CATCH 9 (July 16, 2002 version)



A T.I.P. (Text in Progress) by


ADRIAN MORE





According to:

1. The Economist, Sept. 14, 2001: ‘The pursuit’ (anonymous), online at:
www.economist.com/agenda/displayStory.cfm ;
2. International Herald Tribune, Sept.14, 2001, p.2: ‘U.S. Reopens Its Skies Under Strict New Rules’, by John Schimd;
3. International Herald Tribune, Sept.15, 2001: ‘An FBI List of the 19 Hijackers Aboard the 4 Doomed Airliners’, by the Associated Press;
4. The Boston Globe, November 23, 2001: ‘Probe recontructs horror, calculated attacks on planes’, by Glen Johnson, online: www.boston.com/news/packages/underattack/news/planes_reconstruction.htm
5. Associated Press. Nov.23, 2001, 07:05 EST: ‘Hijackers’ Legal Status Had Expired’, by Larry Margasak;
6.Washington Post, March 2, 2002, p.A11: ‘Airports Screened Nine of Sept.11 Hijackers, Officials Say’, by Dan Eggen (Don Phillips contributed);
7. Associated Press, March 3, 2002, 11:55 ET: ‘Some Sept.11 Hijackers Were Spotted’, by Jonathan D. Salant;
8. International Herald Tribune, March 14, 2002, p.2: ‘Flight School Gets Visa Approval for Sept.11 Hijackers’, by Dan Eggen and Mary Beth Sheridan (originally in The Washington Post);
9. International Herald Tribune, March 21, 2002, p.1: ’30-day Limit Considered for Millions Visiting U.S.’, by Cheryl W. Thompson (originally in The Washington Post);
10. Associated Press, April 10,2002, 15:25 ET: ‘Feds Working on Airline Staff IDs’, by Jonathan D. Salant;
11. Reuters, May 15, 8:59pm ET: ‘Aides: Bush Knew of Hijacking Threat Before Sept.11’, by Adam Entous, online at: www.reuters.com/news_article.jhtml :
12. Edward Jay Epstein: ‘Fictoid #9: Plastic Knives and Box Cutters’, online at: www.edwardjayepstein.com/nether_fictoid9.htm





"Nine of the hijackers who commandeered jetliners on Sept.11 were selected for special security screenings that morning, INCLUDING TWO WHO WERE SINGLED OUT BECAUSE OF IRREGULARITIES IN THEIR IDENTIFICATION DOCUMENTS [my caps], U.S. officials said".


Wait a second man.
If those two had irregular documents, EXACTLY WHY ON EARTH WERE THEY ALLOWED TO BOARD THEIR FLIGHT(S)?
EXACTLY WHO WERE THE SECURITY SCREENERS WHO SCREENED THOSE TWO, AND WHY ARE THEY NOT TESTIFYING UNDER OATH BEFORE CONGRESS YET, AT AN OPEN HEARING AND LIVE ON PRIME TIME CNN?


Again: "Nine of the hijackers…were selected for special security screenings that morning": exactly WHICH HIJACKERS? THE NAMES! WHY ARE FBI + FAA WITHHOLDING THE NAMES OF THOSE 9?
Those 9 names are an all-important detail, especially if among them were Khalid Almihdhar and Nawaf Alhazmi, both of whom had been on an FBI watch list of potential terrorists reportedly since Aug.23. Moreover, Alhazmi’s visa had expired.

Now, that "airline security officials did not know on Sept.11 that two of the hijackers were on an FBI watch list" (source nr 7) is UTTERLY IMPLAUSIBLE/UNREASONABLE/ILLOGICAL: it simply stretches belief.

Because, in theory, the FBI had been looking for those 2 in the U.S. since Aug.23, so first thing in the morning the FBI would have told airlines and FAA to watch for Almihdhar/Alhazmi.

