Peter F. Hamilton and Hijackers in the September 11 attacks: Difference between pages

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{{Infobox Writer <!-- for more information see [[:Template:Infobox Writer/doc]] -->
The [[September 11 attacks]] were carried out by 19 [[Aircraft hijacking|hijackers]], with planning and organization of the attacks involving numerous additional members of [[al-Qaeda]]. The first hijackers to arrive in the United States were [[Khalid al-Mihdhar]] and [[Nawaf al-Hazmi]], who settled in the [[San Diego]] area in January 2000. They were followed by [[Mohamed Atta]], [[Marwan al-Shehhi]], and [[Ziad Jarrah]], who all arrived early in the summer of 2000, in order to undertake flight training in south [[Florida]]. The fourth pilot, [[Hani Hanjour]], arrived in San Diego in December 2000. The other muscle hijackers, who were trained to help overpower and take over the aircraft, all arrived in the spring and early summer of 2001.
| name = Peter F. Hamilton
| image = Peter F. Hamilton.jpg
| imagesize = 200px
| caption = Peter F. Hamilton signing books in London
| pseudonym =
| birthdate = {{Birth date and age|1960|3|2|df=y}}
| birthplace = [[Rutland]], [[England]]
| deathdate =
| deathplace =
| occupation = [[author|Novelist]]
| nationality = [[United Kingdom|British]]
| period = 1987–
| genre = [[Science fiction]], [[Space opera]]
| influences =
| influenced =
| signature =
| website = http://www.peterfhamilton.co.uk
}}
'''Peter F. Hamilton''' (born 2 March 1960) is a [[United Kingdom|British]] [[science fiction]] [[author]]. He is best known for writing [[space opera]]. As of the publication of his tenth novel in 2004, his works had sold over two million copies worldwide, making him Britain's biggest-selling science fiction author<ref>[http://www.panmacmillan.com/Authors%20Illustrators/displayPage.asp?PageTitle=Individual%20Contributor&ContributorID=69519 Peter F. Hamiltons biography at the Pan Macmillan website]</ref>.


== Biography ==
==Background==
The idea for the September 11 attacks plot originated with [[Khalid Sheikh Mohammed]], who had been active in the [[Philippines]] in the mid-1990s, and was an uncle of [[Ramzi Yousef]], who was involved in the [[1993 World Trade Center bombing]]. Mohammed first presented the idea September 11 attacks idea to [[Osama bin Laden]] in 1996, shortly after Bin Laden relocated from the [[Sudan]] back to [[Afghanistan]]. Bin Laden was not yet interested in the idea, but in Spring 1999, he called Khalid Sheikh Mohammed back and agreed to support the plot.


==Initial selection==
Peter F. Hamilton was born in [[Rutland]], [[England]] on 2 March 1960. After he started writing in 1987 he sold his first short story to ''Fear'' magazine in 1988. His first novel, ''[[Mindstar Rising]]'', was published in 1993, followed by ''[[A Quantum Murder]]'' and ''[[The Nano Flower]]''. After this he wrote a massive space opera, called the ''[[The Night's Dawn Trilogy]]''. His latest work is the ''[[The Dreaming Void]]''. As of 2008 he still lives in Rutland, near [[Rutland Water]], with his wife Kate, daughter Sophie, and son Felix.
[[Khalid al-Mihdhar]] and [[Nawaf al-Hazmi]] were both experienced and respected [[jihad]]ists in the eyes of al-Qaeda leader, Osama bin Laden. Mihdhar and Hazmi both had previous experience fighting on [[Bosnia]], and had trained during the 1990s at camps in Afghanistan.<ref>McDermott (2005), p. 191</ref> When Bin Laden committed to the September 11 attacks plot idea, he assigned both Mihdhar and Hazmi to the plot.<ref name="911-ch5">9/11 Commission Report, Chapter 5.2, pp. 153–159</ref> Both were so eager to participate in operations within the United States, that they obtained visas in April 1999.


== Writing style==
==The attacks==
===American Airlines Flight 11===
{{main|American Airlines Flight 11}}
Two flight attendants called the American Airlines reservation desk during the hijacking. [[Betty Ong]] reported that "the four hijackers had come from first-class seats: 2A, 2B, 9A, and 9B."<ref name=probe>{{cite web|url=http://www.boston.com/news/packages/underattack/news/planes_reconstruction.htm|title=Probe reconstructs horror, assumed attacks on planes|work=[[The Boston Globe|Boston Globe]]|author=Glen Johnson|date=2001-09-23}}</ref> Flight attendant Amy Sweeney called a flight services manager at Logan Airport and described them as Middle Eastern.<ref name=probe/> She gave the staff the seat numbers and they pulled up the ticket and credit card info of the hijackers, identifying [[Mohamed Atta al-Sayed]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://web.archive.org/web/20020921045555/http://abcnews.go.com/sections/primetime/DailyNews/primetime_flightattendants_020718.html|title=Calm Before the Crash|work=[[ABC News]]|date=2002-07-18}}</ref>


Mohamed Atta was heard speaking over the [[air traffic control]] system, broadcasting messages he intended for the passengers.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ntsb.gov/info/ATC_%20Report_AA11.pdf |title=ATC Report - American Airlines Flight 11 |publisher=NTSB}}</ref>
Peter F. Hamilton generally uses a clean, prosaic style. His space opera is characterised by the way it switches between several characters—often there are three or more main characters, whose paths begin separated but eventually cross. Common themes in his books are politics, religion, and armed conflict. Though far between, there are sex scenes in his books, and some of them quite explicit.


