It appears as though captured al-Qaeda mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is giving US intelligence a new glimpse into the full scale of the plan for the September 11 attacks:
Mohammed also divulged that, in its final stages, the hijacking plot called for as many as 22 terrorists and four planes in a first wave, followed by a second wave of suicide hijackings that were to be aided possibly by Al Qaeda allies in southeast Asia, according to the reports.
Over time, bin Laden scrapped various parts of the Sept. 11 plan, including attacks on both coasts and hijacking or bombing some planes in East Asia, Mohammed is quoted as saying in reports that shed new light on the origins and evolution of the massive terrorist plot of Sept. 11, 2001.
Mohammed’s information has been corroborated by other al-Qaeda prisoners, and Mohammed has likely divulged other operation secrets of al-Qaeda. Certainly the remaining members of al-Qaeda are plotting, and while the fate of Osama bin Laden is nebulous, his lieutenant Ayman al-Zawahiri is undoubtedly still alive. It is absolutely necessary to maintain a heightened sense of security so that the next attempted attack does not occur.
