According to the Homeland Security report, the "suspicious passengers," 12 Syrians and their Lebanese-born promoter, were traveling on Flight 327 from Detroit to Los Angeles on expired visas. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services extended the visas one week after the June 29, 2004, incident.
The report also says that a background check in the FBI's National Crime Information Center database, which was performed June 18 as part of a visa-extension application, produced "positive hits" for past criminal records or suspicious behavior for eight of the 12 Syrians, who were traveling in the U.S. as a musical group.
In addition, the band's promoter was listed in a separate FBI database on case investigations for acting suspiciously aboard a flight months earlier. He was detained a third time in September on a return trip to the U.S. from Istanbul, the details of which were redacted.
The inspector general criticized the Homeland Security officials for not reporting the incident to the Homeland Security Operations Center (HSOC), which serves as the nation's nerve center for information sharing and domestic incident management.
The report comes three years after the incident, which was not officially acknowledged until a month later, after The Washington Times reported passenger and marshal complaints that the incident resembled a dry run for a terrorist attack. After reviewing the report, air marshals say it confirms their earlier suspicions.

An air marshal who told The Times that he has been involved personally in terror probes that were ignored by federal security managers, called such behavior typical.

"Agency management was not only covering up numerous probes and dry-run encounters from Congress and other federal law-enforcement agencies, it was also hiding these incidents from their own flying air marshals," said P. Jeffrey Black, an air marshal stationed in Las Vegas.
Homeland Security officials initially denied the complaints and blamed passengers who reported the incident to the press as behaving hysterically. However, the inspector general report shows that air marshals had the group of men under surveillance before they boarded the plane.
"Prior to boarding, one of the air marshals noticed what he later characterized as 'unusual behavior' by about six Middle Eastern males, who arrived at the gate together, then separated, and acted as if they did not know each other," the report said.
"According to the air marshals, these men were sweaty, appeared nervous and arrived after the boarding announcement. The air marshals made eye contact with one another to ensure they were aware of this behavior," the report said.
The inspector general's two-year investigation was originally released in April 2006 but was then wholly redacted except for two sentences. The re-release stems from a Freedom of Information request by The Times on April 25, 2006, which was answered Friday.
Portions of the report remain redacted. However, current and former air marshals who reviewed a copy provided by The Times say the activities of the men details a dry run for a terrorist attack.
"This report is evidence of Homeland Security executives attempting to downplay and cover up an unmistakable dry run that forced flight attendants to reveal the air marshals and compel the pilots to open the flight deck door," said Robert MacLean, a former air marshal who was fired last year for revealing that the service planned to cut back on protection for long-distance flights to save money.

According to the report, Flight 327 was "delayed for five minutes because one of the 13 suspicious passengers, who appeared not to understand English and walked with a limp, was seated in the emergency exit row. The flight attendant determined he was unable to operate the emergency procedures and delayed the flight while having him exchange seats."
"On the flight, 13 Middle Eastern men behaved in a suspicious manner that aroused the attention and concern of the flight attendants, passengers, air marshals and pilots," the report said. The men "walked in the aisle, appearing to count passengers," and "several men spent excessive time in the lavatories."
"One man rushed to the front of the plane appearing to head for the cockpit. At the last moment, he veered into the first-class lavatory, remaining in it for about 20 minutes," according to the report. One man carried a McDonald's bag into the lavatory, and "another man, upon returning from the lavatory, reeked strongly of what smelled like toilet bowl chemicals."
"Some men hand signaled each other. The passenger who entered the lavatory with the McDonald's bag made a thumbs-up signal to another man upon returning from the lavatory. Another man made a slashing motion across his throat, appearing to say 'No.' "
As the flight descended into Los Angeles, the report said, "four of the suspicious individuals stood up and made their way to the back of the plane," where "the individuals used the rear lavatory, and one of the men was doing stretching exercises/knee bends by the exit door."

