Mohamed Atta and the 'Rosetta Stone'

Due to posting restrictions, this appears in two parts. The full article can be found here.


According to the ‘official’ version of events…

At 5:33 on the morning of September 11th 2001, lead hijacker, Mohamed Atta, and his co-conspirator, Abdulaziz al-Omari, checked out of room 232 of the Comfort Inn in Portland, Maine. Their operation, two and a half years in the planning, had entered its final phase.

They placed their baggage into their rented Nissan Altima and drove to Portland International Jetport, arriving at around 5:45. This gave them just enough time to catch the 6:00 commuter flight to Boston’s Logan airport, from where they would later board the 7:45 departure, Flight 11, to Los Angeles.

This connecting flight to Boston was the last leg of a rather circuitous journey for Atta, which saw him fly from Baltimore to Boston on the 9th, and having collected Omari, drive from Boston to Portland on the 10th. There appears to have been no good reason for the two men to have left Boston, and their decision to do so exposed them to potential delays that could have jeopardised their participation in the mission.

Having arrived at the airport, Atta tried to check two items of baggage onto the 19-seat commuter flight to Boston. According to the 9/11 Commission Report, he…

…was selected by a computerized prescreening system known as CAPPS (Computer Assisted Passenger Prescreening System), created to identify passengers who should be subject to special security measures. Under security rules in place at the time, the only consequence of Atta's selection by CAPPS was that his checked bags were held off the plane until it was confirmed that he had boarded the aircraft.

These measures, designed to establish that selectees with a high terrorism ‘risk score’ were not carrying explosives, ‘reflected the FAA’s view that non-suicide bombing was the most substantial risk to domestic aircraft.’

As the events unfolded, Atta’s bags remained in Boston’s Logan Airport; they hadn’t made it on to Flight 11. They were discovered later that day and conveniently found to contain what former FBI agent Warren Flagg described as ‘the Rosetta stone of the investigation’.

FBI agent James K Lechner lists the bags' contents in an affidavit filed on September 12th. They included:

numerous documents, including a letter of recommendation and education-related documentation, bearing the names “Mohamed Mohamed Elamir Awad Elsayed” and “Mohamed Mohamed Elamir Awad Elsayed Atta”; a hand-held electronic flight computer; a simulator procedures manual for Boeing 757 and 767 aircraft; two videotapes relating to “air tours” of the Boeing 757 and 747 aircraft; a slide-rule flight calculator; a copy of the Koran.

One of the documents found was described by Bob Woodward of the Washington Post as ‘a cross between a chilling spiritual exhortation aimed at the hijackers and an operational mission checklist’. In it, the hijackers were reminded to bring ‘knives, your will, IDs, your passport… [and] to make sure that nobody is following you.’ Remarkably, ‘[t]he FBI found another copy of essentially the same document in the wreckage of United Flight 93… [which] suggest[s] the document was shared among at least some of the hijackers.’

Less widely reported, is the equally remarkable claim made by both Flagg and an unnamed former federal prosecutor that the second bag contained the identities of all 19 hijackers.

Continued...

Lechner’s affidavit also contained a reference to the discovery of ‘a handwritten document in Arabic’; it was Atta’s will.

It is reasonable to assume that this will, although dated 1996, was still applicable as of September 11th. Having encouraged the other hijackers to bring their wills, it seems improbable that Atta himself would have been carrying one that had been superseded. Because of this, and in the context of the events that were about to unfold, both Atta’s instructions and the fact that he planned for the document travel with him seem incongruous. Could he have reasonably expected either his will or his body to have been recovered?

This is just one of a great many question arising from the above.

It would also be interesting to learn why Atta and Omari travelled from Boston to Portland on September 10th? Why did they catch a connecting flight back to Boston early on September 11th giving themselves little room for manoeuvre should they encounter any unforeseen delays?

Why did Atta (and at least one other hijacker who boarded Flight 93) carry operationally sensitive material with him on the morning of September 11th? Why did Atta carry his will with him and why did he instruct the other hijackers to do so? Why does Atta’s will contain instructions for the preparation and internment of his body?

Why were all these materials contained in checked-in baggage (and, therefore, inaccessible once loaded) as opposed to hand-held, carry-on baggage? Why did Atta’s bag not make it onto Flight 11?

And finally, did Atta himself make it aboard Flight 11?

This last question is not as outlandish as it first appears when you consider that Atta was selected for CAPPS screening, and that anyone thus selected was required to board their flight before their baggage was loaded. Further, one of the flight attendants aboard Flight 11, Madeline Amy Sweeney, managed to call ground staff at Boston whilst the hijacking was in progress. According to a BBC report, Sweeney ‘spotted only four’ hijackers and ‘the seat numbers she gave were different from those registered in the hijackers’ names’.

