500 Days Read Online Free PDF

was as if the Taliban and al-Qaeda knew that something big was about to happen.
    As this turn of events was unfolding, two journalists—Karim Touzani and Kacem Bakkali, who both carried Belgian passports—were pestering Massoud’s top officers to arrange for an interview with the military leader. They said that they had traveled from London to document Islam in Afghanistan. After three weeks of waiting, on the night of September 8, the men begged for the meeting to take place within the next twenty-four hours. After that, they would have to leave for Kabul.
    Just before lunch the next day, Massoud agreed to get together with the men for their interview. He motioned to his friend Masood Khalili.
    “I want you to sit with me, and translate,” he said.
    The visitors, who had turned unusually quiet, set up their camera on a table in front of Massoud. “I want to know your questions before you start recording,” he said.
    The men agreed, but their words had to be translated from French. Touzani brought out a blue pen and started scribbling: Why are you against Osama bin Laden? Why do you call him a killer? If you take Kabul what will you do with him?
    After writing down fifteen questions, Touzani handed the notes to Khalili, who translated; eight of the queries were about bin Laden. That struck Khalili as odd, and he glanced over at Massoud. There were five worry lines on his forehead, instead of the usual one.
    “Okay,” Massoud said. “Let’s film.”
    One of the men asked something—no one would remember what—and Khalili started interpreting.
    Then, an explosion. A bomb hidden inside the video camera detonated; Touzani set off explosives that were strapped around his waist, blowing him to bits. Amid the chaos, Massoud’s guards started shooting, killing the other man.
    Massoud, critically injured by the attack, was rushed to a helicopter, which flew to a hospital in Tajikistan. But it was too late. When the chopper landed, he was dead.
    The most important challenger to al-Qaeda and the Taliban, the man most likely to help the Americans hunt down bin Laden, had been taken out of the equation.
    Boston, Massachusetts
    September 11, 2001
    By 7:00 A.M. , only a smattering of passengers had arrived for United Airlines flight 175 at Boston Logan International Airport. Gail Jawahir, a United customer service representative for thirteen years, had been at work for two hours and was surprised that the flow of passengers was so sluggish.
    Two well-dressed Arabic men approached the ticket counter, and Jawahir greeted them. They were Hamza and Ahmed al-Ghamdi, men assigned by al-Qaeda to join in a murderous hijacking plot. They had just checked out of the Days Hotel after performing their ritual cleansing, including dousing themselves with cologne, in anticipation of their own deaths. The fragrance was still heavy, almost overwhelming. They had arrived at the airport by a Bay State Taxi, angering the driver with just a fifteen-cent tip. From there, they had entered into Terminal C and walked directly to Jawahir’s station.
    “I wish purchase ticket,” Ahmed said.
    Already, Jawahir knew this was going to be difficult—the man’s English was terrible.
    “Checking in or buying a ticket?” she asked.
    “Purchase ticket.”
    Jawahir noticed that the man was holding a United Airlines envelope with an itinerary. He had an e-ticket.
    “Sir, you don’t need to buy a ticket. You already have a ticket. You can head right over to the check-in area.”
    The two walked off to another line. They were sent back, apparently still confused.
    “I need buy ticket,” Ahmed again said to Jawahir.
    She decided to guide the two men through the check-in process and asked for their itinerary. They were booked for United 175. She saw they were both named al-Ghamdi and were seated next to each other in row nine.
    Jawahir requested their identification; Ahmed handed her a Florida driver’s license, while Hamza gave her one from Virginia. She