The men were briefly detained, but only two were questioned.
"The Federal Air Marshal supervisor examined the visas, but did not notice the visas had expired on June 10, 2004," the report said. One of the air marshals assigned to the flight noticed the expiration, but "erroneously believed he was not legally entitled" to run a background check.
According to the report, the marshal's "primary concern, at that time, was not whether the visas expired, but to copy the visa pages so that Customs and Border Patrol could later run a database check on these individuals."
The FBI issued a warning in April 2004, just two months before the flight, that terrorists may be trying to enter the country under cultural or sports visas, the same visas carried by the 12 Syrian men who claimed to be musicians.
Robert Jamison, deputy administrator for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), defended the agency's action in its official response to the IG audit, which is included in the report.
"The reported suspicious activity was determined to be unfounded, and not a terrorist threat, and therefore did not merit an HSOC referral," he said.
The inspector general disagreed, and said TSA's actions once the matter became public proved that the agency thought otherwise.
The "HSOC clearly signaled a referral was merited by logging the Flight 327 matter into its database on July 26, 2004, after a July 22, 2004, Washington Times article, and an inquiry from the White House Homeland Security Council."
Mr. Jamison said, "Law-enforcement assessments made by the FAMS and FBI on June 29, 2004, were appropriate."
However, the inspector general said the FBI did not begin a full investigation until July 19, and air marshal officials were assigned to assist the FBI between July 22 and Aug. 4.
"It's unfortunate that the suspects were released from custody, but it's not surprising," said Jeffrey Denning, a former air marshal who quit the agency last month.
"The overt behavior of the 13 men on Flight 327 was indicative of a terrorist probe. It appeared rehearsed, coordinated and planned. It was menacing activity," Mr. Denning said.

A background check conducted weeks later in the FBI's Automated Case Support (ACS) system revealed that the promoter was involved in a similar probe on Jan. 28, 2004.
The unnamed promoter "was one of eight passengers acting suspiciously aboard Frontier Airlines Flight 577 from Houston through Denver, to San Francisco," the report said.
"Flight attendants reported all eight passengers kept trying to switch seats while boarding and during the flight, made repeated service requests in what the attendants described as an effort to keep the flight crew occupied. One took a cell phone into the front lavatory, remained in the lavatory for over 15 minutes, but did not appear to have the phone when leaving the lavatory," the report said.
The incident followed a series of breaches of airline security in December and January, when the FBI issued a memo warning that suicide terrorists were plotting to hijack trans-Atlantic planes by smuggling "ready-to-build" bomb kits past airport security to be assembled in aircraft bathrooms.
"Terrorist operatives are more confident that they can successfully smuggle [bomb] components, rather than fully assembled bombs past airport security," the memo said. "It is conceivable terrorists may plan to use this private area to construct [bombs] in order to facilitate access to the cockpit, or position themselves in front of the passengers."
Electronic devices, such as cell phones, can be used to detonate explosives.

"What is disturbing to us as pilots is that there are now a number of incidents like this taking place across our industry and the vast majority of our flights are still defenseless," said Captain David Mackett, president of the Airline Pilots Security Alliance.
"If I were a member of Congress, I'd be asking some hard questions about why such a small percentage of flights have armed pilots or air marshals aboard, while the TSA whistles past the graveyard, asking us to believe none of this is related to terrorism," Mr. Mackett said.
The audit was initiated "because of media reports concerning actions taken by departmental personnel in response to events on Flight 327" and "to determine the various systems for recording and reporting suspicious passengers and activities."
The report sought to "determine the specific circumstances relating to Flight 327, including the department's handling of the suspicious passengers after the plane landed."
The inspector general made three recommendations, with part of one being redacted.
One recommended that the marshal service "develop or acquire technology to permit effective and timely in-flight communication," a capability that air marshals say they still lack despite a $15 million congressional appropriation to develop the technology.
"When handling suspicious passengers and activities aboard commercial aircraft," the department was directed to establish guidelines to clarify agency roles and responsibilities and share information. The inspector general called the follow-up action "inadequate."
The final recommendation was to develop and execute a memorandum of understanding with the FBI, which the Federal Air Marshal Service said was unneeded.

You could just post a link, you know.

..spam spam spam egg and spam; spam spam spam spam spam spam baked beans spam spam spam...
Spam! Lovely spam! Lovely spam!

Homeland Security officials initially denied the complaints and blamed passengers who reported the incident to the press as behaving hysterically. However, the inspector general report shows that air marshals had the group of men under surveillance before they boarded the plane.

