Concurrent event: In late 1997 a dissident Qatari former police chief living in exile warned veteran CIA agent Robert Baer that “Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is going to hijack some planes”. Baer says he passed that warning on to his CIA counter parts but that ‘there was no interest’.
In 1998 the Qatari dissident, Hamad bin Jasmin bin Hamad Al Thani was kidnaped (in Italy?) and illegally renditioned by Qatari agents. He was convicted (of what I’m not sure) in a Qatari court and imprisoned for ten years, until 2008. His judge and jury were the same government that employed Khalid Sheikh Mohammed from 1993 to 96, right up until they helped KSM escape capture by US authorities in 1996. To add context, KSM was employed by Abdul Rasul Sayyaf in the infamous Service's Office in Peshawar, Pakistan from 1988-92. That’s when, in my opinion KSM buit his global terror network, knowing active jihadis and dormant sleeper cells.
Hamad bin Jasmin bin Hamad Al Thani passed away in 2012.
To date I’ve failed in my efforts to contact Robert Baer.