sarettah
06-16-2003, 11:28 AM
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor...satoday/5244944 (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=676&ncid=716&e=25&u=/usatoday/20030616/ts_usatoday/5244944)
"Beginning in the mid-1990s, the 45-mile strip between Miami and Boca Raton was home to El Shukrijumah; the two al-Qaeda wannabes, Mandhai and Shueyb Mossa Jokhan; 12 of the 19 Sept. 11 hijackers; and Jose Padilla, a suspected al-Qaeda operative who U.S. investigators say once met with El Shukrijumah overseas."
The FBI says it hasn't uncovered a permanent al-Qaeda structure in South Florida that might explain why so many radicals were attracted to the area. Even so, the bureau continues to study the terrorism cases in the hope of answering questions it says are critical to homeland security: How does al-Qaeda choose an area in which to operate? How does it work once it gets there? Could it tap a group of wannabes like those in South Florida for its next mission?
The FBI is looking beyond the obvious, such as the flight schools that attracted the hijackers and the presence of other radical Muslims. Al-Qaeda's many tracks across South Florida, investigators say, hint at something more. ''I don't believe in coincidences,'' says Hector Pesquera, who is in charge of the FBI's field office in Miami.
"Beginning in the mid-1990s, the 45-mile strip between Miami and Boca Raton was home to El Shukrijumah; the two al-Qaeda wannabes, Mandhai and Shueyb Mossa Jokhan; 12 of the 19 Sept. 11 hijackers; and Jose Padilla, a suspected al-Qaeda operative who U.S. investigators say once met with El Shukrijumah overseas."
The FBI says it hasn't uncovered a permanent al-Qaeda structure in South Florida that might explain why so many radicals were attracted to the area. Even so, the bureau continues to study the terrorism cases in the hope of answering questions it says are critical to homeland security: How does al-Qaeda choose an area in which to operate? How does it work once it gets there? Could it tap a group of wannabes like those in South Florida for its next mission?
The FBI is looking beyond the obvious, such as the flight schools that attracted the hijackers and the presence of other radical Muslims. Al-Qaeda's many tracks across South Florida, investigators say, hint at something more. ''I don't believe in coincidences,'' says Hector Pesquera, who is in charge of the FBI's field office in Miami.