Ziad Jarrah
From Debunk911myths
Ziad Jarrah
Ziad Samir Jarrah (b. May 11, 1975), a Lebanon native, was the pilot-trained hijacker on United Airlines Flight 93, which crashed near Shanksville.
Background
Ziad Jarrah was born in 1975 in Mazraa, Lebanon, a suburb of Beirut. The family's home in Beirut was two blocks from the Green Line, which divided sides in Lebanon's civil war. The Sabra Refugee Camp was located two blocks away in another direction. That is where hundreds of Palestinians were killed in a 1982 massacre.[1] To escape the turmoil, his family also had a home in Al Marj, a town in Lebanon east of the Bekaa Valley.[2] He was the only son in a privileged family. Jarrah was educated at a private Catholic school in Lebanon.[3]
Germany
When he completed high school, Jarrah had the opportunity to continue his studies abroad, in either Toronto, Canada or Greifswald, Germany where he had relatives.[4] In April 1996, Jarrah ended up going to Germany with his cousin, Salim, and enrolled in a junior college in Greifswald.[3] Soon after arriving, he met his girlfriend, Aysel Senguen, who was enrolled in the dental school.[4]
Jarrah also became good friends with Abdulrachman Makhadi, a classmate of Asyel. Makhadi was highly religious, and encouraged Jarrah to come to the mosque. By late 1996, Jarrah began turning radical. He went back to Lebanon that winter, during a break, and seemed different, "no longer the happy-go-lucky playboy". His cousin Salim, also notice that Jarrah was reading Al Jihad, a radical Islamist publication.[5] Asyel also noticed changes in Jarrah, that he was critical of her "choice of friends, the way she dressed, and what she drank." Jarrah was also quiet and withdrawn. Throughout the relationship, Jarrah did not tell much about himself, something that bothered Aysel.[6]
Ziad Jarrah completed his first year at Greifswald, which was a preparatory year.[7]
Hamburg
Jarrah then applied to a number of other programs around Germany, including medical schools (so he could study dentistry), a biochemistry program at Griefswald (as a fallback), and an aeronautical engineering program in Hamburg. Though he was accepted in three of the programs, he chose the program in Hamburg and told Aysel that was the only one that had accepted him.[7]
Jarrah had a good friend there, Bashir Musleh, whom he met at a summer job. Makhadi also knew people at Al Quds Mosque, and was temporarily moving there for an internship. In September 1997, he transferred to the University of Applied Sciences in Hamburg in September 1997.[7]
When he came to Hamburg, he lived in student housing with Musleh and a Sudanese student, Abbas Tahir who was engaged in fundamental Islam. He then moved into a house, as a tenant of Rosemarie Canel.[8] Every other weekend, Jarrah visited Aysel in Greifswald, at first.[7] For two years, he did well in school, but in September 1999 he registered for just one class and then disappeared. Around that time, his behavior and attitudes began to change. He started nagging Aysel about her smoking, drinking, the way she dressed, and other things. He would also disappear, from time to time.[8]
In 1999, Jarrah's personality also began to change, nagging Aysel about her smoking and drinking, choice of clothing, and other details. Despite tense moments in the relationship, Aysel agreed to an Islamic religious ceremony to sanction the relationship. She also traveled with Jarrah to Lebanon, where she met his family.[8]
Arrived in the United States
On May 25, 2000, Jarrah obtained a visa to come to the United States. He arrived on June 25 at Newark International Airport, and was admitted as a tourist. Immediately after arriving, Jarrah began flight training at the Florida Flight Training Centre in Venice. By early August, Jarrah had earned a single-engine private pilot certificate.[9]
In October 2000, Jarrah returned to Germany to visit his girlfriend, Aysel Senguen. The two traveled to Paris before Jarrah returned to Florida on October 29. His relationship with her remained close throughout his time in the United States. In addition to his trips, Jarrah made hundreds of phone calls to her and communicated frequently by email.[10]
In Florida, Jarrah enrolled at US-1 Fitness near Hollywood, Florida. There, he worked with personal trainer, Bert Rodriguez. Jarrah wanted lessons in both defensive and aggressive tactics. Jarrah told Rodriguez that, "he was a student who did a lot of travelling. He had always been interested in martial arts and felt he wanted to understand how to handle confrontation. I had no reason not to believe him. He was a quiet person, with a soft demeanour. He was always polite to the staff and respectful -- not the stereotype of the kind of terrorist you see in movies. He was in excellent shape. He learned quickly and was very diligent. I told him this was like doing magic tricks: the more you practised, the better you got. And he took that to heart."[11]
Doubts
As 9/11 neared, Jarrah had some doubts about participating in the plot.
| “ | Jarrah wanted to return to Germany to be with Aysel and in July 2001, Atta took Jarrah to the Miami airport with a one-way ticket to Germany. But, after what was described as an emotional conversation with Ramzi Binalshibh, the plot's Germany coordinator, Jarrah returned to the United States the following month.[8] | ” |
Timeline
1998
- Summer 1998 - He worked at the Volkswagen plant in Wolfsberg, in the paint shop, as did Mounir El Motassadeq and Zakariya Essabar.[12]
1999
- November 25 - Traveled from Hamburg, through Istanbul, to Karachi, Pakistan.[13]
- At some point in late 1999, he went to Afghanistan and took an oath of loyalty to Bin Laden.[3]
2000
- January 8 - A video is filmed, showing Atta and Ziad Jarrah together in a complex (Tarnak Farm) near Kandahar airport in Afghanistan.[14]
- January 30 - Jarrah flew from Pakistan through Dubai, where he was briefly detained. He was allowed to proceed the next day, traveling on to Hamburg.
