Blowing Up The Skies: Oplan Bojinka

“All people who support the U.S. government are our targets in our future plans and that is because all those people are responsible for their government’s actions, and they support the U.S. foreign policy and are satisfied with it. We will hit all U.S. nuclear targets. If the U.S. government keeps supporting Israel, then we will continue to carry out operations inside and outside the United States to include…” (From the Bojinka manifesto recovered on Ramzi Yousef’s computer found in his hotel room)

When American Airlines Flight 11 crashed into the North Tower at 8:36am on September 11th 2001, Rodolfo Mendoza, a Philippines police general and former intelligence spy against the Soviet bloc, was watching the horror unfold. He was immediately reminded of his days as a senior officer debriefing an unruly Kuwaiti who was arrested days earlier.

Just a few miles nearby, a retired grandmother living on pension in a one-bedroom apartment, Aida Fariscal, a former senior inspector, was also watching the screen. Her face contorted min horror….slowly she gasped and uttered,

“Oh my God!! Bojinka!!.”

January 19th 1995

After days of being stripped, shackled, beaten, having cigarettes burned on his torso, and hit with wooden logs, the gruff bearded Kuwaiti held steadfast. The Kuwaiti who only gave the initial name of “Saeed” would not budge.

Saeed sat in his chair exhausted, hungry and battered. However, he had information pertaining to a nefarious operation that was being hatched from a hotel room located at the Josefa Apartments in room 603 which was rented days in advance by someone named, Najy Awaita Hadda. Later, this name turned out to be fictitious. The person who booked the room was Abdul Basit Karim, also known as Ramzi Yousef.

Saeed was unwilling to tell his Philippines captors anything other than the usual profanity. This led to him being beaten severely. They broke his ribs, burned him with cigarettes, forced water down his throat, then threatened to turn him over to the Israelis. Murad was quite hesitant to be handed over to the Israeli’s knowing he would endure horrible torture by them as well.

Enter Colonel Rodolfo Mendoza, who went by the nickname, “Boogie”. Mendoza was highly skilled in the art of interrogation. He knew Saeed was hungry and brought a McDonalds hamburger and a Coke for good measure. Maybe to get a suspected fundamentalist to talk openly, is thru his stomach, and not lit cigarettes to his genitals. For 67 days, he endured “tactical interrogation” by Filipino investigators while also enduring punishing torture, mentally and physically. But, he didn’t break. He never wavered. Mendoza had another idea in mind.

Showing his beaten captor the freshly cooked meal before him, Mendoza lit up a cigarette and then waited. Saeed’s mouth began to quiver in anticipation to devour the delicious entree. Finally, Mendoza slowly pushed the hamburger in front of the, beaten and distraught, Kuwaiti. He then proposed a solution. Mendoza glanced at Saeed and said, “you can eat the meal before you, only if, you tell me why you are here in Manila and to explain the suspicious items found in room 603.”

Saeed lowered his muggy gaze down to the smoky burger and then picked it up and chewed his first bite. It seemed like it was in slow motion, as if time didn’t exist. The taste and smell of fresh food certainly enticed him to marinate the experience. When he put down the contents. He told Mendoza his real name, Abdul Hakim Murad.

In Camp Crame, a military installation on the outskirts of Manila, Murad was subjected for 67 days to what Philippine intelligence reports delicately refer to as TI, or tactical interrogation.

In the next fourteen days, Murad would tell Mendoza and investigators working on the case a remarkably nefarious operation that would send shockwaves not just to Philippines police, but also to the FBI, CIA and the US government. It would also be the trendsetter for the plane's operation, also known as the “9/11 attacks”.

Abdul Hakim Ali Hashim Murad was born in Kuwait during the month of January. His parents were moderately successful, and Murad was a fair student. he graduated from high school in Kuwait and proceeded to live a lifelong dream of being a pilot. Murad attended the Continental Flying School in the Philippines from November 1990 to January 1991.According to Samuel Katz book “Relentless Pursuit: The DSS and the manhunt for the al-Qaeda terrorists, Murad received his received his Commercial Pilot certificate while at Coastal Aviation Incorporated after completing 275 hours of required flight time.

Murad also had flight lessons while residing inside the United States in such places as Schenectady, New York; New Bern, North Carolina; Louisiana and San Antonio, Texas. His extensive flight training record did not go unnoticed by the prying eyes of the Baluchi clan, lifelong friends who lived in Baluchistan, a historical region in Western and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau’s far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. One of the Baluchi clans was Abdul Basit Karim, who went by various aliases, including the more notoriously popular, Ramzi Ahmed Yousef.

Yousef was born on April 27th, 1968, in Kuwait to supposedly a Baluchi Pakistani father and a Palestinian mother. According to the FBI< his mother is alleged to be Khalid Sheikh Mohammad’s sister. But it has never been truly confirmed. Much mystery surrounds Yousef’s early life. Even Murad had little to no information about Yousef’s adolescent years.

In the late 1980s, Yousef was studying engineering at a Wales college, but he’d also joined the Muslim Brotherhood while there. During a break from school in 1988, he went to one of bin Laden’s training camps in Afghanistan and spent several months honing his bomb-making skills. One training camp in particular was the Sadda camp which was headed by Abu Jaffar al-Qandahari. Here they trained people like Yousef in the art of bomb making. Usually, they were small bombs meant to disable Soviet tanks and jeeps.

Yousef was a moderate student, according to al-Qandahari, he was less than exceptional. One person that Yousef met here, who was quite exceptional in the art of bomb construction was, Ahmed Ajaj. Ajaj was born in the West Bank, and later attended another camp called Khalden. He was rather “out of place”, and didn't seem too religiously motivated. Later on, it was found out that Ajaj had been approached by Israeli police when Ajaj was arrested for counterfeiting money. He was given a task to infiltrate Hamas, a terrorist group located in Gaza Strip. For his efforts he was to be released.

Yousef had met many of the “Afghan Arabs” while in Afghanistan, but his fight wasn’t just against the Soviets. But against the West. You see, Yousef had an uncle, Khalid Sheikh Mohammad. A name that soundly resonates with millions of people currently, for he is the alleged mastermind of the September 11th, 2001, terrorist attacks and his currently imprisoned in Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba. It was Mohammad who persuaded Yousef to come to Afghanistan while Yousef was a graduating student from Wales.

Mohammad was once a student in the United States and was treated quite badly, to the point he wanted to take his frustrations out against them, but at a much later date. I had written extensively about his life, and it can be located thru the title, “The Shadows That Belong To Muhktar: Khalid Sheikh Muhammad”.

While in Afghanistan, the Soviets began to compromise under a deal that was moderated by the Pakistan government. The Soviets agreed to withdraw their military and took them 10 months to finally conduct a full retreat. The Afghans and the Arabs rejoiced! A ragtag bunch of mujahid fighters had defeated the communist superpower, with US backing of course!

Meanwhile, as the burgeoning threat of Arab fundamentalism began, many of the newly trained jihadists who were given training and weapons by the CIA’s own program “Operation Cyclone”, with help from the Pakistan intelligence service, the ISI, many of the fighters had to return to their home countries. There they would begin a decades long terror campaign that would change the world over.

