I don't know...it seems we don't find much in the news about the suicidal hijackers who piloted the planes into the WTC. We got brief background bios, and that was it. Call me morbidly curious, but I DO wonder about them, particularly as, for the most part, they seemed educated, intelligent and (before the WTC attack) somewhat ordinary humans. One theory I never see explored is that perhaps this was a way for them to gain notoriety. Was it more than just fanatical, crazy religious belief and terrorism brainwashing that led them to so carefully, so cleverly pull off the worst terrorism attack in America? Of Osama, we've heard plenty...but somehow, I still think these hijackers were the ones who conceived of their plan -- and we KNOW they carried it out.

{As an aside, of course we KNOW they perished; the culprits were dead, gone...yet we Americans wanted JUSTICE. It struck me at the time that the evil-doers were already dead, so how could we find someone to blame? Not to worry, the government came up with an answer. I DO KNOW we have to try and eliminate terrorism; but something about the approach leaves me puzzled....}

I found this article some time back, and thought it might be interesting to ponder on just exactly who Atta really was....


Helsinki Woman Says She Befriended Hijacker Online


Updated: Mon, Nov 12 7:20 AM EST


HELSINKI (Reuters) - A woman who published a death notice in a Finnish newspaper for one of the suspected suicide hijackers in the September 11 attacks on U.S. landmarks claimed she had a warm relationship with him over the Internet.

Finland's largest and respected daily Helsingin Sanomat on Sunday published a death notice that the woman had submitted for "Dearly beloved Mohamed El-Amir."

That name was an alias used by Mohammed Atta, a 33-year-old Egyptian who is believed to have flown one of two planes into the World Trade Center in New York, killing thousands.

"We had a lovable correspondence. He was very enchanting and a charming person," the woman was quoted as telling tabloid Ilta-Sanomat Monday. It said she was a 58-year-old Muslim and a citizen of Australia who had lived in Finland since 1971.

The woman, who was not named, said she had known nothing about the attacks, but as a student of classical archaeology shared an interest in architecture with Atta, who she met in an Internet chat room.

Their online friendship had lasted about a year, Helsingin Sanomat said Monday. The newspaper said it published the memorial after its own inquiries found no links to terrorism.

The death notice caused a stir in Finland, with many readers telephoning the newspaper to complain about or question its publication, the tabloid newspaper said.

Finnish security police said they had looked into the case, but saw no need for further investigations.