6 imams

6 imams, Aviation Security, War on Terror

Terrorists’ airliner ‘dry runs’ continued after 9/11

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Three years ago, John Doe, aka Annie Jacobsen, was aboard Northwest Airlines Flight 327 when she witnessed a ‘dry run’ and did what she had to do:

What I saw on Northwest Flight 327 was a group of Syrian men act as though they were going to hijack the plane. The men blocked the aircraft aisles, knocked over a passenger and spent so much time in the aircraft bathrooms that one Syrian emerged covered in toilet chemicals. As the flight was about to land, seven of the men stood in the aisle and used the toilets while the leader read from a small red book. One of the men then made a slashing motion across his throat and mouthed the word, ‘no.’

What I saw on that Detroit-to-Los Angeles flight was so alarming it never occurred to me to censor myself when it came to speaking out about what happened on the flight. It never occurred to me to worry about getting sued. First I spoke with federal agents for two hours, under oath, detailing what I saw. Later, after I learned that the government botched the investigation of the Syrians and then tried to cover their mistakes, I spoke up about that. For three years now, I’ve spoken up about what I saw as a guest on more than 400 radio and television programs. I’ve written 28 articles on the subject as well as a book. I’m so glad I did.

Federal counterterrorism agents have told me that the Syrians on the flight I was on were practicing how to build a bomb in the aircraft toilet — that the flight I was on was something known in counterterrorism circles as a “dry run.” Other federal agents have told me it was more likely “the real deal called off.”
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The reason the review [of that incident] is being withheld from the public eye is because its contents embarrasses the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). The report contains information that ties at least two of the Syrians from the dry run on Flight 327 to an earlier dry run on different airlines — Frontier Airlines Flight 577. That the TSA missed connecting these dots and instead allowed the Syrians to go free without answering some serious questions reveals a great flaw in the aviation security net.

The earlier incident happened on January 24, 2004 during a Houston-to-San Francisco flight. Joe Hodas, media spokesman for Frontier Airlines, confirmed this incident with me. Hodas politely declined to add further details of the Syrians’ suspicious activity on Flight 577 citing “safety and security concerns.” What Hodas also confirmed with me was that it was the Frontier Airlines flight crew who notified officials about the suspicious behavior onboard. Those flight attendants saw something and they said something. They didn’t worry about being sued. READ THE REST

Hat tip: Captain Jack

Annie Jacobsen is a regular contributor at Dry Cents.

Related: CAIR also sued on behalf of 9/11 dry run terrorists

6 imams, Aviation Security, CAIR

Protect ‘John Does’: NYC mayoral candidate

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In today’s New York Sun:

Recently, only one Democratic member of the New York City congressional delegation voted in favor of a measure approved in the House to protect people who report suspicious behavior relating to transportation security from the threat of lawsuits.

Rep. Anthony Weiner, who represents Brooklyn and Queens and is already running for mayor, backed the “John Doe” amendment, a reference to the unnamed defendants who told officials on a US Airways flight in Minneapolis last November that a group of imams was acting suspiciously. The imams sued the airline, airport officials, and the passengers who made the report.

An advertisement urging the [United States] Senate to pass the measure is appearing in the latest issue of City Hall, a free monthly publication. Another ad is expected to appear in the New York Post today or later this week, mayoral hopeful John Catsimatidis, who is paying for the ads, said. He is chairman and CEO of Red Apple Group and Gristedes.

[New York City] Council Member Hiram Monserrate of Queens plans to introduce a resolution that would have the council press the Senate to approve the amendment, introduced by Rep. Peter King of Long Island. “We congratulate Congressman Peter King for working hard to protect New Yorkers,” Mr. Catsimatidis, a Republican turned Democrat turned Republican, said. “If people get scared of turning in people, then I think it’s going to compromise New York security. And what I’m concerned about is New Yorkers.”

Mr. Catsimatidis said he took out the ads because he wants to put the issue “on the table” and hold elected officials accountable for their vote. He said Reps. Carolyn Maloney and Jerrold Nadler, Democrats of New York who voted against the amendment, are good friends of his and that he thinks the ad will let them know “maybe they should have looked at it twice.”
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City Hall already has ties to the case that prompted the amendment. An attorney for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, Omar Mohammedi, serves as a Bloomberg administration appointee on the city’s Commission on Human Rights and is representing the six imams. In the House, 105 Democrats voted in favor of the John Doe amendment and 121 voted against it. It passed March 27 on a vote of 304 to 121.

The amendment was added to the Rail and Public Transportation Security Act in the House. Mr. King said he or someone else would introduce the amendment to the Senate’s bill if the two sides of Congress as expected hold a conference on the legislation.
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Mr. Monserrate said it is important for the council to take a position on the amendment.

“The city of New York, more than any place on this planet, was affected by terrorism the most on September 11,” he said. “It is an issue that is going to be debated, and rightfully so.”