One person saw the danger all too clearly, and sounded the alarm, which was apparently taken seriously enough by the local FBI agents.

It's difficult to follow the exact sequence of events in this tale, but it appears that our anonymous hero was the only good guy in this drama taking any initiative in this woeful security failure which help set the stage for 9/11.

Crux of the matter lies here, as reported by the link Larry provided to the Startribune.com, which I believe is from Minneapolis-St. Paul:


In the meantime, Oberstar said, the instructor voiced his suspicions about Moussaoui to colleagues, one of whom offered the number of an FBI friend who could advise whether the information should be reported. When the instructor phoned, the FBI agent strongly urged him to pursue the matter but gave him the wrong agent to call, the sources said. The instructor made three more calls before reaching the right agent on Aug. 15, the sources said. Moussaoui was arrested the next day and held on an immigration violation.



The FBI then checked Moussaoui's name with foreign intelligence agencies, and was warned by the French intelligence service that he may have terrorist connections. But the Minneapolis agents were unable to persuade FBI lawyers in Washington, D.C., to seek a warrant to search his possessions under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which requires evidence that the suspect is an agent of a foreign power or a terrorist group.

Frustrated local FBI agents visited the school a couple of times before Sept. 11, trying to obtain enough evidence for a warrant, a source said.



(end of extract--my emphasis)

~

Ah, it's a sad tale of woe, to be sure.

In response to 9/11, we'll tighten up our security. Some of it will be window dressing, some of it will result in further erosion of personal liberties and privacy, and some of it might be effective.

sp