pay particular attention to the post about the american hospital in dubai
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You searched for events and entities and essays and topics and timelines and projects containing the text 'dubai' in the title or description.
23 events found.
2 essays found.
Events
1987 US confrontation with Iran
In Dubai, Sri Lankan businessman Mohamed Farouqand and German engineer Heinz Mebus meet with as many as three Iranian officials, presenting them with an offer to sell Iran the expertise and materials needed to develop a nuclear weapons program. Both Farouqand and Mebus are connected to Abdul Qadeer Khan, the head of Pakistan's nuclear program who also operates a network of nuclear manufacturers and suppliers located in more than 30 countries. According to two Western diplomats interviewed by the Washington Post in 2005, the offer lays out a five-step plan which would begin with the provision of technical drawings for Pakistani centrifuges. In phase two of the plan, the network would supply Iran with a starter kit of one or two centrifuges. This would be followed by the sale of as many as 2,000 centrifuges, which could then be used to enrich uranium. In the final phases of the plan, Iran would be provided with auxiliary items for the centrifuges and enrichment process as well as reconversion and casting equipment for building the core of a bomb. It is not known whether or not the Iranians accept this particular deal; however, at some point the Iranians do eventually obtain centrifuge parts from Khan (see March 10, 2005). [Washington Post, 2/27/2005]
People and organizations involved: Abdul Qadeer Khan
1995-2001: Persian Gulf Elite Go Hunting with bin Laden in Afghanistan Complete 911 Timeline
After the Taliban takes control of the area around Kandahar, Afghanistan, in September 1994, prominent Persian Gulf state officials and businessmen, including high-ranking United Arab Emirates and Saudi government ministers, such as Saudi intelligence minister Prince Turki al-Faisal, frequently secretly fly into Kandahar on state and private jets for hunting expeditions. [Los Angeles Times, 11/18/01] General Wayne Downing, Bush's former national director for combating terrorism, says: “They would go out and see Osama, spend some time with him, talk with him, you know, live out in the tents, eat the simple food, engage in falconing, some other pursuits, ride horses. One noted visitor is Sheik Mohammed ibn Rashid al Maktum, United Arab Emirates Defense Minister and Crown Prince for the emirate of Dubai.” [MSNBC, 9/5/03] While there, some develop ties to the Taliban and al-Qaeda and give them money. Both bin Laden and Taliban leader Mullah Omar sometimes participate in these hunting trips. Former US and Afghan officials suspect that the dignitaries' outbound jets may also have smuggled out al-Qaeda and Taliban personnel. [Los Angeles Times, 11/18/01] On one occasion, the US will decide not to attack bin Laden with a missile because he's falconing with important members of the United Arab Emirates' royal family (see February 1999).
People and organizations involved: Wayne Downing, al-Qaeda, Mullah Omar, Taliban, Osama bin Laden, Sheik Mohammed ibn Rashid al Maktum, Turki bin Faisal bin Abdul Aziz al Saud, United Arab Emirates
Mid-1996-October 2001: Ariana Airlines Becomes Transport Arm of al-Qaeda Complete 911 Timeline
Victor Bout.
In 1996, al-Qaeda assumes control of Ariana Airlines, Afghanistan's national airline, for use in its illegal trade network. Passenger flights become few and erratic, as planes are used to fly drugs, weapons, gold, and personnel, primarily between Afghanistan, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Pakistan. The Emirate of Sharjah, in the UAE, becomes a hub for al-Qaeda drug and arms smuggling. Typically, “large quantities of drugs” are flown from Kandahar, Afghanistan, to Sharjah, and large quantities of weapons are flown back to Afghanistan. [Los Angeles Times, 11/18/01] About three to four flights run the route each day. Many weapons come from Victor Bout, a notorious Russian arms dealer based in Sharjah. [Los Angeles Times, 1/20/02] Afghan taxes on opium production are paid in gold, and then the gold bullion is flown to Dubai, UAE, and laundered into cash. [Washington Post, 2/17/02] Taliban officials regularly provide militants with false papers identifying them as Ariana Airlines employees so they can move freely around the world. A former National Security Council official later claims the US is well aware at the time that al-Qaeda agents regularly fly on Ariana Airlines, but the US fails to act for several years. The US does press the UAE for tighter banking controls, but moves “delicately, not wanting to offend an ally in an already complicated relationship,” and little changes by 9/11. [Los Angeles Times, 11/18/01] Much of the money for the 9/11 hijackers flows though these Sharjah, UAE, channels. There also are reports suggesting that Ariana Airlines might have been used to train Islamic militants as pilots. The illegal use of Ariana Airlines helps convince the United Nations to impose sanctions against Afghanistan in 1999, but the sanctions lack teeth and do not stop the airline. A second round of sanctions finally stops foreign Ariana Airlines flights, but its charter flights and other charter services keep the illegal network running. [Los Angeles Times, 11/18/01]
People and organizations involved: al-Qaeda, Ariana Airlines, Victor Bout, United Nations, United Arab Emirates, Taliban
January 2-5, 2000: CIA Tracks Alhazmi and Almihdhar to al-Qaeda Meeting; Fails to Place Them on Terror Watch List Complete 911 Timeline
Hijackers Nawaf Alhazmi and Khalid Almihdhar travel to an important al-Qaeda meeting (see January 5-8, 2000) in Malaysia. Alhazmi is in Pakistan with a ticket to Malaysia for January 2. CIA and Pakistani officials plan to have his passport scrutinized as he passes through the airport, but he changes his ticket departure date twice. Officials get confused and are not there when he leaves the country, so they still don't learn his last name. Meanwhile, Almihdhar is watched when he leaves a safe house in Yemen. Agents from eight CIA offices and six friendly foreign intelligence services are all asked to help track him, in the hopes he will lead them to bigger al-Qaeda figures. [Stern, 8/13/03] United Arab Emirates officials secretly make copies of his passport as he is passing through the Dubai airport on his way to Malaysia and immediately report this to the CIA. Therefore, by the time he reaches Malaysia, the CIA knows his full name, and the fact that he has a multiple entry visa to the US that is valid from April 1999 to April 2000. Even though the CIA now knows Almihdhar has a one-year visa to the US and presumably plans to travel there, they do not place him on a terror watch list, despite receiving guidelines the previous month on the importance of doing so. [Bamford, 2004, pp 224]
People and organizations involved: United Arab Emirates, al-Qaeda, Nawaf Alhazmi, Khalid Almihdhar, Central Intelligence Agency
Late November 2000-January 30, 2001: Conflicting Accounts of Jarrah's Location Complete 911 Timeline
Two Ziad Jarrahs. The photo on the right is from the wreckage of Flight 93.
