Latest revision as of 20:39, 5 July 2012
Wail al-Shehri was included in the September 14th list of suspects in the 9/11 attacks, however just one week later that identification was being questioned.
This sounds at first like it might be a convincing case. One individual coming forward saying "I'm Wail al-Shehri" might be a coincidence, but one also with a brother called Waleed makes that much less likely.
Still, we also have to bear in mind that these stories came out immediately after 9/11, as the world held its breath waiting to see what America might do. There was considerable incentive for Saudi Arabia to find reasons to say no, this wasn't Saudi citizens, it's all a terrible mistake. And in fact, as a report pointed out later, these stories changed a lot over the next few days and weeks.
It's the kind of confusion that makes reporters and FBI agents gnash their teeth: Who is Waleed Alshehri, and is he dead or alive?
Is he in the Middle East, flying Boeing 767 jets for a commercial airline? Or did he fly into the side of a World Trade Center tower in September?
Last week, in this column, I shared the story of a young Oregon woman studying at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, a well-respected college known for teaching commercial pilots, war heroes, and astronauts how to fly.
I wrote that one of the suspected hijackers of American Airlines Flight 11, the first plane to fly into the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, was Waleed Alshehri, a graduate of Embry-Riddle. This information has been in print since the FBI released information about suspected hijackers in September.
But Richard Eyde, director of an Embry-Riddle center in Oregon, on the Rock Creek campus of PCC, says the information is wrong. Richard, who was not available for comment Monday, (university spokespeople at Embry-Riddle in Florida were not available either) sent an e-mail to explain "the FBI and other authorities" had found the information I printed was not true: The Waleed Alshehri who graduated from Embry-Riddle was not the man who hijacked Flight 11.
Richard referred me to the Embry-Riddle Web site, where a publicity release states, "Officials at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University today said they were relieved to know that a 1997 alumnus has been reported to be alive and located in Morocco." But no proof of Alshehri's presence in Morocco was offered; evidently it was just "reported." Neither the FBI nor other authorities were cited.
The FBI will not discuss the identity of suspected terrorists.
Shortly after the attack, several American newspapers reported that Ahmed Alshehri, a diplomat at the Saudi Arabian Embassy in Bombay, India, had previously served in the Saudi Embassy in Washington, D.C., and was the father of suspected hijacker Waleed Alshehri. Ahmed Alshehri told several news outlets he never had served in the Saudi Embassy in the United States, despite the fact that diplomatic records indicated he had. He also said he was not the father of Waleed Alshehri.
Days later, he was quoted by wire services saying he did have a son named Waleed, that his son was not a terrorist, that his son was alive and working as a pilot for a Saudi Arabian airline.
It now appears that the man who graduated from Embry-Riddle could have been the victim of stolen identity or coincidence.
The Waleed Alshehri who graduated from Embry-Riddle, and his brother, Wail Alshehri, are indeed -- according to The Washington Post -- sons of a former Saudi Arabian diplomat who once served in Washington.
On Sept. 14, when the FBI issued its list of 19 "individuals who have been identified as hijackers aboard the four airliners that crashed Sept. 11," the names Waleed Alshehri and Wail Alshehri were on the list.
Were the identities of the Alshehri brothers stolen by terrorists? Perhaps. But there's another possibility: coincidence.
Saudis use at least three names: a first name, the first name of their father and a tribal name. The country's tribes are huge, so having the same last name is common.
In Saudi Arabia, the names Waleed and Wail Alshehri are about as common as the names Bob and John Smith in the United States.
Mistaken identity seems more likely when you consider a man named Mohammed Al-Shehri, who lives in southern Saudi Arabia, has announced two of his sons have been missing since December 2000. One of them, according to The New York Times, is named Waleed Al-Shehri. The other, according to The Washington Post, is named Wail Al-Shehri.
And, according to The Washington Post, a newspaper in Jiddah has reported the brothers had talked about running away to the Russian province of Chechnya, to become Muslim martyrs.
The Oregonian
January 22nd, 2002
There are several interesting clues here.
The first comes in the quotes about diplomat Ahmed Alshehri, who seems only to be talking about having a son called Waleed. Why does he not mention Wail, who is also on the suspect list? Could it be that he doesn't have a son called Wail at all?
