Terror in the Skies Again (Absolutely Positive MUST-READ)

Womens' Wall Street.com ^ | July 2004 | Annie Jacobsen

[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.

[Tuscaloosa Goldfinch]

It would be interesting to see several passengers boarding the same flight follow your policy. If 10 or so passengers stopped standing on politeness and just told security -- either you thoroughly search these guys or we're not boarding, and then spread the word among other passengers, it might make a difference on that flight, and if it happened enough times, PC might be history.

Minetta needs to go.

[Wolfhound777]

They would have to get the explosives on board. There in lies their problem.

Taking into account the lack of any pre-flight checking of the passengers on this flight, I don't see where this would have been a major problem. I think you can make explosives out of paper today (cellulose?)or liquid if indeed it was even explosives they had in mind. Some sort of Binary chemicals could also have been planned and for all we know, the guy who came out of the bathroom with the finger across the neck gesture and mouthing the word "No" couldn't assemble something correctly or it wasn't working and they aborted the op flushing it right out of the aircraft. I mean, unless these 14 guys all had irritable bowels at the same time, this sounds exactly like a dry run of the tactics being worked out in European flights. Further more, some have pointed out that "you can't take control of a plane anymore.." as if that necessary. Richard Reid didn't try and take control of the aircraft. His only mistake was using matches instead of a lighter. It's better to error on the side of caution I think.

[Euro-American Scum]

If someone comes in to Israel for some kind of art study, for instance, they'll be interviewed by someone with that expertise. They just don't slack off.

A couple of points here:

First. . . There are apparently only a limited number of "legitimate" reasons to visit Israel these days.

For business purposes -- and you better have an itinerary and you better be expected in the office you say you're going to be in. Because they will check you out.

As a tourist as part of a large group. There still are such tours going to Israel, but they're a fraction of what they used to be. All the places I went -- Jerusalem, Masada, Tiberius, Nazareth, Galilee -- were virtually deserted.

As a visitor with friends and/or family in Israel. Again, they will ask for names and addresses and check this out as well.

Anyone like me, traveling alone, as a tourist, not knowing a soul in the country, who just wanted to see Israel because I was over there and figured now was as good a time as any = terrorist. And that's the sad truth.

The second point is they did exactly what you described in your response -- sent in an interrogator (I like to call them what they are) to grill me on where I had been.

I was continuing a personal vacation that had begun in Normandy to commemorate the 60th anniversary of D-Day. I mentioned that I was a second generation U.S. paratrooper and my father landed in Normandy on the morning of D-Day.

Sure enough, I got to talk to a veteran of the Israeli airborne forces -- or so he said he was -- who just wanted to talk to me because he was interested in such things. Here's how it went:

Did I visit the first town liberated by U.S. paratroopers in Normandy, Carentan? (Wrong. The first town secured that morning was Ste. Mere-Eglise.)

Did I get to see the bridge at Arnhem that was captured by the 82nd Airborne after a daylight river crossing? (Wrong again. That happened at Nijmengen.)

And did I get to visit the airborne museum at St. Vith celebrating the successful defense of the town while surrounded by the Germans in Belgium? (Every U.S. paratrooper knows that was Bastogne.)

Now the fact that I knew my history free me from suspicion or scrutiny. Maybe it established a little bit of credibility on my part. But it did go to show the lengths they will go to check somebody out.

It did get depressing in Israel itself. That place has a bunker mentality, and with good reason. While nothing happened during the week I was there, the mood was very somber and very subdued. It's like they're waiting for the other shoe to drop.

[A CA Guy]

Being very afraid is not useful. Be watchful and proactive on planes and elsewhere. If you see strange things, immediately report them before they go further and if we are caught on a plane in a hijacking, it's life or death anyway at that point and there is no point to being afraid.

[vaudine]

Refusing to live in fear is one thing. The Trans. Dept.'s PC security is something else. They have reportedly been warned by the Israelis that we are cruising for more terror in the skies.

I would have been very scared.

Let me pose a question for anyone on here who knows to answer.
If they only check 2 mideasterners on each flight, how many white ,black, or oriental people are they allowed to check?

[Tunehead54]

Bookmark bump! Thanks!

[hershey]

The airlines industry barely recovered after 9/11, along with the rest of the US economy, so you can understand why the govt. wants to keep events like this as quiet as possible. Of course they profile Middle Eastern types. They just don't talk about it. Keep flying here there and everywhere. Nothing to see here. Buy a refrigerator, a car, etc.. Well, with Bush in office, we're defeating these monsters and God willing, come Nov., he'll remain in office. If not, flying will be more dangerous. In fact, life in this country and all over the world will be more dangerous.

[BurbankKarl]

I pray everytime I take off now. I have flown 700,000 miles and never used to do that!

