Posted on 01/05/2002 1:56:21 AM PST by ImphClinton
N E W Y O R K, Jan. 4 — An American Airlines passenger says he believes an Arab-American Secret Service agent who was kicked off a Christmas Day flight was targeted because of his ethnicity.
"I feel he was most likely removed from the plane — obviously I wasn't privy to the paperwork or that he was a Secret Service [agent] or such — but I think he fit a profile," the passenger, Mark Pueschel, said today on ABCNEWS' Good Morning America.
Pueschel had been seated next to the agent as the American Airlines flight prepared to take off from Baltimore to Dallas. The agent, who was armed, was on his way to work at President Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas. He was removed from the flight after the captain questioned the validity of his credentials.
Pueschel contacted the Council of Arab-American Relations after seeing a press release on the incident.
Bush 'Madder Than Heck' If Discrimination Seen
Bush told reporters last week he would be "madder than heck" if a government inquiry into the incident found that one of his Secret Service protectors was the victim of discrimination.
The agent demanded an apology from the airline through his attorneys at a news conference Thursday. The agent, whose identity has not been released, did not attend because he was on a security detail and not available for comment in person, his attorneys said. They read a statement in which he said he did not have a vendetta against American Airlines.
"It has never been my desire to make this incident personal," the statement said. "This case is only about the facts. I love my job, and I want to thank my fellow agents for all their support. God bless America."
American Airlines officials have said the agent was removed at the pilot's request because of "inconsistencies" in the paperwork he filed that is required of all federal agents flying on commercial airlines. Religion and ethnicity, American Airlines said, had nothing to do with his removal.
The pilot also released a statement saying the agent was "confrontational" and "abusive."
Christy Lopez, an attorney for the agent, said the agent was a victim of discrimination: "We believe the captain is using that as an excuse for taking him off the plane, but it is quite clear he took him off the plane for other reasons."
The agent has not ruled out filing a lawsuit against American Airlines, Lopez said. He still seeks an amicable resolution of the incident, but he wants airline officials to review their practices so no one else is victimized, she said.
Airline Calls Accusation 'Frivolous'
In a statement, American Airlines called the agent's claims "frivolous" and supported the pilot's actions, saying they were based on concerns for the security and safety of the passengers and crew.
"American carries out its security obligations according to the guidelines provided by the federal government," the airline's statement said. "Those guidelines are applied equally among all passengers, and the company vigorously resents any suggestion of racial discrimination."
One ringy dingy...two ringy dingy .... LOL!!
One ringy dingy...two ringy dingy .... LOL!!
He was thinking of his conversations with this agent. This Agent had been guarding the President for nearly two years. Remember GW was guarded while he ran for President as well. GW knew this agent well and this is why he said what he said.
Quote me where he has been wrong on substance on anything that mattered.
American Airlines and this Pilott are in heap big trouble.
But I have two other questions. One: Did the agent pull a Rep. Issa and get to airport late enough so that a check was difficult to do?
And two, if the agent was stopped by problems with his paperwork, his gun et al. at the gate, how the dickens did the agent get by the screeners?
The foolishness was the Pilot not doing the one ringy two ringy dingy thing. He didn't even attempt to verify this man's authenticity. It is even more foolish to think he couldn't have contacted the White House had he wanted to.
Again the Pilot had an agenda not the Agent.
Try picking up the phone and calling the White House and asking about a Secret Service agent. Please post the answer you get and the amount of time it takes, starting with when you begin to look for the phone number.
Lets see 1411 Hello please give me the number for the USSS and patch me through. Hello this is Captain ? at BWI and I am trying to verify a Secret Agent on my flight. Sir would you please give me your airline and gate number so I can have an appropriate agent call you back.
I agree they would not give this information over the phone unless they initialized the call. They also might well have had another Agent at the Airport they could have sent over to check out the situation.
The pilot made a decision based on his instincts and the people who don't sit in his seat have turned it into a circus.
No real harm was done; the agent is an ass and the pilot is probably sorry he didn't call-in sick that day, but no amount of talking is going to undo it and the next time a pilot is suspicious of a passenger, he will see this script in his head, he may make the politically proper response rather than take the immediately cautious route.
I think this could have been handled in a way where everybody came out looking good, the feds saying, "Hey, the pilot's headsup on this," the pilot saying, "I'm going to take this agent out to dinner the next time he's in town," and the media staging a photo-op with the agent and the pilot shaking hands like old buddies.
Well, ABC is the source, and how would it look to them if they gave more credence to the airline that the minority?
Christy Lopez, an attorney for the agent, said the agent was a victim of discrimination: "We believe the captain is using that as an excuse for taking him off the plane, but it is quite clear he took him off the plane for other reasons."
So is she saying that he was abusive but that was not relevant?
I'm with AA on this. This article is horribly biased. Why would they get a passenger who has no facts about the situtation except his opinion to bolster their story?
I've been trying to find an email contact for ABCnews.com - if anyone knows it, please post it.
Got it off the net Couldn't find the phone book. I seldom use it anyway. Another poster said these number were on page one of every phone book he had ever seen.
He watched five passengers leave the plane all Arabs. He is not Arab and knew none of the Arabs removed. Furthermore this Agent is not releasing everything to the public. He has nothing to hide. His supervisor has not come forward and will not except in court. His President has vouched for him however and that would be enough for me in and of it's self. I have never heard GW misstate anything. GW had this man guarding him for the last two years. I believe the President.
None of American Airlines story makes any sense to me.
Bush is SO concerned with not hurting a Muslim's feelings that it's ridiculous. And as it's starting to show, the public is wholeheartedly buying into the notion that it's evil -- even now in this post-9/11 environment -- to try to protect the public through the use of common sense.
MM
I urge you to seek professional help before you snap and kill us all
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