In 1996, a man named Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (KSM) devised plans to attack the United States of America.  He met up with Usama Bin Ladin in Afghanistan and revealed to him his theories of attack.  One of these theories was to use aircrafts as weapons against the United States.[1] 

In 1999, Bin Ladin convened with KSM to inform him that al Qaeda was determined to use his aircraft theory to attack the United States.  That Spring Bin Ladin and KSM met again to devise a list of targets for the attack, which included the White House (a symbol of American politics), the U.S. Capitol(a symbol of American government), the World Trade Center(a symbol of American economy), and the Pentagon(a symbol of American military).[2]

               After the course of action had been decided, they recruited men for the job and started training for the attacks.  The recruits were taught English, how to read phone books, how to make reservations for travel, and how to use the internet.  They took flying lessons in the U.S.  They made use of flight simulator computer games, examine airline schedules, studied airport security, and took trips around the United States to observe flight protocol.  They boarded the same types of planes they would later be hijacking.  When on these trips, they noticed that it was possible to carry on box cutters with their luggage.  They also found that the correct time to take over the cockpit was 10-15 minutes after takeoff.  They had everything planned out.  They even had back-up plans; if they could not hit their targets, they were expected to aim for crowded streets and other populated areas.[3]

            They eventually set the date of attack for September 11, 2001.  The hijackers went to their designated airports, got on their chosen flights, and killed thousands of innocent Americans.  Ever since that devastating day in September, the United States of America and the possibly the world has never been the same.[4]

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