Let's see: money came from rich men in Saudi Arabia, etc. and perhaps was also diverted from Islamic charities, etc., but not from any state treasuries; flying lessons were given by flight schools in the USA; and box cutters, I suppose, came from some stores in the USA (where were they manufactured -- China?). A thoroughly privatized transnational operation befitting the age of global neoliberal capitalism -- a counter-Empire that feeds, and feeds off, the Empire.
If there is any state that may be said to be a haven for would-be hijackers, it is the state of Florida, awash in cash, flight schools, polyglot tourists, undocumented aliens, easily available driver's licenses, and generations of right-wing terrorists (= Castro-hating Cuban exiles):
***** Why Florida? Several Good Reasons
Hijackers: State where at least 14 suspects lived offers easy flying lessons, driver's licenses--and anonymity for anyone.
By JOHN-THOR DAHLBURG and LISA GETTER, Times Staff Writers
MIAMI -- There are the flight schools, so numerous that Florida likes to fancy itself the "aviation state." There's the marvelously diverse, fast-changing populace, where almost anyone can blend in.
There's also the quick availability of driver's licenses and state-issued identification cards, which experts say are easier to procure than library cards. And the plain truth that large amounts of cash often attract far less attention here than elsewhere.
When the hijackers who crashed airplanes into the World Trade Center and Pentagon last Tuesday needed a temporary U.S. base of operations--a place to live, learn how to operate planes and obtain documents--most chose Florida.
"It's probably the most transient place in the United States," said Robert Creighton, retired special agent in charge of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms office responsible for Florida and the Caribbean. "It's also a center for a lot of undocumented aliens."
State and federal court case files here are filled with evidence of fake passports, driver's licenses, medical licenses and even video-club cards.
"You can get lost in Florida," Creighton said....
...This state, whose major economic resources are its beaches, theme parks and other attractions, is used to outsiders--and to their comings and goings. In 2000, 71 million tourists visited Florida, according to Pam Dana, director of tourism, trade and economic development. In that human flood, a few more young men wouldn't have been much noticed.
"No. 1, it's an international crowd," said Bruce Udolf, a former chief federal public corruption prosecutor in South Florida. "Someone wouldn't be as conspicuous and stand out like a sore thumb like they would in Middle America."
The hijackers also would not have attracted much attention when they spent large wads of cash in South Florida. "Certainly, the people in South Florida are a little more jaded when seeing large amounts of cash than in other parts of the country," Udolf said.
However, it likely was Florida's status as a center of aviation instruction that was the chief lure for Mohamed Atta, Marwan Al-Shehhi and the other hijackers who learned how to fly here.
"We in Florida like to think we're No. 1 [in aviation]. If we're not No. 1, we're a close second to California," said Larry McGlothlin, a Panhandle-based consultant on aviation matters.
So many people, in fact, take flying lessons in the Sunshine State that officials have no way of counting them, said Department of Transportation spokesman Andy Keith. A full 20% of America's commercial pilots earn their wings at Florida's more than 220 flying schools. And enough weekend fliers also purchase instruction here to make it a $1-billion-a-year industry.
All 110 of Florida's general aviation airports offer lessons, with numerous firms often competing for business. Single-plane, single-instructor outfits also serve most of Florida's 600 private airstrips. Florida promotes itself heavily as a learn-to-fly destination, and an estimated 27% of the students are from overseas....
<http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-091701whyfla.story> ***** -- Yoshie
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