FBI finds terrorist mantra for death

By JEREMY REES and AGENCIES

"The time of fun and waste has gone," reads what appears to be instructions for the terrorists' suicide mission.

"The time of judgment has arrived."

The chilling five-page document found in luggage left behind by Mohamed Atta, suspected of organising the attacks on the World Trade Center, offers a glimpse of the spiritual preparations for death by the suicide hijackers.

The FBI has found two other copies of the document, written in Arabic, in the wreckage of the United Airlines jet that crashed in rural Pennsylvania as well as in another hijacker's car, indicating it appeared to be a spiritual primer for those about to die.

Divided into sections for the "last night", the morning of the hijacking and on entering the plane, the document contains a mission checklist and instructions on the afterlife to come.

Excerpts of the document, printed in the Washington Post, remind the hijackers: "Check all of your items - your bag, your clothes, knives, your will, your IDs, your passport, all your prayers. Check your safety before you leave ... Make sure that nobody is following you ... Make sure that you are clean, your clothes are clean, including your shoes."

It promises: "You will be entering paradise. You will be entering the happiest life, everlasting life."

The document, excerpts of which were also published on the Post's website and quickly picked up by news agencies around the world, tells the hijackers to purify themselves and their heart: "You have to be convinced that those few hours that are left you in your life are very few.

"From there you will begin to live the happy life, the infinite paradise. Be optimistic. The prophet [Mohammed] was always optimistic."

The Pennsylvania manual contains directives on what actions, thoughts and prayers should be undertaken in the final hours, reports the Dallas Morning News, which also obtained a copy.

The document instructs a follower, on the day of the attack, to "check your weapon", say morning prayers together and, "if you take a taxi to the airport, when you arrive ... smile and rest assured, for Allah is with the believers and the angels are protecting you".

The follower is told to pray as he sets foot on the plane and again as he takes his seat, remembering, "It is a raid for Allah".

The manual also contains this passage for comfort: "When the time of truth comes and zero hour arrives, then straighten out your clothes, open your chest and welcome death for the sake of Allah.

"Seconds before the target, your last words should be, 'There is no God but Allah. Mohammed is his messenger'."

The Post article is written by Bob Woodward, who with Carl Bernstein is famous for the Watergate scoop that led to the downfall of President Richard Nixon.

Woodward said the first four pages of the document were handwritten on large paper and contained a primer on Islamic history as well as prayers.

The fifth page is on standard typist's paper that had been ripped from a pad with a heading, "When you enter the plane".

It is not known whether it was Atta, another hijacker or someone else who wrote the Arabic document.

Woodward said the pages might provide the best glimpse yet into the mental states of the hijackers.

It tells readers: "Everybody hates death, fears death. But only those, the believers who know the life after death and the reward after death, would be the ones who will be seeking death."

News of the document comes as United States law enforcement officials released photographs of the 19 men they believe carried out the raids and said, for the first time, that some had ties to the network controlled by the Saudi-born militant Osama bin Laden.

"We believe that one or more of them do have contacts with al Qaeda," said FBI director Robert Mueller.

Al Qaeda is controlled by bin Laden and has been linked to a number of previous anti-American attacks.

It is the first time any US law enforcement officer has drawn a connection between these hijackers and the bin Laden network, although US Government officials have long insisted that bin Laden is behind the attacks.

Mr Mueller said the FBI had received more than 100,000 tips from the public and the agency was investigating 200,000 leads.

An ABC television report quoted a man who said he trained at a camp in Afghanistan operated by bin Laden. He said he recognised one of the men as a Saudi Arabian in his "class".

"There are not just 19 people. There are a thousand people who want to sacrifice themselves for bin Laden," said the man, identified by ABC only as Max.

"All of them want to do all kinds of actions, terrorist actions."

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