Another missed opportunity

On June 3rd. 2004, Lisa Myers, NBC Niglty News investigative reporter, had an interview with a man who claims that a whole year prior to the 9/11 attacks, he went to the FBI headquarters in Newwark, NJ, and told them about a plan by al-Qaida to hijack airliners and blow them up. For weeks the FBI interviewed Niaz Khan, even giving him two polygraph tests when he clearly passed, but he was ultimately turned over to British intelligence, who also questioned and released him.

Niaz Khan was living in London, waiting tables to support his gambling habit, for which he was greatly in debt, when two mean approached him and offered him a better life fighting for the jihad. They flew him to Lahore, Pakistan and gave him several thousand dollars. He waited in a hotel room awaiting further instructions when he was taken blindfolded to a safe house where 30 other men waited. While at this safe house the men were taught how to get weapons passed airport security, how to over power the crew and how to get into the cockpit.

After given this training, he was put on airlines flying from Pakistan to Qatar, to London, to Switzerland then back to London then on to New York. All this to observe how the crew of the airlines operated. When he got to New York, Niaz Khan got cold feet and instead of meeting his contact, went to Alantic City and gambled away all the money. Knowing that al-Qaida had his passport information and they could easily track him down, he went to the FBI headquarters in Newwark to turn himself in.

Although since the attacks hes been in hiding, he came forward after a London reporter published his name and picture, and wants to the world to know that he tried to stop the attacks, but no one would believe him. Now he is hoping someone will offer him asylum or maybe he can go back into hiding. Either way he felt that he did what he had to do.