Posted on 01/09/2002 3:39:27 AM PST by Byron_the_Aussie
US President George W. Bush is sceptical about American Airlines' claim that it removed an Arab-American agent in Bush's security team from a plane for being "hostile".
"I know the man, I am most appreciative of his service to me and my wife. He is an honorable fellow," Bush said.
"I would be surprised if he was hostile."
The US Secret Service, which is responsible for presidential security, said in late December it had launched an inquiry into why the agent, headed to Texas to protect a holidaying Bush, was removed from the aircraft.
The agent, speaking through his lawyers, said he was barred from the Baltimore (Maryland) to Dallas (Texas) flight because of his ethnicity, amid fears sparked by the September 11 terrorist strikes.
"If he was mistreated because of his ethnicity, I'm going to be plenty hot. That means angry," Bush said.
But he added: "I wasn't there, so it's hard for me to comment on something which I did not see."
His dad hadn't gone grocery shopping either and the bar code scanner he saw at check-out showed how out of touch he was with everyday life.
Apparently, this is a misconception. See http://www.snopes2.com/history/american/bushscan.htm. "Bob Graham of NCR, who demonstrated the scanner technology for President Bush, said, 'It's foolish to think the president doesn't know anything about grocery stores. He knew exactly what I was talking about.' "
The country wanted to believe that Bush was out of touch, so they jumped on a non-story. Must've shocked ol' George Sr., who was mostly just being polite. But...that's politics.
I have no idea, Cachelot. CAIR are perhaps the guy's only option to get the issue into the popular conscience.
Am I right in guessing SS agents can't talk to the press?
Well said.
Bush Speaks on Agent Barred From Air
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush (news - web sites) said Monday he would be surprised if the Arab-American Secret Service agent who was removed from a flight on Christmas Day was ``hostile,'' as American Airlines says.
``I know the man, I am most appreciative of his service to me and my wife. He is an honorable fellow,'' Bush told reporters in the Oval Office.
``I would be surprised if he was hostile,'' Bush said. ``But I wasn't there, so it's hard for me to comment on something which I did not see.''
Bush said he looked forward to the results of an investigation into the incident.
``If he was mistreated because of his ethnicity, I'm going to be plenty hot. That means angry,'' Bush said.
The armed agent was barred from a flight at the Baltimore-Washington International Airport. He was flying to Waco, Texas, to join the security detail protecting Bush.
The pilot described the man as acting ``very hostile'' and making ``loud, abusive comments.'' American Airlines chief executive Don Carty said over the weekend he backed the pilot's decision to remove the agent.
Lawyers representing the agent say he was cooperative, calm and professional throughout the encounter, and they suggest he was a victim of discrimination.
Probably. Which makes it even more odd that an SS agent should talk to an organization associated with known terrorist groups.
What I suspect (but can't prove) is that this was a CAIR initiated op in the first place, designed to start a process leading to an easing of the American security measures implemented after 911.
NOW, we're getting to the root of the problem. With the Feds terrorising the public into staying at home, or driving, who needs an actual attack? I think half the problem is overlapping bureaus and agencies, all of whom are in massive CYA mode since 911 slipped through to the catcher. No-one dares judge even the most infinitesimal threat as not worth publicising. Meantime Americans are hitting the (perhaps unfamiliar) highway in unprecedented numbers. That really will put people in the morgue.
Thank you so much for the adult look into how you express yourself. Much appreciated.
No way. They don't come less PC than me. How is it PC, to oppose Big Media milking post-911 hysteria, for every ratings point? Or Big Government, using the attack to further their 'right' (and let's face it, it is now a right) to intrude into American's lives on the grounds that only they can protect you? When in September they failed, utterly? Think it through, because there's nothing PC about my argument.
Nukem
Lemme ask you something, Zorobabel.
OBL has been around for ten years and he's pulled off a string of evilly inventive and creative attacks on US assets both at home and abroad. He's never used the same attack method twice. And no-one foresaw the WTC attacks; no-one. Even now, they don't know whether they got him, or whether he escaped unscathed.
So knowing all that, do you really think that a bunch of Arab terrorists are going to walk into an airport and try to board a plane? Or do you think, on the basis of all the precedents, that if there is to be another attack it will come completely out of left field, like all the others?
The pilot was there - he did see.
'A civil rights organization is demanding Northwest Airlines apologize for allegedly forcing a Muslim high school student to remove her head scarf at an airport security checkpoint. In a letter to the Minnesota-based carrier, the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations said Monday the Dec. 18 incident was an example of religious harassment and an equivalent of a public strip search. The council is asking the airline to investigate the incident at Baltimore-Washington International Airport and discipline the security guard.'
CAIR again. Busy, busy, busy. And people whine about the ADL.
We are not trying to hold all Arabs personally responsible for the terrorists.
However, the Moslem religion has proved itself to be a bastion for the terrorist. A religion that treats it's women at best as second class citizens and as slaves in some countries in definitely breeding grounds for abnormal behavior. Moslem families disown family members who want to leave the Moslem faith and have been known to murder members that do leave. They put death sentences on an author who writes about their religion and no Moslem spokeperson came out against this.
Your opinion would de-energize vigilance. And while your head is being cut off, you will think of how wonderful it is to be a non-discriminating person.
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