USA: Terrorist had passport from nonexistent country

The terrorist Mohammed Atta boarded one of the aircraft that collided with the World Trade Center on September 11th using a passport from the “Republic of Conch," which does not exist.

The “Republic of Conch” was born in 1982, as a protest against inspection of vehicles which were leaving Florida. The inhabitants of Key West declared that if their vehicles were not good enough to travel to the rest of the USA, they would declare themselves an independent country.

Peter Andersen, the leader of this “Republic” started to issue “passports” of the “Republic of Conch." An annual fair was held at which passports and flags of this “Republic” were sold. In the last year, demand for the passports has soared and Mohammed Atta was one of the many buyers.

Such details show how lax security operations had become in the United States of America and bring into question the cultural level of the person who checked Atta’s passport.

Timothy BANCROFT-HINCHEY PRAVDA.Ru LISBON PORTUGAL