nypost.com
WASHINGTON - Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammed received a visa to enter the United States weeks before the attacks even though he was under indictment for previous terrorist plots in the Philippines, it was revealed yesterday.
The visa, obtained by al Qaeda's master strategist on July 23, 2001, was one of several new details of blunders made by government agencies prior to the attacks that emerged at a hearing by the independent commission probing the attacks.
Members of the panel headed by former New Jersey Gov. Tom Kean blasted lax security procedures at airports as they revealed that several of the hijackers, including ringleader Mohamed Atta, entered the country despite having fraudulent visas and suspicious stories.
Had agents who granted them visas and allowed them to pass through immigration lines picked up on the red flags, it is possible the Sept. 11 atrocities would have been prevented, the commission said.
Posted by Suzanne at January 28, 2004