Ajaj meanwhile would find himself in trouble. Arrested for counterfeiting money at a graveyard in an Arab cemetery outside East Jerusalem. It was during his prison stay that the Israeli Mossad, Israeli’s CIA, apparently recruited him, say Israeli intelligence sources. By the time he was released after having served just one year, he had seemingly undergone a radical transformation. The common crook had become a devout Muslim fanatic. Soon after, he was arrested for smuggling weapons into the West Bank, allegedly for El Fatah.

“Although Israel says Ajaj was expelled to Jordan in April 1991 as a security risk, Peter Lems, an official for the Palestine Human Rights Center, based in East Jerusalem, told the Village Voice that Ajaj’s name does not appear on any known list of Palestinian deportees. Whatever the case, soon after Ajaj left Israel, he traveled to Peshawar, Pakistan. Where he would meet with Ramzi Yusuf some time right after entry into the country.” (Thomas Friedman, The Village Voice, 8–3–1993)

January 20th, 1995

Murad was spilling the beans to Philippines investigators, uncovering an international plot that would shake the detectives to their core. Mendoza took his time, questioning the bearded terrorist. Knowing full well that this truly elaborate operation had to involve multiple people from god knows where, Mendoza wanted to get every letter right, down to the T!

Murad reminded Mendoza and Philippines Chief Superintendent, who was overseeing the interrogation of Abdul Hakim Murad, Robert Delfin, described the beginning stages of Oplan Bojinka, as Khalid Sheikh Mohammed termed it. Endnote 7 of Chapter 5 of the 9/11 Commission Report states that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed “says Bojinka is not Serbo-Croatian for ‘big bang’, as has been widely reported, but rather a nonsense word he adopted after hearing it on the front lines in Afghanistan.

Murad described to the patiently awaiting investigators with a tight-lipped cigarette as Murad was intensely describing the plot thru a smoke-filled room that hung in the air like a fog. Sometime in the spring of 1994, Ramzi Yousef had visited Manila, along with other “Arab Afghans” who were creating cells in Manila, he began work making bombs. Yousef had shown up in Singapore with Shah earlier in the autumn of 1994. Also in Manilla was Osama Bin Laden’s brother-in-law, Mohammad Jamal Khalifa. Khalida was a legitimate Saudi business entrepreneur who owned and operated businesses such as the Benevolence International Corporation” (BIC) in the Philippines, founded in 1988. Also, Khalifa was head of the International Islamic Relief Organization’s Philippine branch.

Yousef left Manila for several days but was met by Islamist emissaries upon his return to Metro Manila. The Abu Sayyaf group approached Yousef, who showed them how to make explosive devices, and wanted them to assist in the assassination of US President Bill Clinton. Clinton was to visit Philippines president, Fidel Ramos, on November 12th, 1994, as part of a five-day tour of Asia. Yousef thought of various ways to kill President Clinton, including the use of a Stinger missile, placing a small nuclear device along the motorcade of Clinton’s vehicle and even trying to kill him using phosgene, a toxic, colorless gas. None of these scenarios, however, would be successful as Clinton’s security detail would be too strict and attentive.

Later, Clinton’s security detail wanted to know why there was no followup to this threat. The international news agency, Reuters, found no evidence of a U.S. government investigation into the attempt on Clinton’s life. The news agency also could not independently determine if intelligence agencies conducted classified probes.

According to Reuters article dated March 23rd,2024 “The Al Qaeda Plot To Kill Bill Clinton That History Nearly Forgot”

“”I always wondered why I wasn’t kept back to stay in Manila to monitor any investigation,” said Gregory Glod, the lead Secret Service intelligence agent in Manila and one of seven agents who spoke out for the first time. “Instead, they flew me out the day after Clinton left.”

There was an incident,” said Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi. “It remains classified.” He declined to say what, if any, actions the United States took in response.

Former CIA director Leon Panetta, who was Clinton’s chief of staff at the time, said he was unaware of the incident but that an attempt to kill a president should be investigated.

“As a former chief of staff, I’d be very interested in trying to find out whether somebody put this information to the side and didn’t bring it to the attention of people who should have been aware that something like that happened.”

Mendoza wanted to know more about Murad’s early life. He related to investigators that he was born in Kuwait, and his full name, Abdul Hakim Ali Hashim Murad. His father, Ali Hashim, was a hard-working petroleum crane operator. His mother, Amina Ahmad, was a reserved individual. Both lived in Sabahiya, Kuwait. He also had three sisters, and five brothers.

After graduating from a Kuwaiti high school, he attained his commercial pilot’s license at the Continental Flying School in the Philippines from November 1990 to January 1991 and continued his studies at the Emirates Flying School in the United Arab Emirates in November 1991. His middle school life was better than most Kuwaitis, but like young Muslims, they became quite alarmed about the US invasion of Iraq and the West overall insistence in backing the Israeli Zionist movement against the Palestinians.

Murad wanted to do something about it! One individual who Murad went to school with but wasn’t quite friendly with, was a young man by the name, Abdul Basit Karim, Murad would also later known him by the nom de guere, Ramzi Yousef. Murad would later meet him at an Afghan training camp. According to Daniel Benjamin and Steve Simon, from their book “The Age Of Sacred Terror”

“Ramzi Yousef is remembered as something of a bon vivant bomber, a man with ready recommendations for whorehouses around the world and motivations that were a mixture of vanity and secular politics.’

In 1993, Murad would meet Yousef’s uncle, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed at his Mohammed’s home based in Karachi, Pakistan. Yousef had invited the young Murad to accompany him to embark on Murad’s wishes to “do something about” the West and Israel. During his time in Karachi, Yousef taught Murad how to make explosives. Mohammed and Yousef, however, had very big plans for the United States and their Crusader armies. It came in the form of a very large fertilizer bomb. The target? New York City’s biggest and most visually stunning building. The World Trade Center.

By July 1993, as Murad and Yousef were practicing how to facilitate bombs with Lead Azide, an improper chemical reaction seared Yousef’s face. He was rushed to a hospital by Murad. It would disfigure Yousef’s face slightly. Murad used his car to drive Yousef to Civil Hospital in Karachi. Yousef was not admitted but was transferred to Agha Hospital, also in Karachi. There he was given first aid for burns near his right eye while also being admitted.

Yousef in the latter months kept Murad informed about how to make bombs from Lead Azide, RDX, PETN etc. and how to use them on devices ready to explode using a timer. This was during their stay in Lahur, Pakistan, where they stayed in a guesthouse for two weeks. Yousef would later tell Murad that he was showing him how to make bombs for Murad had no record in the United States. And that he would be a perfect candidate to begin bombing operations there.

By November 1994, Yousef then travelled to Manilla, Philippines. On December 22, an unemployed computer programmer Edward Leary, had used a device made up of mayonnaise jars, gasoline and flashlight batteries, had exploded on a crowded 4 train near Fulton Street. He was shortly arrested but not before Yousef had seen the news. Yousef had rushed to a telephone and called in to the US Embassy in Oman, Jordan and declared the following:

“This is A1168 of the Liberation Army, we are claiming responsibility over the bombing of the underground railroad in New York City.”