And if instead the 2 FBI directors involved in this umpteenth 9/11 "failure" (Thomas Pickard from Aug.23 through Sept.3; Robert S. Mueller from Sept.4 through Sept.10) had failed to do their jobs and tell airlines + FAA about Almihdhar/Alhazmi, then WHY HASN’T MUELLER BEEN FIRED YET? IT ONLY INCREASES SUSPICION THAT BUSH WOULD STILL BE BACKING SUCH A RETARD!
OR MAYBE IS IT THAT MUELLER & BUSH ALLOWED SEPT.11 TO HAPPEN?
WERE THEY ACCESSORIES BEFORE THE FACT?

Next.
- Was hijacker Satam M.A. Al Suqami (Flight 11, WTC) among the 9 singled out for the special security screenings? I ask because his visa had expired by Sept.11, therefore he should have been arrested. Was he one of the "two" with irregular documents? More on Suqami below.
- Was hijacker Hani S.H. Hanjour (Flight 77, Pentagon) among the 9? Same story: he was in the country illegally on Sept.11. Was he one of the "two" with irregular documents?
- Was hijacker Mohammed Atta (Flight 11, WTC) one of the 9 singled out? I ask because, among many other things (see my essay MORAL GROUND ZERO / V, "The Twin Cowards"), Atta had an outstanding arrest warrant in Florida, which a ‘special security screening’ should not have failed to turn up.
MUELLER, WAS OR WASN’T ATTA ONE OF THE 9?
TESTIFY!

Let’s recap:
We want the names of those 9 hijackers singled out for "special security screenings" on Sept.11 - AND WE WANT THOSE NAMES NOW BECAUSE WE WANT TO KNOW:
- IF THE 3 HIJACKERS WHO WERE IN THE U.S. ILLEGALLY ON SEPT.11 (SUQAMI, ALHAZMI, HANJOUR) WERE AMONG THE 9;
- IF SO, WHY THEY WEREN’T ARRESTED BANG DEAD ON RIGHTS;
- MOREOVER, WE WANT TO KNOW IF ALMIHDHAR AND ALHAZMI WERE SCREENED BECAUSE THEY WERE ON AN FBI WATCH LIST; AND IF ATTA WAS ONE OF THE 9, BECAUSE HE HAD AN OUTSTANDING ARREST WARRANT.

Let’s carry on.
Source nr 7: "The hijackers used box cutters AND KNIVES [my caps] to take over the airplanes, but those items were allowed…on board before the attacks".

Pause.

"AND KNIVES"?

Was one allowed to carry knives of any length on board until Sept.11? No: source nr 2: "Previously, only knives with blades longer than four inches (10 centimetres) were barred."
Did the screeners find knives belonging to those 9? Exactly how long were the blades of those "knives"? "Authorities…said…they could not say": WHY CAN’T THEY SAY? THEY MUST BE SUPOENAED TO SAY, BEFORE CONGRESS THAT IS, AND UNDER OATH!

Source nr 10 reports a convenient, yet suspicious story: "Some aviation experts believe that the KNIVES AND BOX CUTTERS [again distinct; caps mine]... were hidden on the planes while they were parked".
Sounds like an alibi concocted in order to exonerate the special security screeners: who the hell are now these ‘aviation experts’? THE NAMES? Why would it take ‘aviation experts’ to elaborate about such an issue as how knives got onto the planes? What’s their evidence/arguments prompting them to ‘believe’ that knives + boxcutters had been hidden on the parked planes? Who and how could possibly have done that?
FBI director Mueller, what’s your take on all this? Will you finally elaborate, possibly UNDER OATH AND BEFORE CONGRESS, AND LIVE ON PRIME TIME CNN?


Source nr 11: Bush’s spokesman Ari Fleischer said in mid-May that the perpetrators of 911 "used box cutters AND PLASTIC KNIVES [caps mine]".
It’s beginning to sound ridiculous – I mean, the whole official story of what happened to those 4 planes.


