Posted on 07/15/2004 6:19:30 AM PDT by Rutles4Ever
A WWS Exclusive Article
Note from the Editors: You are about to read an account of what happened during a domestic flight that one of our writers, Annie Jacobsen, took from Detroit to Los Angeles. The WWS Editorial Team debated long and hard about how to handle this information and ultimately we decided it was something that should be shared. What does it have to do with finances? Nothing, and everything. Here is Annie's story.
On June 29, 2004, at 12:28 p.m., I flew on Northwest Airlines flight #327 from Detroit to Los Angeles with my husband and our young son. Also on our flight were 14 Middle Eastern men between the ages of approximately 20 and 50 years old. What I experienced during that flight has caused me to question whether the United States of America can realistically uphold the civil liberties of every individual, even non-citizens, and protect its citizens from terrorist threats.
On that Tuesday, our journey began uneventfully. Starting out that morning in Providence, Rhode Island, we went through security screening, flew to Detroit, and passed the time waiting for our connecting flight to Los Angeles by shopping at the airport stores and eating lunch at an airport diner. With no second security check required in Detroit we headed to our gate and waited for the pre-boarding announcement. Standing near us, also waiting to pre-board, was a group of six Middle Eastern men. They were carrying blue passports with Arabic writing. Two men wore tracksuits with Arabic writing across the back. Two carried musical instrument cases – thin, flat, 18" long. One wore a yellow T-shirt and held a McDonald's bag. And the sixth man had a bad leg -- he wore an orthopedic shoe and limped. When the pre-boarding announcement was made, we handed our tickets to the Northwest Airlines agent, and walked down the jetway with the group of men directly behind us.
My four-year-old son was determined to wheel his carry-on bag himself, so I turned to the men behind me and said, "You go ahead, this could be awhile." "No, you go ahead," one of the men replied. He smiled pleasantly and extended his arm for me to pass. He was young, maybe late 20's and had a goatee. I thanked him and we boarded the plan.
Once on the plane, we took our seats in coach (seats 17A, 17B and 17C). The man with the yellow shirt and the McDonald's bag sat across the aisle from us (in seat 17E). The pleasant man with the goatee sat a few rows back and across the aisle from us (in seat 21E). The rest of the men were seated throughout the plane, and several made their way to the back.
(Excerpt) Read more at womenswallstreet.com ...
I really doubt he read the entire article. He may have scanned it, but he didn't read it carefully.
The amount of time between the article being posted and his initial post is 5 minutes. That assumes he was beginning to read the second it was posted.
I read quickly and it took me longer than that.
They are "softening us up".. They know that their behavior is very suspicious. They are getting us used to the idea that, if they are profiled, they will take it to the courts and make it so much trouble that everyone will be afraid to profile (if this hasn't happened already). This might take a few years, but they are very patient (See 9-11 highjackers). Then , when the plan is in place, they will make their move. I'm not so confident that a group of 15 highly trained men would not be able to take control of an aircraft, with or without weapons. This is right out of the Al Queda playbook. I hope I'm wrong.
Just do an "exact phrase match" search here on FR (you'll have to search "older" articles) for James Woods. You'll find tons of stuff.
I myself would have checked it out.
If I see suspicious activity on a plane, I am NOT going to sit and hope someone else will do something about it.
Forget that. If I had a three-year old with me, I'm either
a) not getting on the plane when I see them congregating at the gate, or
b) getting off the plane when I see them spreading out across the cabin.
I wouldn't be sitting around and hoping for something not to happen with my family at risk.
What is the Treat Matrix thread? Can I get on the ping list?
Hiya, BE!
I went ahead and read the entire article, and the possibility of a rehearsal entered my head.
In addition, the author put in this quote from another article:
published in The Observer (a British newspaper based in London) on February 8, 2004:
Terrorist bid to build bombs in mid-flight: Intelligence reveals dry runs of new threat to blow up airliners
"Islamic militants have conducted dry runs of a devastating new style of bombing on aircraft flying to Europe, intelligence sources believe.
The tactics, which aim to evade aviation security systems by placing only components of explosive devices on passenger jets, allowing militants to assemble them in the air, have been tried out on planes flying between the Middle East, North Africa and Western Europe, security sources say.
… The … Transportation Security Administration issued an urgent memo detailing new threats to aviation and warning that terrorists in teams of five might be planning suicide missions to hijack commercial airliners, possibly using common items … such as cameras, modified as weapons.
…Components of IEDs [improvised explosive devices]can be smuggled on to an aircraft, concealed in either clothing or personal carry-on items … and assembled on board. In many cases of suspicious passenger activity, incidents have taken place in the aircraft's forward lavatory."
So, you might want to rethink that "nothing happened" part of it. Maybe it was a successful rehearsal...
Profile all Muslims.
Actor James Woods was on the same BOS to LA United Airlines flight that M. Atta sent into the WTC a few weeks later and observed activity that alarmed him enough to alert the FBI when he landed. They blew him off.
My understanding is that he didn't talk about it for a year or so. Is this true?
I think I'd wait until an attack seemed imminent, although I might've gone into the bathroom immediately after they had exited it. Not sure what sitting next to one would do, though...
Make that a DOUBLE!!
Sorry, I must have made a typo. It's the "Threat Matrix" thread, of course. ;-D
No, it wouldn't be politically correct and there's not enough time. After all, "security" has to hand search two middle aged white guys, a 16 year old gum-chewing girl with a bare (and paunchy) midriff, and a 77 year old grandmother with a cane. They search people who won't complain about their civil rights being violated. Searches have nothing to do with security; it's P.R. Maybe a couple more 911's and people will wake up.
No.
What they should have is permanent residence in Syria.
It is foolish, and it may be suicidal, to continue to permit enemy aliens free entry into this country.
the ones who are here should be interned. The ones who are not, shouldn't come.
I read that. We are going to NY and Connecticut this fall and were considering flying. That firsthand account has convinced me we shall drive.
I considered that, but realized the merit in this would be to draw out and identify who the air marshals are on board.
Good policy, but avoid Detroit.
Sorry, I was assuming I was already on the plane and it had taken off.
Appalling. And we all can sit here and whine about it...or we can put our heads together to counter this. HOW can we put pressure on our government to change their assinine PC rules and regulations? Who do we write/call/email en masse? What about mass fowarding this article to other media outlets....O'Reilly..Rush?..Hannity?....with our outrage over this? If the government insists on being PC...at what point do the American people rise up and say "ENOUGH!"? Aren't our representatives supposed to represent US? What are you, personally, willing to do to combat this evil?
Every so often i see remarks about how stupid the ME's are. Ummm...better rethink that one.
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