This announcement was quite similar to the one he made in the aftermath of the World Trade Center bombing in February of 1993. Only, Yousef was primarily responsible for that bombing. But hey, any news is news, and if it got the attention of others, Yousef was more than willing to take the heat from it as well.

February 8th 1995

By December of 1994, Murad was called by Yousef and told to come and stay in the Las Palmas Hotel in Manilla. Murad arrived at this request from Yousef. There the pair would reconnect once again, only this time, Yousef told Murad to come with him to a hotel residence. The Dora Josefa apartment in Malate, Manilla. Yousef had rented an apartment where Murad met three other individuals he would tell Philippines authorities as,

Khalid, Murad knew him as a resident of Qatar, and Yousef’s friend.
Abdul Majid, this would later be known as a nom de guerre of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.
Osama Asmurai, who Murad had met only once, the day Murad got arrested.

During the sign in, Yousef had written down his actual name. A noticeable mistake! Edith Guerra, the apartment manager at Dora Josefa, jokingly claimed with the receptionist after, Yousef and Murad, asked for new registration forms, claiming that “they have forgotten their names”, adding that the first ones were torn up, but nevertheless gave in to their requests.

But who were the others?

Yousef was the paternal nephew to Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, as bot had family ties dating back to when they lived in Baluchistan, Pakistan. Neither were traditionally pious, even thou they claimed no religious studies, both men considered themselves Muslims. But they both enjoyed the Western style of living. Quite lavishly, if possible. One instance of just how opulent they both could be.

In December 1994, both Majid (Mohammed) and Yousef would go to karaoke bars and go-go clubs, dates go-go dancers, stays in four-star hotels, and takes scuba diving lessons. Majid even rents a helicopter just to fly it past the window of a girlfriend’s office in an attempt to impress her. But evidently there was a catch. He needed her to open a bank account in her name to deposit funds that were coming in. Funds that were to be used for a secret operation Murad told investigators in the following days.

Mendoza said, what plan?

Murad pulled his cigarette deeply, smoke slowly rising from his lips then out his nostrils to soak up the next words.

“Bojinka!”

February 13th 1995

Ramzi Ahmed Yousef and the person know to Murad simply as Abdul Majid, concocted an operation so incredibly dubious, it would shock even the hardened Mendoza. But an operation like this would require a good amount of cash. Where was it coming from. Mendoza went to Avelino “Sonny” Razon, who at the time was investigating counterterrorism in the country. Razon and the Philippine police reportedly began monitoring a Pakistani businessman by the name of Tariq Javed Rana. According to Razon, a Philippine security official, the decision to put Rana under surveillance is prompted by a report that “Middle Eastern personalities” are planning to assassinate Pope John Paul II during his upcoming January 1995 visit to Manila.

Also made known to Mendoza, the Philippines terrorism task force had begun monitoring Mohammad Jamal Khalifa, who owned multiple businesses in the country. This led them to closely investigate a known militant in Indonesia. Riduan Isamuddin, also known simply as Hambali. One company in particular that caught their eye was Konsojaya Trading Company. Konsojaya was a front company that was started by the head of the group Jemaah Islamiyah, Hamabli himself! With other individuals that were associates of Hambali, such as, Wali Khan Amin Shah who was on the board of directors of the company.

The organization also funneled money to an account owned by Omar Abu Omar, an employee of the International Relations and Information Centre, an organization run by Mohammed Jamal Khalifa. Khalifa was married to one of Osama Bin Laden’s sisters, making him a brother-in-law. Funding had to go thru legitimate businesses, money laundering as it's called. The transfers were small, equivalent to about 12,000 to 24,000 Philippine pesos ($500 to $1,000 US), and would be handed over each night at a Wendy’s or a karaoke bar. The funds went to “Adam Sali”, another alias used by Ramzi Yousef.

The Bojinka operation was multifaceted recalled Murad. Mendoza and his team however knew about names, dates and targets, for unbeknownst to Murad. Rafael Garcia, Chairman and CEO of the Mega Group of Computer Companies in the Philippines, who often works with the Philippine National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to decode computer files. Was assigned the task of decoding encrypted files on Ramzi Yousef’s computer.

In just a few short hours, Garcia had decoded the laptop recovered from Room 603. But Mendoza needed more details. Murad related the following plans of what was known as “Oplan Bojinka”

Mendoza: “Why the name Oplan Bojinka?”

Murad: “Mohammed says to me once, Bojinka is not Serbo-Croatian for ‘big bang’, as has been widely reported, but rather a nonsense word he adopted after hearing it on the front lines in Afghanistan”

What came next by Murad, would completely astonish the investigators. According to the Philippines Police Report dated February 8th, 1995:

“The plan to bomb several US commercial aircrafts and to conduct bombing operation during Pope John Paul II visit in the Philippines were all Basit’s idea. Said plan was already formulated prior to the arrival of Murad who is one among the individuals’ who were supposed to participate in the execution thereof.

Basit has chosen the aforementioned targets for the following reasons.

Bombing of US commercial aircrafts will result to great pressure amongst the US government whom Muslim extremists condemn for providing political, economic and military support to Israel and whom they blame in the killing of their Muslim brothers in Bosnia.

The conduct of bombing operation during the Pope’s visit, Murad cannot ascertain if the conduct of said plans to announce/claim later as a handicraft of the Abu Sayyaf group will result to international propaganda milleage for the latter.

The supposed bombing of the Pope is to be executed by Basit. He will be placing several “pipe bombs” along the Pope’s route which will be ignited by the use of a remote-control device. Said pipe bombs and remote-control device will be controlled by Basit himself. Murad stated he did not see the device yet and denied knowledge in assembling of making it.

Murad also stated to investigators that sometime in the early part of December 1994, Basit, who was then in Manila, called up Murad who was in Karachi, Pakistan, and asked the latter to come to the Philippines and participate in the planned bombings of in US aircrafts and the Pope. Basit picked Murad to assist him for he knew that Basit had the same ill sentiments towards the US and new that Murad would be able to assist Basit in dealing great damage and embarrassment to the United States government.

Murad also had the suspicion that Majid (Khalid Sheikh Mohammed) and Osama Asmurai are aware and may be directly involved in the aforementioned plan since Majid have also undergone explosives training in Jalalabad, Afghanistan while Asmurai is an Afghan war veteran. Both of whom are Mujahedeen who are closely associated with Basit and share the same sentiments as the latter towards the United States.

By the time Murad arrived on December26th 1994 to apartment 603 at Josefa, he said there were already several kinds of chemicals inside the apartment. Murad highly suspected that both, Majid and Asmurai, assisted Basit in procuring said chemicals. Nevertheless, he also stated that he did assist Basit, in procuring other kinds of chemicals and four Casio wristwatches which will be used in manufacturing the bombs as tiny timing devices respectively. Both bought said chemicals in a chemical store situated somewhere in Quezon City, Manila and bought the Casio wristwatches in Shangrila-la mall in Edsa also in Manila.

It was a tremendous operation that had some of the detectives and lead investigators disbelieving Murad initially. This would take months to plan and money to operate, even involve foreign operators. It would also involve an escape plan, aliases and who would be staying where. Murad gave more to Mendoza and lead detectives like Razon. The escape route would involve the following steps.