When Ziad Jarrah is questioned at Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on January 30, 2001, he reveals that he has been in Pakistan and Afghanistan for the previous two months and five days, and that he is returning to Florida. [Chicago Tribune, 12/13/01] Investigators also later confirm that “Jarrah had spent at least three weeks in January 2001 at an al-Qaeda training camp in Afghanistan.” [CNN, 8/1/02] However, the Florida Flight Training Center, where Jarrah has been studying for the previous six months, later says he is in school there until January 15, 2001. His family later reports he arrives in Lebanon to visit them on January 26, five days before he supposedly passes through Dubai. His father had just undergone open-heart surgery, and Jarrah visits him every day in the hospital until after January 30. Pointing out this incident, his uncle Jamal Jarrah later asks, “How could he be in two places at one time?” [Longman, 2002, pp 101-02] This is not the only example of Jarrah being in two places at the same time—there is also evidence he was in different places at once from March 1995-February 1996 (see March 1995-February 1996).
People and organizations involved: Jamal Jarrah, Florida Flight Training Center, Ziad Jarrah
January-June 2001: Hijackers Pass Through Britain for Training or Fundraising Complete 911 Timeline
Eleven of the 9/11 hijackers stay in or pass through Britain, according to the British Home Secretary and top investigators. Most are in Britain between April and June, just passing through from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. However, investigators suspect some stay in Britain for training and fundraising. Not all 11 names are given, but one can deduce from the press accounts that Ahmed Alghamdi, Salem Alhazmi, Ahmed Alhaznawi, Ahmed Alnami, and Saeed Alghamdi were definitely in Britain. Ahmed Alghamdi was one of several that should have been “instantly ‘red-flagged’ by British intelligence,” because of his links to Raed Hijazi, a suspected ally of bin Laden being held in Jordan on charges of conspiring to destroy holy sites. Two of the following three also were in Britain: Wail Alshehri, Fayez Banihammad, and Abdulaziz Alomari. Apparently, the investigation concludes that the “muscle,” and leaders like Mohamed Atta and Marwan Alshehhi did not pass through Britain at this time. [BBC, 9/28/01; Washington Post, 9/27/01; Times of London, 9/26/01; Sunday Herald, 9/30/01] However, police are investigating whether Atta visited Britain in 1999 and 2000, together with some Algerians. [Daily Telegraph, 9/30/01] The London Times also writes, “Officials hope that the inquiries in Britain will disclose the true identities of the suicide team. Some are known to have arrived in Britain using false passports and fake identities that they kept for the hijack.”
People and organizations involved: Ahmed Alhaznawi, Ahmed Alghamdi, Ahmed Alnami, Saeed Alghamdi, Salem Alhazmi, Wail Alshehri, Fayez Ahmed Banihammad, Abdulaziz Alomari, Marwan Alshehhi, Raed Hijazi, Mohamed Atta
January 30, 2001: Hijacker Questioned at Request of CIA, Then Released Complete 911 Timeline
Ziad Jarrah flying in Florida in 2000.
Hijacker Ziad Jarrah is questioned for several hours at the Dubai International Airport, United Arab Emirates, at the request of the CIA for “suspected involvement in terrorist activities,” then let go. This is according to United Arab Emirates, US, and European officials, but the CIA denies the story. The CIA notified local officials that he would be arriving from Pakistan on his way back to Europe, and they wanted to know where he had been in Afghanistan and how long he had been there. US officials were informed of the results of the interrogation before Jarrah left the airport. Jarrah had already been in the US for six months learning to fly. “UAE and European intelligence sources told CNN that the questioning of Jarrah fits a pattern of a CIA operation begun in 1999 to track suspected al-Qaeda operatives who were traveling through the United Arab Emirates.” He was then permitted to leave, eventually going to the US. [CNN, 8/1/02; Chicago Tribune, 12/13/01] Some accounts place this in January 2000.
People and organizations involved: United Arab Emirates, Ziad Jarrah, Central Intelligence Agency
April 23-June 29, 2001: Al-Qaeda Muscle Team Arrives in US at This Time or Earlier Complete 911 Timeline
This Ahmed Al-Haznawi picture is a photocopy of his 2001 US visa application.