Source nr 12:
"Actually, it was their [Ashcroft’s and Rumsfeld’s – they also hyped the ‘plastic knives/boxcutters BS, my note] imagination, NOT ESTABLISHED FACTS [caps mine], that informed the world that the hijackers had used plastic knives and box cutters [on AA11 + UA175] [...]. NOT A SCINTILLA OF EVIDENCE HAD BEEN FOUND [my caps] [...] that either plastic knives or box cutters were used [on AA11 + UA175]".
"No message was ever received from flight 175 that mentioned any weapons."
Madeline Amy Sweeney and Betty Ong, the 2 AA11 flight attendants who allegedly made cell phone calls, DID NOT, REPORTEDLY, mention either box cutters or plastic knives.
The alleged Barbara Olson call from AA77 did mention, reportedly, ‘knives’, (not ‘plastic knives’) and ‘cardboard cutters’ – but there is NO EVIDENCE AT ALL that this call ever happened.
On flight 93: none of the alleged (evidence: zero) calls mentioned either box cutters or plastic knives.

Let’s go on.
Source nr 1: "[the terrorists] bought knives AND CANS OF MACE FOR SUBDUING THEIR FELLOW PASSENGERS".


"CANS OF MACE"???!!!


Were cans of mace allowed on board before Sept.11, FAA boss Jane Garvey?

Hey FBI director Mueller: did the special security screeners find "cans of mace" belonging to any of the 9 that morning? WHY AREN’T YOU TESTIFYING UNDER OATH BEFORE CONGRESS RIGHT NOW, YOU AND ALL THE ‘SPECIAL SECURITY SCREENERS’ INVOLVED!


WHY WERE WE TOLD ALL THIS ONLY AFTER NEARLY 6 MONTHS (WASHINGTON POST OF MARCH 2, 2002)- AND ON PAGE A11, NOT ON PAGE 1 IN BANNER HEADLINES?


And now - the smoking gun.
"One group, Families of September 11, has called for a congressional investigation of possible security lapses that day, INCLUDING A DISPUTED REPORT THAT ONE OF THE TERRORISTS FIRED A GUN ON ONE OF THE JETLINERS."[my caps]
That report "says a flight attendant on board Flight 11 [American Airlines Flight 11, which hit the north Twin Tower] ‘INFORMED THAT A PASSENGER LOCATED IN SEAT 10B SHOT AND KILLED A PASSENGER IN SEAT 9B [my caps] at 9:20am… ‘ONE BULLET WAS REPORTED TO HAVE BEEN FIRED’ BY HIJACKER SATAM M.A. AL SUQAMI [my caps], and that the victim was passenger Daniel C. Lewin…FORMER ISRAELI SPECIAL FORCES OFFICER [caps mine]".

Now, it goes without saying that "FAA and FBI officials…have…said the gun reference was a mistake… American Airlines spokesman John Hotard… said no such report was made to the FAA by an American official".

But the FAA memo with the gun reference cites "a report to the FAA BY AN AMERICAN AIRLINES CORPORATE SECURITY OFFICER [my caps]": who’s lying, Hotard or the FAA?
Or maybe both - Hotard in denying it was an American Airlines officer who reported the gun to the FAA; the FAA in denying that the gun reference was true?

In any case, Stephen Push, of Families of September 11, perfectly logically said "At the very least, there has not been a thorough investigation of this memo, because no one seems to have solid information on how this got in the [FAA] file" [Stephen Push is the treasurer for Families of September 11; his wife Lisa J.Raines reportedly was killed on American Airlines Flight 77].

