Editing Khalid al-Mihdhar (section)

===United States entry===
[[Image:Parkwood apts.jpg|thumb|right|Parkwood Apartments complex, located in the [[Clairemont, San Diego, California|Clairemont Mesa]] section of [[San Diego]], where Mihdhar and [[Nawaf al-Hazmi]] lived from February until the end of May 2000]]

On 15 January  2000, al-Mihdhar and al-Hazmi arrived at [[Los Angeles International Airport]] from Bangkok and were admitted as tourists for a period of six months.<ref>9/11 and Terror Travel, p. 10</ref> On 1 February 2000—17 days upon entering the United States—the two men encountered [[Omar al-Bayoumi]] and [[Caysan Bin Don]] at a halal food restaurant on [[Venice Boulevard]] in Culver City.<ref name="venice">''[[9/11 Commission Report]]'', [[9/11 Commission]], p. 217</ref> Al-Bayoumi claimed he was merely being charitable in assisting the two seemingly out-of-place [[Muslim]]s with moving to San Diego, where he helped them find an apartment near his own, co-signed their lease, and gave them $1,500 to help pay their rent.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.newsweek.com/id/66665 |title=The Saudi Money Trail |date=2002-12-02 |author=Iskioff, Michael and Evan Thomas |work=Newsweek |access-date=2008-09-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081205040852/http://www.newsweek.com/id/66665 |archive-date=2008-12-05 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Mohammed later claimed that he suggested San Diego as their destination, based on information gleaned from a San Diego phone book that listed language and flight schools.  Mohammed also recommended that the two seek assistance from the local Muslim community, since neither spoke English nor had experience with Western culture.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://govinfo.library.unt.edu/911/staff_statements/staff_statement_16.pdf |title=Outline of the 9/11 Plot, Staff Statement No. 16 |publisher=National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States |year=2004 |page=5 |access-date=2008-09-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081005014507/http://govinfo.library.unt.edu/911/staff_statements/staff_statement_16.pdf |archive-date=2008-10-05 |url-status=live }}</ref>

While in San Diego, witnesses told the FBI he and al-Hazmi had a close relationship with [[Anwar Al Awlaki]], an imam who served as their spiritual advisor.<ref>[https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/sandiego/access/404461061.html?dids=404461061:404461061&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Sep+11%2C+2003&author=Toby+Eckert+and+Marcus+Stern&pub=The+San+Diego+Union+-+Tribune&desc=9%2F11+investigators+baffled+FBI+cleared+3+ex-San+Diegans&pqatl=google Eckert, Toby, and Stern, Marcus, "9/11 investigators baffled FBI cleared 3 ex-San Diegans", ''The San Diego Union'', September 11, 2003, November 30, 2009]{{dead link|date=July 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>  Authorities say the two regularly attended the [[Masjid Ar-Ribat al-Islami]] mosque al-Awlaki led in San Diego, and al-Awlaki had many closed-door meetings with them, which led investigators to believe al-Awlaki knew about the 9/11 attacks in advance.
[[File:Anwar al-Awlaki sitting on couch, lightened.jpg|thumb|160px|left|[[Anwar al-Awlaki]] in [[Yemen]], 2008]]
In early February 2000, al-Mihdhar and al-Hazmi rented an apartment at the Parkwood Apartments complex in the [[Clairemont, San Diego, California|Clairemont Mesa]] area of San Diego, and al-Mihdhar purchased a used 1988 [[Toyota Corolla]].<ref>FBI Hijackers' Timeline, pp. 54–55</ref>  Neighbors thought that al-Mihdhar and al-Hazmi were odd because months passed without the men getting any furniture, and they slept on mattresses on the floor, yet they carried briefcases, were frequently on their mobile phones, and were occasionally picked up by a limousine.<ref name="inside911">Aust (2002), pp. 17–18</ref> Those who met al-Mihdhar in San Diego described him as "dark and brooding, with a disdain for American culture".<ref>Fouda and Fielding (2003), p. 136</ref>  Neighbors also said that the pair constantly played [[flight simulator]] games.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.time.com/time/covers/1101010924/wplot.html |title=The New Breed of Terrorist |author=McGeary, Johanna |author2=David Van Biema |work=TIME Magazine |date=2001-09-24 |access-date=2008-09-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080930184522/http://www.time.com/time/covers/1101010924/wplot.html |archive-date=2008-09-30 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Al-Mihdhar and al-Hazmi took [[Flight training|flight lessons]] on 5 May 2000, at the Sorbi Flying Club in San Diego, with al-Mihdhar flying an aircraft for 42 minutes. They took additional lessons on 10 May;<ref>FBI Hijackers' Timeline, pp. 63–64</ref> however, with poor English skills, they did not do well with flight lessons.  Al-Mihdhar and Al-Hazmi raised some suspicion when they offered extra money to their flight instructor, Rick Garza, if he would train them to fly jets. Garza refused the offer but did not report them to authorities.<ref name="inside911"/>  After the 9/11 attacks, Garza described the two men as "impatient students" who "wanted to learn to fly jets, specifically Boeings".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/oct/07/terrorism.afghanistan3 |title=Saudi hijacker 'was key link to bin Laden' |work=The Observer |author=Helmore, Edward |author2=Ed Vulliamy |date=2001-10-07 |access-date=2008-09-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090227223026/http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/oct/07/terrorism.afghanistan3 |archive-date=2009-02-27 |url-status=dead }}</ref>