The 13 hijackers commonly known as the “muscle” allegedly first arrive in the US. The muscle provides the brute force meant to control the hijacked passengers and protect the pilots. [Washington Post, 9/30/01] According to FBI Director Mueller, they all pass through Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and their travel was probably coordinated from abroad by Khalid Almihdhar. [9/11 Congressional Inquiry, 9/26/02] However, some information contradicts their official arrival dates:
April 23: Waleed Alshehri and Satam Al Suqami arrive in Orlando, Florida. Suqami in fact arrived before February 2001. Alshehri was leasing a house near Washington in 1999 and 2000 with Ahmed Alghamdi. He also lived with Ahmed Alghamdi in Florida for seven months in 1997. [Daily Telegraph, 9/20/01] Alshehri appears quite Americanized in the summer of 2001, frequently talking with an apartment mate about football and baseball, even identifying himself a fan of the Florida Marlins baseball team. [Associated Press, 9/21/01]
May 2: Majed Moqed and Ahmed Alghamdi arrive in Washington. Both actually arrived by mid-March 2001. Ahmed Alghamdi was living with Waleed Alshehri near Washington until July 2000. He also lived with Waleed Alshehri in Florida for seven months in 1997. [Daily Telegraph, 9/20/01]
May 28: Mohand Alshehri, Hamza Alghamdi, and Ahmed Alnami allegedly arrive in Miami, Florida. According to other reports, however, both Mohand Alshehri and Hamza Alghamdi arrived by January 2001.
June 8: Ahmed Alhaznawi and Wail Alshehri arrive in Miami, Florida.
June 27: Fayez Banihammad and Saeed Alghamdi arrive in Orlando, Florida.
June 29: Salem Alhazmi and Abdulaziz Alomari allegedly arrive in New York. According to other reports, however, Alhazmi arrived before February 2001. After entering the US (or, perhaps, reentering), the hijackers arriving at Miami and Orlando airports settle in the Fort Lauderdale, Florida, area along with Mohamed Atta, Marwan Alshehhi, and Ziad Jarrah. The hijackers, arriving in New York and Virginia, settle in the Paterson, New Jersey, area along with Nawaf Alhazmi and Hani Hanjour. [9/11 Congressional Inquiry, 9/26/02] Note the FBI's early conclusion that 11 of these muscle men “did not know they were on a suicide mission.” [Observer, 10/14/01] CIA Director Tenet's later claim that they “probably were told little more than that they were headed for a suicide mission inside the United States” [CIA Director Tenet Testimony, 6/18/02] and reports that they did not know the exact details of the 9/11 plot until shortly before the attack [CBS News, 10/9/02] are contradicted by video confessions made by all of them in March 2001 (see March 2001).
People and organizations involved: George Tenet, Federal Bureau of Investigation, William Safire, Nawaf Alhazmi, Ziad Jarrah, Marwan Alshehhi, Mohamed Atta, Majed Moqed, Ahmed Alghamdi, Mohand Alshehri, Waleed M. Alshehri, Satam Al Suqami, Hamza Alghamdi, Ahmed Alnami, Saeed Alghamdi, Fayez Ahmed Banihammad, Salem Alhazmi, Khalid Almihdhar, Abdulaziz Alomari, Wail Alshehri, Ahmed Alhaznawi
June 25, 2001: Hijacker Opens Bank Account in Dubai Complete 911 Timeline
Hijacker Fayez Banihammad opens a bank account in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), with 9/11 paymaster “Mustafa Ahmed al-Hawsawi.” That name is a likely alias for Saeed Sheikh, who is known to visit Dubai frequently in this time period. [MSNBC, 12/11/01] Banihammad flies to the US the next day. Banihammad gives power of attorney to “al-Hawsawi” on July 18, and then “al-Hawsawi” sends Banihammad Visa and ATM cards in Florida. Banihammad uses the Visa card to buy his airplane ticket for 9/11. [Washington Post, 12/13/01; MSNBC, 12/11/01] The same pattern of events occurs for some other hijackers, though the timing is not fully known. [9/11 Congressional Inquiry, 9/26/02] Visa cards are given to several other hijackers in Dubai. [Times of London, 12/1/01] Other hijackers, including Hani Hanjour, Abdulaziz Alomari, and Khalid Almihdhar, open foreign bank and credit card accounts in the UAE and in Saudi Arabia. Majed Moqed, Saeed Alghamdi, Hamza Alghamdi, Ahmed Alnami, Ahmed Alhaznawi, Wail Alshehri, and possibly others purchase travelers checks in the UAE, presumably with funds given to them when they pass through Dubai. It is believed that “al-Hawsawi” is in Dubai every time the hijackers pass through. [9/11 Congressional Inquiry, 9/26/02]
People and organizations involved: Ahmed Alhaznawi, Wail Alshehri, Hamza Alghamdi, Ahmed Alnami, Saeed Alghamdi, Majed Moqed, Khalid Almihdhar, Abdulaziz Alomari, William Safire, Mustafa Ahmed al-Hawsawi, Saeed Sheikh, Fayez Ahmed Banihammad
July 4-14, 2001: Bin Laden Reportedly Receives Lifesaving Treatment in Dubai, Said to Meet with CIA While There Complete 911 Timeline
The American Hospital in Dubai.
