I just read the most disturbing article on FrontPage.com about new terrorist threats on the airlines. The writer relates her own experiences on a recent flight from Detroit to Los Angeles where more than a dozen Middle Eastern men were acting suspicious all through the flight. Passengers were getting scared and her husband learned from the flight attendant that Air Marshals were on board monitoring the situation but took no action.
Finally, the captain announced that the plane was cleared for landing. It had been four hours since we left Detroit. The fasten seat belt light came on and I could see downtown Los Angeles. The flight attendants made one final sweep of the cabin and strapped themselves in for landing. I began to relax. Home was in sight.
Suddenly, seven of the men stood up -- in unison -- and walked to the front and back lavatories. One by one, they went into the two lavatories, each spending about four minutes inside. Right in front of us, two men stood up against the emergency exit door, waiting for the lavatory to become available. The men spoke in Arabic among themselves and to the man in the yellow shirt sitting nearby. One of the men took his camera into the lavatory. Another took his cell phone. Again, no one approached the men. Not one of the flight attendants asked them to sit down. I watched as the man in the yellow shirt, still in his seat, reached inside his shirt and pulled out a small red book. He read a few pages, then put the book back inside his shirt. He pulled the book out again, read a page or two more, and put it back. He continued to do this several more times.I looked around to see if any other passengers were watching. I immediately spotted a distraught couple seated two rows back. The woman was crying into the man's shoulder. He was holding her hand. I heard him say to her, "You've got to calm down." Behind them sat the once pleasant-smiling, goatee-wearing man.
This passage was just the end of a suspicious flight. The whole article is worth reading. She talks about how their actions mimic those of other "dry runs" that British intelligence has spotted.
She ends by saying that Transportation Secretary, Norman Minetta has fined airlines for screening suspicious Arab men and it explains why the airlines did nothing. The air marshals told the author a few weeks later that their policy is to observe unless a disturbance occurs. It seems to me that it's up to the passengers that aren't confined to politically correct action to do something in these situations.
If a passenger would have stood up near the end of the flight and told the Arab men to sit down then it would have forced a conflict that the air marshals would have had to settle. I'm surprised that a whole flight of people would just sit quietly as this went on. Why is everyone afraid these days? The government is afraid of being "racist." Airlines are afraid of being sued. Passengers are afraid of speaking up.
The only fear we should have is these people succeeding and it looks like it's up to the passengers to do something about it. The government is more interested in whether the air marshals have union bargaining rights than protecting us.
UPDATE: Annie Jacobsen pens a follow-up
WASHINGTON TIMES STORY
No comments:
Post a Comment