but at this point I am desperate to get into his
computer. I'll take anything.
My big fear is that the French will determine that most, if not all of
Moussaoui's criminal activity occurred outside France and they have no
ability to convict (he's lived in the UK since 1995). In that
case, he walks. I don't know if they'll have to return his
property in this case (including the 747 flight manuals), but it seems
possible.
The current wrangle with ITOS/RFU is over whether John W. (our
INS co-case agent) and I can go to France to be present for the
search. LEGAT Paris relayed [blacked out] request for FBI
personnel to do just that, but RFU is opposed.
I'll keep you posted, but I am not optimistic. Thanks for your
help and assistance.
Take care,
Harry
Harry
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Selected
Memos from the Minneapolis Office of the FBI
Warning About Moussaoui's Terrorism Threat
(Documents in HTML)
8-24-01 Memo
from Agent Samit in Minneapolis Making Case for Emergency Search
Warrant of ZM's Residence
8-24-01 Memo
from Oklahoma FBI to Minneapolis FBI Concerning Their Investigation of
ZM
8-22-01
Memo From France to Minneapolis FBI Concerning Threat Posed by ZM
Selected
Memos from the Minneapolis Office of the FBI
Warning About Moussaoui's Terrorism Threat
(Documents are from Reporters' Committee for Freedom of
the Press in PDF Format)
8-17-01 E-mail
Between Samit/McGrath, re: 747 Documents
9-6-01 Memo by
Samit Concerning "Last Will and Testament" of ZM's Driver/Roomate
(will says "death has approached" and expresses hope "Allah will award
him with paradise")
9-10-01 Memo From Samit Bemoaning Lack of
Approval for Search Warrant for ZM
(quotes FBI supervisors in DC as saying, "FBI does not have a dog in
this fight.")
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