Their subversive, Beavis.

well you cant blame the authorieties completely because as we are seeing with the 'cleric' group sueing the airlines and anyone else......in a liberal world you can get arrested for protecting the public from these murderers who in this liberal world have more rights than the rest of us.......and all you have to do is lok at all of the taxi drivers who can use thier religion....(islam) to decide who they are going to give a ride to and to all of the places that are seemingly going to have to provide places for muslims to wash thier fuckin feet before praying..........

and I await the liberal attack here on homeland security because of a perception that 'brownie' is still there...

look at it this way.....we stopped it and we also learned some places that have to be fixed....as long as some liberal judge doesnt keep us from doing what is right to keep us safe........you know we have to really watch out for the rights of all those followers of that "PEACEFULL" religion........

Well so much for "fighting them over there so they don't come over here" bullshit spewed by the RNC.

""......in a liberal world you can get arrested for protecting the public from these murderers who in this liberal world have more rights than the rest of us.......""

And ta-daaaa....it's Bushlover to the rescue with bullshit!
What a load of crap BL.
Michael Chertoff and the Dept. of Homeland Security are not doing their jobs. It is typical of the incompetence of the Bush administration and could cost people their lives.
You're doing a heck of a job Bushlover.

"According to the Homeland Security.."

This is enough to dismiss it as pure propaganda. The creditability of republicans is almost non-existent. Why is it that every time the administration has a bad news day something like this comes out?

It hasn't been a liberal world of late. Billions upon billions of dollars spent and George Bush continuing to claim dictatorial powers and all we get from it all is a COVERUP?

ya know, it's not a matter of "if" but "when" a next terrorist attack will occur within the u.s. borders. those of you who dismiss this as "pure propaganda" will be the same people screaming about why it wasn't prevented and why more wasn't done.

I can remember the passengers on this plane were villified by some in the press for being "hysterical and paranoid". For some reason, reporting the exact suspicious behavior you are told to watch out for is acting "hyserical" if the people you report don't actually end up killing anyone or getting arrested.

I don't know what these guys were up to but if they weren't doing anything wrong, they sure went out of their way to make it seem that way.

Isn't that something? Americans are instructed to be vigilant and then when they are so are rejected as loons. It's enough to make you start wondering:

1) If the government is really serious about anything or, 2) If they just don't have absolute contempt for those they are supposed to protect.

In other words, maybe "World War IV" isn't about us at all, but only the government.

muslims = bad
profiling = good

The Bush-Media Fantasy that there have been no attacks since he launched his response to 9-11 is just more bullshit. There have been at (8) attacks, including a Kamakaze attack on El-Al Airlines in Los Angeles, Mohamad & Malvo, and other domestic shooters with Moslem, Balkan or Middle East connections. The Government has pretended these cases were unrelated to Moslem discontent. Europe has been savaged repeatedly as have parts of Asia, including Bali. Terrorists are now spilling out of Iraq into neighboring States. Direct attacks on the United States by Al Qaida average 7 years between events. Of course the rationalization that we have the right to defend ourselves but others don't is just nonsense.

Bullets and bombs will never solve the political, social, educational and religious problems that plague the Middle East Region. Nor do leaders in Saudi Arabia and the United States care to solve the problems. They keep their respective populations hunkered down in fear, while they rob them blind. The average income in Oil Rich Saudi Arabia is $7,000/year. Compare that to Oil Rich Norway where education, health care, transportation and vacations are essentially free.

In the United States the top 1% of the population controls wealth equal to the bottom 95% of the population. These disparate living conditions are not a fluke of nature, they are the natural consequence of Government Policies. In the United States, unlike dictatorships force is used only rarely. Without Corporate Media blasting bullshit every day at the people the disparity would be unsustainable. We do contend with riots occasionally, but it is still worse in most other parts of the world. Europe and Scandanavia are better off socially than we are, because of education and other policies.

You're doing a heck of a job Bushlover.

Posted by danni at 2007-05-31 09:11 AM | Reply


I just wish you could see me smiling because this doesnt hurt me at all. it was almost a funny by the poster girl for liberals who even the studys say are not as happy as us on the RIGHT SIDE.....hee hee..........


YES SULLY and others.....and the same kind of thing is going on with the clerics who did much of the same thing.....and the press and C.A.R.E. is going after these people too for the same reason.....we cant profile them.....and yet we strip search 80 year old women and all of us have to take our shoes off and all of that............

and in both cases,,,,,,NOTHING HAPPENED...and so something happened RIGHT somewhere....and as I said before......nothing happened and we were also able to see where we have to tighten things up.........that is not all bad...........

nutcase.........we are still waiting on your report about the attack on the US....which is what we have said all along......NO ATTACKS ON US SOIL.....there is that more accurate for you...........and the attacks you mention only deepen our resolve to keep them from happening here JUST LIKE THE ONES YOU MENTION.......