To my mind, those who planned and executed the attacks on 9/11 should have left nothing to chance. But, if the ‘official’ story is to be believed, then they clearly did. What’s more, they took unnecessary risks, none more inexplicable than those taken in the hours before the operation began.

Of course, it is always possible that the ‘official’ story is not accurate…

This stuff is interesting. It is a case of the "devil in the details". There are a lot of loose ends in the 911 story, a lot of ragged "seams" that don't hold together. I read somewhere that Atta's father said that Atta had telephoned him on 912 (That's the day after his supposed death on 911). Here is a reference for Daddy Atta's comments.

www.guardian.co.uk...

In the above story he says that his son is hiding from the American secret services to prevent them from murdering him, and that he had not participated in the 911 attacks.

In '05 he was interviewed in Cairo (He's an attorney.) and was very gung-ho about the attacks of 911 and 7/7, saying there would be many more Mohammed Attas etc.

edition.cnn.com...

Mysterious. He sounds like a mouthpiece both times.

How do you say lawyer anyway? Is it "law"yer or "lie"yer?

[edit on 25-4-2007 by ipsedixit]

[edit on 25-4-2007 by ipsedixit]

[edit on 25-4-2007 by ipsedixit]

If Atta is alive as his father claimed to be, why not make an visual interview at a secret place and proclaim he's alive and being framed?

It's possible that Attas's father is now with the program in the sense that he knows it is better for his son's health to go along with the "official" story. If Atta and the family play along and Atta never surfaces, he might live a lot longer.

Both of Atta's father's statements are worth careful consideration in the light of alternate possibilities.

The luggage was left behind becasue the flight from Portland to Boston was late. This is very common. It has happened to me flying to ND a few times after going to O'Hare.

The effects that were found were effective in helping the investigation. There is also the martyr video he made. He was the one. Look into Atta and he was what they would call a fine operative.

Atta's father was enraged because he could not beleive his son would do such a thing, but nothing else. Simple denial of a sons actions.

I don't believe the flight was late. The Portland to Boston flight arrived in to Boston at 6:45. Flight 11 pushed back from the gate at 7:40 for its scheduled 7:45 departure. This allowed ample time for baggage transfer.

What is your evidence that the connecting flight was late?

9/11 commision report and other publications that I have read. Leaving thre gate and taking off are two completely different things. Flight 93 was also late which more than likely saved another tragic building attack.

I believe you are mistaken and would ask you to support your claim that the Portland to Boston connecting flight was delayed.

My research shows that the plane took off from Portland International Jetport at 6:00, as scheduled, and arrived at Boston's Logan Airport at 6:45, again as scheduled. There was no delay and therefore, no good reason why Atta's bags did not make it onto Flight 11.

I'm well aware, by the way, that leaving the gate and taking off are two different things, but in the context of this conversation, the distinction where Flight 11 is concerned is utterly irrelevant.

Flight 11 was delayed, and there were boarding issues that morning as Logan and the baggage was not loaded onto Flight 11. It was not the Portland flight that was delayed. The flight was still boarding at 7:45, the departure time of Flight 11. It Took off at a few minutes before 8 AM.

Also, Atta was on the phone with another hijacker at 6:45 AM and I am not sure if this was on the plane or in the concourse which shows that the Protland flight was on time.

I was not bieng rude in pointing out the difference of pulling away and takeoff so I apologisze if it was taken in that way.

You first claimed that the Portland flight was late and argued that this was the reason Atta's bag did not make Flight 11. Having since established that the Portland flight actually departed and arrived in Boston on time, you are now suggesting something else; that unspecified 'boarding issues' led to problems loading Atta's bag.

I have re-read the part of the 9/11 Commision Report that deals with Flight 11 and can find no reference to 'boarding issues'. What is your source please?

My apologies that I Stated that flight was late. What I was trying to express is that the luggage was not transferred in time because of time frames. I should proof read a little better.

Open the commission report and it is on page 2. I guess you took a while to look at it. I am suggesting nothing. I am giving a timeline that they were boarding when you stated the plane was taking off on time. PAge 4 goes into maore detail.

report link

The boarding issues were that planes were boarding late. What do you not understand about that?

[edit on 25-4-2007 by esdad71]

[edit on 25-4-2007 by esdad71]

Originally posted by esdad71The boarding issues were that planes were boarding late. What do you not understand about that?