“The abovementioned plan is supposed to be executed in the following sequence Murad will board Air France going to Singapore bringing with him two sets of nitroglycerin bombs. Upon arrival in Singapore, he will board Flight #2 of United Airlines going to Hong Kong wherein he will fix the first bomb. Then he will board Flight #1 of same airline going back to Singapore and fix the second bomb threat. After which, he will fly to Pakistan wherein he and Basit, will be meeting each other at Embassy Hotel located somewhere in Karachi.”

As for aliases during and after the operation Murad told investigators that Basit went by many aliases.

Adam Ali
Dr. Vijay
Adam Sali
Ramsey Yousef

While Osama Asmurai went by simply:

Wali Khan Amin Shah

Murad said he did not know specifically where Asmurai or Yousef stayed outside of the Josefa apartment. But they stayed in close proximity to Josefa. However, prior to Murad’s arrival, Majid was staying with Basit in room 603 but Majid transferred to another residence close to Josefa when Murad had arrived.

When investigators had found inside the apartment when Murad was arrested was a full inventory that would have made even Dr. Frankenstein proud! Various chemicals, including Nitroglycerin, glycerin, nitrate, sulfuric acid, and minute concentrations of nitrobenzene, silver azide (silver trinitride), and liquid acetone.

Two 9-volt batteries in each bomb were to be used as a power source. The batteries would be connected to light bulb filaments that would detonate the bomb. Murad and Yousef wired an SCR (silicon controlled rectifier) as the switch to trigger the filaments to detonate the bomb. There was an external socket hidden when the wires were pushed under the watch base as the bomber would wear it. The alteration was so small that the watch could still be worn in a normal manner.

They also found incriminating evidence, such as Murad’s notebook and Basit’s laptop. Philippines technical agents took time to decode the encrypted computer but once they did, they found the motherlode.

In the decryption of the hard drive was the plan of Oplan Bojinka and the names of those involved in the planning stages and financing of the operation, including the targets!

The Asian flights to be bombed were the following:

*Kai Tak Airport, Hong Kong
*Narita International Airport, Narita, Chiba Prefecture , Japan
*Ninoy Aquino International Airport, Pasay/Parañaque, Metro Manila, Philippines
*Chiang Kai-shek International Airport (renamed Taoyuan International Airport), Taoyuan, Taiwan
*Singapore Changi Airport, Singapore Gimpo International Airport, Gimpo, South Korea
*Bangkok (Don Mueang) International Airport, Bangkok, Thailand

The United States flights to be bombed were the following:

*Honolulu International Airport, Honolulu, Hawaii
*John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York City, New York
*Los Angeles International Airport, Los Angeles
*Chicago O’Hare International Airport, Chicago, Illinois
*San Francisco International Airport, San Francisco

The timer bombs from the Casio watches were called “micro-bombs” and according to Peter Lance’s fantastic book “1,000 Years For Revenge: International Terrorism & The FBI”, the devices were constructed like this:

“The “Mark II microbombs” had Casio digital watches as the timers, stabilizers that looked like cotton wool balls, and an undetectable quantity of nitroglycerin as the explosive. Other ingredients included glycerin, nitrate, sulfuric acid, and minute concentrations of nitrobenzene, silver azide (silver trinitride), and liquid acetone. Two 9-volt batteries in each bomb were used as a power source. The batteries would be connected to light bulb filaments that would detonate the bomb. Murad and Yousef wired an SCR (silicon controlled rectifier) as the switch to trigger the filaments to detonate the bomb. There was an external socket hidden when the wires were pushed under the watch base as the bomber would wear it. The alteration was so small that the watch could still be worn in a normal manner.”

The individuals who stayed in room 603, located on the sixth floor, had also attracted unwanted attention. People were suspicious of the men who were described as being very secretive. According to Guerrera, the men gave the impression that they were in the Philippines to study, adding that “They looked like students”. She also revealed that they double-locked the door when they were inside or out, and never asked for a cleaning crew to clear up the room, also adding that they “had chemical burns on their hands”, carried boxes, and never hired other people to help them.

Murad would then tell Mendoza how the “test run” for Bojinka began, which included the bomb’s potential ability for maximum damage and also how it would work on an airline itself.

The first test run came when Shah has used his motorbike to drive Yousef on December 1, 1994. Yousef placed a bomb under a seat in the Greenbelt Theatre in Manila to test what would happen if a bomb exploded under an airline seat. The bomb went off, injuring several patrons. Yousef and Shah witnessed the patrons come out, shaken, no one was killed however. The first test run was a success. But shortly thereafter, the second test run was to secure the items for the bomb thru airport security, construct it, then placing it under the plane seat where the fuel tanks were located, successfully.

Murad looked at Mendoza and touched his chin slowly, as if thinking about how Yousef told him of Philippines Airline Flight 434, just three months ago. Murad then looked at his inquisitor and said it was a flawless run. He smirked, and then let out a low gruff sound of being impressed. The ingenious of it, truly to be respected.

On December 11th, 1994, Yousef using a fake Italian name “Armaldo Forlani”. It was an intentional misspelling of Arnaldo Forlani who, at the time, was the former prime minister of Italy from 1980 to 1981. Forlani then used his boarding pass to enter the gate to the plane at 7:23am ET. He then asked a flight attendant to use the bathroom and was shown the location, which was near the back of the plane.

After the plane was airborne, he went into the lavatory with his toiletry bag in hand and took off his shoes to get out the batteries, wiring, and spark source hidden in the heel below a level where metal detectors in use at the time could not detect. Yousef removed a modified Casio digital watch from his wrist to use as a timer, unpacked the remaining materials from his toiletry bag, and assembled his bomb. He set the timer for four hours later, when he would be long disembarked and the plane would be far out over the ocean and en route to Tokyo during the next leg of its journey, put the entire bomb back into the bag, and returned to his assigned seat.

Flight 434, Murad said, was the first leg of the flight. From Manilla to Cebu, from there Yousef would depart and head back to Manilla using a Cebu flight back. Murad then relaxed back into his chair. Told Mendoza that Yousef had chosen seat 26K. He had chosen this location based on a misunderstanding of where the fuel tanks were located on that specific 747 configuration. In some 747 configurations, the fuel tank is located underneath the center of the plane, however on this particular plane, had the fuel tank further back due to its cabin configuration, making seat 26K two rows forward of the center fuel tank.

A small error Murad said. But nonetheless, the plan had been carried out without no one noticing Yousef’s actions. Flight 434 landed in Cebu at 6:50 a.m., after a flight time of 1 hour 15 minutes. At 8:38 a.m., after a 38-minute delay due to airport congestion, the plane took off with a total of 273 passengers on board. The plane was designed to carry 293 souls on board. It was 20 light.

As Murad was giving up the operation in the Philippines, back in Morgan Hills, California, Mohammad Jamal Khalifa was being arrested. Visa fraud it seemed, however. various accounts would arise regarding Khalifa’s arrest. According to one account, Khalifa is arrested on behalf of the government of Jordan, because he is on trial there. Another account claims that Philippine authorities “tipped off Federal authorities on Khalifa’s movements.

