“By April 1999, bin Laden had chosen four men to serve in the [9/11] operation; late that year, he dispatched two Saudis and two Yemenis to the United States for pilot training. …Khalid al Mihdhar and Nawaf al Hazmi, Mecca-born Saudis who had fought in Bosnia in 1995, secured their visas readily, but Yemenis Tawfiq bin Attash (aka Khallad) and Abu Bara al Yemeni were turned down. It was one of the quirks of the U.S. immigration practice to turn down male Yemeni applicants, not out of concern about terrorism but because they might overstay their visas and take on illegal work. [9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh] Muhammad later said, ‘Because individuals with Saudi passports could travel much more easily than Yemenis, particularly to the U.S., there were fewer martyrdom opportunities for Yemenis.’ “ [The 15th of the month used for date sorting purposes only.]
– Roy Gutman, How We Missed the Story, Page 207