Bin Laden, America's most wanted criminal with a $5 million bounty on his head, supposedly receives lifesaving treatment for renal failure from American specialist Dr. Terry Callaway at the American hospital in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. He is possibly accompanied by Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri (who is said to be bin Laden's personal physician, al-Qaeda's second-in-command, and leader of Egypt's Islamic Jihad), plus several bodyguards. Callaway supposedly treated bin Laden in 1996 and 1998, also in Dubai. Callaway later refuses to answer any questions on this matter. [Le Figaro, 10/31/01; Times of London, 11/01/01; Agence France-Presse, 11/1/01] During his stay, bin Laden is visited by “several members of his family and Saudi personalities,” including Prince Turki al Faisal, then head of Saudi intelligence. [Guardian, 11/1/01] On July 12, bin Laden reportedly meets with CIA agent Larry Mitchell in the hospital. Mitchell apparently lives in Dubai as an Arab specialist under the cover of being a consular agent. The CIA, the Dubai hospital, and even bin Laden deny the story. The two news organizations that broke the story, Le Figaro and Radio France International, stand by their reporting. [Le Figaro, 10/31/01; Radio France International, 11/1/01] The explosive story is widely reported in Europe, but there are only two, small wire service stories on it in the US. [Reuters, 11/10/01; UPI, 11/1/01] The Guardian claims that the story originated from French intelligence, “which is keen to reveal the ambiguous role of the CIA, and to restrain Washington from extending the war to Iraq and elsewhere.” The Guardian adds that during his stay bin Laden is also visited by a second CIA officer. [Guardian, 11/1/01] In 2003, reporter Richard Labeviere will provide additional details of what he claims happened in a book entitled “The Corridors of Terror.” He claims he learned about the meeting from a contact in the Dubai hospital. He claims the event was confirmed in detail by a Gulf prince who presented himself as an adviser to the Emir of Bahrain. This prince claimed the meeting was arrange by Prince Turki al-Faisal, Saudi Arabia's intelligence director. The prince said, “By organizing this meeting...Turki thought he could start direct negotiations between [bin Laden] and the CIA on one fundamental point: that bin Laden and his supporters end their hostilities against American interests.” In exchange, the CIA and Saudis would allow bin Laden to return to Saudi Arabia and live freely there. The meeting is said to be a failure. [Reuters, 11/14/03] On July 15, Larry Mitchell reportedly returns to CIA headquarters to report on his meeting with bin Laden. [Radio France International, 11/1/01] French terrorism expert Antoine Sfeir says the story of this meeting has been verified and is not surprising: It “is nothing extraordinary. Bin Laden maintained contacts with the CIA up to 1998. These contacts have not ceased since bin Laden settled in Afghanistan. Up to the last moment, CIA agents hoped that bin Laden would return to the fold of the US, as was the case before 1989.” [Le Figaro, 11/1/01] A CIA spokesman calls the entire account of bin Laden's stay at Dubai “sheer fantasy.” [Reuters, 11/14/03]
People and organizations involved: Turki bin Faisal bin Abdul Aziz al Saud, Islamic Jihad, Terry Callaway, Larry Mitchell, Ayman al-Zawahiri, Osama bin Laden, Central Intelligence Agency, al-Qaeda
July 28, 2001: Captured Operative Had Links That Could Have Led to Moussaoui, 9/11 Plot Complete 911 Timeline
Djamel Beghal.
High-level al-Qaeda operative Djamel Beghal is arrested in Dubai on his way back from Afghanistan. Earlier in the month the CIA sent friendly intelligence agencies a list of al-Qaeda agents they wanted to be immediately apprehended, and Beghal was on the list (see July 3, 2001). Beghal quickly starts to talk, and tells French investigators about a plot to attack the American embassy in Paris. Crucially, he provides new details about the international-operations role of top al-Qaeda deputy Abu Zubaida, whom he had been with a short time before. [New York Times, 12/28/01 (B); Time, 8/4/02] One European official says Beghal talks about “very important figures in the al-Qaeda structure, right up to bin Laden's inner circle. [He] mention names, responsibilities and functions—people we weren't even aware of before. This is important stuff.” [Time, 11/12/01] One French official says of Beghal's interrogations, “We shared everything we knew with the Americans.” [Time, 5/19/02] The New York Times later reports that, “Enough time and work could have led investigators from Mr. Beghal to an address in Hamburg where Mohamed Atta and his cohorts had developed and planned the Sept. 11 attacks.” Beghal had frequently associated with Zacarias Moussaoui. However, although Moussaoui is arrested (see August 15, 2001) around the same time that Beghal is revealing the names and details of all his fellow operatives, Beghal is apparently not asked about Moussaoui. [Time, 8/4/02; New York Times, 12/28/01 (B)]
People and organizations involved: Zacarias Moussaoui, Djamel Beghal, Mohamed Atta, al-Qaeda
Early August 2001: Saeed Sheikh Receives Ransom Money; Sends $100,000 to Atta Complete 911 Timeline
The ransom for a wealthy Indian shoe manufacturer kidnapped in Calcutta, India, two weeks earlier is paid to an Indian gangster named Aftab Ansari. Ansari is based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and has ties to the ISI and Saeed Sheikh. Ansari gives about $100,000 of the about $830,000 in ransom money to Saeed, who sends it to hijacker Mohamed Atta. [Independent, 1/24/02; Los Angeles Times, 1/23/02] A series of recovered e-mails shows the money is sent just after August 11. This appears to be one of a series of Indian kidnappings this gang carries out in 2001. [India Today, 2/14/02; Times of India, 2/14/02] Saeed provides training and weapons to the kidnappers in return for a percentage of the profits. [Frontline, 2/2/02; India Today, 2/25/02]
People and organizations involved: Pakistan Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence, Mohamed Atta, Saeed Sheikh, Aftab Ansari
