25 Islamic Extremists Enter U.S. as Stowaways, Feds Say

FOX via AP ^ | May 13, 2002 | AP via FOX

[snippy_about_it]

WASHINGTON — Twenty-five Islamic extremists have illegally entered the U.S. since March as stowaways on cargo ships, federal officials told Fox News Monday.

The U.S. Coast Guard has notified federal, state, and local officials that it has received intelligence information that the extremists have entered the U.S. on "prominent commercial cargo vessels," according to federal officials who read a Coast Guard document to Fox News.

[snippy_about_it]

I searched for the headline, no hits. Sorry if this is a repeat.

[Miss Marple]

I posted based on what I heard on the Fox News channel, but the headlines aren't the same.

Coast Guard Announces 25 Terrorist Stowaways Loose in US

That's ok. I would like to see this get repeated exposure, as his is a very important story.

[RightWhale]

It's a repeat of sorts, but are there mug shots of these criminals? You know, in case they are spotted driving through the subdivision.

[Asclepius]

... The Coast Guard document says the "25 Islamic extremists" entered through the ports of Miami; Savannah, Ga.; and Long Beach, Calif ...

25? Why only 25? As porous and as poorly defended as our coasts and borders are, you would think the number would be more like 2,500.

[Warren]

No cause for alarm here. I have been assured that Muslim is a peaceful religion.

[snippy_about_it]

I figured it couldn't have slipped by!

[cardinal4]

No cause for alarm here. I have been assured that Muslim is a peaceful religion.

Me,too. Osama Bin-Laden said so.

[apackof2]

Why only 25? As porous and as poorly defended as our
coasts and borders are,
you would think the number would be more like 2,500.

Unfortuntely you are correct and it has been a long term problem.
And perhaps it is a lot more than 25

[SolitaryMan]

Ping!

[blackdog]

Something is fishy here. Why 25? Why extremists? How many non-extremists? Do they fill out arrival forms or something, you know, for like an Islamic gift registry? How does one confirm 25, 250, 2500? This is like Clinton's 100,000 cops program. Quantifying is impossible. Announcing it as such only makes them look stupid.

[mafree]

And Bush accepted a Koran from someone after 9/11 so Islam must be cool (/sarcasm).

[MarMema]

The U.S. Coast Guard has notified federal, state, and local officials that it has received intelligence information that the extremists have entered the U.S. on "prominent commercial cargo vessels

Well here ya go, strike #2 is in the works.

[TheLurkerX]

My father said he heard something on the news about a Mexican Kenworth hauling cyanide that was hijacked. He also said they found some truck in Washington with residue of TNT on the wheel and C4 on the gear shift. Anybody else heard it?

[jaso]

The Coast Guard has a intelligence gathering department? Must be feeling left out of the booga-booga!

[Amerigomag]

Guess the members of various state militias will be spending their 4th of July holiday near public reactors.

Gray Davis is probably going to have to ask Bush for help since he probably can't pay his California National Guard troops.

[Salman]

25? Why only 25? As porous and as poorly defended as our coasts and borders are, you would think the number would be more like 2,500.

The number 25 may be bogus, but I'm guessing the 25 represents a single group that they have some specific information about.

[Grut]

Something is fishy here. Why 25? Why extremists? How many non-extremists?

Good points. This may just be the Coast Guard jumping up and down, waving its hands and shouting "Here we are! Here we are!" at Congressional budgeters.

[Mixer]

Why only 25? As porous and as poorly defended as our coasts and borders are, you would think the number would be more like 2,500.

Unfortuntely you are correct and it has been a long term problem. And perhaps it is a lot more than 25

Yes I would say that this is the number that they KNOW of. Not the total number.

[goldstategop]

Must have sailed from Karachi. Where these Osama's boys?

[John H K]

Why only 25? As porous and as poorly defended as our coasts and borders are, you would think the number would be more like 2,500.

