Opinion ID: 1463880
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Statement of Facts

Text: In connection with his guilty plea, a written statement of facts (the Statement of Facts) was prepared, detailing the facts pertaining to al Qaeda's plans for terrorist attacks in the United States, Moussaoui's association with al Qaeda, and the steps Moussaoui took to prepare for the operation and to protect it after he was detained. When he signed the document, Moussaoui added the designation 20th Hijacker to his signature. J.A. 1413. A summary of the Statement of Facts, as adopted and executed by Moussaoui, follows. Al Qaeda is an international terrorist group founded by Usama Bin Laden (hereinafter Bin Laden), that is dedicated to opposing the United States with force and violence. J.A. 1409. The head of its military committee was Mohammed Atef, a/k/a Abu Hafs al-Masri (hereinafter al-Masri). Al Qaeda members pledge bayat to Bin Laden and al Qaeda, J.A. 1409, meaning that they give allegiance to Bin Laden and the group. J.A. 1671. Since 1996, al Qaeda has been headquartered in Afghanistan, but it associates with terrorists in other parts of the world to further its goals. In the mid-1990s, Bin Laden issued a fatwah (or religious ruling) declaring jihad (or war) against the United States and its allies, sanctioning the killing of United States military and civilians alike. In furtherance of these aims, Bin Laden and al Qaeda provided and supported training camps and guest-houses in Afghanistan, including camps known as al Farooq and Khalden. J.A. 1409. The training camps were used to instruct members and associates of al Qaeda and its affiliated groups in the use of firearms, explosives, chemical weapons, and other weapons of mass destruction. J.A. 1409. In connection with al Qaeda's declaration of war, al Qaeda members conceived of an operation in which civilian commercial airliners would be hijacked and flown into prominent buildings, including government buildings, in the United States. J.A. 1410. In preparation for the attacks, al Qaeda associates entered the United States, received funding from abroad, engaged in physical fitness training, and obtained knives and other weapons with which to take over airliners. J.A. 1410. Some of these associates obtained pilot training, including training on commercial jet simulators, so they would be able to fly hijacked aircraft into their targets. J.A. 1410. Bin Laden personally approved those selected to participate in the operation, who were willing to die in furtherance of their religious beliefs and al Qaeda's agenda. J.A. 1410. Moussaoui was a member of al Qaeda and pledged bayat to Bin Laden. He trained at al Qaeda's Khalden Camp and managed an al Qaeda guesthouse in Kandahar, a position of high respect within al Qaeda. J.A. 1410. Moussaoui communicated directly with Bin Laden and al Masri while in Afghanistan. He knew of al Qaeda's plan to fly airplanes into prominent buildings in the United States and agreed to travel to the United States to participate in the plan. J.A. 1410. As he did with the other hijackers, Bin Laden personally selected Moussaoui to participate in the planes operation and approved Moussaoui to attack the White House, which had been Moussaoui's dream. In preparation for the operation, the al Qaeda leadership first sent Moussaoui to Malaysia to explore flight training. They also provided him with information about flight schools in the United States. In September 2000, Moussaoui contacted Airman Flight School in Norman, Oklahoma. Moussaoui's intent was to obtain pilot training to further al Qaeda's plan to use planes to kill Americans. J.A. 1411. On February 23, 2001, Moussaoui traveled from London to Chicago and then on to Norman, Oklahoma, where he enrolled at Airman Flight School and began pilot training on small planes. J.A. 1411. Like his co-conspirators, he joined a gym and purchased knives, intentionally selecting knives with blades short enough to pass through airport security. In the summer of 2001, Moussaoui was instructed by an al Qaeda associate to train on larger jet planes. Ramzi Bin al-Shibh, another al Qaeda operative, sent Moussaoui a wire transfer of money from Germany to the United States to pay for the flight training. Shortly thereafter Moussaoui enrolled at the Pan American International Flight Academy in Eagan, Minnesota, and began simulator training for a Boeing 747-400. Moussaoui told another al Qaeda associate that his simulator training would be completed before September 2001. At the time of his arrest, Moussaoui was in possession of knives, flight manuals for the Boeing 747-400, a flight simulator computer program, fighting gloves and shin guards, a piece of paper referring to a handheld Global Positioning System (GPS), software that could be used to review pilot procedures for the Boeing 747-400, and a hand-held aviation radio. When questioned after his arrest, Moussaoui lied to federal agents to allow his al Qaeda `brothers' to go forward with the operation. J.A. 1412. He falsely denied being a member of a terrorist organization and falsely denied that he was taking pilot training to kill Americans. J.A. 1412. He told the agents that he was training as a pilot purely for his personal enjoyment and that, after completion of his training, he intended to visit New York City and Washington, D.C., as a tourist. J.A. 1412. The attacks of 9/11 happened less than a month after Moussaoui's arrest. At the ex parte guilty plea proceeding, Moussaoui advised the court that he had read the Statement of Facts more than probably ten time[s]. 2 Supp. J.A. 45. Moussaoui made a single correction to the Statement of Facts, changing the date that he told his al Qaeda associate that he would finish jet simulator training from by August 20, 2001 to before September 2001. 2 Supp. J.A. 45-46. At the public Rule 11 hearing, Moussaoui confirmed that he had received a revised copy of the Statement of Facts, which had been corrected in accordance with his request at the ex parte hearing.