September 7-10, 2001: Dubai Banker Claims al-Qaeda Agent Speculates on Airline and Blue-Chip Stocks Complete 911 Timeline
French author Bernard-Henri Levy claims to know an anonymous manager at a Dubai, United Arab Emirates, bank who gives him astute and accurate tips on Arab banking. The manager tells Henri-Levy in 2002, “We know a bank here that made [a put option] transaction between the 8th and 10th of September on certain Dow Jones blue-chip stocks for accounts linked to bin Laden. I know the name of a bank that, by shorting 8,000 shares of United Airlines on the 7th of September, then 1,200 shares of American Airlines on the morning of the 10th, allowed the attack to finance itself.” The manager won't name the bank, but he quotes bin Laden from a late September 2001 interview, stating, “al-Qaeda is full of young, modern, and educated people who are aware of the cracks inside the Western financial system, and know how to exploit them. These faults and weaknesses are like a sliding noose strangling the system.” [Daily Ummat, 9/28/01; Who Killed Daniel Pearl?, by Bernard-Henri Levy, 9/03, pp 312-313] The timing and amount of type of stock speculation mentioned in this account is similar to, but not the same as, previously published reports (see September 6-10, 2001). Levy suspects the al-Qaeda agent making these transactions is the financially astute Saeed Sheikh, graduate of the London School of Economics. An al-Qaeda agent using the alias Mustafa Ahmad is captured by a surveillance camera entering the Bank of Dubai on September 10, Dubai time, to pick up money sent by Mohamed Atta in previous days, but this video footage has never been publicly released. Levy and others argue that Mustafa Ahmad and Saeed Sheikh are one and the same (see September 8-11, 2001). [Who Killed Daniel Pearl?, by Bernard-Henri Levy, 9/03, pp 312-313]
People and organizations involved: al-Qaeda, United Airlines, Saeed Sheikh, Osama bin Laden, American Airlines
September 9, 2001: Internet Forum Message Warns of 9/11 Attack Complete 911 Timeline
A message is posted on Alsaha.com, a website based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, warning of the 9/11 attack. It proclaims that in the next two days, a “big surprise” is coming from the Saudi Arabian region of Asir, the remote, mountainous province that produced most of the 19 hijackers who struck on September 11. Since 9/11, the FBI and CIA have closely monitored this website as “a kind of terrorist early-warning system” due to its popularity with Muslim fundamentalists. However, it is doubtful if they were monitoring the site before 9/11, or noticed this message. [Newsweek, 5/25/03]
People and organizations involved: United Arab Emirates, Central Intelligence Agency, Alsaha.com, Federal Bureau of Investigation
September 9, 2001: Hijacker Jarrah Is Stopped for Speeding but No Red Flag in Computer Records Complete 911 Timeline
Hijacker Ziad Jarrah is stopped in Maryland for speeding, ticketed, and released. No red flags show up when his name is run through the computer by the state police, even though he already had been questioned in January 2001 in the United Arab Emirates [UAE] at the request of the CIA for “suspected involvement in terrorist activities” (see January 30, 2001) Baltimore's mayor has criticized the CIA for not informing them that Jarrah was on the CIA's watch list. [Associated Press, 12/14/01; Chicago Tribune, 12/13/01] The CIA calls the whole story (of their alleged request that the UAE question Jarrah) “flatly untrue.” [CNN, 8/1/02]
People and organizations involved: Ziad Jarrah, Central Intelligence Agency
September 11-13, 2001: Hijackers Leave a Clear Trail of Evidence Complete 911 Timeline
A white Mitsubishi is towed from Logan Airport, Boston, on September 12. Inside is an Arabic-language flight manual.
Investigators find a remarkable number of possessions left behind by the hijackers:
Two of Mohamed Atta's bags are found on 9/11. They contain a handheld 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, Atta's passport, his will, his international driver's license, a religious cassette tape, airline uniforms, a letter of recommendation, “education related documentation” and a note (see September 28, 2001) to other hijackers on how to mentally prepare for the hijacking. [Sydney Morning Herald, 9/15/01; Boston Globe, 9/18/01; Associated Press, 10/5/01; Independent, 9/29/01]
Marwan Alshehhi's rental car is discovered at Boston's Logan Airport containing an Arabic language flight manual, a pass giving access to restricted areas at the airport, documents containing a name on the passenger list of one of the flights, and the names of other suspects. The name of the flight school where Atta and Alshehhi studied, Huffman Aviation, is also found in the car. [Los Angeles Times, 9/13/01]
A car registered to Nawaf Alhazmi is found at Washington's Dulles Airport on September 12. Inside is a copy of Atta's letter to the other hijackers, a cashier's check made out to a flight school in Phoenix, four drawings of the cockpit of a 757 jet, a box cutter-type knife, maps of Washington and New York, and a page with notes and phone numbers. [Cox News Service, 10/21/01; Die Zeit, 10/1/02; Arizona Daily Star, 9/28/01]
A rental car is found in an airport parking lot in Portland, Maine. Investigators are able to collect fingerprints and hair samples for DNA analysis. [Portland Press Herald, 10/14/01]
A Boston hotel room contains airplane and train schedules. [Sydney Morning Herald, 9/15/01]
FBI agents carry out numerous garbage bags of evidence from a Florida apartment where Saeed Alghamdi lived. [CNN, 9/17/01 (B)]
Two days before 9/11, a hotel owner in Deerfield Beach, Florida, finds a box cutter left in a hotel room used by Marwan Alshehhi and two unidentified men. The owner checks the nearby trash and finds a duffel bag containing Boeing 757 manuals, three illustrated martial arts books, an 8-inch stack of East Coast flight maps, a three-ring binder full of handwritten notes, an English-German dictionary, an airplane fuel tester, and a protractor. The FBI seizes all the items when they are notified on September 12 (except the binder of notes, which the owner apparently threw away). [Miami Herald, 9/16/01; Associated Press, 9/16/01 (B)]