The best guess from reliable people who aren't hype-mongers (strategypage.com) is that, WORLDWIDE, there are only about 100 total Al Qaeda international terror operatives (as opposed to Al Quaeda footsoldiers in Afghanistan, who didn't get nearly as much training) that are still at large.

As we've seen, just 20 of them are extremely dangerous. But despite what people seem to (hope?!?!?) is true, every other Muslim or Arab isn't an actual Al Qaeda operative, and there certainly are not THOUSANDS of Muslim terrorists in the US...if there were, they're remarkably lazy and unmotivated, considering how incredibly rare Arab/Muslim terrorist attacks in the US are and have been.

And there's something a little fishy about this story...I have a strange feeling it grew in the telling, from originally being 25 people that are on a watch list because they might be associated with someone who knows a guy who is a friend of a family that harbored a guy who knew a guy that was Al Qaeda, to 25 hard-core Islamic radicals.

[snippy_about_it]

Just as I was getting in the door tonight FOX NEWS had an ALERT on and was talking about a rental truck with plastic explosive residue on the steering wheel. I just caught the tail end of it.

[snippy_about_it]

I don't know where they think they are from but I bet they aren't here for sight seeing.

[goldstategop]

You got that damn right. Imagine the statement they would have made had they taken down that famous San Francisco landmark over the Bay. I won't disclose which one cause I sure as heck don't want to give these nuts any ideas. One 9-11 is plenty enough for this lifetime.

[Mamzelle]

How to quantify? Maybe it's bogus, but a simple way to quantify is that they are operating with some direct intelligence. Perhaps they nabbed one of them who know about the others. We can only hope that they can be reliable.

[Marine Inspector]

Thanks for the ping.

Our borders are as wide open today as they were on September 11th. It's only a matter of time, before they hit again.

[SolitaryMan]

I know the Coast Guard inspect ships at sea, but once they are in port, what agency does the inspecting? INS or Customs?

[Marine Inspector]

Both, but there are so many ships, I would doubt they get much of check. I have never worked a sea port, so I don't know how it works at one.

[usconservative]

Reason #1 for Nationwide Conceal-Carry:

The Federal Government cannot secure our borders. They've not allocated the necessary resources to do it, and we are now ALL at risk from further attacks from these Islamic Muslim Terrorists.

Nationwide Pack-Heat solves this problem. Just noticed a suspicious Muslim near that nuclear power plant? Nationwide Pack-Heat can fix it!

Just spotted a suspicious towel-wearing Islamic Muslim snooping around the local water filtration plant? Nationwide Pack-Heat fixes that too!

Nationwide Pack-Heat! Call your Senators TODAY! If they can't do the job dammit, we'll all have to take matters into our own hands.

[CyberAnt]

Perhaps the two guys who just got arrested in the Ryder truck with TNT residue are from this group?? Makes you wonder what we're doing - sitting on our hands??

[MarMema]

A Budget truck was pulled over in Oak Harbor, Washington last Tuesday near the Whidbey Island Naval Air Station and found to have traces of TNT on the gearshift and traces of RDX plastic explosive on the steering wheel, Fox News has learned.

The FBI, the Immigration and Naturalization Service, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and local police are all investigating.

Shortly after midnight on May 7, federal officials say local police pulled the vehicle over for speeding. Documents read to Fox News indicate that the driver and passenger told local police they were delivering furniture from California but that authorities doubted the story because of the early morning hour.

A bomb-sniffing dog first detected explosives on one of the men and inside the truck. High tech equipment was used later to confirm the presence of TNT and RDX plastic explosive.

Documents read to Fox News indicate that both driver and passenger were Israeli nationals. Investigators say a roadside check of the national database of immigration records indicated that one of the men had not entered the country legally, and the other was in violation of his visa. Both men were taken into custody for immigration violations.

At 7:30 that morning local police were notified that the BATF and FBI had tested the truck and found traces of explosives on the steering wheel and gear shift.

