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 am wondering why the flight wasnt escorted into LAX with fighters...
there is a group that tracks such things, and they have no record of it...if the Air Marshalls truly were concerned, the fighters would have been scrambled, as they are several times a month
We can't rely on governments to protect us because the terrorists do not rely on governments to carry out their attacks.
We each need to be ready to take action, independent of governments against terrorists; I will act to save my life, and the life of my family. All my government can do for me is avenge my death, and the death of my family.
And that's not good enough.
Beauseant!
The key to the operation is that each terrorist carries-on a component of the bomb. For instance, one guy has the detonator disguised in a cell phone, another guy has one component of the explosive in a shampoo bottle, etc. By breaking up the components into innocent-looking items they're able to smuggle the bomb onto the plane and assemble it in-flight.
2. If bomb, made to blow cockpit door open, take over plane? But then there'd be, presumably, the American bum rush to the cockpit.
No, the idea is to blow the whole plane up.
3. If they just want to blow up passenger planes, why not just go with cargo packages/explosives? For all this effort and manpower, seems like they'd be after another hijack sit.
Again, a completed bomb is easier to detect. The key here is to smuggle bomb components onto the plane and assemble them when in flight.
I have just begun to read this already enormous thread, so I do not know what others have posted.
My thinking is that they were purposefully obvious and threatening to see, without actually crossing the line and doing something illegal, AT WHAT POINT WOULD THE CREW AND/OR PASSENGERS INTERVENE?
They got their answer: NO AMOUNT OF SUSPICIOUS, 'THREATENING', OVERT BEHAVIOR ON THEIR PART GENERATED ANY INTERVENTION!
Go for it.
I personally would vote to keep middle easterners and other Muslim nationalities off our flights and out of our country. But I must live within the law and use caution and common sense.
I agree. They were on a test run to see two things,,at what point would anyone take action, could they get the parts of a bomb on board. I do think they weren't doing a bomb at that point so if anyone had taken action, they would be innocent thus faking out security and weakening it. One of two incidents of faulty action and the security people will be seriously hampered by concerns of legal action, public outrage etc. These guys could have been enjoying a sadistic joke on the other hand.
Michellemalken.com is following and investigating this. Her site is excellent if anyone is interested.
Exactly. So many things don't fight. I think the author has an overactive imagination. But I keep getting beat up as if this tale is a book in the Bible.
Thank you, cajungirl, for Michelle's web address--I trust her implicitly--AND hope that she will make the T.V. rounds, at least on Fox, to bring this to more people's attention.
As to the "sadistic joke" possibility--well, maybe, but that would have been one elaborate joke that could have gotten very out-of-hand...
I still tend to believe that their intention was to try to draw attention and see what "PC America" would do in the face of an overt threat. The answer, loud and clear, NOTHING!
I have wondered if it is possible to get the pieces of a gun, all broken down, onto a plane usiing a number of people all of whom could pass a screening and then put the gun together? Is that possible gunowners? And could a few bullets get on? Are there such things as plastic bullets that would escape xray?
Freeper gun people, what do you think?
I don't believe that. On John and Ken's radio show, they said there was no follow up.
I know, I don't get that at all.
These guys are testing the waters to see what they can get away with. They know the rules, and want to push to see how far they can go.
I agree with you. I would have probably felt very uncomfortable. The woman seemed to be preoccupied with what the son had going on.
First laugh I've had on this thread... thanks=)
I heard this article read on WBEN out of Buffalo.
I have not read the entire thread, so forgive me if the following has been discussed.
Up here in Hamilton, Ontario, I have had two friend who have witness bizarre goings-on at the movie theatres.
They went to a matinee on a week-day and there were only a handful of people there. There were, however, about 20 young Middle Eastern men sitting in the back. When the movie started, they started speaking quietly to each other, getting up, leaving in small groups, running to the front of the theatre, running so far to the back then stopping, checking their watches, standing in different spots, running to the front and timing themselves, etc.
Needless to say, my friend left the threatre with her mother. She reported the incident. She was then telling someone about what had happened, and they went white because they had experinced the same thing, different theatre, different day.
If these more-than-suspicious activities are ignored, is that not failure to connect some very obvious dots?
We have been warned they will strike again, how can anyone dismiss these activities?
I,also, do not spend time in fear. I do, however, keep my kids home from the movies. They can rent them as often as they want. Why take the chance? If something were to happen in one of those movie theatres, and my kids were there, would I not be the worst parent in the world for allowing it, knowing what I know?
Wow. I always thought the most vulnerable and obvious place for a terorist attack is a movie theater. First, it is dark.
Second, there is no security despite the, third, large amount of people sitting there. Hard to exit a theater too.
The terrorists also pulled that stunt in Russia.
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