Who’s freaking out?
Following the lead of anonymous air marshals (see Eric Leonard’s KFI news story), some in the blogosphere are piling on Annie Jacobsen. One blogger calls her a “sniveling little twit.” Kevin Drum pooh-poohs “Panic in the Skies.” Armed Liberal advises Annie to take a “chill pill.” And Commissar at Politburo Diktat writes:
We are freaking out. Panicking. Overreacting. Getting jumpy. For Chrissakes, GET A GRIP, comrades. We (I mean Ms. Jacobsen) are, by the words of our federal air security officials, creating a danger in the air.
I respectfully take issue with this characterization. Let’s remember what exactly Annie and Kevin Jacobsen did on their flight. By one unnamed marshal’s own words:
Jacobsen and her husband had a number of conversations with the flight attendants and gestured towards the men several times, the source said.
Who’s freaking out? The unnamed marshals who spoke to KFI are popping veins over the Jacobsens for having merely discussed their concerns with the flight crew and “gestured towards the men.” The couple didn’t jump up and scream “We are going to die!” They didn’t faint or have heart attacks. And they didn’t confront the 14 Syrians while they all stood up before landing, went to the bathroom, and congregated in the aisles in violation of security regulations. (No one confronted them, for crying out loud. That is the problem.)
The Jacobsens didn’t even muster up the courage to say meekly to the Syrians, “Hey, could you please sit down. You are making me nervous.” And they didn’t blab to other passengers about their fears.
The Jacobsens talked to the flight attendants and they kept to themselves. In fact, in their MSNBC interview, Kevin Jacobsen said he sat quietly with his wife and son during the landing and resignedly wrote about his concerns in his journal. Out-of-control menaces in the air? Come on.
The message that the alarmed and panicked marshals are sending out is that if and when we view suspicious behavior, we should all just sit tight in our seats, shut up, and do nothing until it’s too damned late lest we possibly risk blowing their cover.
Meanwhile, Tom Ridge and Norm Mineta ask us all to be vigilant, buy our duct tape, hand over our nail clippers and knitting needles, keep our lips sealed, and relinquish complete control and responsibility for homeland defense–and self-defense–to The Professionals.
Two words: Hell, no.
(Now, read this: When government failed: Passengers of Flight 93 saved America from even greater horror.)
***
Some annoyed bloggers wonder why I keep “flogging” this subject. For the same reasons they keep discussing it themselves: Very simply, it’s interesting and it’s important and there’s much to learn here about how both the government and citizens should properly respond to real and perceived homeland security threats. If you’d rather read about what the Bush twins are wearing and who saw whom at what restaurant, you are in the wrong zip code.
See what others have said
Note from Michelle: This section is for comments from michellemalkin.com's community of registered readers. Please don't assume that I agree with or endorse any particular comment just because I let it stand. A reminder: Anyone who fails to comply with my terms of use may lose his or her posting privilege.
Trackbacks
- The Laughing Wolf
- The Spoons Experience
- Captain's Quarters
- Rox Populi
- Blogs of War
- InTheBullpen.com
- Serenity's Journal
- BLACKFIVE
- Right Moment
- Twisted Spinster
- Tom McMahon
- Dean's World
- Winds of Change.NET
- LilacRose
- Who Tends the Fires
- damnum absque injuria
- Media Lies
- The Blue State Conservatives
- The Blue State Conservatives
- The Blue State Conservatives
- planck's constant
- planck's constant
Comments
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Categories: Airline Security, Annie Jacobsen, Norm Mineta
Power Line
» The Alarmists Do "Science": A Case Study
Power Line
» When In Doubt, DeleteGay Patriot
» How John Hoeven Can Save AmericaJustOneMinute
» The Topless Ann AlthouseEd Driscoll
» The Bears Are Who We Thought They WereStop The ACLU
» Senate Approves Motion to Proceed on ObamacareStop The ACLU
» Glenn Beck: The Man With The PlanPundit & Pundette
» Reports of Broder's retirement greatly exaggerated
Hell yeah.
Michele, let me make one small correction; I didn’t wait to pile onto the Jacobsens with criticism until the KFI story came out, I was piling onto them long before that.