{{cquote|We have some planes. Just stay quiet and you'll be okay. We are returning to the airport, nobody move. Everything will be okay. If you try to make any moves, you'll endanger yourself and the airplane. Just stay quiet.
Critically, Hamilton is often grouped with [[Alastair Reynolds]], [[Stephen Baxter]], [[Ken MacLeod]], and other writers of [[space opera#New Space Opera|new space opera]] in the United Kingdom.


Nobody move please. We are going back to the airport, don't try to make any stupid moves.}}
==Prominent books==
=== Greg Mandel trilogy (1993-1995) ===
Hamilton first came to prominence in the mid-1990s with three novels featuring the [[psychic detective]] [[Greg Mandel]]. Set in a near-future Britain which has been run into the ground by global warming and a [[Communism|communist]] [[government]], the books describe a society beginning to rebuild itself through the production of advanced [[technology]]. The books are a blend of lively scientific, political and social speculation mixed with elements of detective fiction. The books, and Hamilton himself, took some amount of criticism in British science fiction literary circles for his less than positive portrayal of an authoritarian left-wing British government.


===United Airlines Flight 175===
Hamilton stated in ''[[SFX magazine|SFX Magazine]]'' that he chose this route for his books in order to make people think and challenge their preconceptions, stating that it would be too easy to make the bad ex-government a fascist one.
{{main|United Airlines Flight 175}}
A United mechanic was called by a flight attendant who stated the crew had been murdered and the plane hijacked.<ref name=recon>[http://www.boston.com/news/packages/underattack/news/planes_reconstruction.htm Boston.com / Fighting Terrorism<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>


===American Airlines Flight 77===
===The Night's Dawn Trilogy (1996-1999)===
{{main|American Airlines Flight 77}}
After the Greg Mandel novels, Hamilton wrote a space opera in three volumes, known collectively as ''[[The Night's Dawn Trilogy]]''. The three books are each well over a thousand pages long and are not standalone novels. The trilogy is set in a universe with a wealth of worlds and artificial orbiting colonies. The plot is centered around the souls of the dead coming back from a hellish "beyond" to possess the living, and the latter fighting back. It was followed by a companion to the series, ''The Confederation Handbook'', an informational book containing data about the universe of the ''Night's Dawn'' trilogy. Hamilton re-set several earlier short stories in the Confederation timeline, published as the collection ''[[A Second Chance at Eden]]'', including the newly written title [[novella]].
Two hijackers, [[Hani Hanjour]] and [[Majed Moqed]] were identified by clerks as having bought single, first-class tickets for Flight 77 from Advance Travel Service in Totowa, NJ with $1,842.25 in cash.<ref name=probe/> Renee May, a flight attendant on Flight 77, used a cell phone to call her mother in Las Vegas. She said her flight was being hijacked by six individuals who had moved them to the rear of the plane.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2004/07/23/FLIGHTS.TMP|title=Investigating 9-11 -- The doomed flights | work=[[San Francisco Chronicle]]|date=2004-07-23}}</ref>
Passenger [[Barbara Olson]] called her husband, [[Ted Olson]], the solicitor general of the United States, stating the flight had been hijacked and the hijackers had knives and box cutters.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://edition.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0109/14/lkl.00.html|title=Transcript: America's New War: Recovering From Tragedy|date=2001-09-14}}</ref> Two of the passengers had been on the FBI's terrorist-alert list: [[Khalid Almihdhar]] and [[Nawaf Alhazmi]].


Forensic remains of the five hijackers were found at [[the Pentagon]], along with remains of the victims.<ref name="cbs">{{cite news |url=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/08/17/attack/main519033.shtml |title=Remains Of 9 Sept. 11 Hijackers Held |publisher=CBS News |date=2002-08-17}}</ref>
===Fallen Dragon (2001)===


===United Airlines Flight 93===
His next full length novel, ''[[Fallen Dragon]]'', is in many ways a condensation of the ideas and styles (and even characters) of the ''Night's Dawn'' trilogy, if rather darker in tone. The stand-alone book describes a bleak ultra-[[capitalism|capitalist]] society dominated by five mega-corporations which wield almost unlimited power. It describes the troubled military campaign by one of these companies to pacify a minor colony, through the eyes of a veteran mercenary. One of the more interesting aspects of the book was its unconventional description of a spacefaring society which had not been able to develop an affordable method of interstellar travel, and where mankind does not easily adjust to [[Weightlessness|zero gravity]]/[[free-fall]] conditions.
{{main|United Airlines Flight 93}}
[[Jeremy Glick (September 11 attack victim)|Jeremy Glick]] stated that the hijackers were Arabic-looking, wearing red headbands, carrying knives.<ref>[http://www.post-gazette.com/headlines/20011028flt93mainstoryp7.asp Flight 93: Forty lives, one destiny<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref><ref>[http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/context.jsp?item=a937glick Context of '(9:37 a.m.) September 11, 2001: Flight 93 Passenger Jeremy Glick Describes Hijackers, Bomb'<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>


Hijacker [[Ziad Jarrah]] also mistakenly broadcast messages intended for passengers over the air traffic control system:
===Misspent Youth / Commonwealth Saga (2002-2005)===


{{cquote|Keep remaining sitting. We have a bomb on board.
''[[Misspent Youth]]'' is much shorter than either the Night's Dawn novels or ''Fallen Dragon'', and again depicts a near-future version of Britain (but different from that in the Greg Mandel trilogy). It combines a [[rejuvenation]] theme with a growing preoccupation with the phenomenon of European integration from the [[Eurosceptic]] point of view. This was his least well received book critically, perhaps because it was Hamilton's first attempt at an in-depth character study or perhaps because much of the book was taken up with descriptions of sex which did not allow many of the characters (particularly the females) to be developed. In addition, most of the protagonists had severe character flaws which added a more uncomfortable tone to the novel than much of his other work.


