Posted on 05/24/2006 8:54:58 AM PDT by Dark Skies
The response was typical from the local office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR): Ahmed Bedier, the director and a spokesperson for CAIR’s Central Florida Council stated,
“Obviously, if they had recently arrived here and they are from Saudi Arabia, they may not be familiar with American rules and laws. They might have thought it was some kind of public transportation.”
CAIR’s usual response any time authorities detain or question Muslims or Arab nationals in the US who are suspected of potential terrorism planning came about when two young Saudi nationals, Mana Saleh Almanajam, 23, and Shaker Mohsen Alsidran, 20, both of Tampa, boarded a Florida high school bus with local students one morning. The bus driver who radioed police was notified by alarmed students on board when they noticed the Saudi men behaving strangely and one wearing a long trench coat on a very hot day and profusely sweating. A half hour later they were removed from the bus by a sheriff’s deputy and interrogated. Almanajam and Alsidran are both reasonably fluent in English according to acquaintances and Florida State University language instructors and should know the difference between public transportation and a school bus.
So was this just a mistake or another example of our State Department, Saudi Arabia’s best friend, at work?
Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office spokesman J.D. Callaway explained,
“the men were speaking in Arabic, they were making funny sounds, it was very unusual. It was alarming for the students on the bus.”
Callaway described them as “cagey and evasive” as they answered questions.
“The men told authorities they were from Morocco because they worried Americans fear Saudi Arabian men.”“They told authorities they are enrolled at the English Language Institute at the University of South Florida. The defendants gave several versions of the reason they took a school bus to a high school, “ said Callaway.
Excuses changed from their seeking to enroll in an English language program at the high school even though they already were in one at the University of South Florida, to they just wanted see a US high school or just for “fun.”
In 2001, after information came out that most of the hijackers on 9/11 were Saudi nationals, the visas of most Saudi students in US colleges were revoked sending them home. But Almanjam and Alsidran were admitted recently to a US college thanks to the US State Department once again allowing 21,000 Saudi national to flood US campuses after pressure from US colleges seeking Saudi tuition money. That figure is roughly equal to the number here just before 9/11.
These two men were initially charged with trespassing by local prosecutors and already had a bond posted and CAIR to speak on their behalf, but after further deliberations the bond was revoked and Homeland Security has begun investigations into their cell phone communications and documentation (anyone hear the ACLU screaming?). Further interrogations revealed the two had planned the bus invasion the night before and knew what they were doing.
One law enforcement official involved in the case described the two Saudis as “very cocky” in their dealing with authorities. And why shouldn’t they be? Surely someone at State will respond to appeals from the Saudi consulate along with help from CAIR. Meanwhile, the government has scheduled these two Saudi students for an immigration hearing so thankfully they are still in custody in federal lockup and will probably be deported since these aren’t the sons of some fabulously wealthy sheiks.
But don’t bet on it.
Even though they were in the country as “students,” subsequent information has also revealed they were not qualified as such, needing to complete a course in English at FSU to even apply. Apparently the US State Department is so intent on allowing Saudi “students” into the US they are even admitting those ill-equipped to follow a normal required course of study. Perhaps all a Saudi “student” needs to get a State Department visa is the ability to fly an airplane, no need to know how to takeoff or land. As mentioned, several of the hijackers on 9/11 were Saudi “students” who overstayed on student visas. The US State Department just doesn’t get it—or doesn’t want to.
Long trench coats on hot days and heavy sweating are something security forces tell bus drivers to look out for in Israel to prevent suicide bombings on buses. Was this a dry run or an experiment to see how easily access to school buses could be attained? In any event, the government has scheduled these two Saudi students for an immigration hearing With no bail and thankfully they are still in custody in a federal lockup.
The first World Trade Center attack in 1993 proved to al Qaeda and its terror allies the need for preparation and dry runs before launching a successful mission. This event needs to be scrutinized as potential training and preparation for what may lay in store for high schools across the US. Our high schools and children are and will be one of our most vulnerable targets not just by indoctrination in the classrooms and textbooks, but for physical attacks as well in the case of terrorist attacks.
Leave it to the US State Department to leave open any possibility of another 9/11 when it comes to admitting Saudi “students.”
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They apparently picked up this little ruse from the Coneheads.
I remember being at a picnic right before the 2004 election surrounded by typical NJ soccer mom liberals. I was shocked that they all said they were going to vote for W-the reason why-the Chechen school massacre.
This, like the muslim 'musicians' on the cross-country flight, could very well have been a probe to see how authorities reacted. We would be utter fools to not rip apart these guys past to find everyone they have been in contact with for at least the last year. These 'probers' are most likely not connected directly to any terrorist organizations, so that once they are caught, they will generally be freed as what authorities believe as a 'misunderstanding'. The feds better be paying attention to these incidents. The islamo-fascists have already proved that they are patient, and dossiers are being built on incident responses so they will have a general idea about how we will react given a certain incident. And CAIR is doing their job admirably.
FINALLY someone posts the most obvious question!
These fiends are expert at appearing harmless while plotting murder and death.
How does it even remotely look harmless? It looks terrifying. The bus driver should be fired immediately, and every bus driver in the country should have strict orders not to allow any non student on the bus, especially swarthy looking young men wearing trench coats or carrying backpacks.
Agreed RB, but I bet there'd be a lot of "hate crimes" against muslims here at home.
This would be a very very bad thing for Arabs and Muslims living the USA. There is plenty of rope and plenty of lightpoles and being innocent would be no defense...
I dunno. A few, perhaps. But on the whole, we, as Americans know that crimes are commited by individuals and not by ethnic or religious groups, per se. The "hate" crimes would also have to be done by individuals as individuals.........
Maybe local police should hire some thoroughly vetted Saudi police for just this attitude?
Incidents similar to this happen every single day and many of them are NOT innocent or coincidental. The dry runs have been happening regularly since (and obviously before) 9/11 and everyone needs to remain alert.
Whether the State Department will take any action or change any behavior is another matter, but we can certainly handle these situations where we find them.
I know what I'd have done with these two "cocky" Saudi nationals and yeah it might get me a little friction with the locals but what's worse? A bomb on a local school bus?
Cheers,
Lloyd
And wouldn't y'know, Jack Bauer is on a slow boat to china.....
I consider this fair warning. Muslims like playing fair warning games.
I'm glad someone besides me sees that association.
Umm, they probably weren't all the much different in age than the typical high school student. Nor dressed more strangely than many of those.
I would guess there were 40,000 to 50,000 people between the two towers, which had around 10,000,000 square feet or more between them. There were also four other facilities that were part of the complex. It's a miracle that under 2,800 from the towers were killed.
BTTT
Well, when you see the picture of the Saudis, they could be in their late teens. And the detail with the black raincoat makes me think they were trying to look like kids (many of the "goth" kids feature black raincoats as their school gear). Also, the driver was a substitute who didn't know the kids.
"Umm, they probably weren't all the much different in age than the typical high school student."
They look older than high school students to me...but maybe I'm more observant than most. There WAS a substitute driver that day...interestingly enough they boarded on the sub's day.
"One of the guys was wearing shorts with a black trench coat."
Typical high school dress? In Florida? Shorts and a black trench coat typical? No, I don't agree. Surely after Columbine, at the very least, the black trench coat should have set off some alarm...
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