The Philippines task force had reason to believe Khalifa was a major terrorist financier. Khalifa wasn’t alone in his detainment. He is arrested alongside with Mohammed Loay Bayazid, one of the dozen or so original members of al-Qaeda. Bayazid had attempted to purchase nuclear material for Osama Bin Laden the year before.

Philippine investigators had recently completed a secret report on terrorist funding. The report focuses on Khalifa and says his activities in the Philippines strongly link with Muslim extremist movements in Iraq, Jordan, Turkey, Russia, Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates, Romania, Lebanon, Syria, Pakistan, Albania, the Netherlands, and Morocco. It calls a charity which Khalifa runs a “pipeline through which funding for the local extremists is being coursed.” Perhaps not coincidentally, the report was released just one day before Khalifa’s arrest in the United States.

According to the San Francisco Chronicle dated October 24th, 2001, regarding the items found in Khalifa’s possessions during the arrest:

“His possessions, which are quickly examined and translated, include a handwritten manual in Arabic detailing how to set up a terrorist curriculum at a school in the Philippines, giving lessons in bomb-making and assassination. An alias is found in his personal organizer that was also used in a bomb-making manual brought into the US by Ahmad Ajaj, Ramzi Yousef’s travel partner, when the two of them came to the US to implement the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.

Also, Bojinka plotter Wali Khan Amin Shah’s phone number is found in Khalifa’s possessions. A damning amount of incriminating evidence of a sinister organization was afoot. US investigators quickly went before the INS judge to have him kept instead of deported. The State Department tells the immigration judge handling Khalifa’s case that he had “engaged in serious terrorist offenses” and that his release “would endanger US national security.”

Despite all this evidence, Khalifa will soon be deported to Jordan for retrial there, even though the key witness against him has already recanted. He will be found innocent and set free on July 19th, 1995. He quickly returns to Saudi Arabia, where he has citizenship. Michael Scheuer, the first head of the CIA’s bin Laden unit, will later claim that that “day he flew back to Saudi Arabia, he was greeted by a limo and a high-ranking official of the government embraced him.”

Murad then asked for a cup of water, which was granted. The doomed airline of Flight 434 was not finished. Seated in Yousef’s seat, 26K from Cebu to Tokyo, Japan, was 24-year-old, Haruki Ikegami. Ikegami, was a Japanese industrial sewing machine maker. Then, Murad said, Yousef’s timing device, worked. The bomb reached zero hour and exploded.

At 11:43 a.m. Eastern Indonesian Time, 4 hours after Yousef planted his bomb, the device exploded Ikegami’s seat injuring an additional ten passengers in the adjacent seats in front of and behind seat 26K.

“Masaharu Mochizuki, a passenger on the flight, recalled that passengers, both injured and uninjured, tried to move away from the blast site, but cabin crew told passengers to remain in place until an assessment of the situation could be made. Of the ten passengers who were injured, one needed urgent medical care.”

The shockwave was instantaneous. Many thought the plane’s emergency door had blown open. The blast blew off a two-square-foot portion of the cabin floor leaving a gaping hole leading to the cargo hold location, and the cabin’s rapid expansion from the explosion severed a number of control cables in the ceiling that controlled the plane’s right aileron, as well as cables that connected to the steering controls of both the Captain and First Officer. Both men were now desperate to gain control of the steering. It would be a tough task ahead, but Captain Eduardo “Ed” Reyes, who had previously flown aircraft for the Philippine Air Force, was as steady as they come.

Then came the morbidity. Investigators in the case later interviewed everyone in the plane. When they interviewed, Assistant purser Fernando Bayot, they were told of the following horror. Bayot tried to pull Ikegami out of the hole created by the explosion, but soon he realized that part of the Ikegami’s body was missing, and that he had died. In order to prevent additional panic, Bayot called another flight attendant over to give the appearance that they were tending to Ikegami’s needs with a blanket and oxygen mask, then reported the extent of the passenger injuries to the cockpit.

Murad didn't know this part obviously. He only knew of Yousef’s experiences in the first leg of the flight. But Mendoza already knew of the general details of Flight 434, and now he had the intricate details and future plans of Bojinka! Or so he thought!

February 21, 1995

Five people, 12 airlines. Each of the five males involved with the airline bombing plot would have false first names.

Obaid
Zyed
Markoa
Majbos
Mirqas

Each accomplice would leave the bombs on the first leg of the flight, and then eventually return to locations such as Lahore, Pakistan. Obaid, for instance, would fly from Singapore to Hong Kong on United Flight 80, which continued as United Flight 806 to San Francisco.

Each individual would have a specific flight to place the bomb in.

“Zyed” was to attack a Northwest Airlines Manila-Seoul-Los Angeles flight, then a United Airlines Seoul-Taipei-Honolulu flight, and then a United Taipei-Bangkok-San Francisco flight. Zyed would then flee to Karachi, Pakistan after disembarking in Bangkok.

“Majbos” was to attack a United Airlines Taipei-Tokyo-Los Angeles flight, with him disembarking in Tokyo, and then proceed to a United Tokyo-Hong Kong-New York flight. After disembarking in Hong Kong, he would have fled to Karachi, Pakistan.

“Maroka” was to attack a Northwest Airlines Manila-Tokyo-Chicago flight, with him disembarking in Tokyo, and then proceed to a Northwest Tokyo-Hong Kong-New York flight. After disembarking in Hong Kong he would have escaped to Karachi.

“Mirqas” was to attack a United Airlines Manila-Seoul-San Francisco flight, with him disembarking in Seoul, and then proceed to a Delta Airlines Seoul-Taipei-Bangkok flight. After disembarking in Taipei he would have escaped to Karachi.

“Obaida” was to attack a United Airlines Singapore-Hong Kong-Los Angeles flight and a United Airlines Los Angeles-Hong Kong-Singapore flight which would become a Singapore-Hong Kong-San Francisco flight. After arriving in Singapore, Obaida was to flee to Pakistan.

The five accomplices, where three are definitively known are:

Wali Khan Amin Shah
Abdul Hakim Murad
Ramzi Yousef
Abd al-Karim Yousef, Yousef’s brother.
Khalid Al-Shaikh (An alleged alias for KSM)

However, that wasn’t all! There was also a plot to assassinate US President Bill Clinton. Yousef wanted to fix a timing bomb near Clinton’s car but figured that a security detail and meticulous police monitoring of the surroundings would be too strict. The plane was called off. However, after Yousef had visited Abu Sayyaf, they wanted Yousef to figure out a plot to kill Pope John Paul II instead. Murad told Philippines investigators that Yousef and Murad would dress as Catholic priests.

Yousef’s date with the Pope would be on January 15th, 1995, where a bomb would be placed in a bag and laid near passed the Pope’s motorcade on his way to the San Carlos Seminary in Makati. Yousef planned to get close to the Pope and detonate the bomb. Afterwards, he would give full credit to the Abu Sayyaf organization.

Back in January, Mendoza had asked about the bombing plot’s other operation. The evidence inside apartment 603, uncovered a treasure trove of chemicals, flight logs and the laptop. Murad would remark about himself being a licensed pilot and slightly made an offhand comment about being trained inside the United States. To which Yousef replied that a dedicated martyr was needed to strike fear inside the minds of Americans.

