CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS - TRACKING OF AL-HAZMI AND AL-MIHDHAR
Kuala Lumpur, Early Jan. 2000: Al-Mihdhar and Al-Hazmi tracked by CIA and Malaysia’s Special Branch while attending al Qaeda terror summit. Photographs taken of them sightseeing and visiting cybercafes to check Arabic Web sites.
Los Angeles, Jan. 15, 2000: CIA tracks Hazmi as he flies from Kuala Lumpur via Bangkok to L.A. Mihdhar is aboard the same flight. CIA fails to pass information on to FBI or INS. Men return to rented apartment in San Diego.
San Diego, April-May 2000: The pair takes lessons at Sorbi’s Flying Club in San Diego but flunks class. Use their real names on driver’s licenses, Social Security cards and credit cards. Hazmi listed in phone book and posts online ad for Mexican mail-order bride.
Saudi Arabia, June 2000: Mihdhar flies from San Diego to Saudi Arabia, where State Department’s Consular Office issues him new visa. Spends time traveling around Middle East.
Yemen, October 2000: CIA agents travel to Yemen and link Mihdhar to a USS Cole bomber.
Phoenix, Early 2001: Hazmi, having failed at two California flight schools, moves to Phoenix and hooks up with AQ operative Hani Hanjour, who piloted Flight 77.
Oklahoma, April 2001: Hazmi pulled over for speeding in Oklahoma, and fined $138, while driving to East Coast.
New Jersey, May 2001: Hazmi and Hanjour open joint bank accounts with two other 9/11 plotters, Ahmed Alghamdi and Majed Moqed.
New York, July 4, 2001: Mihdhar flies into New York from Saudi Arabia and travels around East Coast.
Las Vegas, August 2001: Mihdhar meets Mohamed Atta and other 9/11 plotters.
Springfield, Virginia, August 2001: Hazmi and Mihdhar link up again to get state ID cards from Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles, along with other Flight 77 terrorists.
Langley, Virginia, Aug. 23: CIA sends out urgent cable to State Department, Customs, INS and FBI, telling them to put Mihdhar and Hazmi on terrorism watch list.
Baltimore, Sept. 5, 2001: Mihdhar buys his Flight 77 ticket at the Baltimore-Washington International Airport. Hazmi stays at Pin-Del Motel nearby in Laurel, Md.
Washington, District of Columbia, Sept. 11, 2001: Mihdhar and Hazmi board Flight 77 from Dulles International Airport.