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 ...
The article claims there were air marshals on board, but they seem to have been in a stupor; they just sat there and did nothing the whole time.
It is far easier to handle yourself in a crisis when you are calm enough to think rationally. I would have been concerned about the activity, maybe even afraid (definitely), but then I would have felt a lot better after seeing the behind the scenes activity!
"...even liberals will die trying to prevent it."
No. They won't.
Not true. He was all over, talking about it, right after 911.
Wrong.
"anyone with passports from Arab countries or who fits profiles of possible terrorists" should already be in a detention camp, or back home. And no new ones should be arriving.
and strict limits should be placed as to how many of these people can board a flight
Correct.
Zero.
Chilling story and I too would have been in a "hair trigger" state. I have a flight coming up and would consider stepping aside if so many suspicious characters presented themselves. As protrayed by the author I believe they were other than musicians traveling to a gig.
mc
1. Where was the pilot? He has the power to refuse to take off if he's uncomfortable with any safety factor.
2. Air marshalls did nothing?
3. Mineta is a disgrace ... and that (this time it's correct) is Bush's fault.
4. Are these "musicians" now on our watch lists?
5. Agree this was either a practice run or a failed bombing.
I hear ya'. If it didn't come to my attention until the flight was airborne, I would do what I could to make sure these guys were equally uncomfortable.
Hopefully siting next to one of them would have precipitated an argument which would have caused the plane to land. Undoubtedly this would have gotten me in trouble with the authorities but a) I'm not taking any chances at that point b) I would go public so fast your head would spin.
I wonder if Rush Limbaugh heard about this?
Hats off to that woman and her family.
I'd have not been so calm.
Here's the link to the Threat Matrix thread:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1169117/posts
It's more dangerous for the air marshals to identify themselves unless they are ready to make arrests. All this does is point out where said terrorists need to direct their energies in a confrontation.
That said, the terrorist scumbags should realize by now that any attempt to hijack one of our planes to fly it into a populated area will be succeed. The passengers now are aware of their intentions and will do whatever is necessary to stop them.
My husband and I have discussed this at length... the "what if" we are on a hijacked plane. We sure as hell will not sit quietly like good little boys and girls while hijackers try to break into the cockpit. We'll fight, and so will most everyone else on that plane.
I can assure you that despite all public statements, there is profiling going on. Even WASPs get profiled if they have flown to a Muslim country.
What you may not know is that major airports have bomb sniffers everwhere. Obviously there are ways around this, but they would involve having some luck.
There will probably be more hijackings in the future, but terrorists cannot depend on passengers being passive.
I'm a very infrequent flyer (maybe ten round-trips in my life), and I'm damned glad I don't have to make these decisions about remaining on planes when suspicious characters come on board. But it's obvious that it's going to take another 9-11 for us to really get serious about terrorism.
Thanks for this post. One has to feel empathy for the Flight Attendants in a situation like this. Knowledge that there are armed Marshals on the flight cannot relieve the anxiety they must have experienced. Mineta needs to go!
Damn, can't type. Where's my coffee?
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