Murad exclaimed that he would be willing to die as a martyr and manually steer a commercial aircraft and crash it onto CIA Langley headquarters in Virginia. Mendoza wanted to know more about thus third phase. According to Mendoza’s report, dated January 20th, 1995:

“What the subject has in his mind is that he will board any American commercial aircraft pretending to be an ordinary passenger. Then he will hijack said aircraft, control its cockpit and dive it at the CIA headquarters.”

Murad said that this part of the plot was dropped since the Manila cell could not recruit enough people to implement other hijackings. The targets however were discussed. They were the following:

The World Trade Center (New York City, New York),
The Pentagon (Arlington, Virginia),
The United States Capitol (Washington, D.C.),
The White House (Washington, D.C.),
The Sears Tower (Chicago, Illinois),
The U.S. Bank Tower (Los Angeles, California)
The Transamerica Pyramid (San Francisco, California)

This phase was discussed and would obviously lead to a future plot hatched by Majid later to Osama Bin Laden in 1999 allegedly. Known today as the “Holy Tuesday” operation or the September 11th, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Just weeks prior to Murad’s confession, and unbeknownst to him, Philippines police reacted to a call on January 3rd to two businessmen who said that they heard explosions and saw Middle Eastern men engaged in what appeared to be military-type training on a remote beach two hours from Manila. Police quickly investigate and discover a partially burned Bible and pamphlets preaching a radical version of Islam. As a result, police go on red alert. But nothing came from this investigation however.

The Bojinka plot would have ultimately killed thousands had Yousef and Murad had been successful. But Yousef was also, careless, at times. The most glaring example was on January 6th 1995.

At approximately 11:00pm, Murad had been working on a microbomb, using the sink to carefully stop the spillage of noxious chemicals from mixing or spilling over. However, Murad was weary and a bit shaken. A chemical reaction caused by mixing two volatile liquids caused a small reaction with large billowing smoke. The smell was overcoming Murad and Yousef, the thick, acrid black smoke filled the room and Yousef had opened the window to let most of it out. Some people outside the Dira Josefa noticed the gradual, black cloud from the sixth floor. With some believing an apartment was on fire, the fire brigade was called.

Meanwhile at the Manilla Police Department, Police Major Francisco F. Bautista and his staff, including watch commander Aida D. Fariscal, decided to investigate the situation when calls from the Brigade and pedestrians were made. The crowd outside the Dora Josefa made Yousef quite alarmed. Better to be safe than sorry. Both men exited the premises without so much as getting the attention from others. They stood and watched from across a neighboring street. As Manilla police arrive, it was Fariscal, who suddenly became rather inquisitive as she approached room 603. You see, Philippines investigators to the incident at the beach, the bombing of Metro Manilla and of course, Philippine Airlines Flight 434.

After the apartment was let open by Guerera, the fire and police departments went inside. As the smoke began to slowly dissipate, the shocking revelation before them came to a horrifying realization. It looked as if some scientific madmen had begun constructing a large elaborate plan with nefarious intentions. But what was that exactly?!

The man known to Guerrera, as only “Ahmed Saeed” was ascending up the stairs. With the police now involved, Yousef had forgotten something behind as they rushed to exist. The laptop! On it, were contents of the Bojinka plot and names of those who had been involved in its financing, including the targets!! Yousef told Murad to hurry back and retrieve the forgotten item! With the police and fire brigade all over the place, Murad, incredulously, absent of the mental capacity to embrace the reality of being detained, went back without hesitation.

Cooley walking back upstairs toward the sixth floor the police noticed a heavy bearded man, Guerrera noticed it was “Saeed”, one of the rooms occupants. They approached him, asked what he was doing there. He exclaimed that he was a commercial pilot who was on his way to the precinct house to explain that what he claimed to be firecrackers had gone off. They asked to see some identification. Murad decided this was enough to finally scare him off, and decided to flee the scene. Running away from the premises and down the stairs like the Keystone cops, the police chased Murad. According to one account he tripped over a fallen tree branch, and gets caught. Yousef watching the embarrassingly, disastrous operation unfold before him, simply walks away into the night.

Yousef realized, Oplan Bojinka, was now compromised. He would then immediately board a flight from Manilla to Pakistan. Where he would remain until he too would be captured by the Diplomatic Security Services on February 7th 1995.

As the dawn approached many dozens of investigators from Manilla were now actively searching for the myriad of evdience found in room 603. What they found was later termed a “witches brew” of incriminating evidence of a very elaborate plot that involved the construction of explosives devices. Very quickly, a team of US intelligence agents joins Philippine investigators to sort through the evidence, which fills three police vans, as word gets out on the news regarding the uncovered operation.

According to Matthew Brzezinski’s article dated January 2, 2002, in the Toronto Star:

“The project was discovered on four floppy disks and an off-white Toshiba laptop inside his apartment, two weeks before the plot would have been implemented. Several encrypted files on the hard drive contained flight schedules, calculations of detonation times, and other items. The first string of text in one of the files states, “All people who support the U.S. government are our targets in our future plans and that is because all those people are responsible for their government’s actions and they support the U.S. foreign policy and are satisfied with it. We will hit all U.S. nuclear targets. If the U.S. government keeps supporting Israel, then we will continue to carry out operations inside and outside the United States to include …” which is where the text ended.

A communication signed “Khalid Shaikh + Bojinka” was also found on Yousef’s computer that threatened to attack targets “in response to the financial, political and military assistance given to the Jewish state in the occupied land of Palestine by the United States Government.” The letter also said that the bombers claimed to have the “ability to make and use chemicals and poisonous gas … for use against vital institutions and populations and the sources of drinking water.”

The evidence found at the Doña Josefa filled three police vans. Fariscal’s intuition to inspect room 603, seemed to have been a resounding success, saving countless lives in the process, including Pope John Paul II. Khalid Sheikh Muhammad, unlike the other Bojinka plotters, stayed in Manilla. It is alleged the Abu Sayyaf gave him cover until he then left for Qatar. However technicians found an alias, attributed to Mohammed. One communique found on the hard drive found a letter from Mohammed to a person only known as “Al Siddigi”.

The computer contained files indicating that Mohammed was a financial conduit for the plot. Later, US prosecutors described Mohammed as a potential financial backer of the plot. This letter would be introduced as evidence in the trial against Ramzi Yousef, as well as Murad and Shah.

“To: Brother Mohammad Alsiddiqi, We are facing a lot of problems because of you. Fear Allah, Mr. Siddiqi, there is a day of judgment. You will be asked, if you are very busy with something more important, don’t give promises to other people. See you on the day of judgment.”

“Still waiting,” the letter ended. It was signed, “Khalid Shaikh, and Bojenka.”

The items recovered from room 603, would simply shock investigators. They included various items such as gallons of sulfuric acid, picric acid, nitric acid, glycerin, acetone, sodium chlorate, nitrobenzoyl, ammonia, silver nitrate, methanamine, and ANFO were found. Several cans of gasoline and two large Welch’s grape juice bottles containing nitroglycerin were found. Equipment such as thermometers, graduated cylinders, large cooking kettles, funnels, fuses, filters, soldering irons, beakers, mortars, pestles, different electronic fusing systems, timers, switches, and circuit breakers were found.

