9/11 panel finds Qaeda may have delayed attack

The independent commission probing the September 11, 2001, attacks has found evidence suggesting the attacks were intended to be carried out...

The independent commission probing the September 11, 2001, attacks has found evidence suggesting the attacks were intended to be carried out in May or June of that year, but were postponed by Al Qaeda leaders because lead hijacker Mohamed Atta was not ready, according to sources privy to the panel8217;s findings.

New evidence gathered by the commission, including information obtained from US-held detainees, indicates that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, mastermind of the attacks, persuaded Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden to postpone the attacks because of the problems, according to the sources.

That scenario would mark a dramatic revision of the commonly understood narrative of the 9/11 attacks and contrasts with prevailing theories of FBI agents investigating the plot. Until now, federal investigators have said the evidence indicates that the attacks were likely planned for a narrow time frame around 9/11. If there had been an alternate date, investigators have said, it was probably later.

The possible date postponement is included in a draft report circulated among government and commission officials, and is expected to be among the topics discussed at a Wednesday hearing on the origins and execution of the 9/11 plot.

Chairman Thomas H. Kean said this week8217;s hearings 8216;8216;will be two of the most interesting hearings that we8217;ve had, from the point of view of what we reveal about the plot and plotters and what we reveal about the response. 8230; There will be new information8217;8217;.

Bin Laden had been pushing for the hijackings to be carried out in May or June, but was persuaded by Mohammed to agree to a delay as Atta and his conspirators were not prepared, one source said.

The subject of the date chosen for the attack has been a matter of widespread speculation and investigation. Journalists and terrorism experts speculated on the significance of the date, noting, among other things, that it is the anniversary of the day Britain took over Palestine in 1922 and that 911 is the common US emergency response number. But FBI investigators and others have concluded that the evidence suggests the date was fluid, and was decided just weeks before the attacks were carried out. 8212;LAT-WP