Mark Steyn -- Mohammed Atta and his federal loan officer

National Post (Toronto) ^ | June 10, 2002 | Mark Steyn

[Crowcreek]

" A stump- toothed Appalachian mountain man would get slung out on his ear

Actually, a regular white guy in a plaid shirt would have been hauled into jail for harrassing a Gov't. employee.

[Donald Stone]

Bump!!!!!

[hellinahandcart]

Mr. Atta swung by in May, 2000, and Ms. Bryant remembers quite a bit about it. "At first," she says, "he refused to speak with me," on the grounds that she was, in his words, "but a female." After he'd reiterated the point, she pulled rank: "I told him that if he was interested in getting a farm-service agency loan in my servicing area, then he would need to deal with me." Throughout the hour-long interview, he continued to dismiss her as "but a female."

What is WITH this woman? The first time he tried that line on me I would have told him "Fine, go back to the END of the line and take your chances that a man will be available when you get to the front again".

And when he made the remark about slashing throats I would have had him thrown out.

I repeat, what's WITH these people? They seem willing to endure any amount of abuse while they're giving away OUR MONEY to non-citizens; do they get a commission or something?

[3AngelaD]

This needs to change. Has anyone heard a politician saying this is a bad idea, or supporting it? The universities like it because it gets them money. Someone needs to pull the plug on this one. Why should American taxpayers support even well meaning foreign students, let alone those who are out to destroy us? Next town meeting with my congressman, I think I'll do a little research and then bring this up.

[dennisw]

If you want on or off me Israel/MidEast ping list please let me know. Via Freepmail is best way.............

[3AngelaD]

When he made the remark about cutting throats, I would have taken it as a threat, pushed the panic button under my desk and started screaming for security. If the USDA moron had done those things, perhaps he would have been arrested and detained, and perhaps history would have been changed. The woman is not only stupid, but culpable.

[Alouette]

Why do I believe that this woman made up huge parts of this story in order to get her 15 minutes?

[Kermit]

"I don't know whether to laugh or to strangle somebody."

Hmmmm, you could do both at the same time. Try out my evil laugh and see how it fits. Bwwwuuaaaaahahahahahahhaaaaaaaaa! Pretty good, huh?;^)

[philosofy123]

a culture sensitivity-trained into a coma

[philosofy123]

I had a similar feeling. It is difficult to think that this guy was that stupid, and this lady was that dumb!

[KSCITYBOY]

bump

[dead]

There is a sort of "Alice in Wonderland" quality to it.

You are so cultured.

I was thinking “The Three Stooges” with that fat lady they always abused as the loan official.

The clever disguise was the clincher.

[VRWC_minion]

The sad thing is if she attempted to report this to the FBI even today someone would politely take a message and then file it in a kook file.

[dead]

Has anyone determined WHY these guys needed a loan to pull off these schemes? All published reports indicate that money was never a problem.

I honestly believe they were going for “style points” with that idea.

Getting the government to buy the planes would have added such a “Stupid America!” panache to the whole effort.

[VRWC_minion]

Has anyone determined WHY these guys needed a loan to pull off these schemes?

But money transfered would be traced back to its source. A federal loan would circumvent the need to hide the money trail and increase secrecy.

[Phlap]

Rainbow Bump!

[My Identity]

they don't have a big 'T' on their forehead

No?
He mentioned al Qaeda
He mentioned Osama bin Laden
He boasted about the role that they would one day play
He refused to speak with Bryant, called her "but a female" in disgust.
He asked what would prevent him from cutting Bryant's throat.
He asked what would prevent him from stealing money from her safe.
He asked "How would America like it if another country destroyed Washington, DC
like the cities in his country had been destroyed?"
He asked about security specifically for the World Trade Center
He said bin Laden "would someday be known as the world's greatest leader."

"I didn't know who Osama bin Laden was - He could have been a character
on Star Wars for all I knew."

I guess ignorance is no barrier to getting a job with the US govt.

"I felt that he was trying to make the cultural leap from the country that he came from"

Multicultural PC groupthink!

The terrorists may not have a "T" on their forehead,
but bureaucrats sure should have a "B" on theirs.

[Sloth]

Great article. Expresses eloquently the vague impressions I got when I originally read this woman's account.

[Snake65]

I honestly believe they were going for “style points” with that idea.

You nailed it, bro.

[Brian Allen]

The clever disguise was the clincher.

But the Absolute best place to hide something FRom the most people is right out in the open where everyone can see it.

[Just ask any KKKlinton or Lee Kwan Yew!]