Bush has decreeded that there won't be any attacks on the US so you are safe until Clinton takes office, then hell will break loose. You know, them reps control everything in the world.

larry....you are now a graduate ....with honors I might add.....of the liberal bullshitspeak degree........you KNOW EXACTLY what I was talking about.....and isnt it the duty of the host country that these embassies are in to protect this little part of america that is located on thier shore?...........it was a damn good try though........

ah sniper.....I caught that....until clinton takes over....pretty good......

but you can go ahead and click your heels and head on back to kansas.....cause your dreamin...........

thompson is in the race......maybe

"thompson is in the race......maybe"

You folks do love your actors, don't you...

I get it....Bushlovers talking points will protect us from terrorists. The Republicans have been shown by the Inspector General to have done a piss poor job yet BL still posts talking points. BL do you actually dream in talking points???

Dry run of what?????????

It kind of looked like they were trying to get a reaction so they could sue for money or possibly a ticket to stay in the states.

People like GZ need to be arrested for disturbing the peace.

Larry: Attacks on American consulates only count when Clinton is in the WH, according to BLT.

Otherwise dry runs like this are just signs that Bush is indeed doin' a heckuva job protecting us.

But I call BS on this report. Everybody knows only Iranians would attack us. We thought it was Iraqis on 9-11, inspite of all the MSM talkin' about the Bush family's friends the saudis somehow being involved, but since the Iraqis greeted us as liberators, we were just misunderestimating them.

2002
June 14, Karachi, Pakistan: bomb exploded outside American consulate in Karachi, Pakistan, killing 12. Linked to al-Qaeda.
2003
May 12, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: suicide bombers killed 34, including 8 Americans, at housing compounds for Westerners. Al-Qaeda suspected.
2004
May 2931, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: terrorists attack the offices of a Saudi oil company in Khobar, Saudi Arabia, take foreign oil workers hostage in a nearby residential compound, leaving 22 people dead including one American.
June 1119, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: terrorists kidnap and execute Paul Johnson Jr., an American, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. 2 other Americans and BBC cameraman killed by gun attacks.
Dec. 6, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia: terrorists storm the U.S. consulate, killing 5 consulate employees. 4 terrorists were killed by Saudi security.
2005
Nov. 9, Amman, Jordan: Suicide bombers hit 3 American hotels, Radisson, Grand Hyatt, and Days Inn, in Amman, Jordan, killing 57. Al-Qaeda claimed responsibility.
2006
Sept. 13, Damascus, Syria: an attack by four gunman on the American embassy was foiled.
2007
Jan. 12, Athens, Greece: the U.S. embassy was fired on by an anti-tank missile causing damage but no injuries.


Larry

Posted by LarryMohr at 2007-05-31 10:14 AM

That is a good point Larry, technically that is US Soil. I think the latest TB scare from the man from Georgia shows just how inadequate the system is. If he got flagged and was on no fly lists, how was he not pulled over when coming back into the country? Pathetic.

If he got flagged and was on no fly lists, how was he not pulled over when coming back into the country? Pathetic

you know we have to really watch out for the rights of all those followers of that "PEACEFULL" religion........

Posted by bushlovertwo


BUSHLOVERTWO-You are an opportunistic tool of the capitalist class because you haven't hugged a jihadist today!


We at the Homosexual professor's for common terrorism belive Islam is tooday's most progressive, politically correct religion of choice. Its popularity with the Western liberals following the attacks on America has caused the cultural elites to give up Buddhism, Daoism, Paganism, and other progressive cults in favor of Islam. Following Gramsci's teaching, we are currently working on helping the world's Muslim populations to accept our definition of them as an oppressed minority. It is mandatory, therefore, for all progressive organizations to display a fervent support for the Palestinian struggle, its goals, and methods, and to denounce Zionism as the greatest evil, likening the Jews to the Nazis. The opportunity to recruit 1.2 billion Muslim supporters is just too good to let go, we say it's all for The Greater Good! This conflict is a religious and cultural manifestation of the struggle of oppressed minorities in third world countries against white imperialists, reactionary Christians, and Zionist colonialists. Islamism's professed disdain for the Western lifestyle, its intolerance towards the bourgeois morals are of vital importance for the international socialist struggle and have our full-hearted support.

you KNOW EXACTLY what I was talking about.....and isnt it the duty of the host country that these embassies are in to protect this little part of america that is located on thier shore?...........it was a damn good try though........