Officials say no other charges of been filed against the driver and passenger and an investigation is ongoing.

Authorities say records for the Budget truck do not indicate any recent rental for the purposes of transporting explosives, which would require special permits.

[cgk]

25? Why only 25? As porous and as poorly defended as our coasts and borders are, you would think the number would be more like 2,500.

This report assumes we know everything. We don't. I'll bet your number is a hell of a lot closer than their number.

[The_Media_never_lie]

... The Coast Guard document says the "25 Islamic extremists" entered through the ports of Miami; Savannah, Ga.; and Long Beach, Calif ... 25? Why only 25? As porous and as poorly defended as our coasts and borders are, you would think the number would be more like 2,500.

Probably 25 Islamic extremists of below average intelligence entered throug the ports; the other 2475 walked across the borders in broad daylight which was much easier.

By the way, isn't the term "Islamic extremists" overly redundant?

[richardthelionheart]

WHy did you post this! We dont need warnings about peaceful people who love us and call us infidels!!!

[MissAmericanPie]

Not to worry, President Bush has assured us that "everything possible" is being done to protect us. I feel as safe as a baby in a stroller outside a synagogue in Jerusalem.

Besides, our President said all we have to do to fight terrorism is be compassionate, find someone to help, teach a child to read, and I am all that and a basket of fruit so I don't have to worry, right?

[John_11_25]

We need to know which port they entered, if the information is available. The container/cargo port needs to be pressured to improve their security 100% and if people need to be fired, then so be it.

If they can get 25 people through one port undetected, god knows what else they brought with them: explosives, weapons of mass distruction etc.

The goverment/press are not informing the public of all the facts. The people need to be alerted, because if these crazies launch an attack, it will be the innocents that are harmed, not the goverment/press, who will inform us all after the attack,how barbaric it all is.

Does anyone know how may cargo/container ports are around the north east and south coast of the country ?? With or without customs/immigration ??

[Right-WingDaddy]

I know Im going to get flamed for this, but is it time for internment for non-citizen arabs? or maybe just straight deportation.

[brat]

If they admit to 25, the true number could be alarming.

[brat]

Two days ago on Fox News they were reporting that several Arabs were applying for trucking licenses to carry hazardous waste. I believe they had false documentation but I missed the full story as I was busy with other things. Does anyone know the details?

[brat]

Fox News mentioned that one of the ships came from Mexico.

[cgk]

Does anyone know how many cargo/container ports are around the north east and south coast of the country ?? With or without customs/immigration ??

East Coast, West Coast, the Gulf Coast, you're probably talking about 100 ports. Maybe twice that. This story covers three. Comforting, isn't it?

Don't forget the Red China Canal down in Panama. Shouldn't be too hard for a few good Muslims with anti-American aspirations to get through down there.

[truth_seeker]

Documents read to Fox News indicate that both driver and passenger were Israeli nationals. Investigators say a roadside check of the national database of immigration records indicated that one of the men had not entered the country legally, and the other was in violation of his visa. Both men were taken into custody for immigration violations.

Next question--are they arabs, muslims? If so, then they are part of the international islamist terror network, which includes Hamas, Al Qaeda, etc.

[Frances_Marion]

Well, it's a good thing we don't do "ethnic profiling" in this country, isn't it????

[cgk]

You and your sources are seriously underestimating these people.

[snippy_about_it]

Heaven forbid! < /sarcasm>

[Woodstock]

As my five-year-old says....

A CLUES! A CLUE A CLUE!!!

[John_11_25]

Don't forget the Red China Canal down in Panama. Shouldn't be too hard for a few good Muslims with anti-American aspirations to get through down there.

I am afraid they are lot closer than you think. They also run the container port in Freeport Grand Bahama, The Bahamas.

Freeport is only 56 miles from Fort Lauderdale.

Worried? You should be, with some of the stories that come out of there........ And the also own the harbour, the airport and the largest resort on the island.