Saeed al-Ghamdi
From Debunk911myths
Contents |
Saeed al-Ghamdi
Saeed al-Ghamdi was a hijacker on United Airlines Flight 93, which crashed near Shanksville.
The Shehri brothers, along with Ahmed al-Nami and Saeed al-Ghamdi, were all from the same area in Saudi Arabia. In Spring 2000, they all swore an oath to commit themselves to jihad at the Seqely Mosque in Khamis Mushayt where the al-Shehri family were members.[1]
Timeline
2001
- June 10 - Saeed al Ghamdi acquired a new Saudi passport, #C573895, replacing the one (#B516222) he used to acquire a visa on September 4, 2000, in Jeddah. He may have acquired this new passport because there was evidence of travel to Afghanistan in his previous passport.[2]
- June 12. Just like Ahmed al-Nami (who applied April 23), Saeed al Ghamdi acquired a second two-year B-1/B-2 (tourist/business) visa in Jeddah. His application was incomplete and he was not interviewed. Ghamdi’s visa application indicated that he had never applied for a U.S. visa before, a curious similarity to Nami’s application. This was not true, since he had applied for and acquired a visa on September 4, 2000. However, the State Department computer system was not set up to catch this false statement; as noted above, it called up only prior refusals. Ghamdi’s application was submitted by Minhal Travel and processed through the Visa Express program, which was introduced on June 1, 2001. We considered the possibility that the false answer reflected a mistake by the travel agency personnel, but the same signature appears on both visa applications, and State records indicate that the September application was submitted in person. Thus, it appears that Ghamdi was directly involved in preparing the June visa application containing the false statement. He may have omitted information about his prior visa in order not to raise suspicion about his new visa application in his new passport—without the travel to Pakistan and Afghanistan—when his old visa, which was multiple entry, was still valid.[2]
- June 27 - Fayez Banihammad of the United Arab Emirates, and Saeed al-Ghamdi, a Saudi, both arrived at Orlando, Fla., from Dubai.[3] (See Virgin Atlantic Airlines Passenger Name Record (PNR) for Saeed al-Ghamdi) The two were processed by different primary inspectors. Saeed al Ghamdi, a Saudi, was admitted as a tourist for six months, but only after a secondary inspection. The Orlando primary inspector who referred him for further examination had worked as an immigration inspector for three years. He said that he insisted that a visitor communicate with him in order to be admitted and that he always asked to see a return ticket. The inspector also told us that he looked closely to see whether the Customs declaration and I-94 arrival form listed a full address of intended destination. Ghamdi met none of these requirements. The inspector’s inspection record reads, “Subject speaks very little English. No return ticket, no address listed; please question.” His Customs declaration, listing $500 for a stay of one month, was, according to the primary inspector, “pushing it a little bit, along with the fact that he didn’t know where he was going.” The inspector confirmed that he did not have the discretion to give Ghamdi the one-month stay he sought—the law required a mandatory six-month stay for tourists traveling on a visa. The inspector referred Ghamdi to secondary inspection so an interpreter could attempt to flesh out his purpose in coming to the United States. In secondary inspection, Ghamdi convinced a different inspector that he was a tourist and admissible. His secondary inspection report reads: “Tourist. Valid docs. Sufficiently financed. B-2, six months.” Although the inspector who admitted Ghamdi does not recall the inspection, which lasted ten minutes, he told the Commission that he did not normally consider money a valid criterion for determining admissibility. He told us that Ghamdi must have had credit cards to supplement the $500 in cash he was carrying. The inspector said he was not concerned that Ghamdi’s arrival record failed to list an exact address; central Florida is overflowing with hotel rooms and thus a tourist need not have precise lodging to be admissible. Ghamdi’s travel documents looked valid to him as well.[2]
- July 10 - Saeed al Ghamdi and Banihammad got Florida state identification cards.[2]
Documents
Immigration arrival record (I-94) |
Customs Declaration |
References
- ↑ Sageman, Marc (2004). Understanding Terror Networks. University of Pennsylvania Press, pp. 50.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Staff Monograph on 9/11 and Terrorist Travel. 9/11 Commission (2004).
- ↑ http://www.9-11commission.gov/report/911Report_Notes.htm
External links
- Sennott, Charles M.. "Before oath to jihad, drifting and boredom", Boston Globe, March 3, 2002.