Page:Substitution for the Testimony of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.pdf/17

 28. Sheikh Mohammed said that he sent Khalid al-Midhar and Nawaf al-Hazmi to San Diego because he intended to send those two to the West Coast of the U.S. from Asia. Sheikh Mohammed purchased San Diego yellow and white pages at a market in Karachi and he noted from those directories that San Diego had many local flight schools and English language schools. Those directories were also useful for locating commercial institutions, mosques, apartment complexes, and fellow Muslims to whom the hijackers might contact for help (for example, about where to rent an apartment or find halal restaurants or grocery stores).

29. Al-Midhar and al-Hazmi were poorly prepared for their entry into the U.S.. Al-Hazmi barely spoke English and al-Midhar spoke no English. Al-Qaeda had no one in California to help the two.

30. Sheikh Mohammed stated that he did not know Mihdhar at that time, explaining that Mihdhar was chosen personally for the operation by Bin Laden. Sheikh Mohammed asserted that aptitude was not taken into account in selecting the potential 9/11 pilots. He explained that he and Bin Laden never considered whether any special skills or talents were needed to learn how to pilot an aircraft. They believed that learning to fly an airplane was much like learning to drive a car; it was easily accomplished with the Page 17 of 58