- March 24 - Contacted the Florida Flight Training Center in Venice, Florida, where he eventually enrolled.[13]
- May 25 - Jarrah applied for and received a five-year B-1/B-2 (tourist/business) visa in Berlin. The consular officer who issued the visa could not recall details of Jarrah's case. However, under Berlin visa policy for third-country nationals, Jarrah was a strong visa candidate, given his long residence in Germany (approximately four years), academic involvement in Germany (at two universities), and Lebanese nationality. Third-country nationals with more than two years of residency in Germany met a threshold for visa approval. The officer who adjudicated his visa has stated that wealthy Lebanese families often sent their children to school in Germany as a way to keep them out of the Middle East’s turmoil, and that Jarrah looked like one of those wealthy expatriates.[9]
- June 27 - Jarrah arrived in Newark, coming to the United States for the first time. He was admitted on a tourist visa. He then went on to Venice.[10] He immediately violated his immigration status by going from the airport straight to full-time flight school. He studied at the Florida Flight Training Center in Venice, Florida, until January 31, 2001. Jarrah never filed an application to change his status from tourist to student. This failure to maintain a legal immigration status provided a solid legal basis to deny him entry on each of the six subsequent occasions in which he reentered the United States. But because there was no student tracking system in place and because neither Jarrah nor the school complied with the law’s notification requirements, immigration inspectors could not know he was out of status.[9]
- Summer - Immediately after arriving, he began training in the private pilot program at the Florida Flight Training Centre. He intended to get a multi-engine license.[3][10]
- Summer - Upon arriving in Venice, Jarrah moved in with some of the flight instructors affiliated with his school and bought a car.[10]
- August - In early August, Jarrah obtained a single-engine private pilot certificate.[10]
- August - Jarrah attempted to enroll Ramzi Binalshibh in a flight school in Florida.[15]
- October - In October, he flew back to Germany to visit his girlfriend, Aysel Senguen. The two traveled to Paris before Jarrah returned to the United States.[10]
- October 29 - Jarrah returned to Florida, arriving in Tampa from Frankfurt, Germany. He entered again on a tourist visa, and received a six-month length of stay in the United States. He was still in flight school.[9]
- November - Earned a private pilot's license.[3]
- November 25 - Jarrah rented a private plane for a one-day trip from Miami to Nassau, Bahamas, with a couple of companions. There is no immigration departure record, but there is a record of his reentry into the country. At the general aviation terminal where Jarrah arrived, he was subjected to both an immigration and customs check, including an inspection of the plane by customs for the presence of drugs, contraband, and currency. Nothing unusual was found and Jarrah was once again admitted as a tourist for six months. Again, he was still in school despite having a B-1/B-2 visa.[9]
2001
- January - Jarrah flew through Germany to get home to Beirut. A few weeks later, he returned to Florida via Germany, with Aysel Senguen. She stayed with him in Florida for ten days, even accompanying him to a flight training session.[10]
- January 5 - Jarrah returned from Dusseldorf, Germany, landing at Newark, New Jersey, and flying onward to Tampa, Florida. He was admitted as a tourist for six months. His flight school education continued.[9]
- January 26 - Jarrah departed the United States for the fourth time, this time to go back home to Lebanon to visit his father.[9]
- Late January/February - He spent time in Lebanon, to be with his father during open heart surgery.[3] After staying there for several weeks, Jarrah visited Senguen in Germany for a few days before returning to the United States at the end of February.[10]
- February 25 - Jarrah enters for the fifth time at Newark as a business visitor, but still receives a six-month stay. This was unusual, as most inspectors told us that standard operating procedures were to give business visitors a stay of one or three months, depending on the port, and six months only when the visitor could document the purpose of the stay.[9]
- March 30 - Jarrah departed for the fifth time.[9]
- April 13 - Jarrah entered at Atlanta from Amsterdam and was granted a three and a half month stay on business.[9]
- April 23 - Rented an apartment at 1816 Harding in Hollywood, Florida.[3]
- May - Atta (and Jarrah) were attempting to extend Jarrah’s length of stay to September 2001.[9]
- May 24 - Jarrah obtained a duplicate Florida driver’s license.[9]
- June 22 - Moved to an apartment at 4641 Bougainvilla in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea. There, his roommate was Ahmed al-Haznawi.[3]
- June - Took additional flight training at Hortman Aviation, near Philadelphia. There, he asked to fly the Hudson Corridor, a low-altitude "hallway" along the Hudson River that passes New York landmarks like the World Trade Center. Heavy traffic in the area can make the corridor a dangerous route for an inexperienced pilot. Because Hortman deemed Jarrah unfit to fly solo, he could fly this route only with an instructor.[10]
- July 10 - Jarrah acquired a duplicate Florida driver’s license.[9]
- July - Jarrah travels to Germany to see Aysel, returning on August 5 to the U.S.[16]
- August 27 - Jarrah registered at the Pin-Del Motel in Laurel, Maryland.[3]
- August 29 - Jarrah obtained a Virginia identification card, with the help of Hanjour and Mihdhar.[9]
Questions
Jarrah detained in Dubai?