Another pointer to the truth comes in his name, Ahmed, as this piece explains:
If the al-Shehri family followed this custom, then, and the father was Ahmed al-Shehri, we'd expect the sons to be called Waleed Ahmed al-Shehri and Wail Ahmed al-Shehri. But they're not. Waleed was, from the very first FBI list published on September 14th, called Waleed M al-Shehri. By the 27th Wail was also referred to as Wail M al-Shehri. And we now know the "M" stands for Mohammad, as shown for example in Wail's visa application.
Meanwhile other reports point out that the "still alive" Waleed al-Shehri is actually called Ahmed, suggesting that he is indeed the son of the diplomat, but not the same person as Waleed Mohammad Alshehri.
And an interview with the "still alive" Waleed al-Shehri apparently includes the denial that he has a brother called Wail (although this should be taken with a little care, as it's a translation that we have not verified):
The piece appeared in the ASAA of September 22:
The Saudi pilot Waleed As-Shahri (or in the FBI release Waleed M. Alshehri) is under suspicion of involvement in September 11. He informed the ASAA that he is alive and well and was in the Moroccan city of Casablanca when the attack on the World Trade Center occurred. He found out that he was a suspect in the September 11 attack through the media. As-Shahri has been living in Morocco for the last nine months. He is undergoing flight training for Saudi and Moroccan airlines that want to set up a link between the two countries.
He is under suspicion because his name appeared and apparently that of his brother as well on American Airlines flight #11 that crashed into the north tower of the WTC. Waleed was supposedly occupying seat #23 and his supposed brother seat #A2.
The ASAA interview was conducted in Casablanca.
ASAA: How did you find out that you were a suspect and accused of being an accomplice in the attacks on the World Trade Center
Waleed: I was in Marrakesh Morocco for four days after several flights between Morocco, France and Italy. A Saudi friend of mine here in Marrakesh contacted me and said that the ASAA printed my name and information about me.
At first I thought there was some mix-up of names and that somebody else had the same name as mine. But in the morning of Sunday last my friend called me to say that CNN had shown a picture of me. I was dumbfounded. I decided then to go back to Casablanca and get in contact with the Saudi embassy.
The ambassador Dr. Abd-ul-Azeez Khoja received me on Tuesday last and showed great concern about what was happening. He said that the foreign minister Prince Sa'ud al-Faisal was personally investigating the situation.
Then I went to the American embassy in Rabat and told the people there what my situation was. I told them I was quite alive though I was reported as dead. I was supposed to have died in the suicide attack against the World Trade Center. They apologized to me for the confusion that had occurred. They were interested in flight schools in Florida that trained pilots.
ASAA: Why didn't they put you in contact with the FBI?
Waleed: They did. Last Sunday evening the FBI told me I should contact the American embassy on Monday morning to say I was alive.
ASAA: What sort of questions did the FBI ask of you?
Waleed: They asked me ordinary questions about me, my studies while in the USA and what I was doing now.
ASAA: Given that your name appeared among the list of suspects did you know any of the others on the list?
Waleed: I had no relations with any of them."
ASAA: Do you know anyone else in a situation similar to yours?
Waleed: I don't know of anybody.
ASAA: Where were you on 911?
Waleed: I was in Casablanca. I had the day off before I was supposed to do the flight from Casablanca to Paris on Monday.
ASAA: When was the last time you were in the USA?
Waleed: The last time I was there was in July 2000. I was getting flight training for two months in a school called 'Flight CFT' near Daytona Beach. I returned to Saudi Arabia in September of the same year.
ASAA: How long have you been flying?
Waleed: I've been working for Saudi Airlines for about a year and a half. And now I've been undergoing training here jointly for Saudi Airlines and Royal Moroccan Airlines.
ASAA: What is your relationship with Wa'il As-Shahri or do you know anybody by that name?
Waleed: I know of nobody by that name and there is no one in my family who has such a name.
ASAA: What are your thoughts about your photograph in the FBI list?
Waleed: I said before that I was astonished when I saw my picture on the CNN channel. I believe the photo was taken from the "Flight Safety" (= Flight CFT?) school when I was being trained there for two months. The photo looks like one taken at that time.
ASAA: Have you ever lost a passport?
Waleed: I have never lost a passport, not inside or outside the USA, nor even the attached pages.