Our blog limits itself to good news on Saturdays; I’ll post a roundup explanation of what I think is wrong with this Saturday night. Hint: it isn’t that we should give free passes through security to Syrian passport holders.
A.L.
Forgive me if I am out to lunch on this admittedly slightly crucial detail, but aren’t air marshals only on SOME of our flights? If that has changed, when was it? Otherwise, how in the world are we to even have confidence that some moron in a cape is going to come flying into the picture at just the last second? Yet another reason to have them on every flight if we don’t already. Of course that takes investment, like guarding the border or putting CIA on the ground around the world- something we have royally screwed up in the past 40 years.
I guess in reality a passenger can know if a marshal is on board. Just look for the guy dressed like a cop-in-a-suit and you’ve got your man. (Btw., if I’m the terrorist, I take him first).
Thank you Michele. I am glad that I commented on the earlier story. You are a real trooper….
This is why I was ecstatic when I heard that Michelle was starting a blog! I could not agree with you more. I for one am not willing to sit on a plane and sleep quietly with full confidence that the government is going to protect me. The government has a key roll in providing protection, but that does not mean that our social contract dictates that we relinquish ALL SOVERENTY for protection. Just look at the recently released tapes of 911 where the hijackers were going through security and you will see that the government CAN not protects us in all circumstances. In this war the greatest defense is the American people not Homeland security!
Was pretty sad that the CBLPI seminar got pushed to July 26, as I was there for leadership training in June the weekend of Reagan’s funeral and was looking forward to hearing you speak. Will most definitely be tuning in Monday afternoon to watch the C-SPAN2 coverage – thanks for posting the information!
Keep right on flogging. Someone needs to. There are a lot of us who feel just as strongly as you do about this, and about a lot of other things, but don’t have your the ability to spread the word. It’s pretty clear you’d say just what you think even if you thought no one agreed with you, but if it helps to know we do agree, know it.
I’m confused – exactly when does Michelle Malkin sleep – she posts
around the clock every day! How is
this humanly possible? She’s both
brilliant and fearless, we know, but
isn’t she still one of us mere mortals?
Michelle, I think it is worth pointing out, as you already have, for the upteenth time, these Syrians were travelling on expired visas and the FBI didn’t catch that.
Maybe thier peculiar behavior was prompted by the fact that they were afraid of being caught.
There is probing of our airlines going on and more people should report suspicious behavior.
Remember the Turkish wallet bomb that had no mechanical parts which was not detected by screeners? Someone had to plant that bomb.
http://ussneverdock.blogspot.com/2004/06/turkish-plane-wallet-bomb-raises.html
You keep flogging Michelle let the others bury their heads in he sand.
Athena: you’ve got it.
You keep right on FLOGGING Michelle!
Political Correctness makes Airport screening a joke. The fact that some bloggers are ridiculing the Jacobsens shows how quickly we’ve become complacent on the issue of air safety.
We need powerful voices in the media to continue challenging weakness’ in homeland security & MM has been leading the way for over 2 years. Keep up the great work Michelle!
For those of you worried about Ms. Malkin’s sleeping habits, she’s a mother & probably hasn’t slept more than 2 1/2 hrs straight since the birth of her first child…
Michelle, I seem to remember that Annie did muster up some courage and try to communicate with one of Ackmed’s Hijackers on the airliner. And when she made eye contact and smiled at him, he gave her one of the hate filled looks. Annie is being acted on all sides. I respect what she did. And I am still waiting for some further sightings of this group. They may not have been Assad’s A team but they definitely were behaving in an odd manner. Isn’t the talented Mr. Taylor able to come up with any future bookings? They seem to have vanished off the face of the earth…
We are creating a danger in the air?
What about the joke of a security screening? (yea, I know you found a few ‘weapons’ like nail clippers…).
As long as we are afraid of ‘offending’ those who are trying to murder us we will never be safe.
And Michelle, thanks for the blog and for keeping us all imformed on this issue (not to mention the flogging you give them
.
Looks like Cman’s IP needs to be banned for spamming the comments.
Hmm or maybe Cman is just off his meds. First this, then he turns libral.