In an apartment rented by Ziad Jarrah and Ahmed Alhaznawi, the FBI finds a notebook, videotape, and photocopies of their passports. [Miami Herald, 9/15/01]
In a bar the night before 9/11, after making predictions of a attack on America the next day, the hijackers leave a business card and a copy of the Koran at the bar. The FBI also recovers the credit card receipts from when they paid for their drinks and lap dances. [Associated Press, 9/14/01]
A September 13 security sweep of Boston airport's parking garage uncovers items left behind by the hijackers: a box cutter, a pamphlet written in Arabic, and a credit card. [Washington Post, 9/16/01]
A few hours after the attacks, suicide notes that some of the hijackers wrote to their parents are found in New York. Credit card receipts showing that some of the hijackers paid for flight training in the US are also found. [Los Angeles Times, 9/13/01]
A FedEx bill is found in a trash can at the Comfort Inn in Portland, Maine, where Atta stayed the night before 9/11. The bill leads to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, allowing investigators to determine much of the funding for 9/11. [Newsweek, 11/11/01; Times of London, 12/1/01] The hijackers past whereabouts can even be tracked by their pizza purchases. An expert points out: “Most people pay cash for pizza. These [hijackers] paid with a credit card. That was an odd thing.” [San Diego Union-Tribune, 9/3/02] “In the end, they left a curiously obvious trail—from martial arts manuals, maps, a Koran, Internet and credit card fingerprints. Maybe they were sloppy, maybe they did not care, maybe it was a gesture of contempt of a culture they considered weak and corrupt.” [Miami Herald, 9/22/01] Note The New Yorker's quote of a former high-level intelligence official: “Whatever trail was left was left deliberately—for the FBI to chase.” [New Yorker, 10/1/01]
People and organizations involved: Federal Bureau of Investigation, Marwan Alshehhi, Mohamed Atta, Washington Dulles International Airport, Huffman Aviation, Nawaf Alhazmi, Ziad Jarrah, Ahmed Alhaznawi, Saeed Alghamdi
September 24, 2001-December 26, 2002: Identity of 9/11 Financier Constantly Changes Complete 911 Timeline
This is the fuzzy passport photo of “Mustafa Ahmed al-Hawsawi,” according to the book “The Base” by Jane Corbin.
In 2000, the 9/11 hijackers receive money from a man using “Mustafa Ahmed al-Hisawi” and other aliases. On September 8-11, 2001, the hijackers send money to a man in the United Arab Emirates who uses the aliases “Mustafa Ahmed,” “Mustafa Ahmad,” and “Ahamad Mustafa.” Soon the media begins reporting on who this 9/11 “paymaster” is, but his reported names and identities will continually change. The media has sometimes made the obvious connection that the paymaster is Saeed Sheikh—a British financial expert who studied at the London School of Economics, undisputedly sent hijacker Mohamed Atta money the month before the attacks, made frequent trips to Dubai (where the money is sent), and is known to have trained the hijackers. However, the FBI consistently deflects attention to other possible explanations, with a highly confusing series of names vaguely similar to Mustafa Ahmed or Saeed Sheikh:
September 24, 2001: Newsweek reports that the paymaster for the 9/11 attacks is someone named “Mustafa Ahmed.” [Newsweek, 9/24/01] This refers to Mustafa Mahmoud Said Ahmed, an Egyptian al-Qaeda banker who was captured in Tanzania in 1998 then later released. [Sydney Morning Herald, 9/28/01; Newsday, 10/3/01]
October 1, 2001: The Guardian reports that the real name of “Mustafa Mohamed Ahmad” is “Sheikh Saeed.” [Guardian, 10/1/01] A few days later, CNN confirms that this “Sheik Syed” is the British man Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh rescued from an Indian prison in 1999. [CNN, 10/8/01; CNN, 10/6/01] However, starting on October 8, the story that ISI Director Mahmood ordered Saeed to give Mohamed Atta $100,000 begins to break. References to the 9/11 paymaster being the British Saeed Sheikh (and the connections to Ahmed) suddenly disappear from the Western media (with one exception [CNN, 10/28/01] ).
October 2001: Other articles continue to use “Mustafa Mohammed Ahmad” or “Shaykh Saiid” with no details of his identity, except for suggestions that he is Egyptian. There are numerous spelling variations and conflicting accounts over which name is the alias. [Washington Post, 10/7/01; Sunday Times, 10/7/01; Associated Press, 10/6/01; New York Times, 10/15/01; Los Angeles Times, 10/20/01; Knight Ridder, 10/9/01; BBC, 10/1/01; Newsday, 10/3/01; Evening Standard, 10/1/01]
October 16, 2001: CNN reports that the 9/11 paymaster “Sheik Sayid” is mentioned in a May 2001 trial of al-Qaeda members. However, this turns out to be a Kenyan named Sheik Sayyid el Masry. [CNN, 10/16/01; Trial Transcript, 2/21/01; Trial Transcript, 2/20/01]
November 11, 2001: The identity of 9/11 paymaster “Mustafa Ahmed” is suddenly no longer Egyptian, but is now a Saudi named Sa'd Al-Sharif, who is said to be bin Laden's brother-in-law. [United Nations, 3/8/01; Associated Press, 12/18/01; Newsweek, 11/11/01]
December 11, 2001: The federal indictment of Zacarias Moussaoui calls the 9/11 paymaster “Mustafa Ahmed al-Hawsawi a/k/a ‘Mustafa Ahmed,’ ” and gives him Sa'd's nationality and birth date. [MSNBC, 12/11/01] Many articles begin adding “al-Hawsawi” to the Mustafa Ahmed name. [Washington Post, 12/13/01; Los Angeles Times, 1/20/02; Washington Post, 1/7/02]
January 23, 2002: As new information is reported in India, the media returns to the British Saeed Sheikh as the 9/11 paymaster. [Daily Telegraph, 1/27/02; Independent, 1/24/02; Los Angeles Times, 1/23/02; Daily Telegraph, 1/24/02] While his role in the kidnapping of Daniel Pearl is revealed on February 6, many articles connect him to 9/11, but many more do not. Coverage of Saeed's 9/11 connections generally dies out by the time of his trial in July 2002.