Also discovered in the search was a finished remote-controlled brass pipe bomb, as well as another pipe bomb that was about to be packed. The apartment also contained a chemistry textbook and chemical dictionary, a Time magazine with the cover story on international terrorism, as well as a pharmacy receipt and bottle of contact lens solution. In a cupboard under the sink, a finished time bomb and other Casio watches were found.

Stacks of false passports, including Norwegian, Afghan, Saudi, and Pakistani were also found in the apartment. Investigators found a business card from Mohammed Jamal Khalifa; Saeed apparently possessed five telephone numbers from Khalifa. A link was now beginning to evolve for the Manilla investigators, the CIA also included in their reports the Murad confession, the items recovered. But what about Yousef?

January 31 1995

After escaping the discovery of Bojinka, Yousef boarded a flight out of Manila Ninoy Aquino International Airport to Pakistan. Yousef then flies from Pakistan to Thailand. By now, an international manhunt was underway for the Baluchistan native. While in Thailand, Yousef tries to have his associate, Istaique Parker, to check two suitcases filled with bombs and put one on a Delta Airlines flight and another on a United Airlines flight.. However, Parker gets cold feet and doesn't bring the bags to the checkpoint.

Yousef and Parker return to Pakistan and rent a hotel, the Su Casa Guesthouse located in Islamabad. Yousef’s next steps were meticulous, but once again, his choice of having trusted associates committed to his own troubles. Christopher John Farley’s article, “The Man Who Wasn’t There”, dated February 20th 1995, outlines what happened to Yousef next.

“The man with the two suitcases arrived at the Su Casa Guest House on Monday, sometime before 4:30 in the afternoon. He was unshaven, but without a beard or mustache. In his travels he had been known by many names, but he signed himself in as “Ali Mohammad” on Su Casa’s pink registration form. Through his wanderings, he had a way of being unaccounted for, of vanishing into speculation. Last week in Islamabad, he told the desk clerk that he was visiting the Pakistani capital from Karachi, the huge port city in the south. He promptly put down a deposit of $31.50 for a room at the two-story boarding house, did not say how long he would be staying and declined a porter’s offer to carry his luggage up to Room 16. Staff members remember him as civil but quiet.

At 9:30 the next morning, the quiet ended. Several cars pulled up to Su Casa, and 10 men in plain clothes, three or four of them Americans, rushed up to the front desk. “Where is Room 16?” one demanded. A hotel clerk pointed the way, and the posse ran up the stairs and knocked on the door. When Ali Mohammad opened it, they burst in. “It was like a hurricane, a big panic,” said Khalid Sheikh, a Karachi businessman who was staying in a room on the ground floor. “They were dragging him downstairs. He was blindfolded, barefoot and had his hands and legs bound, and was shouting, `I’m innocent; why are you taking me?’ and `Show me the arrest warrant.’ ” His two suitcases were left in Room 16 till dusk. Pakistani officials later announced that the bags contained bombmaking equipment, including two toy cars packed with explosives, as well as flight schedules for United and Delta airlines.”

You see, the lure of two million US dollars for Yousef’s capture by Rewards for Justice Program, is United States Department of State’s national security interagency program that offers reward for information leading to the location or an arrest of leaders of terrorist organizations, was simply just too much for Parker to ignore.

Yousef, wasn’t the least bit distressed by his quite problematic situation he was now under. Murad, however, was taken by the FBI back to face justice at the Southern District of New York, for his participation in the airline bombing plot. The FBI was not done with him yet. But he was willing to testify against Yousef. Bureaucracy between the CIA and FBI would begin with Yousef!

“The CIA, meanwhile, continues to act like the CIA. The agency recently fought with the FBI over arresting Yousef in Pakistan — the CIA reportedly wanted to continue tracking him — and President Clinton was forced to intervene.

The situation has left many who make it their mission to fight terrorism feeling frustration and despair.

‘If we all joined together, we could do more stuff,’ says one senior law-enforcement official. ‘These groups can be penetrated. There is considerable infighting. They will rat their competitors out.’ — Thomas Friedman, The CIA’s Jihad, (6–28–2002)

The FBI had won out in the short run with the man whom many wanted to capture form his international bombing spree. The interview of Abdul Basit Karim, Ramzi Yousef, Adam Sali and many other aliases began!

February 10th 1995

With Yousef now facing his FBI captors at a military station in Islamabad, Pakistan. Senior supervisory agent, Ralph Horton and Special Agent, Bradley Garrett, were the first to speak with the world’s most wanted man. Yousef was offered a cigarette, he thanked the agents for the simple gesture. Garett immediately asks Yousef….

“Are there any explosive devices anywhere in Room 603 or in Islamabad?”

Yousef replied that there were, in the Su Casa guesthouse where he was apprehended. He stated that Cellulose Nitrate was at his residence in the form of Cotton as well as some timing devices. He also advised the agents that here were other exp1osjves stored in the Islamabad area and he stated he does not keep an inventory. But the explosives in the room were located in a blue bag.

Yousef was then given a photograph of himself, and asked by Horton, if he was the man in the picture. Yousef confirmed that it was him. Yousef was then verbally advised of his rights by Garrett and then the agent wrote out in long hand his rights and read them to him. The agents wanted to make sure that everyhing they did was by the book. They could not afford any mistakes here judicially. This man had information which could lead them to an international terrorist plot. Therefore, any charges Yousef makes, he had to be aware he was advised of his rights under US law.

Yousef was then asked if he committed the World Trade Center bombing. Yousef pulled on his cigarette and answered with some boast:

“I masterminded the explosion.”

Yousef was not tortured. He was not even slighly assaulted or even berated. The FBI didn’t have to, they couldn’t. Instead, Yousef was proudly boasting of his achievements. According to the FBI 302 interview report of Ramzi Yousef:

“Yousef stated he purchased the materials to build the bomb from City Chemicals in Jersey City, NJ from a salesman by the first name of Peter. Yousef stated that the telephone number for City Chemicals. Yousef stated he stored the materials, in lockers at the Space Station (not further described) in the NY/NJ area. Yousef stated the WTC bombing cost less than $20,000. Yousef stated he built the bomb used in the WTC bombing. Yousef declined to state who provided the money but he stated the money partly came from friends in Pakistan.

He advised that the friends did not necessarily know the real use of the money but was considered a “loan.” Yousef stated that because of a lack of funds, the WTC was not as successful as he desired. Yousef stated he was hoping for a quarter million casualties but could not obtain the funds to complete the bomb to his satisfaction. Yousef stated that the vehicle used to carry the bomb into the WTC was a rental and he knew this would cause problems as far as tracing those involved in the bombing.

However, because of a lack of funds, a rental vehicle was used instead of purchasing a vehicle. Yousef desired to purchase a vehicle because of his concern about tracing the vehicle. Yousef stated that the bomb was placed in the right location in the WTC but stated the bomb would have been different if more funds were available. Yousef declined to discuss others involved in the WTC bombing other than stating he was not directed by anyone or any group.”