Unlike most media who want to tie things up in a neat package asap we can take our time on the internet. Although it is clear that many blog authors are very, very busy and may do the same thing for different reasons. It is easy to spot the impatient ones. This story is very important and we all deserve to know in the end what really happened. It really doesn’t matter how long that takes. And if this is to happen it is important that the few facts in the case not be buried beneath a pile of opinions and heresay evidence. I’m fairly sure that anybody who plans to fly would appreciate that. I would say that we are all conservatives while flying with ME men. But maybe not. Lately, it seems, that there is a group out here who will refuse to acknowledge that 9/11 happened and could happen again.
Michelle,
There are several telling details and quote from the KFI news that you should mention. The AIR MARSHALS, not me, said she was over-reacting and was the only person who posed a threat to the flight.
For the record, I hate, hate, hate! to side with Kevin Drum and Lean Left on this.
Before judging this woman’s account, why don’t you all read the article in the 07/22/04 “Washington Times” by Audrey Hudson? It also mentions the 02/15/04 flight from San Juan,PR to JFK where similar actions occured. According to this article both air marshall’s, flight crews, and pilots are concerned about “dry runs.” Annie Jacobsen has addressed an important issue of additional security layers for connecting flights. The fact remains that more could be done to protect us. Political correctness should be a pre-9/11 standard. I can assure you that if I was standing during landing and the seat-belt light was on,I would have been asked to sit down. Air Marshall’s should keep their cover, but someone should have told the “musicians” to return to their seats when they stood in aisles and blocked exits. Thanks, Michelle. This is an important issue (expired Visas).
Tears on my pillow
Never felt so good
Hold me, Daddy
I’m afraid to fly
Well, Gee. I’m glad Michelle is here flogging and blogging. I’m glad someone cares enough to discuss this story and its ramifications. Whether it turned out as it did or with horrific consequences (and thank God it did not), the point is we need to be aware. Now I went back to the complete Scarborough Country interview with investigative journalist Scott Weinberger and read: “Several passengers spoke to the flight attendants and gave them information” -seems they did exactly what Annie Jacobsen did, with the exception that she wrote a journalistic piece about hers, but they were not overreacting. Nor was the woman who was crying on her husband’s shoulder a form of over-reacting. Geez, folks, why is everyone pointing the finger at Annie? Did the air marshalls “over-react” because they would not like it to appear that they weren’t doing their jobs?
Keep up the excellent work, Michelle.
Northwest #327, a Haiku
Terror in the sky
Silently weeping I sit
Xanax cures all
Arabs on a plane
Covert glances, winks and nods
Seatbelts unfastened
Yea, and seven guys who just all happen to be from a terrorist sponsoring state have to relieve themselves at the same time as the airliner descends on LAX. What were they all thinking? “I must pee now because Ackmed is peeing and Quesal is peeing. All the others are going, so I must have to go to. Yes, I think I feel the urge. And I will call my brother while I am in there to tell him how it went. “
I have a lot to say about this and I hope I’ll be able to write more in the near future. But I have to stop and register utter disbelief at the contempt for Ms. Jacobsen that certain commentators are showing.
The nation is expected to nod and hold the left’s hand whenver they have a bad dream about John Ashcroft, otherwise we’re “chilling” their speech. But when Ms. Jacobsen expresses a politically inconvenient truth, it’s “sniveling little twit”, “paranoid”, and of course, “racist”. You know those silly soccer-mom womenfolk, always overreacting, forgetting their place!
Either that’s repellent cynicism, or it’s rank misogyny.
I really regret that the information I uncovered is being used to smear Ms. Jacobsen. In my NRO article I tried to make the point that even though, in hindsight, she was most likely wrong about _this particular group_, she was very, very right about how we’re in a lot of danger.
We wouldn’t be having a national discussion of security practices right now if her very compelling narrative hadn’t made the rounds and awakened people in a way that a dozen official reports and snoozy policy articles couldn’t do.
