Nigerian terrorist
Bitbandit
I doubt if CNN reported this - but - According to this newspaper from
Detroit (and a number of foreign news sources are covering this too),
eye witness is saying that the "terrorist" did not have a passport
when he was trying to get onto the plane. Read the full story at the
link below.
Take note, because this attack is the reason why Yemen is going to be
invaded very soon. And it is the reason why we are now going to get
full body scanners at our airports. They have been pushing for these
scanners for years (at least 10 years, if I remember correctly).
Taylor -- A Taylor attorney who was aboard a terrorist-targeted
Christmas Day flight to Detroit says he was not surprised to hear al-
Qaida claim responsibility for the attempted bombing Monday because he
does not believe the man now in federal custody acted alone.
Kurt Haskell said he and his wife, Lori, were playing cards near the
boarding gate in Amsterdam when he saw a well-dressed man who appeared
to be of Indian descent come to the assistance of the man he later
learned was Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab. The 23-year-old Nigerian was
having trouble boarding the plane he is accused of trying to blow up
because he had no passport, Haskell said.
http://www.detnews.com/article/20091229/METRO01/912290365/1409/Flight-253-passengers-believe-others-involved-in-plot
Just in case the article gets disappeared - here is the full text of
the article.
------------------------------------------------------
Flight 253 passengers believe others involved in plot
PAUL EGAN
The Detroit News
Taylor -- A Taylor attorney who was aboard a terrorist-targeted
Christmas Day flight to Detroit says he was not surprised to hear al-
Qaida claim responsibility for the attempted bombing Monday because he
does not believe the man now in federal custody acted alone.
Kurt Haskell said he and his wife, Lori, were playing cards near the
boarding gate in Amsterdam when he saw a well-dressed man who appeared
to be of Indian descent come to the assistance of the man he later
learned was Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab. The 23-year-old Nigerian was
having trouble boarding the plane he is accused of trying to blow up
because he had no passport, Haskell said.
"I think what I saw was his handler ... getting him on the plane,"
said Haskell, who was returning from a safari in Uganda.
The Indian man, who looked about 50 years old, told ticket agents
Abdulmutallab did not have a passport but needed to get on the plane,
the Haskells said.
The ticket agent told the man nobody was allowed to board without a
passport, to which the well-dressed man replied: "We do this all the
time; he's from Sudan," Lori Haskell said, adding she and her husband
believe the man was trying to pass Abdulmutallab off as a Sudanese
refugee.
The two were then directed down a corridor to talk to a manager, she
said.
"This meant nothing to me until this man tried to blow up the plane,"
Kurt Haskell said.
Abdulmutallab is charged with attempting to destroy an aircraft and
placing a destructive device aboard an aircraft. He allegedly had
chemical explosives concealed under his clothing. His attempt to
detonate them as the plane approached Detroit created a fire, but he
was restrained by passengers and flight crew who put out the blaze,
federal authorities say.
The FBI and federal prosecutors would not comment Monday on the
Haskells' story, but foreign media reports said military police in the
Netherlands were examining security video to check the account of an
airport accomplice. Some foreign media reports quoted the military
police as saying Abdulmutallab boarded the flight without going
through passport control.
U.S. officials have said Abdulmutallab had a multi-entry visa to the
United States. They have not specifically said whether he had a
passport, but visas are typically, though not always, stamped into
passports.
Travel path questionable
Edward Hasbrouck, author of the travel book series "The Practical
Nomad" and an expert on international travel, said something about the
story does not add up.
If Abdulmutallab did not have the proper travel documents, it is not
clear how he got from Lagos, Nigeria, to the Netherlands, because
someone from KLM, as well as government officials, would have checked
his documents, Hasbrouck said.
In-transit passengers in Amsterdam are subjected to searches of their
carry-on bags and pat-downs and sometimes, but not always document
checks, he said. If Abdulmutallab's travel documents became an issue
in Amsterdam, airline officials would have a strong incentive not to
let him board because they would be charged with the costs of
detainment and deportation, plus administrative fines, if he was
refused entry to the United States, he said.
Still, refugees who lack proper documentation are sometimes permitted
to enter the United States without a passport, Hasbrouck said.
"Maybe he had some evidence that he had a visa to the U.S., but not
the actual visa or not the passport," he said.
Claim: Other man detained
Kurt Haskell said he does not believe the well-dressed man ever
boarded the flight because he looked for him when the FBI gathered all
the passengers for questioning at Detroit Metropolitan Airport.
"I think that it was all completely planned," Lori Haskell said.
"I totally don't think it was one guy."
She said that as the plane approached Detroit, she heard a popping
sound she first thought was ice on the landing gear. Then a flight
attendant walked by and said, almost to herself: "Does anyone hear
that buzzing sound? I think I smell smoke."
Commotion then followed as smoke began to fill the cabin, flames shot
up the wall of the plane, and passengers jumped on Abdulmutallab and,
along with cabin crew, put out the fire, Haskell said.
Kurt Haskell said he saw a third man, who also appeared to be of
Indian descent and looked about 30 years old, get taken away for FBI
questioning and later led away in handcuffs after dogs detected
something in his luggage after the flight landed.
He said one FBI agent later told passengers authorities had "those
responsible" in custody.
The FBI in Detroit said only one man was arrested, and prosecutors in
Detroit have refused to say whether there are other suspects in the
case.
pe...@detnews.com">pe...@detnews.com (313) 222-2069 Staff Writers
Nathan Hurst and Deb Price contributed.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
© Copyright 2009 The Detroit News. All rights reserved.
Bitbandit
On Dec 31, 1:46 pm, Bitbandit <derryck.lamp...@gmail.com> wrote:
> I doubt if CNN reported this - but - According to this newspaper from
> Detroit (and a number of foreign news sources are covering this too),
> eye witness is saying that the "terrorist" did not have a passport
> when he was trying to get onto the plane. Read the full story at the
> link below.
>
> Take note, because this attack is the reason why Yemen is going to be
> invaded very soon. And it is the reason why we are now going to get
> full body scanners at our airports. They have been pushing for these
> scanners for years (at least 10 years, if I remember correctly).
>
> Taylor -- A Taylor attorney who was aboard a terrorist-targeted
> Christmas Day flight to Detroit says he was not surprised to hear al-
> Qaida claim responsibility for the attempted bombing Monday because he
> does not believe the man now in federal custody acted alone.
>
> Kurt Haskell said he and his wife, Lori, were playing cards near the
> boarding gate in Amsterdam when he saw a well-dressed man who appeared
> to be of Indian descent come to the assistance of the man he later
> learned was Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab. The 23-year-old Nigerian was
> having trouble boarding the plane he is accused of trying to blow up
> because he had no passport, Haskell said.
>
> http://www.detnews.com/article/20091229/METRO01/912290365/1409/Flight...