Garrett asked Yousef why he was so adamant in attacking the United States, But Yousef was waiting for this question and responded in kind. Once again, from the FBI 302 of Ramzi Yousef:

“Yousef stated he was most affected by a BBC report where Israeli IDF solders broke the hand of a Palestinian using a rock. Yousef advised that most muslims believe the US Should be punished because of their Israeli policy but do not have the money or the organization to carry out bombings. Yousef stated he has no personal agenda with the US, only against US-Israeli policy.”

It wasn’t from his interpretation of his Islamic faith, Yousef wasn’t remotely affiliated with religion even thou he lived in Baluchistan in his formulative years. Much like with any terrorist attack, this was a direct and militant response to US foreign policy and Israeli policy.

Meanwhile, Philippines investigator Colonel Rodolfo Mendoza makes a remarkably accurate flow chart connecting many key operators in the Bojinka plot, and sends it to US investigators. The chart is based on what he is learning from interrogating Bojinka plotter Abdul Hakim Murad, while also drawing on a terrorism report he recently finished and debriefings of a key undercover operative, who later would be known as Edward Angeles who became Abu Sayyaf’s second in command. The chart identified the following key organizations as being involved in the plot.

Al-Harakat al-Islamiya
Abu Sayyaf
The International Research and Information Center
Konsonjaya
Osama bin Laden
Wali Khan Amin Shah
Ramzi Yousef
Khalid Shaikh Mohammed
Abdul Hakim Murad
Ibrahim Munir (a rich Saudi Arabian businessman, who has close ties to bin Laden)

Despite the accurate information in this chart, only Shah, Yousef, and Murad will be caught before 9/11.

Agent Horton was now interested in the Bojinka airline bombing plot, and asked Yousef if he was willing to speak with him regarding it. To Horton and Garrett’s surprise, he was willing. From the FBI 302 of Yousef:

“Yousef was then questioned as to certain materials found in the Manila apartment which appeared to refer to U.S. airline flights, particularly United Airlines’ flights. Yousef was asked why United Airlines appeared to be the main target; he replied that United Airlines was the largest U.S. carrier in that area, and had the most flights. Yousef advised that the list of flight information contained on the computer was a list of possible bombing targets, but that not all flights listed would have been definite targets. He noted that, if the incident at the Manila apartment had not occurred, there would have been several airline bombings within two weeks of that time.”

The two agent were incredulous at such a broad plot, which would have had involved others, Yousef denied any others being involved. He wanted to take full unchecked credit, for everything. And boy, was he willing to admit it all! But what about future plots Yousef was asked regarding airliners?

“Yousef was asked whether he knew of any plans for future airline bombings, or any plans for other types of terrorist attacks. He replied, that he did not know of any specific plans for any such attacks, but did add that there were many committed people in the world with sufficient knowledge to carry out attacks against U.S. targets. He related that while in Manila, a total of four people, including himself, were involved in the U.S. airline bombing plot, and that he had personally trained the others, and knew them to be still capable of carrying out such a plot. He would not further describe or identify the other individuals involved in the bombing scheme.”

Murad’s earlier testimony which alleged that Bojinka had a phase dedicated to hijacking ten additional planes and having them all manually crash into specific US targets seemed to almost corroborate Yousef’s statement about “others with sufficient knowledge to carry out attacks against US targets. Mendoza, had personally faxed the Philippines report on Murad to the FBI. Under then director, Louis Freeh, who once stated during the 9/11 Commission, that the Bojinka Philippines report and the FBI’s report on Yousef, had indeed ben shared with domestic agencies such as the Federal Aviation Administration and Immigration and Naturalization Services.

Mendoza and the Philippine National Bureau of Investigation would uncover an unsettling file, which was not sent on Yousef’s laptop. It took weeks for them to find the deleted file however. But what it revealed was rather shocking. A premonition of a second attack on the World Trade Center! his letter apparently was never sent, but its contents would be revealed in 1998 congressional testimony. The Manila police chief also reported discovering a statement from Bin Laden around this time that, although they failed to blow up the WTC in 1993, “on the second attempt they would be successful.” Oh how the fringe conspiracy theorists fail to connect the dots due to their impassionate dreams!

Yousef after hours of statements to both FBI agents Horton and Garrett, was then flown to the Southern District of New York to finally face the justice he deserved. As he was being flown by helicopter over the newly lit dawn skyline while hovering slowly over lower Manhattan, Yousef was asked by a supervisory agent, whether he would see the towers still, standing. Yousef looked to his left and then looked back at the agent and uttered with a smirk.

“They wouldn’t be if I had enough money and enough explosives.”

Yousef, Shah and Murad faced their justice. But what about the others involved? Was the story ending on a positive ending? Not according to a Newsday report dated April 16th 1995, the CIA seemed to have compromised the FBI’s investigation into the Bojinka plot.

“Some crucial computer evidence against notorious terrorist suspect Ramzi Yousef has been destroyed, and the FBI has begun an investigation into whether the CIA is responsible…” After the Bojinka plot was foiled in the Philippines, a computer hard drive and several floppy discs were discovered in Yousef’s Manila apartment and found to contain a great deal of useful evidence. Pictures and phone numbers recovered from the hard drive led to the arrest of another Bojinka plotter just days later.

The computer files were copied by Philippine authorities and then turned over to the CIA. The CIA then “provided the FBI with a summary of the files, indicating they contained detailed information about Yousef’s coconspirators in the United States and overseas, including their names, addresses and in some cases, even phone numbers.…

But when the CIA turned over the actual computer and disks, Justice Department experts determined that at least three separate computer deletion programs had been used to erase some of the data, law-enforcement sources said.” One US law-enforcement official complains, “We had teams of investigators frothing at the mouth to get at Yousef’s network. And we get handed an empty computer.

It’s as if we’d been tracking a serial killer and someone intentionally shredded the investigative file.” Officials believe it is not likely the files will ever be recovered. Newsday reports that “The FBI is investigating whether CIA agents or their operatives intentionally destroyed the evidence.” Since Philippine authorities made copies of the files, the FBI has tried to get copies directly from them, but without success.”

One year after Yousef is sentenecd to life impriosnment. The man known only to Abdul Hakim Murad as, ‘Majid’, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed asks Al Qaeda’s military commander, Mohammed Atef, to broker a meeting between himself, Atef, Ayman al-Zawahiri and Osama Bin Laden. The meeting takes place in Tora Bora, Afghanistan where Bin Laden and his top Al Qaeda lieutenants now reside.

Mohammed proposes the following solution to Bin Laden’s problems with the United States, after the Sudan fiasco where Bin Laden lost tens of millions in rebuilding it’s infrastructure. The operation Mohammed remarked was to use US commercial aircraft as the weapon itself, instead of using bombs. Airlines security would now be alert on being stict with carry on and boarding luggage. Mohammed proposes using the failed Bojinka plot, ten planes with all of them hijacked and manually crashing them all into various US targets. He gave Bin Laden a list of the targets, which replicated what was found on Yousef’s laptop. Bin Laden said he would think about it. It would involve too many he thought but an impressive idea nonetheless!

Two years later, Mohammed once again brokered a meeting with Bin Laden who approves of Mohammed’s plan this time around. It would be called “Holy Tuesday Operation”. Or otherwise known as the September 11th 2001 terrorist attacks.