–CWT
Amen to all of that. And it seems important to me that this group of coordinated, antsy, urinary unretentive musicians is gone. Someone managed to find Elizabeth Smart and she was just one person who was not drawing attention to herself. These guys beg for attention. If they are playing anywhere in the western world I hope they will be discovered. They were tracked down once so it couldn’t be but so difficult to find them again. The FBI was apparently protecting their right to privacy. That’s pretty funny. But the rest of us would like to know where they are playing.
I thank God that Annie Jacobson spoke out about this. And I thank you Michelle for keeping the issue alive. I am not familar with the blogs who are criticising Ms. Jacobson, but they seem to be of the mindset that only the government has responsibility for our physical safety and that we should sit around like sheep and be silent about any threat we perceive. These are the people who claim that we are “freaking out” if we merely raise concerns about potential dangers much less act upon the concerns. (Using such loaded language under the circumstances is a clear indication to me that the person above who described Ms. Jacobson’s inquiries in that manner is one who thinks we should all just shut up and stick our heads in the sand) Of course, abandoning our God-given instinct for self-protection means more power for “the anointed” who prefer that government handle such concerns.
The fact is we all instinctively know that a large group of Mideastern men on one flight is a potential threat–but there are those out there who want us to either deny this to ourselves or to just shut up about it. Now that Ms. Jacobson has spoken openly, others in an even better position to know that Islamists have actually been probing the defenses on our airplanes have been coming forward with the information.
I simply do not understand why people think that the fact this group of men were Syrian Musicians on their way to a gig somehow dispels any notion that this was a “dry run.” What better cover can there be for such a large group to travel together? We aren’t dealing with a stupid enemy.
As for the question about would the Air Marshals lie–I have seen nothing from them that directly controverts the specific observations of the Jacobson’s. I have seen only information about the Marshal’s opinions interpreting the meaning of the actions of the Syrians. Therefore, I don’t believe that the Jacobson’s account has been discounted in any meaningful way given that if you’ve ever known government employees–you know that when criticized their first instinct is to cover their own asses.
Michelle – keep fighting, young lady. I was on a flight not long ago where a swarthy-looking passenger, who spoke with an accent, was in an ATA pilot’s uniform. I have to tell you that I watched this guy the whole flight. I also tried to keep an eye on other fellows whom I thought might be worthy of attention. Know what I was doing? I was profiling and PC be damned. Also, remember that air marshals are part of the bureaucracy and some bureaucrats go inert.
Clint:
What, exactly, is the “politically inconvenient truth” revealed by Annie Jacobsen? It can’t be that “Arabs are allowed to fly,” can it?
I don’t think she deserves the critcism that is being heaped upon her, either. She was on the flight, she was scared, she wrote about it… Given her description of the events that took place on the flight, I would have probably been scared as well.
But since nothing happened, why do you conservatives insist that there is something terribly wrong going on here?
This isn’t a question of the flight’s pre-screening having failed. This isn’t a situation where the “no-fly list” was deficient in who it prohibits from flying. This isn’t a case of “would-be terrorists” lying to investigators – thanks to your research we know that they were who they said they were.
The only possible concerns left seem to center around the ethnicity of the musicians. “Arabs should fly on their own planes.” “Don’t let more than 2 or 3 at a time fly.” “Why are we letting Syrians into our country?” “How on earth could anyone enjoy Syrian music?”
Don’t you folks see where this is going?
TLA
Here’s the part abou KFI’s story that just doesn’t jive with me…
…if the authorities KNEW that the 14 Syrians were no threat to anyone, why was Ms. Jacobsen not told as much? It’s easy for some folks to look back on the situation and decide that she was overreacting, but it seems a lot less like overreacting if you only go on the information that she was given and had to work with at the time.
If the Syrians were no threat, why were her conversations with flight attendants and motions towards the “musicians” causing any sort of danger on the flight? It just doesn’t compute.
If this is not a case of CYA by the FAM (notice none of these “overreacting” claims were made when the story originally broke and was confirmed by the FAM) might it be that the feds KNEW it was a dry-run and were hoping to get a little more information than it was possible for them to get with the disturbance Ms. Jacobsen was causing? (I’ll take off the tin-foil hat now, I promise)
How does “we know that they were who they said they were” make it all fine and dandy Lib?
