In late October 2001, “the Czech interior minister set off an international furor when he said that an Iraqi intelligence officer had met in Prague with Mohammed Atta, the suspected mastermind of the [9/11] attacks, just five months before the hijackings [April 2001]. …But by December [2001], Czech and American officials backed off, saying that the diplomat was a minor functionary who happened to have the same last name as a more senior Iraqi intelligence agent, and that he might have met with a different Mohammed Atta, or even with someone who simply looked like the hijacker.” [The 15th of the month used for date sorting purposes only.]
– Todd S. Purdum and The New York Times Staff, A Time of Our Choosing, Pages 30-31