FBI interviews nurse who reported seeing two suspects on ferry "with large, heavy box"

National Post ^ | 12/31/02 | Adrian Humphreys, Ian Bailey, Heather Sokoloff

[concerned about politics]

Political correctness may destroy this country. Thanks to the progressive regressive, leftist DNC Clintonian's. And the irony is as we read this this very second the DEMOKRATS are freaking CAMPAIGNING to run this country 100%!!!

I don't know which is worse. Democrat terrorists attacking from within, or Muslim terrorists attacking from without. Either way, their goal to destroy America is the same.

[Dave S]

USA politicians should get their share of the blame as well. Refusing to put the military on the USA borders for the last 10-15 years is inexcusable.

So you think that the military could have prevented five guys from making it into this country along a several thousand mile border? They are reported to have crossed the border in a car at a normal border crossing point, how would the military out in the North Dakota woods have prevented them from crossing?

When there is a will, there is a way. I guess you are too young to remember the 60's. People escaped from East Berlin all the time, even though they had to cross a heavily guarded border that was mined, had multiple sets of barbwire fencing, with a machine gun nest every few hundred yards. Putting military on the Mexican border might hinder the flow of every day immigrants, might even raise the cost of drugs but would not stop the entry of dedicated terrorists.

[Sal]

On my first read through this two things bothered me a lot: 1) On their trip through there with "the box", they drew unnecessary attention to themselves by taking all those photos. 2) They struggled the heavy box into a van right in front of everybody. Why wouldn't the box already be in the van?

Then I read more carefully and saw: ...because she is sure they are the men she saw on her Dec. 10 trip.

Now if the Dec. 10 trip was a trial run--which we know they do--they may have been deliberately acting suspiciously while moving a boxed up sink or something in order to embarrass any authorities who might "harass" them into opening the box. If nobody bothers them even with the double notice-me dance, then it's full speed ahead for the real thing.

We've read loads of reports of ME men taking copious pictures on the ferries--and NOT tourist type photos. I just don't think you draw that much attention to yourself while you're executing the real plan and carrying the real goods. I hope they didn't do the real deal Christmas eve. Air, land and sea--I agree.

[princess leah]

If I was a border guard, I would AUTOMATICALLY pull every ARAB/MIDDLE EASTERNER ASIDE and DO A CHECK...THIS goes for ALL GREEN CARDS, VISAS, etc! How hard could it be to run a name check through an FBI scanner (which they should have at every location)! If the people are pissed off ~ too BAD! We're PISSED off at them...

[mhking]

Aren't those missing "suitcase" nukes about that size described by the nurse?

Yup. Now the question becomes, where were they going?

[DaughterOfAnIwoJimaVet]

I love Larry's. : )

[Dog]

Stay safe..

[Dave S]

I still think the best target in the whole area is the Needle downtown.

Especially since Al Qaeda seems to like to return to the same target until they get the job done. Wasnt the needle reportedly one of their targets around the Millenium when the guy got caught planning to bomb LAX?

[dozer7]

yours -Candidly, I'm not sure how good the military would be on our borders. I think we'd be better off with a beefed-up Border
Patrol presence : mainly because that's what they are trained and tasked for.

mine - My sons are in the Marine Corps, an old family tradition, and we have had a few conversations over the holidays about the subject of military on the borders. My advice to them is this - you can be a Marine or a policeman not both to be both is to be dead. Take it to the bank.

best regards

the dozer

[mhking]

How manyillegal poured in from the south in the last 5 days ?

I'm sorry - I'm no fan (as most here already know) of illegals streaming in from south of the border. But I'd much rather be here to argue the point two weeks from now than to be picking up the pieces and mourning friends and family because we ignored the northern border and an AQ suicide squad got in and made a mess of things.

You want to discuss illegal immigration, then welcome to FR - pick a thread where it's being discussed. This is not the one to do it in.

[Mad_Tom_Rackham]

[After the ferry arrived, she said another man, whom she now believes was Mr. Pervez, was taking photographs of the facility with a digital camera he held at chest height. "He continued to take photographs of the entrance to the ferry terminal, the ticket area and baggage area and escalator. He photographed the entire area -- and a tourist would just not want photos of that for souvenirs," she said...."It was pouring rain and I thought, Why is he photographing the entrance to the ferry? It was unnerving to watch. He must have taken, easily, two dozen photographs...."]

