Terrorists attempt fresh wave of US hijackings ("MUST READ" describes recent attempts)

Scotsman ^ | July 23, 2004 | JAMES HALL

[FairOpinion]

"Arafat was a dentist."


And Al Zawahiri, BIn Laden's No. 2 a doctor, I think he was actually a surgeon.

Assad, President of Syria was an optometrist.

Atta was an architect.

Several other terrorists were college educated.

They were/are terrorists nevertheless. Which was your point as well.

[FairOpinion]

TSA probably just doesn't want people to fall asleep at the airport and miss their flights, so they try to keep them alert and doing something -- that's the only reason for the warning, I am sure. (/sarcasm)

[BagCamAddict]

Ok, look... to anyone who believes the story that the Syrians were Musicians. They may have been musicians. But just maybe they weren't:

1. Consider the source: Who was the super-sleuth who supposedly solved the mystery of the Syrian musicians? (I'd look, but I hated the article the first time I read it, so I'm not going to read it again.) Wasn't he some small-time radio disc jockey slash crime reporter slash liberal college student? Why are you people taking HIS word for it vs. all the eyewitness reports of the suspicious behavior? And hello, the FBI interviewed these people for HOURS.

2. Ever heard the term "disinformation" ?? Who is to say our Govt didn't put out the "musicians" story to keep the public from panicking? Has anyone besides Junior Disc Jockey confirmed ANY parts of his story? (Vs. ALL parts of the eyewitness' story have been corroborated.)

3. Nope, we haven't heard the story about the guy trying to break through the lavatory mirror into the cockpit - Why do you suppose that is?? -- Hushing it up so the public doesn't panic.

4. Did you NOT hear the story about the Syrian who WAS arrested at the Minn. airport with a suicide note, anti-American CDs and DVDs, and ties to at least one known terrorist? And did you know that he was caught THE DAY BEFORE Tom Ridge made his most recent (and most ominous) plea to be alert? And if we caught ONE guy, how many more slipped through?

5. And I might as well repeat this one: Terrorists can be musicians too.

6. And this one: YES, the 4 guys that James Woods reported WERE four of the 9-11 hijackers.

7. Terrorists don't necessarily need to be expert, undercover, or keeping a low profile: Did you know Atta and another hijacker abandoned their training plane on the runway and just walked away from it because they were done with it? Did you know Atta and another hijacker tried, separately and together, to get loans for $500k - $650k to start a crop dusting business (and a sugar cane farm), and Atta said to the loan officer, "What would prevent me from coming around your desk and slitting your throat and taking the millions from the vault?"

Oy... no wonder our Country isn't prepared. We have intelligent people on this forum who are looking at everything through rose-colored glasses. Intelligent people who know less than one-tenth of the READILY AVAILABLE information... I shudder to think how much scary information our Security Agencies know about that we NEVER hear about.

And let me throw out one more food for thought: No one thought that both Twin Towers would be removed from this planet by two airplanes. We all watched the second plane hit, we all saw the flames, we all knew thousands were dying. But none of us thought the towers would collapse. We, the general public, WILL be surprised by their next attack, because we simply don't think like they do. Hopefully our Security Agencies won't be surprised.

And like President Bush said, we have to get it right 100% of the time (thwarting the attacks), and they only have to get it right once.

But don't anyone kid themselves, an attack is coming - not if, but when, where, and how???

(Sorry for the extremely long post!)

[John Valentine]

You know, this is getting a bit tiresome, but I'll try to get through to you one more time.


But I have a job and can't spend hours on this stuff.

James Woods saw something on a flight and made a report to the airline and to the FBI.

I suspect that similar reports are filed by the dozens every day.

Will you tell me hbow you would discern between the ones that will turn out in hindsight to have bee crucially important and the ones that will not? And not by after the fact analysis.

You can't, because it is impossible. And to say that the FBI should have or even could have prevented 9/11 on the bsis on James Wood's report is utterly juvenile.

Now, on to the other issue, that somehow I think that passengers should try to simulate sheep on the way to slaughter. No, never. Look at my post 17, addressed to YOU. You must never have read it. I said if err we must, we must err on the side of survival. Do you comprenhend that this means that we report suspcious behavior even if it later turns out to have been innocent?

That's it for me on this thread. Let the insanity rage on with out me.

