Free Republic

A secret federal investigation has been launched into alarming events on a now-infamous domestic flight last June when a group of passengers claimed that some Syrians were conducting a dry run for a terror attack or hijacking. Annie Jacobsen, who first came forward with details of disturbing behaviour by the 14 Syrians on Northwest Flight 327, from Detroit to Los Angeles, has been interviewed about events on the flight by four officials from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). They flew from Chicago to Los Angeles to talk to her, she said last week, even though she was three days...

No one yet has the full story on the infamous June 29 Northwest Airlines Flight #327 from Detroit to Los Angeles, on which thirteen Syrian musicians acted so suspiciously that passenger and WomensWallStreet.com writer Annie Jacobsen feared she was about to be killed by terrorists. The identity of the band remained unknown for a while until I identified them as the backup band for Canaanite crooner Nour Mehana, whom I dubbed the "Syrian Wayne Newton." Regardless of the behavior of Nour Mehana's band, Ms. Jacobsen's story has focused international attention on the very serious issue of terrorists sizing up our...

For much of the past month a fight has been raging in news reports and over the Internet about the behavior of 14 male Middle Eastern passengers on Northwest Airlines Flight 327 from Detroit to Los Angeles. Were the men terrorists casing the plane for a possible attack, as freelance journalist Annie Jacobsen suspected in a long article about the incident? Or were they, as the men said and federal investigators later concluded, a Syrian band on their way to a gig? Until now, news accounts have only featured government spokesmen or airline personnel who were not actually on the...

Continuing Questions About Flight By JOE SHARKEY Published: August 3, 2004 ne of the major remaining questions about Northwest Airlines Flight 327 on June 29 from Detroit to Los Angeles - the flight that was met by federal agents and local police responding to a possible terrorist incident - is this: Did, as a passenger reported, 7 of the 13 Syrian musicians whose behavior was terrifying some passengers stand up in unison and take strategic positions by the lavatories and the exit door during final approach to Los Angeles, an act that would have been a frighteningly overt and unambiguous...

It's been two-and-a-half weeks since the first "Terror in the Skies, Again?" article was posted on WomensWallStreet.com and subsequently set off an international debate.  From the cockpit to the coffee shop, from the water coolers to the halls of Congress, countless numbers of people have been talking -- and shouting -- about this article.  It seems that anyone who reads the article develops a strong opinion, which in turn creates more questions.  Flight #327 has opened Pandora's box.Last week, when the name of the band was revealed (Syrian singer Nour Mehana) one side shouted: See, we told you so!  Then,...

The Washington Times www.washingtontimes.com Ignoring security threatsPublished July 29, 2004 The Homeland Security Department reversed itself yesterday, announcing that all 14 Syrian musicians who exhibited bizarre, menacing behavior on a flight from Detroit to Los Angeles last month were legally in the United States after all. DHS blames the confusion about the visa status on Immigration and Customs Enforcement employees.     The flip-flop by DHS is just the latest odd twist in a story that raises troubling questions about the ability of our immigration authorities and airline security apparatus to keep potentially dangerous people off passenger planes.     Let's review what...

Government officials are questioning a passenger's account of alarming and suspicious behavior by Syrian musicians aboard a recent flight to Los Angeles, although a second passenger has corroborated the events.     The second passenger, a frequent business traveler who asked not to be identified, provided a copy of her itinerary confirming she was on the June 29 Northwest Airlines Detroit-to-Los Angeles Flight 327, which was disrupted by 14 Syrian passengers later identified as musicians.     The passenger, who was riding in first class, said the constant foot traffic and strange behavior she witnessed in the front cabin frightened her as much as...

The Syrian singer of a band that was detained by the FBI's Terrorism Task Force for suspicious activity during a recent flight to Los Angeles has written about the "glorification" of suicide bombers to liberate Palestine. Singer Nour Mehana's latest album includes the song "Um El Shaheed," or "Mother of a Martyr," said Aluma Dankowitz of the Middle East Media Research Institute

Washington Times Article