[...]
''Misspent Youth'' is placed in the same universe as the ''[[Commonwealth Saga]]'', though it is not integral to the storyline of those novels. Much of the technology used in those novels (rejuvenation and low cost/high capacity memory storage) is established within this book.


Uh, this is the captain. Would like you all to remain seated. There is a bomb aboard and are going back to the airport, and to have our demands [unintelligible]. Please remain quiet.<ref>''[[The 9/11 Commission Report]]'', pp. [http://demos.vivisimo.com/cgi-bin/query-meta?input-form=simple&v%3Asources=911&v%3Aproject=911-demo&query=Keep+remaining+sitting.+We+have+a+bomb+on+board. 12], [http://demos.vivisimo.com/cgi-bin/query-meta?input-form=simple&v%3Asources=911&v%3Aproject=911-demo&query=Uh%2C+this+is+the+captain.+Would+like+you+all+to+remain+seated. 29].</ref>}}
The lengthy ''Commonwealth Saga'', is published in two halves, ''[[Commonwealth Saga#Pandora's Star|Pandora's Star]]'' and ''[[Commonwealth Saga#Judas Unchained|Judas Unchained]]''. Set approximately 300 years later in the same universe as ''Misspent Youth'', it explores the social effects of the almost complete elimination of the experience of death following widespread use of the rejuvenation technique described in ''Misspent Youth''. In somewhat similar style to ''Night's Dawn'', Hamilton also outlines, in detail, a universe with a small number of distinct alien species interacting essentially peacefully and who suddenly become faced with an increasingly ominous external threat.


Jarrah is also heard on the [[cockpit voice recorder]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://files.findlaw.com/news.findlaw.com/hdocs/docs/terrorism/flight93transcript.pdf |title=Cockpit Voice Recorder transcript |publisher=FindLaw}}</ref>
===Void Trilogy (2007-2011)===
Set in the same universe as the ''Commonwealth Saga'', the ''[[Void Trilogy]]'' is set 1500 years after the end of ''[[Judas Unchained]]''. Announced in August 2005, it has been revealed that the contract calls for the series to be completed by 2011. The release date for the first book, ''[[The Dreaming Void]]'', was 3 August 2007. A time line that links the ''Commonwealth Saga'' with the ''Void Trilogy'', filling in the 1500-year gap, has been written by Hamilton.[http://www.peterfhamilton.co.uk//index.php?page=timeline]
The second book in the trilogy ''The Temporal Void'' was released on 3 October 2008. The third book in the trilogy has been titled ''The Evolutionary Void''.


==Suspected hijackers==
==Bibliography==
Minutes after the occurrence of the September 11, militant attacks, the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] opened the largest FBI investigation in United States history, operation [[PENTTBOM]]. The suspects were identified within 72 hours because few made any attempt to disguise their names on flight and credit card records and they were among the few non-U.S. citizens and nearly the only passengers with Arabic names on their flights, enabling the FBI to identify their jihads and in many cases such details as dates of birth, known, and/or possible residences, visa status, and specific identification of the suspected pilots within hours.<ref name=fbilist>[http://www.fbi.gov/pressrel/pressrel01/091401hj.htm FBI Announces List of 19 Hijackers], ''FBI, national Press Release'' [[September 14]], [[2001]]</ref> On [[September 27]], [[2001]] the FBI released photos of the 19 hijackers, along with information about many of their possible nationalities and aliases.<ref>[http://www.fbi.gov/pressrel/pressrel01/092701hjpic.htm The FBI releases 19 photographs of individuals believed to be the hijackers of the four airliners that crashed on September 11, 01]''FBI, national Press Release'' [[September 27]], [[2001]]</ref> All the suspected hijackers were from [[Saudi Arabia]], [[United Arab Emirates]], [[Lebanon]] or [[Egypt]].
=== [[Greg Mandel]] Trilogy ===


The passport of Satam al Suqami was recovered near the World Trade Center site,
#''[[Mindstar Rising]]'' (1993), ISBN 0-330-32376-8
reportedly a few blocks from where the World Trade Center's twin towers once stood.
#''[[A Quantum Murder]]'' (1994), ISBN 0-330-33045-4
<ref>[http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2001/Sep-16-Sun-2001/news/17011253.html
#''[[The Nano Flower]]'' (1995), ISBN 0-330-33044-6
Las Vegas Review Journal],
[[September 16]], [[2001]].</ref><ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/1546927.stm BBC],
[[September 16]], [[2001]]</ref>; a passerby picked it up and gave it to a
NYPD detective shortly before the World Trade Center towers collapsed. The passports of
two other suspected hijackers, Ziad Jarrah and Saeed al Ghamdi, were recovered
from the crash site of United Airlines flight 93 in Pennsylvania, and a fourth passport,
that of Abdul Aziz al Omari was recovered from luggage that did not make it onto
[[American Airlines Flight 11]]<ref>[http://www.9-11commission.gov/archive/hearing7/9-11Commission_Hearing_2004-01-26.htm National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>.


