200 miles from 9/11 museum, more reminders

The FBI exhibits tell the story of how 9/11 was cracked — through plane parts, a car, a letter

In May this year, below two giant fountains and reflective pools that fill the footprints of New York’s Twin Towers, the 9/11 museum opened its doors to the public. The museum displays artefacts of that day in 2001 when al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four commercial jets, killing nearly 3,000. But 200 miles from this subterranean museum, in Washington DC, lies another part of the 9/11 story.

A sign on the glass door entrance of the J Edgar Hoover building, the headquarters of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), says, “No Public Tours”. Inside, in a highly secured corridor of America’s biggest investigation-turned-intelligence unit, unfolds the story of how 9/11 was cracked —through plane parts, a car, a letter, wallets, and other belongings of the 19 al Qaeda men who struck America. These will remain within the FBI walls, not to become a part of the newly inaugurated museum in New York, say sources.

The largest material evidence exhibited in Hoover building’s Education Centre is a Toyota Corolla car with a California licence plate. It’s a 1988 model, once driven by hijacker Nawaf Al Hazmi who was on the American Airlines Flight 77 that crashed into the Pentagon. The car was found at the Dulles airport on September 12. There is also a huge piece of Flight 175 which crashed into the South Tower of the WTC, with the name of the investigating officer on it.

A letter in English, translated from the original Arabic and which was found on all the hijackers, has been pasted on a display board. It reads, “shave excess hair from body, wear cologne…”, apart from a list of other instructions. This letter is part of the exhibits, apart from the half-burnt wallets, passports and other personal belongings of the terrorists.

The FBI has carefully preserved these from the PENTTBOM investigations, the official name given to the probe into the WTC and Pentagon air strikes. The Edgar Hoover building is so highly guarded that you can’t even use the restroom without an escort who waits for you outside.

The building also has an unexpected souvenir store that sells everything from baby jumpsuits, sippers, milk bottles to miniature mugs in pink and blue that says ‘my first FBI cup’. Miniature handcuffs that double as key chains, shot glasses, mini golf balls, beer mugs, even a jacket with a card saying ‘FBI agent’. The museum and the store are now open only to “friends and family” since the building closed to public post 9/11.

Official sources told The Indian Express, “The FBI stopped giving public tours shortly after 9/11, mostly for security reasons. The FBI has no plans to move the Education Center (which contains the 9/11 exhibits) to the 9/11 Memorial and Museum in New York City, although the FBI has assisted with developing content for the memorial”.

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(The writer was on tour on invitation from the Department of State, US government)

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