Some news reports mention that Ziad Jarrah traveled from Pakistan, through Dubai in January 2001, and was detained there. Jarrah mentioned during questioning that he spent the previous "two months and five days" in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Since Jarrah had a visa for the U.S., he was released and allowed to proceed. The next day, he flew to Amsterdam, where he transfered to a flight to Hamburg.[17]
This contradicts other accounts, which place him in Florida and in Beirut, visiting his family. Other news stories, as well as the 9/11 Commission, Terry McDermott in The Perfect Soldiers, as well as Moussaoui trial exhibits and other sources place these events as occurring in January 2000 (not 2001).
The 9/11 Commission describes the situation:
| “ | Jarrah drew questioning from UAE authorities about an overlay of the Qu'ran that appeared on one page of his passport.The officials also noticed the religious tapes and books Jarrah had in his possession, but released him after he pointed out that he had lived in Hamburg for a number of years and was studying aircraft construction there." This account was drawn from an FBI report,"Summary of Penttbom Investigation," Feb. 29, 2004, p. 13. | ” |
The Congressional Joint Inquiry also reported on this:
| “ | The Joint Inquiry Staff is aware of a media report that Ziad Jarrah, a September 11 hijacker suspected of having been the pilot aboard United Flight 93, was stopped by United Arab Emirate (UAE) officials at the behest of the CIA as he arrived in Dubai in January 2001. Based on our investigation, the media reports are incorrect. The Joint Inquiry Staff requested and reviewed all pertinent CIA records to determine whether such a request was made. The Joint Inquiry Staff determined that Jarrah was unknown to the CIA prior to September 11, 2001. UAE officials had detained Jarrah because of an irregularity in his passport, not at the request of the CIA, a fact acknowledged by them to U.S. Government officials. Additionally, the date in the media stories is incorrect. Jarrah was stopped in January 2000, not January 2001 as reported by the media. Further, our investigation could find no evidence that any other U.S. officials asked that Jarrah be stopped. | ” |
Mistaken identity?
Soon after 9/11, Ziad Jarrah's uncle, Jamal claimed that he was an innocent passenger on the flight and not a hijacker.[18] His uncle also claimed that the letter to Aysel sent before 9/11 was "fabricated".[19]
After the 9/11 attacks, Aysel reported Jarrah missing to police in Bochum, Germany. Police searched her apartment and found a suitcase containing "airplane-related documents."[20]
Documents
Jarrah's U.S. visa recovered at crash site |
Video
- 911 Hijackers Will videos Part 1 (Atta and Jarrah)
- Part 2
- Part 3
- Part 4
- Part 5
References
- ↑ McDermott, Terry (2005). Perfect Soldiers. Harper, p. 49-50.
- ↑ Who Were They?. PBS Frontline.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 The Story of Ziad Jarrah. The Fifth Estate, CBC News (October 10, 2001).
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 McDermott, Terry (2005). Perfect Soldiers. Harper, p. 50.
- ↑ McDermott, Terry (2005). Perfect Soldiers. Harper, p. 51.
- ↑ McDermott, Terry (2005). Perfect Soldiers. Harper, p. 52.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 McDermott, Terry (2005). Perfect Soldiers. Harper, p. 53.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 The Story of Ziad Jarrah. CBC News (January 19, 2005).
- ↑ 9.00 9.01 9.02 9.03 9.04 9.05 9.06 9.07 9.08 9.09 9.10 9.11 9.12 9.13 Staff Monograph on 9/11 and Terrorist Travel. 9/11 Commission (2004).
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 10.6 10.7 10.8 9-11 Commission Report, Chapter 7
- ↑ Branson, Louise. "The new breed of terrorists", The Straits Times (Singapore), September 25, 2001.
- ↑ McDermott, Terry (2005). Perfect Soldiers. Harper, p. 58.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Zacarias Moussauoi v. the United States, trial testimony on March 7, 2006.
- ↑ Fouda, Yosri. "Chilling message of the 9/11 pilots", Times UK.
- ↑ http://www.usdoj.gov/ag/moussaouiindictment.htm
- ↑ Photos: Life of a 9/11 Hijacker. CBC News - The Fifth Estate.
- ↑ Crewdson, John. "Hijacker held, freed before Sept. 11 attack", Chicago Tribune, December 13, 2001.
- ↑ "Hijacking suspect's family claims mistaken identity", CNN, September 18, 2001.
- ↑ "Hijacker's farewell love letter", BBC, November 19, 2001.
- ↑ "Material linked to suspected hijacker found in Germany", Baltimore Sun / AP, September 16, 2001.