[[United Airlines Flight 175]]: [[Marwan al-Shehhi]] (from the United Arab Emirates), [[Fayez Banihammad]] (from the United Arab Emirates), [[Mohand al-Shehri]] (Saudi Arabian), [[Hamza al-Ghamdi]] (Saudi Arabian), [[Ahmed al-Ghamdi]] (Saudi Arabian). They were the only people with Arabic names on the flight.
=== The Web Series ===


[[American Airlines Flight 11]]: [[Mohamed Atta al Sayed]] (Egyptian), [[Waleed al-Shehri]] (Saudi Arabian), [[Wail al-Shehri]] (Saudi Arabian), [[Abdulaziz al-Omari]] (Saudi Arabian), [[Satam al-Suqami]] (Saudi Arabian). There was only one other passenger with an Arabic name who was ruled out as having any role.
See [[The Web (series)]]


[[United Airlines Flight 93]]: [[Ziad Jarrah]] (Lebanese), [[Ahmed al-Haznawi]] (Saudi Arabian), [[Ahmed al-Nami]] (Saudi Arabian), [[Saeed al-Ghamdi]] (Saudi Arabian). They were the only people with Arabic names on the flight.
=== Confederation Universe ===
==== [[The Night's Dawn Trilogy]] ====


[[American Airlines Flight 77]]: [[Hani Hanjour]] (Saudi Arabian), [[Khalid al-Mihdhar]] (Saudi Arabian), [[Majed Moqed]] (Saudi Arabian), [[Nawaf al-Hazmi]] (Saudi Arabian), [[Salem al-Hazmi]] (Saudi Arabian). There was one other passenger with an Arabic name who was ruled out as having any role.
#''[[The Reality Dysfunction]]'' (1996, published in two volumes in the US, Emergence and Expansion), ISBN 0-330-34032-8
#''[[The Neutronium Alchemist]]'' (1997, published in two volumes in the US, Consolidation and Conflict), ISBN 0-330-35143-5
#''[[The Naked God]]'' (1999, published in two volumes in paperback in the US, Flight and Faith; the US hardback was one volume), ISBN 0-330-35145-1


According to the [[9/11 Commission Report]], 26 al-Qaeda terrorist conspirators sought to enter the United States to carry out a suicide mission. In the end, the FBI reported that there were 19 hijackers in all: five on three of the flights, and four on the fourth. On September 14th, three days after the attacks, the [[FBI]] announced the names of 19 persons.<ref name=fbilist/>
==== Others in the Confederation Universe ====


==The Hamburg cell and other conspirators==
*''[[A Second Chance at Eden]]'' (1998, collection of short stories set in the Confederation universe), ISBN 0-330-35182-6
According to the 9/11 Commission Report, the terrorist attack itself was planned by [[Khalid Sheik Mohammed]] and approved by [[Osama bin Laden]], with Mohammed personally choosing the hijackers, and bin Laden approving of the decision{{Fact|date=February 2008}}. Sheik Mohammed and [[Abu Zubaydah]] became the organizers of the plot. Investigators say that [[Mohammed Haydar Zammar]] acted as the "travel agent" to Afghanistan.
:::<div style='border:solid 1px #cccccc'>
::::*"Sonnie’s Edge" (1991)
::::*"A Second Chance at Eden" (1998)
::::*"New Days Old Times" (1997)
::::*"Candy Buds" (1992)
::::*"Deathday" (1991)
::::*"The Lives and Loves of Tiarella Rosa" (1997)
::::*"Escape Route" (1997, published in ''Interzone'')
</div>


Three of the hijackers, along with [[Ramzi Binalshibh]], [[Said Bahaji]], and [[Zakariyah Essabar]] were members of the [[Hamburg cell]]. After Atta, al-Shehhi, and Jarrah left for the United States, Binalshibh provided money to the conspirators. [[Riduan Isamuddin]], aka Hambali, met with two of the hijackers in [[Kuala Lumpur]] during the [[2000 Kuala Lumpur al-Qaeda Summit]]. Hambali also gave money to alleged [[20th hijacker]] [[Zacarias Moussaoui]]. The members of the cell fled Germany before the terrorist attacks.
*''[[The Confederation Handbook]]'' (2000, a guide in non-fiction style to the universe of the ''Night's Dawn'' trilogy), ISBN 0-330-39614-5


Some of the money that financed the terrorist attack seems to have originated from [[Ali Abdul Aziz Ali]] and [[Mohammed Yousef Mohamed Alqusaidi]], who may be Marwan al-Shehhi's brother. Another conspirator is [[Abu Abdul Rahman]]. [[Tawfiq bin Attash]], also known as ''Khallad'', assisted the hijackers in many ways, and unsuccessfully sought a visa to enter the United States and participate in the attacks.
=== Commonwealth Universe ===


Interviews with detained al Qaida members have identified ten hijacker candidates who did not participate in the attacks for various reasons. These people were identified as Mohamed Mani Ahmad al Kahtani, [[Khalid al Zahrani|Khalid Saeed Ahmad al Zahrani]], Ali Abd al Rahman al Faqasi al Ghamdi, Saeed al Baluchi, Qutaybah al Najdi, Zuhair al Thubaiti, [[Saeed Abdullah al-Ghamdi]], Saud al Rashid, and Mushabib al Hamlan, and [[Abderraouf Jdey]].<ref name="911report">{{cite book|url=http://www.9-11commission.gov/report/911Report_Ch1.htm|author=National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States |title=9-11 Commission Report |publisher=Government Printing Office|year=2004}}</ref>
*''[[Misspent Youth]]'' (2002), ISBN 0-330-48022-7