Now here’s my own next set of questions for FBI director Robert S. Mueller, for FAA boss Jane Garvey and for American Airlines spokesman John Hotard:
1. Was hijacker Satam M.A. Al Suqami, reported to have fired the gun, one of the 9 hijackers flagged for "special security screenings"?
2. Was it or wasn’t it an American Airlines security officer who reported to the FAA about the shooting? FAA says yes, Hotard/American Airlines says no – TESTIFY UNDER OATH, THE 3 OF YOU PLUS THE AMERICAN OFFICER IN QUESTION – BY THE WAY, WHAT’S HIS NAME?
3. The "9:20am" reference for the shooting is clearly (and suspiciously) wrong because the airplane reportedly crashed at 8:46am. But:
a. if one or more details are wrong, it doesn’t necessarily follow that ALL DETAILS ARE WRONG;
b. the report may have been tampered with by authorities - only biased dogmatics would rule out doubt.
4. Since, according to the AP, as of July 2, 2002, 1,207 WTC victims had been identified: is passenger Daniel C. Lewin among them? Has the medical examiner found any traces of a bullet wound on him?
5. "FAA and FBI officials…said …the evidence [WHAT evidence?] indicates that Lewin …was probably stabbed to death along with the two pilots on Flight 11": really?
FAA and FBI would have us believe that 5 hijackers with boxcutters and 4-inch (or shorter)-blade plastic knives "stabbed to death" a former Special Forces officer and two trained pilots while another 84 passengers + crew on board just sat watching, frozen up, all of them. How old were the 2 pilots? Lewin was 31, according to the Associated Press victims database. Captain Ogonowski was 52; first officer McGuinness 42.
Trained as the 5 may have been for the kill, they may have pulled it off with boxcutters plastic knives and bare hands - but I wouldn’t recommend anyone try to confront a 31-year-old Israeli Special Forces officer & two U.S. pilots, plus 84 passengers + crew, with boxcutters and short plastic knives.


American Airlines Flight 11 was by far the most crowded of the 4 doomed planes, with 92 people on board - the most difficult for the hijackers.
And with 2 pilots and a former Special Forces, a gun would explain the (alleged) hijackers’ tragic success much better than boxcutters and… plastic knives.
Of course, if the gun report was true, and if Suqami who reportedly fired it was one of the 9 - how did the gun make it through the "special security screenings"?

I HEREBY REQUEST THAT ALL CELL PHONE CALLS MADE FROM FLIGHT 11, "INCLUDING A RECORDED CALL MADE BY A FLIGHT ATTENDANT" IMMEDIATELY BE MADE PUBLIC (TRANSCRIPTS, RECEIVERS’ TESTIMONY, ORIGINAL PHONE COMPANY RECORDS), AND THAT ALL THOSE WHO RECEIVED CALLS FROM FLIGHT 11 TESTIFY.

I HEREBY REQUEST THAT FOLLOWING INFORMATION BE IMMEDIATELY DISCLOSED TO THE PUBLIC:
- PROCEDURE MANUALS FOR SCREENING PASSENGERS, INCLUDING SPECIAL SECURITY SCREENINGS, USED ON SEPT.11;
- SEPT.11 STILL AND VIDEO PHOTOGRAPHY FROM THE SCREENING AND TICKETING AREAS AT THE AIRPORTS USED BY THE ATTACKERS (DULLES, NEWARK, LOGAN).

HOW CONVENIENT ISN’T IT MUELLER, THAT NONE OF THE 4 BLACK BOXES OF THE 2 PLANES THAT HIT THE TWIN TOWERS HAVE BEEN RECOVERED - THAT IS, REPORTEDLY. (Or maybe it’s true – because maybe AA11 and UA175 never hit the Towers at all in the first place. But that’s another story).


I HEREBY PREEMPTIVELY DISMISS AS A SHAM ANY CONGRESSIONAL (OR OTHER) INVESTIGATION NOT SATISFACTORILY EXPLAINING ALL POINTS RAISED HERE AND NOT INCLUDING INTERROGATION OF ALL WITNESSES MENTIONED.

AND I CALL IT A CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY THAT NO INDEPENDENT CONGRESSIONAL INVESTIGATION OF THE ESTABLISHMENT’S RESPONSE TO, AND POSSIBLE FOREKNOWLEDGE OF/COMPLICITY IN 911 IS UNDER WAY YET.






Catch 9 , baby.
Alright boys, spread-eagle & let’s see.
Irregular documents? Forgiven this time.
Expired visas? We’re not the INS.
Knives? Sure.
Cans of mace? Ya never know.
A gun? This is the U.S. after all.



American Airlines, the FAA, FBI, George Walker Bush and Al Qaeda wish you a pleasant flight.






July 16, 2002 edition. I wrote the first version on March 19, 2002.



ADRIAN MORE
poet/songwriter-singer/essayist





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