21. Sheikh Mohammed said that New York was definitely the economic capital of the U.S. and, thus, was always the first target on his mind. After the 1993 attack on the World Trade Center, Sheikh Mohammed decided that explosives and bombs could be problematic so he focused on using airplanes as weapons. The most attractive targets were high buildings, both for their relative ease of targeting, as well as for the symbolic impact.
22. Sheikh Mohammed said that targets that were not included in the 9/11 attacks were to be carried forward to the next operation, and that the original plan called for Moussaoui to lead the next attack operation in the U.S. Sheikh Mohammed insisted that Moussaoui was not included in the list of potential pilots for Atta's attacks, and that the original list of potential targets was restricted to four or five even though Atta had a list of eight potential targets. Sheikh Mohammed provided other possible targets for al Qaeda operations.
23. Sheikh Mohammed asserted that the targets that were not included in the 9/11 attacks were to be carried forward to the next operation. Several targets were listed that were not attacked that included the White House, the U.S. Capitol, a foreign embassy, the Sears Tower, and a Nuclear Power Plant in Pennsylvania. Sheikh Mohammed also indicated that other U.S.