June 4, 2002: Without explanation, the name “Shaikh Saiid al-Sharif” begins to be used for the 9/11 paymaster, presumably a combination of Saeed Sheikh and S'ad al-Sharif. [San Francisco Chronicle, 11/15/02; Associated Press, 9/26/02; Associated Press, 6/5/02; Independent, 9/15/02] Many of the old names continue to be used, however. [Knight Ridder, 9/8/02; Knight Ridder, 9/9/02; Los Angeles Times, 12/24/02 (B); Los Angeles Times, 9/1/02; Washington Post, 9/11/02; New York Times, 7/10/02; Chicago Tribune, 9/5/02; Time, 8/4/02 (B)]
June 18, 2002: FBI Director Mueller testifies that the money sent in 2000 is sent by someone named “Ali Abdul Aziz Ali” but the money in 2001 is sent by “Shaikh Saiid al-Sharif.” The “Aziz Ali” name has not been mentioned again by the press or FBI (outside of coverage of this testimony in September 2002). [9/11 Congressional Inquiry, 9/26/02]
September 4, 2002: Newsweek says “Mustafa Ahmad Adin al-Husawi,” presumably Saudi, is a deputy to the Egyptian “Sayyid Shaikh Al-Sharif.” However, it adds he “remains almost a total mystery,” and they are unsure of his name. [Newsweek, 9/4/02]
December 26, 2002: US officials now say there is no such person as Shaikh Saiid al-Sharif. Instead, he is probably a composite of three different people: “[Mustafa Ahmed] Al-Hisawi, Shaikh Saiid al-Masri, al-Qaeda's finance chief, and Saad al-Sharif, bin Laden's brother-in-law and a midlevel al-Qaeda financier.” [Associated Press, 12/27/02] Shaikh Saiid al-Masri is likely a reference the Kenyan Sheik Sayyid el Masry. Note that, now, al-Hisawi is the assistant to Shaikh Saiid, a flip from a few months before. Saiid and/or al-Hisawi still haven't been added to the FBI's official most wanted lists. [FBI Most Wanted Terrorists, 2002; Times of London, 12/1/01; Wall Street Journal, 6/17/02] Despite the confusion, the FBI isn't even seeking information about them. [FBI, 2/14/02] Mustafa Ahmed al-Hawsawi is said to be arrested with Khalid Shaikh Mohammed in Pakistan in 2003, but no photos of him are released, and witnesses of the supposed arrest did not see Al-Hawsawi or Mohammed there (see March 1, 2003). [Reuters, 3/3/03 (C)]
People and organizations involved: Federal Bureau of Investigation, Mustafa, Sa'd Al-Sharif, Robert S. Mueller III, Mohamed Atta, al-Qaeda, Sayyid Shaikh Al-Sharif, Ahamad Mustafa, Osama bin Laden, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, Daniel Pearl, Mustafa Ahmed al-Hawsawi, Khalid el-Masri, Mustafa Ahmad Adin al-Husawi, Mustafa Ahmed al-Hisawi, Saeed Sheikh, Ali Abdul Aziz Ali, Mahmood Ahmed
October 14, 2001: Bin Laden Reportedly Has Supporters at All Levels of Saudi Arabia Complete 911 Timeline
The Boston Herald reports: “Three banks allegedly used by Osama bin Laden to distribute money to his global terrorism network have well-established ties to a prince in Saudi Arabia's royal family, several billionaire Saudi bankers, and the governments of Kuwait and Dubai. One of the banks, Al-Shamal Islamic Bank in the Sudan, was controlled directly by bin Laden, according to a 1996 US State Department report.” A regional expert states, “I think we underestimate bin Laden. He comes from the highest levels of Saudi society and he has supporters at all levels of Saudi Arabia.” [Boston Herald, 10/14/01]
People and organizations involved: Al-Shamal Islamic Bank, Osama bin Laden
October 23, 2001 Torture in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere
Jamil Qasim Saeed Mohammed, a microbiology student from Yemen who is suspected of membership in al-Qaeda and involvement in the bombing of the USS Cole, is apprehended in Pakistan by the Pakistani intelligence agency at the request of the United States. [St. Petersburg Times, 10/28/2001; Associated Press, 10/28/2001; Amnesty International, 8/19/2003; The Washington Post, 3/11/2002] In the early hours of October 23, 2001, he is taken to a secluded part of Karachi International Airport. Shackled and blindfolded, the Pakistanis deliver him from there to US agents, according to the Washington Post, “without extradition or deportation papers.” [Washington Post, 3/11/2002] From there, at about 2:40 a.m., Mohammed is put on a US-registered jet and flown to Jordan. His fate is unknown from then on, . [Amnesty International, 8/19/2003] The plane is a Gulfstream V with tail number N379P, owned by a company named Premier Executive Transport Services Inc. (PETS), of 339 Washington St., Dedham, Massachusetts. The company is apparently a CIA front organization. [Washington Post, 12/27/2004] Fredrik Laurin, a Swedish reporter, discovers that the chartered Gulfstream is leased almost exclusively to the US administration. [The Guardian, 9/13/2004] Since its discovery, the Gulfstream has been spotted at Washington's Dulles International Airport, Guantanamo Bay, in the Middle East and Central Asia (Amman (the military airport), Baghdad, Baku, Cairo, Dubai, Islamabad, Karachi, Kuwait City, Rabat, Riyadh, and Tashkent), and in Europe (Frankfurt, Glasgow, Stockholm, Larnaca on Cyprus and other airports in England and Ireland). [Washington Post, 7/25/2004; Washington Post, 12/27/2004] The jet is further found to have a permit to land at US military bases around the world. [The Guardian, 9/13/2004]