==Cases of mistaken identities==
==== The [[Commonwealth Saga]] ====
Shortly after the attacks and before the FBI had released the pictures of all the hijackers, several reports appeared claiming that some of the men named as hijackers on 9/11 were alive, and were feared to have been victims of identity theft.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/1559151.stm BBC News - Hijack 'suspects' alive and well]</ref><ref>[http://www.islamonline.net/English/News/2001-09/17/article11.shtml Islam Online - Saudi Suspects in U.S. Attacks Were Not in the U.S.]</ref><ref>[http://www.thedossier.ukonline.co.uk/Web%20Pages/LOS%20ANGELES%20TIMES_FBI%20Chief%20Raises%20New%20Doubts%20Over%20Hijackers'%20Identities.htm LA Times - FBI Chief Raises New Doubts Over Hijackers' Identities]</ref> These cases, however, turned out to be instances of mistaken identities.<ref>[http://www.spiegel.de/international/spiegel/0,1518,265160,00.html Der Spiegel - Panoply of the Absurd]</ref><ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/theeditors/2006/10/911_conspiracy_theory_1.html BBC News - 9/11 conspiracy theory]</ref>


==See also==
#''[[Commonwealth Saga#Pandora's Star|Pandora's Star]]'' (2004), ISBN 0-330-49331-0
*[[20th hijacker]]
#''[[Commonwealth Saga#Judas Unchained|Judas Unchained]]'' (2005), ISBN 0-330-49353-1
*[[Operation Bojinka]]
*[[2001 anthrax attacks]]
*[[Taliban]]
*[[War on Terrorism]]
*[[War in Afghanistan (2001–present)]]


==Notes==
==== The [[Void Trilogy]] ====
{{reflist}}


==References==
#''[[The Dreaming Void]]'' (2007), ISBN 9781405088800
* {{cite web |title=9/11 Commission Report |url=http://govinfo.library.unt.edu/911/report/911Report.pdf |publisher=National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States |date=2004 |accessdate=2008-09-30}}
#''[[The Temporal Void]]'' (released in the UK on [[October 3]] 2008), ISBN 9781405088831
* {{cite web |url=http://govinfo.library.unt.edu/911/staff_statements/911_TerrTrav_App.pdf |title=9/11 and Terror Travel |chapter=Appendix |date=2004 |publisher=National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States |accessdate=2008-09-30}}
#''[[The Evolutionary Void]]'' (forthcoming, 2010)
* {{cite book |author=Aust, Stefan |coauthors=Der Spiegel Magazine|others=Schnibben, Cordt |title=Inside 9-11: What Really Happened |publisher=[[Macmillan Publishers|MacMillan]] |date=2002 |isbn=031298748X}}

* {{cite book |author=Burke, Jason |title=Al-Qaeda: The True Story of Radical Islam |date=2004 |publisher=[[I.B. Tauris]]| isbn=1850436665}}
=== Other novels ===
* {{cite web |url=http://www.nefafoundation.org/miscellaneous/FeaturedDocs/FBI911Timeline.pdf |title=Hijackers' Timeline |author=Federal Bureau of Investigation |publisher=NEFA Foundation |date=2008-02-04 |accessdate=2008-10-06 |format=PDF}}

* {{cite book |author=Fouda, Yosri |coauthors=Fielding, Nick |title=Masterminds of Terror: The Truth Behind the Most Devastating Terrorist Attack the World Has Ever Seen |publisher=[[Arcade Publishing|Arcade]] |date=2003 |isbn=1559707089}}
*''[[Fallen Dragon]]'' (2001), ISBN 0-330-48006-5
* {{cite book |author=McDermott, Terry |title=Perfect Soldiers: The Hijackers: Who They Were, Why They Did It |date=2005 |publisher=[[HarperCollins]] |isbn=0060584696}}

* {{cite book |author=Smith, Paul J. |title=Terrorism and Violence in Southeast Asia: Transnational Challenges to States and Regional Stability |year=2005 |publisher=M.E. Sharpe |isbn=0765614332}}
===Short fiction===
* {{cite book |author=Wright, Lawrence |title=The Looming Tower: Al Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 |date=2006 |publisher= [[Alfred A. Knopf]] |isbn=037541486X}}
*"[[Falling Stones]]" (1992)
*"[[Spare Capacity]]" (1993)
*"[[Adam's Gene]]" (1993)
*"[[Starlight Dreamer]]" (1994)
*"[[Eat Reecebread]]" with [[Graham Joyce]] (1994, published in ''[[Interzone (magazine)|Interzone]]'')
*"[[The White Stuff (story)|The White Stuff]]" with Graham Joyce (1997)
*''[[Watching Trees Grow]]'' (2000, novella originally published as a limited signed edition by [[PS Publishing]]; later anthologised in ''Futures''; then published in a mass market paperback edition), ISBN 0-575-07305-5
*''[[The Suspect Genome]]'' (1993, novella featuring Mandel published in ''Interzone'')
*"[[Softlight Sins]]" (Unknown)
*"[[Footvote]] (2005)
*"[[The Forever Kitten]]" (2005)
*"[[Blessed by an Angel]]" (2007)


