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Posted on 05/14/2002 8:25:51 AM PDT by Physicist
A national cable TV news flash yesterday about the arrest of possible terrorists on Whidbey Island sounded explosive:
The FBI and other federal agents were investigating two Middle Eastern men who were arrested in Oak Harbor last Tuesday after police found traces of TNT and plastic explosive in a rental truck they were driving, the Fox News Channel reported.
The fact that Oak Harbor is near Whidbey Island Naval Air Station, home of the electronic warfare Prowler jets, heightened concerns.
But the FBI said last night it had taken a pass on the case, handing it over to immigration officials after further tests for explosives.
"All were negative," said FBI spokeswoman Melissa Mallon.
The two men came to the attention of authorities when an Oak Harbor police officer stopped them shortly after midnight May 7.
"It was a minor speeding violation," said Oak Harbor police Sgt. Bill Russell.
The officer grew suspicious, however, when one of the men produced only an international driver's license and an expired visa and the other could show no ID at all, Russell said.
And while the men said they were in Oak Harbor only to deliver furniture and were on their way back home to Canada, the officer noted that it was after midnight -- an odd hour for such work.
A bomb-sniffing dog was called in.
According to some reports, the dog indicated that it smelled something interesting in the driver's side of the truck cab, though a search turned up nothing suspicious.
Fox reported that a follow-up test had revealed traces of explosives on the steering wheel and gearshift.
However, a law enforcement source told the Post-Intelligencer that the dog and the first round of tests may have picked up nothing more than residue left by a cigarette lighter.
Border Patrol agents took custody of the two men, who claimed to be Israeli citizens, for investigation of immigration violations.
Garrison Courtney, a spokesman for the Immigration and Naturalization Service, last night said he was uncertain about their status.
Whidbey Island residents have been vigilant about possible terrorism since the Sept. 11 attacks, largely because of the island's large military base and proximity to the border.
In the weeks after Sept. 11, Island County locals flooded emergency centers with reports of Canadian truckers who appeared to be of Middle Eastern descent, said Island County Sheriff's spokeswoman Jan Smith.
Smith said delivery trucks from British Columbia routinely pass through the island on their way to the ferry slip at Keystone, a short-cut to the Olympic Peninsula.
She said the trucks are inspected at the Canadian border and are presumed safe.
In October, Island County Sgt. Mike Beech said the reaction "just shows the effect of Sept. 11.
They may have seen that truck or trucker get off the ferry every day -- but now they are more aware of it."
I don't believe it! It appears Free Republic did the noble thing and no longer carries Raimondo's wretched site anymore
Where do I make a donation?
People do not simply go around on interstate trips hauling goods close to the Navy base in U-hauls.
This story has yet to be written. And FBI claims to the contrary about the tests done, there may be more going on here that we know at this point.
The story may be overblown, but since when did it officially turn out to be a total urban myth? There were postings on the official website of the office of counterintelligence warning about spy activity. Fox news reports aside, is the office of counterintelligence and the FBI caught up in an "urban myth" too?
Lol. Actually, Mr. Lied, with your level of inborn distortion I'm sure you have to use one of these freakshow mirrors just to get an approximately symmetrical morning view of your little black moustache :).
I stand by my original theory that these men were attempting to smuggle trace amounts of explosive into the country on a steering wheel.
These guys were patient and determined. They planned to make 10,000 trips with miniscule quantities of explosives dusted on the steering wheels of several thousand trucks, hiding their trace amounts of cargo in diverse locations in the greater Seattle area. When they had enough, they planned to detonate each stash and there was be thousands of tiny explosions all over the city. We infidels would be filled with thousands of tiny pangs of terror!! :)
Almost verbatim what I said in post #29.
Look, I'm not saying that there wasn't probable cause to pull these guys over, or that they shouldn't have their butts shipped overseas on the first flight (although terrorism it ain't: the FBI really has passed on the case). My objection was that this story was used as a pretext for terrormongering, and for demonizing whatever ethnic group could be made to fit.
On NOW at RadioFR!
7pm/10pm - The "Banana Republican", our own Luis Gonzalez, has a spirited interview with...none other than JACK THOMPSON!
This is a CALL IN SHOW! Talk to BATMAN JACK THOMPSON!
1-866-RadioFR! (866-723-4637)
You are so naive. The steering wheels and gear shifts were the targets! Imagine, 10,000 trucks on American highways, when suddenly BANG! They can neither steer nor shift into a safer gear. The brake pedals were probably sabotaged, too. The resulting accidents would have bankrupted our insurance industry, and sent our premiums through the roof.
...Damn Ethiopians with their Israeli passports...
I am tolerant but when religious beliefs lead to a political agenda of bringing on 'Armageddon' I think they should be exposed, criticized, and opposed.
Aha! I hadn't thought of that, but it makes perfect sense! Those clever fellows are always outwitting us with these clever and oh-so-sinister plans....
next they'll be smuggling trace amounts of terrorists accross the border to slowly build up an army of tiny jihadists. Be afraid. Be very afraid :)
And how exactly did you come to the conclusion, they 'had to be Jews' and not Israeli Arabs? How would you be privy to that information? Or did you just assume they were Jews? They could have been Arab Israelis. Why did that possibility bother you so much? You should have quit while you were ahead, Mr. Lied, and not responded to me at all.
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