NYT/AP: Official: FAA Didn't Know Moussaoui's Plans

[DeepModem Mom]

Official: FAA Didn't Know Moussaoui's Plans
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: March 22, 2006

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) -- A former top security official at the Federal Aviation Administration testified Wednesday that numerous security measures could have been implemented to protect against hijackings had officials known of Zacarias Moussaoui's terrorist plans.

Robert Cammaroto said the FAA could have redeployed federal air marshals, tightened security checkpoints and directed flight crews to resist hijackers if they had known that al-Qaida terrorists were training pilots to take over planes and fly them into buildings.

Cammaroto was responsible for issuing security directives to carriers in 2001 when officials became aware of various threats. Cammaroto was designated by prosecutors as a substitute witness to replace two other government aviation witnesses barred from the trial after they were improperly coached on their testimony by government lawyer Carla Martin....

***

Cammaroto testified at Moussaoui's death-penalty trial that security directives could be implemented almost immediately once the FAA learned of a threat and that they could be kept in place indefinitely.

Earlier, a manager at an Arizona flight school that trained one of the Sept. 11 pilot-hijackers testified she called the FAA with concerns over his qualifications for a pilot license, but her concerns were dismissed by an agency official....

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-Moussaoui.html


ON EDIT: Link to "Flight instructor warned FAA, breaks down on stand in Moussaoui trial," posted in GD and containing WP article --

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x727768

[xultar]

1. It does not mean the FBI would have had their shit together enough

to tell them.

So, reasonable doubt exists on the prosecutors case.

[worldgonekrazy]

2. Agreed

The prosecution's argument is that if Moussaoui had told FBI agents the truth about the 9/11 hijacking plans, then the attacks could have been prevented. But that is quite a leap to take. Who is to say the FBI would have acted competently in getting the information to the appropriate channels? Thats a pretty big IF in my book.

[xultar]

3. Did you see the other thread? A flight instructor called the FAA and

told them directly and the FAA did nothing. Another nail in the prosecutors coffin.

[DeepModem Mom]

4. Thanks, xultar. I edited a link to the other thread into the OP. nt

[wordpix2]

5. FAA=Fuck Americans on Airlines

snip: It was the second time this week jurors heard witnesses testify that people in positions of authority in the federal government responded either slowly, negatively -- or not at all -- to warnings about a possible terrorist attack.

Chevrette said that the school's student, Hani Hanjour, lacked adequate English skills to gain his pilot's license. An FAA official responded to her concerns by suggesting that Hanjour could use an interpreter even though mastery of English is a requirement for a pilot.

Chevrette said that when the Sept. 11 attacks occurred, she knew Hanjour must have been involved.

''I remember crying all the way to work knowing our company helped to do this,'' she said.

[wordpix2]

6. Outrageous! Hijackers were waving red flags everywhere & feds

didn't want to be bothered.

"I'm Arab and can't speak English. I want to learn how to fly but not take off and land. I don't know how to taxi the plane where it's supposed to go. I'm so bad the flight instructors can't wait to get rid of me. Ha, ha, the stupid Americans barely notice."

:grr:
snip: Two other pilot-hijackers from the Sept. 11 attacks abandoned a small airplane on a taxiway of Miami International Airport during their flight training, but their actions didn't attract serious scrutiny from federal officials, another witness said.

Daniel Pursell, a flight instructor at the school where hijackers Mohamed Atta and Marwan al-Shehhi received commercial pilot training testified that instructors at the school breathed ''a collective sigh of relief'' when Atta and al-Shehhi completed their training and left the school.

[fed-up]

7. July 5, 2001 Richard Clarke warned the FAA of impending terrorist attack

http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/?020114fa_FACT1

Meanwhile, intelligence had been streaming in concerning a likely Al Qaeda attack. "It all came together in the third week in June," Clarke said. "The C.I.A.'s view was that a major terrorist attack was coming in the next several weeks." On July 5th, Clarke summoned all the domestic security agencies—the Federal Aviation Administration, the Coast Guard, Customs, the Immigration and Naturalization Service, and the F.B.I.—and told them to increase their security in light of an impending attack.

found via cooperative research link
http://cooperativeresearch.org/essay.jsp?article=essayairdefense

[Mithras61]

8. The problem with this argument is...

that they wouldn't have done anything to strengthen the cockpit doors or to redeploy air marshalls because they already had Moussaoui in custody! The FBI is trying to make Moussaoui the scapegoat for their own incompetance. The field agent had made numerous requests to search his apartment & computer, but was turned down.

If he had told them he was Al Qaeda they would have investigated further or taken additional security measures? PLEASE! They didn't believe there was any chance of Al Qaeda action, so they didn't take measures (despite the numerous and actionable intel they had indicating it was real!).

It's either LIHOP or MIHOP, but I can't decide which...

[Virginia Dare]

9. This is bullshit...

The State Department was issuing warnings to Americans abroad at least 1 year prior to 9/11 warning them that there were threats against airlines. Neither the airlines or the FAA did anything to make air travel safer. They had plenty of time to act. They were too lazy and too greedy. End of story.