This sounds exactly like a report earlier this year from San Francisco, of a number of ME males riding the ferry all day, taking pictures of everything in site. This was reported to the police by a number of passengers who felt it was odd, and who also reported their "cold staring menacing" appearance. The face of evil walking around among us.

["He then, together with another fellow, lifted a fairly large container -- about three feet by four feet -- into a van....The box bothered me because of the way it was wrapped and also the unusual size. It was poorly and cheaply wrapped. It looked like it was cardboard and wrapped in wrinkled brown paper and duct tape. I just found it odd. It took two of them to get it into the van."]

Guns. Bombs. I believe that waterfront tourist areas have definitely been targeted for attack. Large numbers of people entertaining themselves and enjoying life, high visibility, high profile. God damn these monsters.

[rs79bm]

Well, I don't think that box was carrying there luggage. It more than likely was explosives, or ...gasp... something worse.

[Dave S]

I live only a few miles away from where these A-Rabs were seen with that box, so I'm a little nervous as well. The Seattle area is a prime target for nuclear terrorism, for a few reasons: 1) It's only a short distance away from a particularly porous part of the border. 2) The police up here are politically correct beyond one's most nightmarish imaginings, and are very hesitant to apprehend people who fit terrorist profiles.

Seems like these could be reasons that Seattle area could remain safe. Why would Al Qaeda deliberately pollute their easiest route of entry into the US?

[Mr. Mojo]

Long lines to get on the ferry boats are legendary up here, and you wouldn't believe the number of suspicious looking people driving suspicious vehicles - U-Hauls, etc. - who get right on those boats without a second glance from "security."

[isthisnickcool]

All of out efforts and all of our assets should be focused on controlling our borders. It's the "bad guys" from outside that are going to kill us by using some very nasty device or chemical/bio materials.

We have a huge problem. And frankly, there is little chance of us doing too much about it. Our borders are wide open. I'm in Texas and over the Christmas holidays huge numbers of Mexican illegals stream over the border into Mexico for Christmas. After Christmas, they stream right back in. And we let them because we really have little choice.

Another issue. Look at how many things we import. Especially from China. Imagine a major port being taken out by whatever means. Then we would have to hand check all that stuff from China and elsewhere? Every container? Every piece of merchandise? So much for cheap imports! Oh, "but we could start making things here in America instead?" Not so fast. We exported too much manufacturing offshore. Bad news.

We may have some wild times coming. I hope not. But we are Americans and we will find our way. I know that.

[lonestar]

The suspicious characters were last seen in a Washington high school along with Sen. Patty Murray, (D), explaining to students why they praise Allah and love and respect OBL.

[Mr. Mojo]

Seems like these could be reasons that Seattle area could remain safe. Why would Al Qaeda deliberately pollute their easiest route of entry into the US?

Because if they successful nuke a major U.S. city and end up destroying our economy as a result (and make no mistake, our economy would be dust after that), there job would be pretty much complete.

[Mr. Mojo]

there = their

[isthisnickcool]

You want to discuss illegal immigration, then welcome to FR - pick a thread where it's being discussed. This is not the one to do it in.

Huh? The poster makes a very good point. It's the fact that anyone can cross the border from Mexico that is important. And this would not be the case if we did not allow illegals to do so. Illegal immigration is very important to this discussion and should be part of this thread.

[DaughterOfAnIwoJimaVet]

She lives on Whidbey? Hmmmmm...I wonder if she's nervous about riding the ferry in light of this news of suspicious-looking men photographing the docks and terminals.


Main Entry: iro·ny
Pronunciation: 'I-r&-nE also 'I(-&)r-nE
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural -nies
Etymology: Latin ironia, from Greek eirOnia, from eirOn dissembler
Date: 1502
1 : a pretense of ignorance and of willingness to learn from another assumed in order to make the other's false conceptions conspicuous by adroit questioning -- called also Socratic irony
2 a : the use of words to express something other than and especially the opposite of the literal meaning b : a usually humorous or sardonic literary style or form characterized by irony c : an ironic expression or utterance
3 a (1) : incongruity between the actual result of a sequence of events and the normal or expected result (2) : an event or result marked by such incongruity b : incongruity between a situation developed in a drama and the accompanying words or actions that is understood by the audience but not by the characters in the play -- called also dramatic irony, tragic irony