9/11: It Could Have Been Worse | Aero-News Network
Aero-News Network
RSS icon RSS feed
podcast icon MP3 podcast
Subscribe Aero-News e-mail Newsletter Subscribe

Airborne Unlimited -- Most Recent Daily Episodes

Episode Date

Airborne-Monday

Airborne-Tuesday

Airborne-Wednesday Airborne-Thursday

Airborne-Friday

Airborne On YouTube

Airborne-Unlimited-04.21.25

Airborne-NextGen-04.22.25

AirborneUnlimited-04.23.25

Airborne-FltTraining-04.24.25

AirborneUnlimited-04.25.25

Mon, Sep 22, 2003

9/11: It Could Have Been Worse

Mastermind Tells Investigators Of Wider Plan

The mastermind of the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington says the planned was scaled back several times before 19 suicide skyjackers were sent to their deaths.

Numerous media reports claim that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who's been in American custody since his capture in Pakistan March 1st, said al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden originally approved a plan in 1996.

That version called for al Qaeda hijackers to commandeer five aircraft on the East Coast and five on the West Coast. There were also plans for a simultaneous attack somewhere in East Asia.

Mohammed also reportedly said that, in its final stages, the hijacking plan called for as many as 22 terrorists and four planes in a first wave, followed by a second wave of suicide hijackings that were to be aided possibly by al-Qaida allies in southeast Asia.

But as time went on, MSNBC reports bin Laden scrapped many parts of the Sept. 11 plan, including attacks on both coasts and hijacking or bombing some planes in East Asia.

As the plot came closer to fruition, Mohammed learned "there was a large group of Saudi operatives that would be available to participate as the muscle in the plot to hijack planes in the United States," one report says Mohammed told his captors.

Saudi Arabia was bin Laden’s home, though it revoked his citizenship in the 1990s, and he reviled its alliance with the United States during the Gulf War and beyond. Saudis have suggested for months that bin Laden has been trying to drive a wedge between the United States and their kingdom, hoping to fracture the alliance.

American intelligence has suggested that Saudis were chosen, instead, because there were large numbers willing to follow bin Laden and they could more easily get into the United States because of the countries’ friendly relations.

The interrogation reports make dramatically clear that Mohammed and al-Qaida were still actively looking to strike US, Western and Israeli targets across the world as of this year.

FMI: www.tsa.gov

Advertisement

More News

Aero-News: Quote of the Day (04.27.25)

“Our company is moving in the right direction as we start to see improved operational performance across our businesses from our ongoing focus on safety and quality. We conti>[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Linx (04.27.25)

Aero Linx: International Committee for Airspace Standards and Calibration (ICASC) The International Committee for Airspace Standards and Calibration (ICASC) was created following t>[...]

Classic Aero-TV: Veteran's Airlift Command -- Serving Those Who Served

From 2013 (YouTube Edition): One Of Aviation's Most Positive Efforts... The VAC!!! In all the doddering, misleading, anti-aviation blather we've had to deal with over the last few >[...]

Airborne-NextGen 04.22.25: NYC eVTOL Network, ForgeStar-1, Drone Safety Day

Also: CiES Documents, Hypersonic Tech, SKYTRAC Health Monitoring, Skyryse Archer Aviation announced a blueprint for an eVTOL network in New York City that would connect travelers b>[...]

Airborne 04.21.25: Charter Bust, VeriJet Woes, Visual Approach Risks

Also: Sun Country CEO to Spirit, Indian AF Rafale Jets, Archer-United, Avflight Grows Federal prosecutors recently filed a lawsuit against an uncertified charter flight company and>[...]

blog comments powered by Disqus



Advertisement

Advertisement

Podcasts

Advertisement

© 2007 - 2025 Web Development & Design by Pauli Systems, LC