Editing Mohamed Atta (section)

=== July 2001 summit in Spain ===
In July 2001, Atta again left for [[Spain]] in order to meet with bin al-Shibh for the last time. On 7 July 2001, Atta flew on [[Swissair]] Flight 117 from Miami to [[Zürich]], where he had a [[Layover|stopover]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov/notablecases/moussaoui/exhibits/prosecution/OG00013.pdf |title=Hijackers' True Name Usage |publisher=U.S.D.C. Eastern District of Virginia |access-date=16 September 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090512160457/http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov/notablecases/moussaoui/exhibits/prosecution/OG00013.pdf |archive-date=12 May 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref> On 8 July, Atta was recorded on surveillance video when he withdrew 1700 [[Swiss franc]]s from an [[Automated teller machine|ATM]]. He used his credit card to purchase two [[Swiss Army knife|Swiss Army knives]] and some chocolate in a shop at the [[Zurich Airport]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0110/20/cp.00.html |title=Investigating Terror |publisher=CNN|date=20 October 2001 |access-date=16 September 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080930143429/http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0110/20/cp.00.html |archive-date=30 September 2008 |url-status=live}}</ref> After the stopover in Zürich, he arrived in Madrid at 4:45&nbsp;pm on Swissair Flight 656, and spent several hours at the airport. Then at 8:50&nbsp;pm, he checked into the Hotel Diana Cazadora in [[Madrid–Barajas Airport|Barajas]], a town near the airport. That night and twice the next morning, he called Bashar Ahmad Ali Musleh, a Jordanian student in Hamburg who served as a liaison for bin al-Shibh.<ref name="irujo">{{cite news |url=http://www.elpais.com/articulo/espana/Atta/recibio/Tarragona/joyas/miembros/comando/11-S/hiciesen/pasar/ricos/saudies/elpepiesp/20040321elpepinac_11/Tes/ |title=Atta recibió en Tarragona joyas para que los miembros del 'comando' del 11-S se hiciesen pasar por ricos saudíes |work=El País |date=21 March 2004 |author=Irujo, José María |access-date=16 September 2008 |language=es |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110520112621/http://www.elpais.com/articulo/espana/Atta/recibio/Tarragona/joyas/miembros/comando/11-S/hiciesen/pasar/ricos/saudies/elpepiesp/20040321elpepinac_11/Tes |archive-date=20 May 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref>

On the morning of 9 July, Mohamed Atta rented a silver [[Hyundai Accent]], which he booked from SIXT Rent-A-Car for 9 to 16 July, and later extended to the 19th.<ref name="irujo"/><ref name="stip">{{cite web |url=http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov/notablecases/moussaoui/exhibits/prosecution/ST00001A.pdf |title=Stipulation |publisher=U.S.D.C. Eastern District of Virginia |access-date=27 January 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090513193219/http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov/notablecases/moussaoui/exhibits/prosecution/ST00001A.pdf |archive-date=13 May 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref> He drove east out of Madrid towards the [[Mediterranean Sea|Mediterranean]] beach area of [[Tarragona]]. On the way, Atta stopped in [[Reus Airport|Reus]] to pick up Ramzi bin al-Shibh at the airport. They drove to [[Cambrils]], where they spent a night at the Hotel Monica. They checked out the next morning, and spent the next few days at an unknown location in Tarragona.<ref name="irujo"/> The absence of other hotel stays, signed receipts or credit card stubs has led investigators to believe that the men may have met in a safe house provided by other al-Qaeda operatives in [[Spain]]. There, Atta and bin al-Shibh held a meeting to complete the planning of the attacks. Several clues have been found to link their stay in Spain to Syrian-born [[Abu Dahdah|Imad Eddin Barakat Yarkas]] (Abu Dahdah), and Amer el Azizi, a Moroccan in Spain. They may have helped arrange and host the meeting in Tarragona.<ref name="madrid">{{cite news |title=War Without Borders – The Madrid Bombing |publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) |work=The Fifth Estate |date=1 December 2004 |url=http://www.cbc.ca/fifth/warwithoutborders/bombing.html |access-date=16 September 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081202182629/http://www.cbc.ca/fifth/warwithoutborders/bombing.html |archive-date=2 December 2008 |url-status=live}}</ref> [[Yosri Fouda]], who interviewed bin al-Shibh and [[Khalid Sheikh Mohammed]] (KSM) before the arrest, believes that [[Said Bahaji]] and KSM may have also been present at the meeting. Spanish investigators have said that Marwan al-Shehhi and two others later joined the meeting. Bin al-Shibh would not discuss this meeting with Fouda.{{Sfn|Fouda|Fielding|2003|p=216}}

During the meetings in Spain, Atta and bin al-Shibh had coordinated the details of the attacks. The [[9/11 Commission]] obtained details about the meeting, based on interrogations of bin al-Shibh in the weeks after his arrest in September 2002. Bin al-Shibh explained that he passed along instructions from Osama bin Laden, including his desire for the attacks to be carried out as soon as possible. Bin Laden was concerned about having so many operatives in the United States. Atta confirmed that all the muscle hijackers had arrived in the United States, without any problems, but said that he needed five to six more weeks to work out details. Bin Laden also asked that other operatives not be informed of the specific date until the last minute. During the meeting, Atta and bin al-Shibh also decided on the targets to be hit, ruling out a strike on a [[nuclear power|nuclear plant]]. Bin al-Shibh passed along bin Laden's list of targets; bin Laden wanted the [[United States Capitol]], [[the Pentagon]], and the [[World Trade Center (1973–2001)|World Trade Center]] to be attacked, as they were deemed "symbols of America." If any of the hijackers could not reach their intended targets, Atta said, they were to crash the plane. They also discussed the personal difficulties Atta was having with fellow hijacker [[Ziad Jarrah]]. Bin al-Shibh was worried that Jarrah might even abandon the plan. The ''[[9/11 Commission Report]]'' speculated that the now-convicted terrorist conspirator [[Zacarias Moussaoui]] was being trained as a possible replacement for Jarrah.<ref name="travel"/><ref name="911-ch7"/>

From 13 to 16 July, Atta stayed at the Hotel Sant Jordi in Tarragona.<ref name="irujo"/><ref name="stip"/> After bin al-Shibh returned to Germany on 16 July 2001, Atta had three more days in Spain. He spent two nights in [[Salou]] at the beachside Casablanca Playa Hotel, then spent the last two nights at the Hotel Residencia Montsant.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F01E0DA1431F932A35756C0A9649C8B63 |title=Search for 11 Sept. Suspect Focuses on a Visit to Spain |work=The New York Times |date=1 May 2002 |author=Frantz, Douglas |access-date=17 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090204182951/http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F01E0DA1431F932A35756C0A9649C8B63 |archive-date=4 February 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref> On 19 July, Atta returned to the United States, flying on [[Delta Air Lines]] from Madrid to Fort Lauderdale, via [[Atlanta]].<ref name="stip"/>