Khalid al-Mihdhar

In early February 2000, Khalid Muhammad Abdallah al-Mihdhar and another Al-Queda terrorists named Hazmi rented an apartment near my home in San Diego. Mihdhar was described by his neighbors as "dark and brooding, with a disdain for American culture". They said that the pair constantly played flight simulator games. Mihdhar and Hazmi took flight lessons at the Sorbi Flying Club in San Diego, with Mihdhar flying an aircraft for 42 minutes. They took additional lessons however, with poor English skills, they did not do well with flight lessons. They offered extra money to Richard Garza, their flight instructor, if he would train them to fly jets. Garza refused but after the 9/11 attacks, Garza described the two men as "impatient students" who "wanted to learn to fly jets, specifically Boeings".

On June 10, 2000, Mihdhar left the United States and returned to Yemen to visit his wife. Mihdhar remained part of the plot as a muscle hijacker, who would help take over the aircraft. On October 12, 2000, the USS Cole was bombed by a small boat laden with explosives that took their crew by surprise as the first act of terror by Al-Qaeda against America. After the bombing, Yemeni Prime Minister Abdul Karim al-Iryani reported that Mihdhar had been one of the key planners of the attack and had been in the country at the time of the attacks.

In late 2000, Mihdhar was staying with a cousin in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. In February 2001, Mihdhar again returned to Afghanistan for several months. On June 10, 2001, he returned to Saudi Arabia for a month, applied to re-enter the United States through the Visa Express program, indicating that he intended to stay at a Marriott hotel in New York City. On his visa application, Mihdhar falsely stated that he had never previously traveled to the United States. On July 4, Mihdhar returned to the United States. Nobody stopped him. It was later revealed that Mihdhar was aboard American Airlines flight 77 when it crashed into the Pentagon was also the same attacker who had planned the attack on the USS Cole.

FBI director Robert Mueller later stated his belief that Mihdhar served as the coordinator and organizer for the muscle hijackers of the aircraft during 9-11, he was the last of the muscle hijackers to return to the United States. After the attacks, the identification of Mihdhar was one of the first links suggesting that bin Laden had played a role in their organization, since Mihdhar had been seen at the Malaysian conference speaking to bin Laden's associates.

The news that the 9-11 attack was planned and rehearsed by Al-Qaeda terrorists who spilled our blood then walked freely across our borders and lived among the residents of San Diego is chilling

LCDR Andy Hill the question is, "who are our neighbors"?