38: The Planners - The Road to September 11 (Part 1)

The Planners: The Road to September 11 (Part 1)

On the evening of September 10, 2001, Mohamed Atta stayed in a nondescript chain hotel in Maine, making routine stops at a gas station and a Wal-Mart. Less than twenty-four hours later, he would lead the deadliest terrorist attack in American history. In the first of a three-part series on the Militia Historia Podcast, we explore the chilling prelude to the September 11 attacks.

This episode traces the plot back to its origins, beginning with Ramzi Yousef’s 1993 World Trade Center bombing and the subsequent ambitions of architects like Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (KSM) and Osama bin Laden.

We examine the formation of the "Hamburg Cell," a tight-knit group of radicalised students led by Atta, who were selected by al-Qaeda precisely because they spoke English and could easily navigate Western society. We follow their journey from training camps in Kandahar to flight schools in Florida, detailing how they secured visas, funded their operation, and conducted cross-country casing flights on Boeing jetliners.

Crucially, we also break down the heartbreaking intelligence gaps of the era. From ignored FBI memos in Phoenix to the CIA's failure to share critical watch-list data regarding known al-Qaeda operatives already inside the United States, we explore how American authorities held countless pieces of the puzzle but failed to see the complete picture before it was too late.

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Series Music:

Written By Benjamin Sturley Performed By Salon Dijon Produced By Salon Dijon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.