NCMOnline source
An Indian Express report talks about other members in the al-Shehri family, but again fails to mention any Wail:
It appears most likely that the Saudi diplomat has a son called Waleed Ahmed al-Shehri, then. He is alive and unconnected to the attacks, however does not have a brother called Wail, and if that's true then the case for Wail al-Shehri still being alive disappears.
Just to emphasise the point, there are several other accounts of a real Wail M al-Shehri, with a brother called Waleed, who disappeared before the attacks, and hasn't been seen since.
Similarly, here’s part of the transcript from “Sand storm”, a Dateline NBC programme aired on September 25th 2002, where the reporter John Hockenberry interviewed a surviving Al Shehri brother.
Prince KHALID: They didn't actually think that their sons were able to do such terrible action. But they also believe that they have been deceived. I mean, their children have been deceived.
HOCKENBERRY: (Voiceover) Khalid al-Faisal is governor of Asir Province. A third of the Saudi hijackers grew up here...
...in Khamais Mushait, Saudi Arabia, where it is believed five of the hijackers grew up and were recruited, we finally met Saleh, a brother of Wail and Waleed Alshehri, both on Flight 11.
HOCKENBERRY: Do you think that Waleed and Wail, your brothers, were capable of being a part of this operation?
SALEH: (Through translator) In my judgment, impossible. I know them; I know their behavior.
HOCKENBERRY: What if it is true? What would you say?
SALEH: (Through translator) If that is true we have to be realistic and accept the tragedy...
HOCKENBERRY: It appears that your brother found something else to do, be part
of al-Qaeda.
SALEH: (Through translator) I don't know. It is very difficult to imagine that. It is difficult because the time was very short. There was not enough time for him to be trained to fly a plane. Furthermore, he didn't know English...
HOCKENBERRY: Do you believe they're dead in your heart?
SALEH: For me? Yes...
HOCKENBERRY: (Voiceover) Saleh's truth bears no resemblance to the official line from the Saudi royals, that the hijackers were religious zealots seeking revenge for the Palestinians.
(Saleh talking to reporter; Palestinians mourning victims)
HOCKENBERRY: Were your two brothers religious?
SALEH: (Through translator) No. Not in the way one might imagine.
HOCKENBERRY: But your brothers didn't march in the streets and work day and night to free the Palestinians did they?
SALEH: No.
HOCKENBERRY: No. Did they talk about getting US military troops out of the kingdom? No? So it looks like your two brothers were brainwashed.
SALEH: Yeah...
HOCKENBERRY: (Voiceover) There is this famous video of Osama bin Laden talking about how some people on the airplanes in New York and Washington did not even know that they were going to die...
(Video of bin Laden)
HOCKENBERRY: ...had no idea that this was a suicide mission. Is it possible that Waleed and Wail were on a plane not knowing what was to happen?
SALEH: (Through translator) It is possible. They were still immature.
HOCKENBERRY: It is possible.
SALEH: Yeah.
[Apologies, I normally like to give references, but as this isn’t available online then you’ll just have to take my word that it’s accurate. If you’d rather not, then obtain a transcript of the programme yourself from Burrelles transcript service (
http://www.burrellesluce.com/ ), but expect to pay $15 - $20)
Writer Neil Doyle posted a video (originally at www.neildoyle.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=326&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0, link now dead) where al-Shehri's father was interviewed.
He says they showed no signs of extremist views, however at no point claims his sons are still alive. Read more here.
Based on this, it might be possible to make a case that they weren’t “the right sort of people to be involved”. It’s also noticeable that the earlier story says they were “very religious”, while another interview that they weren’t religious “in the way one might imagine”. Perhaps there’s a story in that, although it could also just be family denial. Not least because another report based on the comments of a “cousin” seems very different:
What is plain, though, is that the brothers aren’t alive (at least, as far as the family know). Further confirmation of this occurred when when Saudi Arabia finally accepted that the named suspects were actually involved.
And the final clue appeared in late 2006 with the release of the Al Qaeda video “Knowledge is for Acting Upon - The Manhattan Raid”, which included footage of “Wail al-Shihri” talking about the importance of Jihad, and captioned him as “One of the Martrys of the Manhattan Raid”. This does indeed appear to be the same individual who appeared in the FBI photo, yet another indication that their identification is correct.