Terrorists flocked to Florida like a modern-day Casablanca; state struggles with why

By VICKIE CHACHERE
Associated Press Writer

TAMPA, Fla. – The disclosure that at least 15 of the 19 hijackers in Tuesday's attacks had lived in Florida reinforces the state's reputation as a modern-day Casablanca where some of the world's most nefarious characters come and go.

Two of the hijackers attended at least four aviation schools in Florida. They fell in easily with hundreds of other foreign flight students, and lived in rented homes like seasonal tourists.

"They were almost taking on the life of a spy in terms of being a mole, embedding in society and waiting to be called for the mission," said Oscar Westerfield, a retired FBI official who specialized in counter-intelligence and is now a Tampa security consultant.

Gov. Jeb Bush ordered his staff Friday to review the state's anti-terrorism measures, which are geared more toward responding to an attack than ferreting out one in the making. Officials want to know how terrorists lived in obscurity, some for years, before striking.

Westerfield said several factors make Florida a convenient staging ground for terrorists. The state has such a large international community of scholars and business people – both European and Middle Eastern – that foreigners can blend in easily.

More than 40 million tourists visit the state each year, many of them seasonal visitors who stay for several months. Few would give a second look to anyone who rented homes or apartments for just a few weeks or months and then moved on.

The United States has some of the best and most affordable flight schools in the world, and Florida's mild climate allows student pilots the chance to practice flying year-round.

Federal agents had previously linked Muslim extremists in the state to the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center. An Islamic studies think tank that was affiliated with the University of South Florida has also been linked by investigators to international terrorists.

The think tank, the World Islamic Studies Enterprises, was once headed by Ramadan Abdullah Shallah, who left Tampa in 1995 and assumed a leadership role in the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Among those attending the group's conferences was Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman, a blind cleric convicted of plotting the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.

Last year, Orlando cab driver Ihab Mohamed Ali was indicted on perjury and contempt charges for refusing to answer questions about the 1998 bombings of two U.S. embassies in Africa. Saudi exile Osama bin Laden is the chief suspect in the embassy and World Trade Center bombings and Tuesday's attacks.

Westerfield said Florida FBI offices have not spent enough time on terrorism because Washington has not directed them to make it a top priority. Florida's biggest recent FBI foreign counterintelligence effort involved Cubans in Miami.

AP-WS-09-15-01 1726EDT