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Home Front: WoT
More about the Al Qaeda airplane exploder
2009-12-26
It was the passengers that subdued him. A pack, indeed. Hattip DrudgeReport.
EFL to the new stuff.
A Northwest Airlines passenger from Nigeria, who said he was acting on al-Qaida's instructions, tried to blow up the plane today as it was landing in Detroit, law enforcement and national security officials said. Passengers subdued the man and may have prevented him from detonating the explosives, the officials said.

A White House official said the incident was an attempted act of terrorism.
OMG -- they used the T word!
Federal officials imposed stricter screening measures after the incident.

There were 278 passengers aboard the Airbus 330. There was nothing out of the ordinary until the flight was on final approach to Detroit, said Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Elizabeth Isham Cory. That is when the pilot declared an emergency and landed without incident shortly thereafter, Cory said in an e-mail message. The plane landed at 11:51 a.m.

One of the U.S. intelligence officials said the explosive device was a mix of powder and liquid. It failed when the passenger tried to detonate it.

The passenger created a disturbance by lighting what was reported to be firecrackers -- or perhaps a "powdery substance" -- onboard the flight, injuring himself and several other passengers, according to Delta Airlines.

The man was apparently already on the government's no-fly list of suspected terrorists, ABC News said a senior intelligence official told them.
That clearly worked well.
That report is disputed in other accounts -- those say that the man was in some database but was not on the no-fly list. 48 hour rule applies here.
President Barack Obama was notified of the incident and discussed it with security officials, the White House said. It said he is monitoring the situation and receiving regular updates from his vacation spot in Hawaii.
So much for relaxing with the family away from the office.
That's what happens when you're president ...
Not just presidents, either. But Mrs. Obama couldn't have expected otherwise when her husband refused to give up his Blackberry.
One passenger from the flight was taken to the University of Michigan Medical Center in Ann Arbor, hospital spokeswoman Tracy Justice said. She would not say what the injuries were.
Hopefully just nerves instead of harm during the incident.
Because Delta Airlines in Detroit did not handle security for the flight, Elliott said she could not answer how the items that were ignited got on the plane.
Oh goody. Now all through passengers will have to get off and go through security at the way station instead of just waiting for the plane to be ready to continue on. However, given the security at places like Nigeria or Greece, it's long overdue.
She said Delta has a hub in Amsterdam and this one was among several flights today.

Security precautions raised in wake of attempted attack

The Homeland Security Department said passengers may see additional screening measures on domestic and international flights because of the incident. "We encourage those with future travel plans to stay in touch with their airline and to visit www.tsa.gov for updates," the department said.
Get there three hours ahead of flight time instead of two hours?
Posted by:

#14  #6 Jasper Schuringa
Posted by: tipper 2009-12-26 10:13

From the link:
"Then he has his secondary school in Curaçao and then killed in the Netherlands to study and ultimately selected the film academy in Miami, where also his passion. "

We need more guys like this on our aircraft. Unfortunately, Jasper was unable to demonstrate his Netherlands SAT qualification experience....
Posted by: Uncle Phester   2009-12-26 15:34  

#13  A White House official said the incident was an attempted act of terrorism.


Wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong!

It was an act of terrorism, not an attempt. Ask anyone on the plane if it was an "attempt". It didn't kill anyone, so good for that, but this is just another denial and downplay of reality we're all too familiar with.
Posted by: Halliburton - Mysterious Conspiracy Division   2009-12-26 15:23  

#12  If this young fellow runs into any trouble back in Holland he can always contact the local US Embassy LEGAT. They're always on top of things.

OFFICES / DEPARTMENTS
Office of the Legal Attaché
The mission of the FBI’s Legal Attaché Program is to establish and maintain liaison with principal law enforcement and intelligence/security services in designated foreign countries. This liaison enables the FBI to effectively and expeditiously meet its international responsibilities in organized crime, international terrorism, foreign counterintelligence, and general criminal matters. The Legal Attaché’s Office supports the operational needs in Lagos, Nigeria with regional coverage of Benin, Cameroon, Ghana, Equatorial Guinea, Sao Tome and Principle and Togo. The liaison activities performed by the Legal Attachés are essential to the successful fulfillment of the international responsibilities of the FBI and United States interests. Liaising is carried out in accordance with executive order, statue, Attorney General Guidelines, and FBI policies.

US Consulate General
2, Walter Carrington Crescent
Victoria Island, Lagos, Nigeria
Telephone: (234)-1-261-0050, 261-0078
Fax: (234)-1-261-9856

Contact: Legal Attaché: 011-234-1-261-0050 ext 319
Posted by: Besoeker   2009-12-26 14:24  

#11  OK Obumble, time to get in the game. Put down the grass skirt, hop back to DC and sign an executive order banning flights from nations that not permit US Air Marshals to board US-bound flights.
Posted by: regular joe   2009-12-26 14:18  

#10  Jasper Schuringa, a video director and producer from Amsterdam

Expect to be sued, if not murdered outright, once you're back in Amsterdam.

Posted by: g(r)omgoru   2009-12-26 13:52  

#9  ABC News:

The suspect told authorities that he had explosive powder taped to his leg and used a syringe of chemicals to mix with the powder that was to cause explosion.

Coming soon:
"Please remove your pants"

ION: It's reported that Amsterdam does not permit US Air Marshals to board in that country for US-bound flights. So why the heck haven't we banned incoming flights from Amsterdam prior???
Posted by: logi_cal   2009-12-26 12:03  

#8  
Posted by: Mizzou Mafia   2009-12-26 10:45  

#7  Not your typical student digs....

Those mansions are reserved for The Pious™ on the dole.
Posted by: ed   2009-12-26 10:24  

#6  Jasper Schuringa
Posted by: tipper   2009-12-26 10:13  

#5  If this is the best al-Qaeda and the TSA can do, both could be disbanded immediately with no effect on human progress.
Posted by: Nimble Spemble   2009-12-26 10:06  

#4  Meet the hero
Posted by: tipper   2009-12-26 09:48  

#3  According to the BBC, he was living in an exclusive part of London, in a home worth several million pounds.

Not your typical student digs....
Posted by: john frum   2009-12-26 09:43  

#2  Update:
Mutallab has been in the U.S. before, having received a visa in June 2008. His listed residence was in Houston, Texas. Authorities had placed him on a preliminary watch list, meaning they wanted to gather more information about him, but law enforcement subsequently lost track of him.

Mutallab also had "significant UK links" and was "most probably radicalized" there, a British counter-terrorism official told CBS News.

One law enforcement official, also speaking on condition of anonymity, said Mutallab's name had surfaced earlier on at least one U.S. ntelligence database, but he was not on a watch list or a no-fly list.
Posted by: tipper   2009-12-26 08:48  

#1  I notice that the racist media refuse to run a picture of his face, because "all black people look alike, anyway." Also, they refuse to label it a "terrorist" attack, because he was obviously mentally ill. And they would never dream of identifying him as a "Muslim", because Islam is the religion of peace(tm), and *real* Muslims don't do that sort of thing.
Posted by: Anonymoose   2009-12-26 08:02  

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