People and organizations involved: Jamil Qasim Saeed Mohammed
January 22-25, 2002: India Tells FBI Director About Saeed Sheikh Connection to 9/11 Complete 911 Timeline
FBI Director Mueller visits India, and is told by Indian investigators that Saeed Sheikh sent ransom money to hijacker Mohamed Atta in the US. In the next few days, Saeed is publicly blamed for his role with gangster Aftab Ansari in financing Atta and organizing the Calcutta attack (see January 22, 2002). [Press Trust of India, 1/22/02; Daily Telegraph, 1/27/02; Los Angeles Times, 1/23/02; Independent, 2/24/02; Agence France-Presse, 1/27/02] Meanwhile, on January 23, Saeed helps kidnap reporter Daniel Pearl and is later arrested. Also on January 23, Ansari is placed under surveillance after flying to Dubai, United Arab Emirates. On January 24, Mueller and US Ambassador to Pakistan Wendy Chamberlin discuss Saeed at a previously scheduled meeting with Pakistani President Musharraf. Apparently Saeed's role in Pearl's kidnapping is not yet known. [Associated Press, 2/24/02] On Mueller's way back to the US he flies to Dubai to pressure the government there to arrest Ansari and deport him to India. Ansari is arrested on February 5 and deported four days later. [Associated Press, 2/10/02; Frontline, 2/16/02; India Today, 2/25/02]
People and organizations involved: Robert S. Mueller III, Saeed Sheikh, Mohamed Atta, Aftab Ansari, Pervez Musharraf, Daniel Pearl, Wendy Chamberlin, India
February 9, 2002: Pakistani Gangster Admits Ties to ISI, Saeed Sheikh, and Terrorism Complete 911 Timeline
Aftab Ansari.
Gangster Aftab Ansari is deported to India. He was arrested in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on February 5. [Independent, 2/10/02] He admits funding attacks through kidnapping ransoms, and building a network of arms and drug smuggling. [Deutsche Presse-Agenteur, 2/11/02] He later also admits to close ties with the ISI and Saeed Sheikh, whom he befriended in prison. [Press Trust of India, 5/13/02]
People and organizations involved: Saeed Sheikh, Aftab Ansari, Pakistan Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence
January 2005 US confrontation with Iran
Iran hands over documents from a 1987 meeting in Dubai (See also 1987) to a International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) investigation (See also November 2004). During the 1987 meeting, associates of Abdul Qadeer Khan presented Iranian officials with an offer to sell Iran the technology and materials to build a nuclear bomb. However, the IAEA does not uncover any evidence suggesting that the equipment was used in anything other than Iran's civilian nuclear energy program. The violations are technical and based only on the fact that Iran failed to report the program. Despite its recent findings, the IAEA investigation claims it still lacks a clear understanding of Iran's nuclear program. [Washington Post, 2/27/2005]
People and organizations involved: Abdul Qadeer Khan
Early February 2005 US confrontation with Iran
Sri Lankan, Buhary Syed Abu Tahir, is accused by President Bush of being the chief financial officer for an international nuclear black market linked to Abdul Qadeer Khan, the so-called father of Pakistan's nuclear bomb. Tahir sat on the board Kaspudu Sendirian Berhad- owned my the Malaysian prime minister's son, Kamaluddin Abdullah. The Associated Press claim that a search of publicly accessible files reveal the paper trail that outlines links between Kamaluddin Abdullah and Buhary Syed Abu Tahir. The paperwork revealed that Tahir and Kamaluddin Abdullah were both executives at Kaspudu Sendirian Berhad when Tahir made a deal for Scomi Precision Engineering to build components that Western intelligence sources claim were for use in Libya's nuclear program. The Scomi Group fulfilled a $3.5 million manufacturing contract for machine parts negotiated by Tahir. Scomi officials say the did know what the parts were for while Nonproliferation authorities claim they were for 14 centrifuges. US officials insist the components, tubes made up of thousands of small pieces, could only be used in a uranium-enrichment program. A Scomi spokeswoman insisted that the company was told the parts were for the oil and gas industry. After the revelation Kamaluddin Abdullah severed ties to Tahir. Malaysian Police say neither Tahir or Scomi have committed any crime and no arrests have been made, which the official government report backed up. President Bush has accused Tahir of using a Dubai based company (Gulf Technical Industries) as a front for Khan's network. (See also: February 12, 2004 ) [Time, 2/16/2005; CNN, 2/18/2005; Malaysian Government Report, 2/21/2004]
People and organizations involved: Abdul Qadeer Khan
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Sept. 11's Smoking Gun: The Many Faces of Saeed Sheikh
The Two Ziad Jarrahs
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