It has taken several years and a travesty of a trial, but the truth about Zacharias Moussaoui finally seems to be out. He was a pest.
"An Al Qaeda operative known as Khallad said he cut off contact with Moussaoui when Moussaoui repeatedly called his telephone number after being instructed to use it only in an emergency." He "managed to annoy everyone he came in contact with" said Hambali, a former leader of a South Asian terrorist group. He described Moussaoui as "very troubled, not right in the head and having a bad character". Eventually he bought him a $2000 plane ticket just to get rid of him. Meanwhile, senior al-Qaeda leaders testified that Moussaoui had no involvement in the 9/11 plot.
And I, for one, am inclined to believe them. Anyone who has been involved in any kind of movement, organization or club, for that matter, has come across people like Moussaoui. At first they can appear very earnest and dedicated to whatever cause. Only later you realize that there is just something wrong with them, they come up with outlandish conspiracy theories and plots, they have to have everything done their way and have grandiose ideas of what should be accomplished. They need to be the center of attention - something which Moussaoui has shown time and again in his trial. If you have ever dealt with someone like that, you can almost feel sad for al-Qaeda. Almost.
Moussaoui was not part of 9/11 plan, ex-Al Qaeda officials say