[valleygal]

While not perfect, Sky Harbor Airport here in Phoenix does a pretty fair job I think. My in-laws fly here from Sacramento once or twice a year and are always sharing their stories of how long it takes them to get through security, all the things they have to do before getting on the plane (here) and this last time their luggage was gone through (locks snipped off).

My daughter wants to do a missions trip as well as a choir trip next year so I'm sure I'll be feeling your anxiety before long.

[MonaMars]

You wrote: "Since they immediately detained these suspicious characters, presumably whatever was contained on their body, in their instrument cases, or in the McDonalds bag would have been recovered..."

My very first post and I'm using it to disagree with you :) Assuming it wasn't a dry run, who says they still had anything on their persons by the time the plane landed and they were searched? What if they each carried a liquid component of an explosive or bomb? The plan is for each guy in succession to stroll into the lavatory, pour his component down the sink or in the toilet, and then all the last guy has to do is go in and drop a lighter or match? Maybe the 'no' signal the guy gave was to call off that last guy. Far-fetched, I know, particularly since I know nothing about explosives or aircraft plumbing, but that's the way I'd do it. I'd be curious to know if any of those guys had matches or lighters on them.

[Tamzee]

I think it's insane, that they search little old ladies and take away their nailclippers

HEY... watch it. They took my nail clippers and I'm only thirty-eight ;-)

Actually, I volunteered them, realized I had them in the bathroom before going through security. I handed them over when I got my boarding pass and said I wanted to contribute to their collection LOL

[Gracey]

bump for later when I'm awake

[CalRepublican]

A couple of points. A couple people have wondered why the air marshals didn't get up to check the lavatories. Someone mentioned that they might have.

Seems unlikely. There were air marshals on board, because at the end of the account the woman says the air marshals rushed off the plane. If she saw them go to the lavatories I'd think she'd mention it.

And how was this lady able to tell from the 17th row in coach that a middle eastern guy in first class sat down in seat 1A with everyone boarding the plane. And does anyone know if Northwest has a curtain between the coach and first class seats--because she says she saw what was going on in first class.

And I can't believe the captain wouldn't tell everyone to return to their seats. What would he be waiting for?

I have a lot of questoins about this. And I really am surprised I haven't heard this anywhere else.

At a minimum a noon flight from Detroit to LAX would have about 200 people on board. Not one mentioned this to the news?

That just seems very odd. Remember, local news affiliates across the country pick up stories al the time about weird goings on on planes. There was even a story about how a bunch of people on a plane got nervous because a guy went into a lavatory to shave his neck. That made the news and it made Drudge. And I seem to recall a lot of stories about air marshalls getting up to get involved on the basis of much less than what was going on here.

I just can't believe that all these people could be on a plane with this going on and not say something to somebody.

I'd suggest, particularly if you live in the Detroit or LA area, forwarding this to your local news affiliates (which sometimes have hungrier reporters). This story can't be left just with this. This has to be investigated and reported. These guys have to be found and made to explain what in the heck they were doing on this plane.

[TheMole]

Just wanted to point out that some people forget that WWII was a special case. The commies were on our side so the left in this country were on the side of the war because Uncle Joe Stalin was fighting the same war.

Totally correct, so right on, worth repeating. May I add that even in WW2 those same commies opposed the war until Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union in the summer of 1941.

[eleven_eleven]

see? thats my point. id prefer to rest our security on a more sure standard than "oh please". its dopey to frisk some but we gotta. there is no shortage of types of people in this world who want to kill.

[xm177e2]

The hysterical babe needs to take a deep breath. The Hispanic population in the US is more than 25% already, so by the time you add the Indians, and other mixed race population, we can imagine that more than half of the US population are not blond and blue eyed. If we are going to soil our underwear every time we see a darker skin person, we will have no lives.

If you actually read the article (fat chance!) you would see they all had Syrian passports. So they were genuine Arabs:

A law enforcement official stood near us, holding 14 Syrian passports in his hand.

Hysterical racist? Not if her story is true.

[Jet Jaguar]

Thanks for the post.

[wideminded]

Why did these Syrians bring their cell phones and cameras with them into the bathroom to perform WuDu? Is that a Muslim ritual, too?

It is not unnatural to take ones valuables along to eliminate the possibility that they will be stolen.

[CalRepublican]

sort of related--10 people sick on a SW airlines flight gets an instantaneous news mention but 14 syrians acting in this manner goes over two weeks before someone says something?

[CalRepublican]

The more I read this story the more problems I have with it. The guys were speaking Arabic to each other, right? Right. Yet she saw one mouth the word "no?" Does she read lips in Arabic?

And why would the flight attendant need her to write down descriptions of these guys? What would be suspicious about a flight attendant writing somehting down? She could act like she was taking a order for a drink or something. Then again, this flight attendant was apparently stupid enough to tell her about the air marshalls, whose spokesman, by the way, has probably had his phone ringing off the hook today. We should know by 0600 out here in cali if this thing has any truth to it.