Posted on 10/18/2001 9:08:51 PM PDT by Pokey78
Edited on 04/23/2004 12:03:48 AM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]
Under the cirumstances, we must be wary of young Arab men.
It was Sept. 14 at 9 p.m., and I was on Fifth Avenue, directly across the street from St. Patrick's Cathedral. I was standing, that is, directly in front of the statue of Atlas holding up the world, at the entrance of Rockefeller Center. I was with my 14-year-old son. We were waiting for friends who were going to accompany us downtown to see the memorials that had sprung up in Washington Square and other places.
(Excerpt) Read more at opinionjournal.com ...
I have a small disposable camera and a little spiral-bound notebook in my purse or backpack now wherever we go. About a week after 9-11 my kids and I went to the local Wal-Mart. As we were walking from our vehicle through the parking lot, I saw two young Middle Eastern guys, twenty-somethings, walking out of WM toward us. They had no bags from the store. They had nothing in their hands at all. But in the 10-15 feet width of space between parked cars, they were walking like they were joined at the hip, with their arms pressed together and their heads down, kind of a "let's hurry up and get out of here before someone sees us" kind of exit.
I turned around and watched them walk past, narrowed my eyes, thought about it for a few seconds, then walked into the store. I WISH TO GOODNESS I had followed them to their vehicle, taken a picture of them, copied down a license plate number, and phoned it in. I didn't have anything to write on or a camera with me, so just went about my business. (What better place to unleash a bio-threat than inconspicuously sprinkled on the shelves of a local store patroned by thousands of people daily?) There are no community colleges or universities nearby which would draw foreigners to this little town--but that parking lot at Wal-Mart was barely two miles from the main gates of a large army post (where we live). There are a LOT of army personnel and families who shop there, and it's not uncommon to see dozens of uniformed soldiers picking up a can of shaving cream or a basket full of sodas and treats.
Needless to say, I'm watching my surroundings like a hawk these days, and I'm rapidly losing my PC "don't want to harass anyone who might be innocent" inclinations, too. Be ever viligent!
(During the attack on Pearl Harbor some supply NCO's refused to open ammunition lockers since 'regulations' required approval of an officer. Most were 'persuaded' to hand out ammo so that we could at least attempt to shoot down the Jap Zeroes. The 'let's not profile' crowd are like those stupid NCO's; they don't understand that the world changed on 9/11 and that our survival is more important than 'rules'.)
The Freepers that suggested carrying a camera make a lot of sense, especially when you are visiting tourist sites in large cities or potential targets like water supplies, etc.
Yeah, yeah. Semantics. What exactly is the official name of the cloth wound around the head of EVERY SINGLE MALE seen in photos of the al-Qaeda gang, Arabs, etc? Please enlighten us so we can use the correct term when talking about "rag-heads." Thank you ever so much.
This reminded me of something a friend told me 2 weeks ago, which I had totally forgotten about. He was at a local gas station filling up and noticed a very dirty, mud covered pickup truck doing the same thing. Now in the rural area I live in, muddy pickups are not unusual.
What was unusual about this was the appearance of the driver and passenger. 30something Mid Eastern looking men in IMMACULATE clothing all the way to starched white shirts. He got that same cold stare that Ms. Noonan describes - around here that is not a common occurence.
He called the local FBI office the next morning and they were very interested in what he had to tell them.
It's not paranoia, we ARE living in a different world these days.
That said, I think its also helpful to engage good, patriotic Arabs, Sikhs and others whose main desire is to help see that these terrorists are jailed, hung, shot, whatever- just beaten soundly. And, they too are out there.
But I'm afraid she's basically right.
Dan
One of the hijackers from FL lived in a suburban neighborhood with his wife and children. He sent them back to Saudi Arabia two days before he murdered thousands in the WTC. They cannot be trusted!
Visas Being Issued At US Consulate In Saudi Arabia
A U.S. visa-processing office in Saudi Arabia that issued visas to six of the suspected 19 Sept. 11 hijackers said it is "conducting business as usual," and continues to waive interviews for the "vast majority" of applicants, according to a memo the office wrote to State Department officials.
The cable said that visas were approved for all 104 people who applied for them at the Jeddah consular office between Sept. 11 and the beginning of October, when the cable was sent. Only two of the applicants were interviewed.
So have I. I've been really scrutinizing trucks as I'm on the expressway these past couple of weeks.
This morning as I got off at the usual exit to take my through-the-country route, a truck was waiting to enter the expressway. As I turned, it truck pulled through the intersection to begin its entry.
I noticed in the rear-view window that the the body of the truck had the all lettering painted over rather crudely. Thinking about the missing hazmat trailer in NJ, I turned around and got back on the expressway, hoping to catch up with it and get a license number.
I knew it wouldn't be that truck, but could have been another. I was back on the highway within 2 minutes of when I first saw it, and though I exceeded the speed limit (5 over, I didn't want a ticket!) hoping to catch up to it, did not find it for the half hour I stayed on the road. I'm guessing it must have exited soon after it entered the highway.
The suggestion of carrying a little camera notebook suggested by several is outstanding.
``I have completed my education and now I'm going to Afghanistan,'' said Abdul Manan, 25, his head draped in the new white turban bestowed on graduates. ``We are ready to sacrifice our lives for a noble cause.''
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