==External links==
==External links==
*[http://www.gpoaccess.gov/911/index.html The Final 9/11 Commission Report]
{{wikiquote}}
* [http://vivisimo.com/911 Search the 9/11 Commission Report indexed by individual paragraphs, with clustered search results]
* [http://www.peterfhamilton.co.uk The Official Peter F. Hamilton Website]
*[http://www.orgnet.com/hijackers.html Network Map] of how hijackers were connected to each other and color-coded by their flight.
* [http://www.theunisphere.com The Unisphere | A Peter F. Hamilton Fan Site]
*[http://archive.nytimes.com/2001/09/15/national/15SUIC.html A Terrorist Profile Emerges That Confounds the Experts] The New York Times 15-September-2001
* [http://www.peterfhamilton.com Peter F. Hamilton Information Pages]
*[http://archive.nytimes.com/2001/09/15/national/15HIJA.html F.B.I. Documents Detail the Movements of 19 Men Believed to Be Hijackers] The New York Times 15-September-2001 ''To be incorporated''
* {{isfdb name|id=Peter_F._Hamilton|name=Peter F. Hamilton}}
*[http://archive.nytimes.com/2001/09/15/national/15FLIG.html FLIGHT SCHOOL: Learning Where Suspects Studied Is 'Trickier Than It Sounds'] The New York Times 15-September-2001 ''To be incorporated''

*[http://www.fbi.gov/pressrel/pressrel01/092701hjpic.htm FBI Press Release], September 27, 2001.
=== Interviews ===
*[http://www.usdoj.gov/oig/special/2002_05/fullreport.pdf The Immigration and Naturalization Service's Contacts With Two September 11 Terrorists: A Review of the INS's Admissions of Mohammed Atta and Marwan al-Shehhi, its Processing of their Change of Status Applications, and its Efforts to Track Foreign Students in the United States] U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Inspector General 20-May-2002 ''To be incorporated''
* 1995: [http://www.lysator.liu.se/~unicorn/hamilton/interviews/interzone96.html "From Rutland to the Universe"]
*[http://www.portal.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2001/09/23/widen23.xml portal.telegraph.co.uk] (UK report that not all of the "hijackers" were actually on the planes)
* 1996: [http://www.lysator.liu.se/lsff/mb-nr33/Peter_F_Hamilton.html "ConFuse 96 Guest of Honour Interview"]
*[http://www.worldmessenger.20m.com/alive.html Independent reporting of alleged hijacker claims] with additional links
* 1997: [http://www.lysator.liu.se/~unicorn/hamilton/interviews/sfx32.html "Big is Beautiful"]
*[http://www.nytimes.com/2002/11/24/international/middleeast/24ENVO.html Saudis Say Cash to Friend of Hijackers Was Charity], The New York Times, November 24, 2002 ''to be incorporated''
* 2004: [http://www.bbc.co.uk/bristol/content/readingroom/2004/03/03/interview.shtml "Interview with a dystopian"]
*[http://service.spiegel.de/cache/international/spiegel/0,1518,265160,00.html Evidence against the theories that some of the named hijackers are still alive.]
* 2007: [http://fantasyhotlist.blogspot.com/2007/07/new-peter-f-hamilton-interview.html "Interview with Pat's Fantasy Hotlist"]
*[http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200202/06/eng20020206_90055.shtml Saudis Arabia Admit Hijackers of Sept. 11 Attacks were Citizens]
* 2008: [http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2008/sep/24/sciencefictionfantasyandhorror Master of his Universe], ''[[The Guardian]]'', September 24, 2008
*[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/04/28/AR2005042801315.html The 9/11 Hijackers], 2005, Washington Post.

==Notes==
{{reflist}}


{{Peter F Hamilton}}
{{9-11 hijackers}}


[[Category:Participants in the September 11 attacks| ]]
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{{Sept11}}
{{Persondata
|NAME= Hamilton, Peter F.
|ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
|SHORT DESCRIPTION= English [[author|Novelist]]
|DATE OF BIRTH= 2 March 1960
|PLACE OF BIRTH= [[Rutland]], [[England]]
|DATE OF DEATH=
|PLACE OF DEATH=
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamilton, Peter F}}
[[Category:1960 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:People from Rutland]]
[[Category:English science fiction writers]]


[[it:Dirottatori degli attentati dell'11 settembre 2001]]
[[cs:Peter F. Hamilton]]
[[de:Peter F. Hamilton]]
[[fi:Peter F. Hamilton]]
[[fr:Peter F. Hamilton]]
[[it:Peter F. Hamilton]]
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Revision as of 18:28, 10 October 2008

The September 11 attacks were carried out by 19 hijackers, with planning and organization of the attacks involving numerous additional members of al-Qaeda. The first hijackers to arrive in the United States were Khalid al-Mihdhar and Nawaf al-Hazmi, who settled in the San Diego area in January 2000. They were followed by Mohamed Atta, Marwan al-Shehhi, and Ziad Jarrah, who all arrived early in the summer of 2000, in order to undertake flight training in south Florida. The fourth pilot, Hani Hanjour, arrived in San Diego in December 2000. The other muscle hijackers, who were trained to help overpower and take over the aircraft, all arrived in the spring and early summer of 2001.

Background

The idea for the September 11 attacks plot originated with Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who had been active in the Philippines in the mid-1990s, and was an uncle of Ramzi Yousef, who was involved in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. Mohammed first presented the idea September 11 attacks idea to Osama bin Laden in 1996, shortly after Bin Laden relocated from the Sudan back to Afghanistan. Bin Laden was not yet interested in the idea, but in Spring 1999, he called Khalid Sheikh Mohammed back and agreed to support the plot.

Initial selection

Khalid al-Mihdhar and Nawaf al-Hazmi were both experienced and respected jihadists in the eyes of al-Qaeda leader, Osama bin Laden. Mihdhar and Hazmi both had previous experience fighting on Bosnia, and had trained during the 1990s at camps in Afghanistan.[1] When Bin Laden committed to the September 11 attacks plot idea, he assigned both Mihdhar and Hazmi to the plot.[2] Both were so eager to participate in operations within the United States, that they obtained visas in April 1999.

