They seemed like pretty calm, normal people to me... I felt that Pete Williams was a little too quick to give them the FBI's brushoff. Williams didn't have much to say other than that the plane called ahead about potentially suspicious behavior and that the guys were interviewed, cooperative, and released.
I found glaringly absent from Williams' report information such as whether the flight attendants corroborated this story to the FBI (Annie claims they have), where this large 14-piece Syrian band was playing (other than "a gig in L.A." -- I want specifics, someone went to a lot of expense to transport a band that large), etc. It's just all a little bit too neat and tidy. I have a feeling that the FBI wants this to go away. The question is...why.
Until we start racially profiling we won't be safe and since that is NOT going to happen we are not going to be safe. If I get on a plane and a bunch of arabs are all nodding to each other I am getting the *^&* off the plane!
Williams also said the FBI pointed out that the Syrians had been screened at the airport...
So...yeah, what about that? We hear stories all the time about things getting past security. Annie noted that they ate with metal silverware themselves and weren't re-screened. And what about the stories I read about the idea that people could bring small components for bombs on that one at a time would make it through screening, that could be put together for a bomb.
And why didn't Williams or Scarborough mention the fact that we know now that the 9/11 hijackers did dry runs, as witnessed by James Woods?
There's an ex-FBI guy on now saying the FBI checked them all thoroughly and it was a false alarm... Well, what about the observations of the rest of the people on the plane? I want to know about that. He doesn't believe it could be a dry run? Why is he so quick to assume it was a big nothing?
Agree - totally rational IMHO. I want the details of what they were doing as well. Did they actually play the gig or not? Why haven't we gotten more post-flight specifics?
Definitely a whitewash with Pete Williams parroting of the FBI cover story. And the they didn't know the details about all the screening the Syrians went through. Definitely a whitewash. Important people wanted this story to go away quietly and most of the big media obliged including Drudge and Fox News.
I too found Pete Williams' completely lacking on this story.
No follow up on any of the statements made other than to suggest that the Syrians were screened pre-boarding and that he (Williams) didn't find anyone who believes this was a dry run.
Translation: No one who knows anything would talk to me.