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Underwear bomber picked Detroit because it was cheapest flight
AP via NY Post ^ | 3/24/2011 | AP

Posted on 03/24/2011 12:29:08 PM PDT by Qbert

WASHINGTON — When an admitted al Qaeda operative planned his itinerary for a Christmas 2009 airline bombing, he considered launching the strike in the skies above Houston or Chicago, The Associated Press has learned. But tickets were too expensive, so he refocused the mission on a cheaper destination: Detroit.

The decision is among new details emerging about one of the most sensational terrorism plots to unfold since President Obama took office. It shows that al Qaeda's Yemen branch does not share Osama bin Laden's desire to attack symbolic targets, preferring instead to strike at targets of opportunity. Like the plot that nearly blew up U.S.-bound cargo planes last year, the cities themselves didn't matter. It's a strategy that has helped the relatively new group quickly become the No. 1 threat to the United States.

(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...


TOPICS: Government; News/Current Events; US: Michigan; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: abdulmutallab; alqaeda; detroit; motorcity; underwearbomber; yemen
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1 posted on 03/24/2011 12:29:17 PM PDT by Qbert
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To: Qbert

He wanted a little extra in his pocket after he blew himself up?


2 posted on 03/24/2011 12:30:47 PM PDT by Mr. Bird
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To: Qbert

Maybe he thought he was going to survive and knew underwear was cheap in Detroit....


3 posted on 03/24/2011 12:32:38 PM PDT by illiac (If we don't change directions soon, we'll get where we're going)
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To: Mr. Bird
He wanted a little extra in his pocket after he blew himself up?

Obviously never heard that you can't take it with you.

4 posted on 03/24/2011 12:32:51 PM PDT by K-Stater
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To: Qbert

Lucky Detroit


5 posted on 03/24/2011 12:33:52 PM PDT by Tennessee Nana
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To: Qbert

The only problem with blowing up Detroit is how would you know the difference?


6 posted on 03/24/2011 12:35:59 PM PDT by fhayek
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To: fhayek

The only city where bombing would actually improve it.


7 posted on 03/24/2011 12:38:33 PM PDT by dfwgator
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To: Qbert

I guess he wasn’t going 1st class.
I wonder who got his frequent flyer miles?.................


8 posted on 03/24/2011 12:38:53 PM PDT by Red Badger (How can anyone look at the situation in Libya and be for gun control is beyond stupid. It's suicide.)
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To: Tennessee Nana

“Lucky Detroit”

Strange that he didn’t even know that Dearborn, a suburb of Detroit, has the largest Muslim population in the US.


9 posted on 03/24/2011 12:39:28 PM PDT by Qbert ("I seem to smell the stench of appeasement in the air" - Margaret Thatcher)
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To: Qbert

We need to ban cheap flights. It never would have happened if not for the availability of cheap flights.

(do I need a sarc tag?)


10 posted on 03/24/2011 12:40:20 PM PDT by Domandred (Fdisk, format, and reinstall the entire .gov system.)
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To: Domandred

The airlines need to start charging $100 per bomb.


11 posted on 03/24/2011 12:43:00 PM PDT by dfwgator
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To: Qbert

Bogus story. I say this is an attempt to claim this was NOT a terrorist plot by a well funded group. He was own his own and was not helped. Later in the story they talk about how well organized the terrorist group is how much expertise some members have. They would have flow him anywhere they wanted him to go.


12 posted on 03/24/2011 12:47:05 PM PDT by ThomasThomas (Amnesia Deja Vu, I think I forgot this before.)
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To: dfwgator

They need to start checking Islamics for junk bombs...


13 posted on 03/24/2011 12:48:37 PM PDT by Tennessee Nana
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To: dfwgator

LOL! More for carry ons!


14 posted on 03/24/2011 1:12:09 PM PDT by mlocher (Is it time to cash in before I am taxed out?)
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To: Qbert

I see a government subsidy for disadvantaged terrorists coming.


15 posted on 03/24/2011 1:13:49 PM PDT by Navy Patriot (Sarah and the Conservatives will rock your world.)
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BREAKING NEWS: Detroit was just hit by a 7.2 earthquake. Early estimates are nearly $75 million in improvements.


16 posted on 03/24/2011 1:19:24 PM PDT by eureka! (Tea Party = Real Americans' ACORN --the ground game will save us.)
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To: eureka!

Yeah. The one city that could use a tsunami for the purposes of civic improvement.


17 posted on 03/24/2011 1:25:31 PM PDT by EternalVigilance (Pay heed to your principled position and you won't have to worry about your political position.)
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To: fhayek
"The only problem with blowing up Detroit is how would you know the difference?"

LOL! I was thinking other than Arabs who live in Detroit who would be on that flight in the first place...

18 posted on 03/24/2011 1:51:56 PM PDT by red tie
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To: dfwgator

You’ve obviously never been to Blythe, CA.


19 posted on 03/24/2011 1:59:18 PM PDT by libstripper
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To: red tie

In Scary Movie IV, they spoofed War of the Worlds. The reporter in the news van shows the Tom Cruise character “before” and “after” photos of Detroit. The only difference is that the after photos have Martian machines.


20 posted on 03/24/2011 2:07:11 PM PDT by massgopguy (I owe everything to George Bailey)
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