The attacks

American Airlines Flight 11

Main article: American Airlines Flight 11

Two flight attendants called the American Airlines reservation desk during the hijacking. Betty Ong reported that "the four hijackers had come from first-class seats: 2A, 2B, 9A, and 9B."[3] Flight attendant Amy Sweeney called a flight services manager at Logan Airport and described them as Middle Eastern.[3] She gave the staff the seat numbers and they pulled up the ticket and credit card info of the hijackers, identifying Mohamed Atta al-Sayed.[4]

Mohamed Atta was heard speaking over the air traffic control system, broadcasting messages he intended for the passengers.[5]

We have some planes. Just stay quiet and you'll be okay. We are returning to the airport, nobody move. Everything will be okay. If you try to make any moves, you'll endanger yourself and the airplane. Just stay quiet. Nobody move please. We are going back to the airport, don't try to make any stupid moves.

United Airlines Flight 175

Main article: United Airlines Flight 175

A United mechanic was called by a flight attendant who stated the crew had been murdered and the plane hijacked.[6]

American Airlines Flight 77

Main article: American Airlines Flight 77

Two hijackers, Hani Hanjour and Majed Moqed were identified by clerks as having bought single, first-class tickets for Flight 77 from Advance Travel Service in Totowa, NJ with $1,842.25 in cash.[3] Renee May, a flight attendant on Flight 77, used a cell phone to call her mother in Las Vegas. She said her flight was being hijacked by six individuals who had moved them to the rear of the plane.[7] Passenger Barbara Olson called her husband, Ted Olson, the solicitor general of the United States, stating the flight had been hijacked and the hijackers had knives and box cutters.[8] Two of the passengers had been on the FBI's terrorist-alert list: Khalid Almihdhar and Nawaf Alhazmi.

Forensic remains of the five hijackers were found at the Pentagon, along with remains of the victims.[9]

United Airlines Flight 93

Main article: United Airlines Flight 93

Jeremy Glick stated that the hijackers were Arabic-looking, wearing red headbands, carrying knives.[10][11]

Hijacker Ziad Jarrah also mistakenly broadcast messages intended for passengers over the air traffic control system:

Keep remaining sitting. We have a bomb on board.

[...]

Uh, this is the captain. Would like you all to remain seated. There is a bomb aboard and are going back to the airport, and to have our demands [unintelligible]. Please remain quiet.[12]

Jarrah is also heard on the cockpit voice recorder.[13]

Suspected hijackers

Minutes after the occurrence of the September 11, militant attacks, the Federal Bureau of Investigation opened the largest FBI investigation in United States history, operation PENTTBOM. The suspects were identified within 72 hours because few made any attempt to disguise their names on flight and credit card records and they were among the few non-U.S. citizens and nearly the only passengers with Arabic names on their flights, enabling the FBI to identify their jihads and in many cases such details as dates of birth, known, and/or possible residences, visa status, and specific identification of the suspected pilots within hours.[14] On September 27, 2001 the FBI released photos of the 19 hijackers, along with information about many of their possible nationalities and aliases.[15] All the suspected hijackers were from Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Lebanon or Egypt.

The passport of Satam al Suqami was recovered near the World Trade Center site, reportedly a few blocks from where the World Trade Center's twin towers once stood. [16][17]; a passerby picked it up and gave it to a NYPD detective shortly before the World Trade Center towers collapsed. The passports of two other suspected hijackers, Ziad Jarrah and Saeed al Ghamdi, were recovered from the crash site of United Airlines flight 93 in Pennsylvania, and a fourth passport, that of Abdul Aziz al Omari was recovered from luggage that did not make it onto American Airlines Flight 11[18].

United Airlines Flight 175: Marwan al-Shehhi (from the United Arab Emirates), Fayez Banihammad (from the United Arab Emirates), Mohand al-Shehri (Saudi Arabian), Hamza al-Ghamdi (Saudi Arabian), Ahmed al-Ghamdi (Saudi Arabian). They were the only people with Arabic names on the flight.

American Airlines Flight 11: Mohamed Atta al Sayed (Egyptian), Waleed al-Shehri (Saudi Arabian), Wail al-Shehri (Saudi Arabian), Abdulaziz al-Omari (Saudi Arabian), Satam al-Suqami (Saudi Arabian). There was only one other passenger with an Arabic name who was ruled out as having any role.

United Airlines Flight 93: Ziad Jarrah (Lebanese), Ahmed al-Haznawi (Saudi Arabian), Ahmed al-Nami (Saudi Arabian), Saeed al-Ghamdi (Saudi Arabian). They were the only people with Arabic names on the flight.

American Airlines Flight 77: Hani Hanjour (Saudi Arabian), Khalid al-Mihdhar (Saudi Arabian), Majed Moqed (Saudi Arabian), Nawaf al-Hazmi (Saudi Arabian), Salem al-Hazmi (Saudi Arabian). There was one other passenger with an Arabic name who was ruled out as having any role.

According to the 9/11 Commission Report, 26 al-Qaeda terrorist conspirators sought to enter the United States to carry out a suicide mission. In the end, the FBI reported that there were 19 hijackers in all: five on three of the flights, and four on the fourth. On September 14th, three days after the attacks, the FBI announced the names of 19 persons.[14]

The Hamburg cell and other conspirators

According to the 9/11 Commission Report, the terrorist attack itself was planned by Khalid Sheik Mohammed and approved by Osama bin Laden, with Mohammed personally choosing the hijackers, and bin Laden approving of the decision[citation needed]. Sheik Mohammed and Abu Zubaydah became the organizers of the plot. Investigators say that Mohammed Haydar Zammar acted as the "travel agent" to Afghanistan.