[EGPWS]

TSA probably just doesn't want people to fall asleep at the airport and miss their flights, so they try to keep them alert and doing something -- that's the only reason for the warning, I am sure. (/sarcasm)

Nor do they want to allow airport workers to lose their vigilance in being alert, proactive, and communicative in their concerns as seen. /No Sarcasm ; )

[BagCamAddict]

It turns out that the FBI did take hinm seriously, and it wasn't.

Oy again. The FBI took Woods' initial report, like they should have done. But did they take it seriously? Did they do any followup? We don't know, but obviously it wasn't enough, whatever it was. They only contacted Woods to go over the information again AFTER 9-11 had happened.

And if the 4 hijackers Woods had reported were given a thorough police check upon touchdown, THEY would have been cleared also, because it was a DRY RUN. They weren't carrying any weapons, and likely they had clean backgrounds and weren't on any terrorist watch lists (because our pre 9-11 watch lists were minimal).

So just because the 14 Syrian "musicians" were cleared after the police checks, doesn't mean it wasn't a DRY RUN and that they're not terrorists.

Do you remember the term "lilly whites"? That means they were recruiting people who have NO criminal background, and NO terrorist ties, and NO way to trace them as being suspicious. ALL 14 of the Syrian "musicians" were cleared with NO criminal backgrounds?? THAT, in itself, is suspicious to me! What are the chances we could get any 14 Freepers together and have ALL 14 completely clear of any criminal activity or police reports? I wouldn't bet a nickle on it.

And who's to say their passports and IDs weren't ALL false, which is why they had NO record of police interaction on ANY of the 14. A band of musicians? Yep, sounds pretty lilly white to me.

[jjames001]

what are the odds of seeing 14 ME men on an airplane, all sitting in different parts. checkin in and out of the toilets. i'm not a racist or paranoid person but if i were to see 14 ME men scouting around, that kinda makes ya think...

[FairOpinion]

The article only says that the pilot and the flight attendant reported Wood's observations to the FAA, but there was no info about whether the FAA did anything with that info.

[John Valentine]

Per you last post.

I agree with every single thing you say. I hope that's not disappointing to you.

[OldFriend]

G-d help us if the american people think Kerry, in concert with France and Germany, will be better able to protect this country.

[John Valentine]

Just one other point again.

What do you think the FBI could have done beyond what they did do?

And in answering this question it's no fair for you to use the knowledge you now have thest these guys turned out to be supremely dangerous.

And keep in mind that Wood's alert is undoubtedly not the ONLY similar report reaching the FBI on any given day.

[stlnative]

Here is the bands website
http://hometown.aol.com/musicaxis/mehana.htm

[stlnative]

http://michellemalkin.com/archives/000252.htm

more info at link above

[OldFriend]

There are far too many people who would rather believe that a group of people travelling together were terrorists and couldn't possibly have an innocent explanation for their activities.

Imagine that, a group of middle easterners getting on a plane in Detroit.

The hyping and the hysteria surrounding this story was so over the top!!!!

[BagCamAddict]

I didn't read your exact article; I'd read earlier versions wherein it was stated that Woods reported it to the FBI. Thus, the FBI being in his driveway after 9-11.

[John Valentine]

Finally, it would be helpful if you read MY posts to find out what I think instead of relying on FairOpinion's recycled version.

[BagCamAddict]

LOL... nope, it's thrilling!

Now if we can just get the 200-million or so uninformed Americans on our wavelength, we might be getting somewhere. ;-)

And your point is a good one, re what do we do with these reports? I guess my only suggestion would be to NOT cover them up, to disseminate this info to the public, so that John Q. American will finally "get it" that we need to be vigilant. The more this stuff is shoved under the rug, the more we're vulnerable. IMHO.

[Joe Hadenuf]

Nope, not true. Turned out to be a group of musicians on their way to a show.

Do you have any idea what it cost for 14 people to fly round trip across this country? And just so they can do a show at a bottom shelf, San Diego dive?

Does Bush have to put up with strange diaperheads wandering around Airforce One at 30,000 feet? Why should he expect any of us to put up with this bull sh*t?

[John Valentine]

...i were to see 14 ME men scouting around, that kinda makes ya think...

Maybe where you live, but in Detroit, you probably could only think that you must be at a street corner. Or the airport.

[BagCamAddict]

What do you think the FBI could have done beyond what they did do?

See my #97.