location in the U.S. with a large Jewish population would be of interest, no specific targets there were discussed. Generally speaking, Sheikh Mohammed said that large buildings in the United States were considered to be especially vulnerable to attack and easy to hit.
19. Sheikh Mohammed said that before Sheikh Mohammed departed from Afghanistan, Bin Laden presented Sheikh Mohammed with a list of targets, which Sheikh Mohammed conveyed to Atta. Atta then compiled a list of preliminary targets. Bin Laden told Atta that Atta must hit both towers of the WTC, the Pentagon, and the U.S. Capitol, but that additional targets from which Atta could choose included the White House, the Sears Tower, and a foreign embassy in Washington. Following this conversation, Atta used a computer program to locate a nuclear power generating plant in Pennsylvania, which Bin Laden agreed to add to the list.
20. Sheikh Mohammed said that the plane that crashed into the field in Pennsylvania was targeted at the Capitol building (Congress and Senate). Sheikh Mohammed said that the CIA headquarters was not a target since it was Ramzi Yousef's operation and this target was compromised when Yousef was arrested.