Posted by bushlovertwo at 2007-05-31 11:26 AM | Reply | Flag: Flag: (Choose)
FunnyNewsworthyOffensiveAbusiv
e

Negatory that is the Job of the United States through usually the USMC. Sorery You are wrong yet again BLT>

Larry

you KNOW EXACTLY what I was talking about.....and isnt it the duty of the host country that these embassies are in to protect this little part of america that is located on thier shore?...........it was a damn good try though........

Posted by bushlovertwo at 2007-05-31 11:26 AM

When our Embassy in Syria was attacked last year it was the Syrian forces which repelled it. Hmmm 'Those People' we don't want to talk to.

Go figure......

If a dem wins we will be struck again, they run their mouth, but no plan

"If a dem wins we will be struck again..."

Remind me...who was at the helm when we were attacked the first time? Wasn't it a Republican president and a Republican mayor of NYC?

BL do you actually dream in talking points???

Posted by danni at 2007-05-31 12:36 PM | Reply | Flag: Flag: (Choose)
FunnyNewsworthyOffensiveAbusiv
e



actually I USED To dream of good looking women with BIG ONES.....and that leaves out most of the liberal women I have known.,,,,,,,,

but at my age that has changed to having a good steak and a better bm afterwards........

and just look how interesting this is.......the left is left to only talk about attacks at embassies and while it is technically american soil, come on.....look at the shit all around it from all sides.......and while security should be such that nonone could penetrate it, the left can only point to these places when the subject is brought up and what we are talking about of course is that there has been no attacks on our shores since 9.11 and it is also interesting or maybe sad when someone says that bush was responsible which is what you are saying when you point out that he was in office on that day........
but then all the other attacks during clinton are just forgotten.....so you see....well lets put it this way.....

you tell us that we have had attacks on our soil at the embassiess and then you tell us that bush was at fault because he was in office...okay, but then the left tries to tell us that it wasnt clintons fault that embassies were attacked while he was in office........are you getting the hypocracy here? as usual the left tries to have it both ways and they get really pissed when we call them on it......just watch and see.

BL2 why do spout that jibberish? Clinton nor Bush are in direct supervision of security for any embassy. You use the strawman argument because that is all you have. Bush may have increased the likelihood of an attack because he has created more terrorists but I don't hold him liable for every nutcase who wants to blow himself up on the doorstep of an embassy.

byrd.....all of the above is an answer to larry who said that we cant talk about no attacks since 9/11 because of the embassy attacks and I tell him that this is not what we are talking about.....the first attack was against homeland security I believe and I dont think they have a role in protecting embassies but our military AND THE HOST COUNTRY have a role in securing that little piece of america.....
you might not blame him but that blame is obvious in most other posts when they talk about him in the white house.

""and while security should be such that nonone could penetrate it, the left can only point to these places when the subject is brought up and what we are talking about of course is that there has been no attacks on our shores since 9.11""

Bushlover, ok we have been lucky and have had no attacks in the US but puhleeeeez with the Mexican border open and allowing thousands to pour accross, with containers coming into our ports unchecked, etc. you can't really pretend that it is the actions of this president that have made us safer. You can pretend but the risks are too obvious for any serious person to actually believe such nonsense.
Even your explanation of your dream was a talking point....

""actually I USED To dream of good looking women with BIG ONES.....and that leaves out most of the liberal women I have known.,,,,,,,,""

So I think you actually do dream in talking points. Your posts here are certainly nothing but repititions of them.

Larry,
You are incorrect... the primary function of the USMC at US Foreign Service posts is to protect classified information, and as a secondary funtion US personnel. Vienna convention mandates that host country provides security to the embassy.
diplo

A Clinton caused 9-11, we dont need another

aw danni,....for crying out loud......lighten up...its the friggin weekend.......remember that thread about us being happier than the left....why dont you do something to dispell that one..........
watch the sunset
watch a good tearjerker movie
listen to a young boys choir
have a large bowl of ice cream and maybe with some apple pie with it....
and there's always a good roll in the hay......

heres hopin that you laugh the rest of the day.