Posted on 05/30/2007 3:21:49 AM PDT by Sub-Driver
Report confirms terror dry run
By Audrey Hudson THE WASHINGTON TIMES Published May 30, 2007
Download the inspector general report (PDF)
A newly released inspector general report backs eyewitness accounts of suspicious behavior by 13 Middle Eastern men on a Northwest Airlines flight in 2004 and reveals several missteps by government officials, including failure to file an incident report until a month after the matter became public.
According to the Homeland Security report, the "suspicious passengers," 12 Syrians and their Lebanese-born promoter, were traveling on Flight 327 from Detroit to Los Angeles on expired visas. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services extended the visas one week after the June 29, 2004, incident.
The report also says that a background check in the FBI's National Crime Information Center database, which was performed June 18 as part of a visa-extension application, produced "positive hits" for past criminal records or suspicious behavior for eight of the 12 Syrians, who were traveling in the U.S. as a musical group.
In addition, the band's promoter was listed in a separate FBI database on case investigations for acting suspiciously aboard a flight months earlier. He was detained a third time in September on a return trip to the U.S. from Istanbul, the details of which were redacted.
The inspector general criticized the Homeland Security officials for not reporting the incident to the Homeland Security Operations Center (HSOC), which serves as the nation's nerve center for information sharing and domestic incident management.
The report comes three years after the incident, which was not officially acknowledged until a month later, after The Washington Times reported passenger and marshal complaints that the incident resembled a dry run for a terrorist attack. After reviewing the report, air marshals say it confirms their earlier suspicions.
(Excerpt) Read more at washtimes.com ...
The report indicates merely that there was no terrorist acitivity that occurredat that time.
It does not make any evaluation as to where this was a dry run.
It also states that this incident justified the investigation and attention from the appropriate agencies.
Most of the report was an analysis of the handling of the incident by the agencies.
I did find it disturbing that only two of the men in question were interviewed: one, the promoter, who was a US citizen and who acted as the translater for the non-English-speaking musician during his interview by the authorities.
If that isn't the fox guarding the hen-house.....
The link to the report is in post#41: I would say that it was the latter.
It does not comment at all as to whether it was a dry run.
P.S. Links to Women’s Wall Street Journal article in post #44.
Wow. Your comment reads like straight off DU.
No, no, no.
Examine the products in everyone's toiletry bag. If the items are in a clear, quart-sized plastic baggie, then everything's aces. If the products are in a gallon-sized clear plastic baggie, or in no plastic baggie at all, confiscate the products---confiscate hair pomade and shaving cream with extreme prejudice, in fact.
This will ensure our country is kept safe from another terrorist threat via the nation's airways.
Sorry for double post of this article. I goofed. Thanks for poisting this.
This was only released because of FOIA - it was a good thing it was- hopefully somethings can be changed. This is an old report, but at the first release, they redacted everything except 2 sentences, IIRC. What good fortune we haven’t been attacked with these numbskulls in charge.
FYI
It is politically incorrect to defend ourselves and we’d rather endure another serious terrorist attack than be accused of profiling.
After all, it hurts our feelings to have our Miss Universe contestant booed on international TV.
http://209.157.64.200/focus/f-news/1250133/posts What Happened on United Airlines Flight 925? (Terrorists case flight)
It appears they covered this case too (925)
NEW LINK to Flight 925 article: http://www.womenswallstreet.com/columns/column.aspx?aid=713
Even back during the Women’s Wall Street expose on this story, it just doesn’t sound plausible these idiots were terrorists. They’re real musicians, you expect them to be fighters? They’re real musicians, acted eccentric and were probably hung over.
thanks ...unlike many here I like France
“I like France.”
A reference to my FReeper name? I’ve been only to Strasbourg and I loved it there.
Lots of EAEEEEEEH and EEAAAAEEEEEEHHH and strings, IIRC.
John Wilkes Booth was just an eccentric actor.
“We” the people that voted in Bush aren’t to blame... We are called “hysterical” by the Administration enough to imply they are the ones to blame for faulty security (and the liberal mindset rampant in DC and the media).
I agree.
“And the damndest part is that this time we’ll have no one to blame but ourselves.”
Maybe this time we’ll take the Sentries at the Towers out and execute them as we should have done the first time.
If (when) we get hit again, the people to blame are those, who by their official inaction and political correctness, have allowed the enemy through the gate.
They should be treated appropriately.
Thank you for the links Kaslin.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.