I understand it perfectly; you appear not to understand what is meant by a request to support your claim. The 9/11 Commission Report says nothing whatsoever about boarding delays for Flight 11.

It's very simple - what evidence do you have that Atta or his baggage experienced any delay at any stage of the boarding process?

As far as I can see:

The connecting flight from Portland to Boston departed on on time.

The connecting flight from Portland to Boston arrived on time.

Flight 11 pushed away from the gate on time.

If you're telling me I've missed evidence of a delay to the boarding of Flight 11 on page 2 of the report, then you're going to have to quote from it because as far as I can see, you're making this up.

I'm still puzzled by the telephone call that Atta senior said that he received from his son on 9/12. He said they talked about "normal things". He's probably lying about the call but I wonder if an examination of phone records would prove whether or not the call took place.

He revealed the call on 9/19 at a press conference. (Thompson timeline) He said that his son wasn't the attacker Atta. He hadn't seen his son since 1999. I don't think there was much that was "normal" about their relationship. Apparently he believed his son was alive for another couple of years, but in '05 he sounds very bitter. I would love to know for sure if the call of 9/12 really happened. Most likely not. Only Atta senior knows for sure.

[edit on 25-4-2007 by ipsedixit]

[edit on 25-4-2007 by ipsedixit]

www.washingtonpost.com...

this is a timeline showing it left gate at &;45 and took off at 7:59.

www.ntsb.gov...

This is a link that also shows it took off at 7:59. NTSB

www.9-11commission.gov...

Commission report says it left at 7:59 also.

I have proof that it did not take off at 7:45. I have read several publications on this and the reason that was stated in one was that boarding had been delayed at Logan that day and some flights were delayed, which is why it pulled at 7:45 and was airborne 15 minutes later.

You are picking apart phrasing of words, but my timeline is correct. Right?>

Originally posted by esdad71
www.washingtonpost.com...

this is a timeline showing it left gate at &;45 and took off at 7:59.

The time Flight 11 took off is irrelevant to our discussion. I know it took off at 7:59, but as I've already advised you, it pushed back from the gate at 7:40 - on time.

Now, what evidence do you have that, prior to 7:40, the point at which Atta's bags should have been aboard Flight 11, delays had prevented it from happening?

So he made all of this stuff (will, video, etc.) and then loaded it in the baggage knowing that would be destroyed along with himself and the plane?

Or he knew how late the flights usually are and that the officials would eventually find it in lost luggage?

I don't think he banked on the bags not being boarded. According to the 'official' story, he instructed all his co-conspirators to carry their wills. It seems unlikely he expected all of their bags to be missed off of the four flights. You also have to remember that the bags made it on to the connecting Portland to Boston flight but not onto Flight 11. So even if he had been anticipating baggage loading delays, he would have had to have relied upon it twice.

That leaves us with your first observation; that he carried them onto a flight he (according to the 'official' version) knew he was going to crash. What's more, he walked around with a bag containing operational details that, had it been intercepted, would have jeopardised everything.

It doesn't add up.

He did not care about the luggage becasue he was going to crash a plane, however ot keep up appearances he did I would think, posing as a travelling businessman. He would also not want to leave that informatiuon behind and maybe he was hoping it would be on Flight 11 and all the evidence destroyed during the impact with the towers.

THere is no true way to know now. He was selected for CAPPS and that is be part of the reason for the luggage delay. If someone is selected by CAPPS i have read where they will not load the personal luggage on that filght if connecting for security purposes.

This was checked luggage, not carry on baggage so he would not be carrying it around. The luggage that contained the 'Rosetta stone' was not carry on.

What does not add up is why people cannot fathom that these men pulled this off.

Originally posted by esdad71THere is no true way to know now. He was selected for CAPPS and that is be part of the reason for the luggage delay. If someone is selected by CAPPS i have read where they will not load the personal luggage on that filght if connecting for security purposes.

I wish you'd just said from the outset, "No, sorry, I can't substantiate my claim about baggage loading delays; I got it wrong." Instead, you've been hopping from foot to foot, making further unsupported claims and missing the point.

Atta was randomly selected for CAPPS screening at Portland. The baggage boarded the plane at Portland.

The Portland flight was due for departure at 6:00. It departed at 6:00.

It was a scheduled 45 minute flight. It took 45 minutes, arriving at Boston at 6:45.

Atta was not selected for CAPPS at Boston. There were no baggage handling delays at Boston.

Flight 11 was due for departure at 7:45. It pushed back from the gate at 7:40.

It strikes me as plain dumb to suggest that he packed his will - and advised the others to do likewise - into a bag he intended to carry onto a plane he was going to crash. I get it that you think this makes sense.