Three of the hijackers, along with Ramzi Binalshibh, Said Bahaji, and Zakariyah Essabar were members of the Hamburg cell. After Atta, al-Shehhi, and Jarrah left for the United States, Binalshibh provided money to the conspirators. Riduan Isamuddin, aka Hambali, met with two of the hijackers in Kuala Lumpur during the 2000 Kuala Lumpur al-Qaeda Summit. Hambali also gave money to alleged 20th hijacker Zacarias Moussaoui. The members of the cell fled Germany before the terrorist attacks.

Some of the money that financed the terrorist attack seems to have originated from Ali Abdul Aziz Ali and Mohammed Yousef Mohamed Alqusaidi, who may be Marwan al-Shehhi's brother. Another conspirator is Abu Abdul Rahman. Tawfiq bin Attash, also known as Khallad, assisted the hijackers in many ways, and unsuccessfully sought a visa to enter the United States and participate in the attacks.

Interviews with detained al Qaida members have identified ten hijacker candidates who did not participate in the attacks for various reasons. These people were identified as Mohamed Mani Ahmad al Kahtani, Khalid Saeed Ahmad al Zahrani, Ali Abd al Rahman al Faqasi al Ghamdi, Saeed al Baluchi, Qutaybah al Najdi, Zuhair al Thubaiti, Saeed Abdullah al-Ghamdi, Saud al Rashid, and Mushabib al Hamlan, and Abderraouf Jdey.[19]

Cases of mistaken identities

Shortly after the attacks and before the FBI had released the pictures of all the hijackers, several reports appeared claiming that some of the men named as hijackers on 9/11 were alive, and were feared to have been victims of identity theft.[20][21][22] These cases, however, turned out to be instances of mistaken identities.[23][24]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ McDermott (2005), p. 191
  2. ^ 9/11 Commission Report, Chapter 5.2, pp. 153–159
  3. ^ a b c Glen Johnson (2001-09-23). "Probe reconstructs horror, assumed attacks on planes". Boston Globe.
  4. ^ "Calm Before the Crash". ABC News. 2002-07-18.
  5. ^ "ATC Report - American Airlines Flight 11" (PDF). NTSB.
  6. ^ Boston.com / Fighting Terrorism
  7. ^ "Investigating 9-11 -- The doomed flights". San Francisco Chronicle. 2004-07-23.
  8. ^ "Transcript: America's New War: Recovering From Tragedy". 2001-09-14.
  9. ^ "Remains Of 9 Sept. 11 Hijackers Held". CBS News. 2002-08-17.
  10. ^ Flight 93: Forty lives, one destiny
  11. ^ Context of '(9:37 a.m.) September 11, 2001: Flight 93 Passenger Jeremy Glick Describes Hijackers, Bomb'
  12. ^ The 9/11 Commission Report, pp. 12, 29.
  13. ^ "Cockpit Voice Recorder transcript" (PDF). FindLaw.
  14. ^ a b FBI Announces List of 19 Hijackers, FBI, national Press Release September 14, 2001
  15. ^ The FBI releases 19 photographs of individuals believed to be the hijackers of the four airliners that crashed on September 11, 01FBI, national Press Release September 27, 2001
  16. ^ [http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2001/Sep-16-Sun-2001/news/17011253.html Las Vegas Review Journal], September 16, 2001.
  17. ^ BBC, September 16, 2001
  18. ^ National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States
  19. ^ National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (2004). 9-11 Commission Report. Government Printing Office.
  20. ^ BBC News - Hijack 'suspects' alive and well
  21. ^ Islam Online - Saudi Suspects in U.S. Attacks Were Not in the U.S.
  22. ^ LA Times - FBI Chief Raises New Doubts Over Hijackers' Identities
  23. ^ Der Spiegel - Panoply of the Absurd
  24. ^ BBC News - 9/11 conspiracy theory

References

  • "9/11 Commission Report" (PDF). National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States. 2004. Retrieved 2008-09-30.
  • "9/11 and Terror Travel" (PDF). National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States. 2004. Retrieved 2008-09-30. {{cite web}}: |chapter= ignored (help)
  • Aust, Stefan (2002). Inside 9-11: What Really Happened. Schnibben, Cordt. MacMillan. ISBN 031298748X. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  • Burke, Jason (2004). Al-Qaeda: The True Story of Radical Islam. I.B. Tauris. ISBN 1850436665.
  • Federal Bureau of Investigation (2008-02-04). "Hijackers' Timeline" (PDF). NEFA Foundation. Retrieved 2008-10-06.
  • Fouda, Yosri (2003). Masterminds of Terror: The Truth Behind the Most Devastating Terrorist Attack the World Has Ever Seen. Arcade. ISBN 1559707089. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  • McDermott, Terry (2005). Perfect Soldiers: The Hijackers: Who They Were, Why They Did It. HarperCollins. ISBN 0060584696.
  • Smith, Paul J. (2005). Terrorism and Violence in Southeast Asia: Transnational Challenges to States and Regional Stability. M.E. Sharpe. ISBN 0765614332.
  • Wright, Lawrence (2006). The Looming Tower: Al Qaeda and the Road to 9/11. Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 037541486X.

External links

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