Yesterday, counterterrorist analyst Steve Emerson appeared on MSNBC with Alex Witt to discuss the 9/11 style terror plot recently thwarted inside Saudi Arabia. Emerson provides details about the suicide pilots' training — which apparently took place in Europe. Below is an excerpt from that transcript provided by The Investigative Project on Terrorism (of which Emerson is the Executive Director). 

STEVE EMERSON: Now, as far as the pilots are concerned, what’s striking to me Alex is that these pilots were apparently trained in Europe. Trained in flight academies in Europe, which meant that European flight academies opened their doors even after 9/11 to Middle Eastern students who should never have been allowed to train there.
 
WITT: Yeah. And do you worry that would have happened here in the U.S? Do you think part of the reason they trained over in Europe is because they knew it would not happen here?
 
EMERSON: Well I think that’s true, but I think it’s also troublesome that the Europeans didn't apply enough scrutiny. Now again, that’s speculation because there are no flight academies in the Middle East and no flight academies in Africa or Asia. But again, that’s speculation. As far as the plot is concerned, nobody really knows what the “zero hour” was, but based on what the numbers are that were released by Saudi Arabia, it was a very extensive plot. Actually seven plots all together sort of conspired with one ringleader who was apparently pulling them together. That ringleader apparently has not been caught, and he is still on the loose. 

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