Michelle et al: OK, so you keep harping on this. Why? WHAT DO YOU WANT TO ACCOMPLISH? So far as I can tell, this is a story of how well the SYSTEM IS WORKING.
PETE: The federal agents may not have known anything for sure until after Annie left. During the flight, what could they have done? Stood up and said “Maam, I’m the marshall protecting this flight”? Then if the Syrians were terrorists, they’d know exactly who to go after. Their primary goal during the flight was to keep everyone calm, and if that involved misdirecting the panicing woman during the flight, that’s the right thing to do.
BTW, for all the marshalls knew, she could well have been a terrorist plant. Wouldn’t be the first time a white woman was psychologically tricked into unknowingly helping arab terrorists.
MARC: Of course their visas had expired, the visa lets you into the country, doesn’t let you stay. I haven’t seen an answer if people meant it literally (misreading a true but meaningless point), or figuratively (they had overstayed their time in the country).
Lisa:
I think that the discussion has moved beyond fear that this particular group of non-Whites consisted of terrorists.
TLA
TLA–
Politically inconveniient truth here is that present protocols/mindset would not have protected us from an IED/ bums rush at the cockpit/ knife-and fork massacre/any number of nefarious scenarios. It ought to be inconvenient for Bush, but no one is there to run on his right on that issue.
I share your concern that this sort of thing might either fuel anti-Arab/ anti-Persian/ unspecific anti-Swarthy racism, or provide a convenient excuse to express it. But I’m afraid it’s nothing like what we’ll see when the next attack hits.
(I just stopped in, but will check in in a couple of days.)
If we never hear or read another story about this merry band of musicians, Ms. Jacobsen is a bonafide hero in my book.
On the other hand, if we read about them in the follow up stories to another attack, she’s still a hero – and a vindicated one at that.
One possibility that simply does not exist, since her account has already been corroborated by the fact that the pilot alerted officials on the ground to intercept this group, is that they are just a bunch of peace loving travelling musicians and nothing more. At the very least, they were messing with people’s minds on this flight for the sheer amusement of creating panic and terror. Hellooo… that still makes them terrorists, doesn’t it?
Their actions were deliberate – for what purpose, we don’t know. But to suggest that they were acting innocently and that the Jacobsens were succumbing to paranoia is ridiculously absurd. The idiots who say so are apparently convinced by that king of idiots – Michael Moore – that there is no terrorist threat.
The rest of us with half a brain know better and don’t need another attack to be reminded.
By the time the paranoid government of Communist East Germany collapsed, it is estimated that more than 50% of its citizens either worked directly for or informed to the East German Secret Police.
Following their lead, I could envision a day where everybody on a given flight is a FAM, and everyone sits, loking at one another suspiciously, their hands upon their guns, ready to fire.
I don’t believe it is any accident that we have had no terrorist incidents since 911. In 25 years or so when the info is declassified, it wouldn’t suprise me to learn that tens of thousands of people are currently under surveilance and that hundreds of terrorist incidents were foiled very QUIETLY. After all if I were the CIA/NSA/FBI, I would want the bad guys to believe that security was low and perfunctory. When terrorists hit Israel, they are very sophisticated, clever and sometimes just plain lucky. But the difference is they know what they are getting into before they act and are therefore very watchful/paranoid. If Kerry/Edwards get elected, I suspect that they will appoint a Toricelli style person to replace Ashcroft. He/she will be a strong ACLU type who will demand that all terrorists in custody have the right to confront their accusers publicly which will cause the intelligence agencies to just release those in custody because they won’t want the cover blown on their best assets. The liberal dems won’t get really serious until there is a really serious incident. One that makes 911 look like a fire cracker and that results in congressional heads on the chopping block by a terrified populace.
Well, I don’t know about anybody else, but I take the words of a federal air marshal much more seriously than that of a writer for an online magazine I’ve never heard of prior to.
One has to ask who this fearmongering helps. Could it be the terrorists? As has been said before, they want us to fear. They want us to hate. To suspect everybody and be torn apart.
If you find yourself on a hijacked airplane, by all means fight the terrorists. But don’t freak out beforehand and cause an international incident. God only knows what could have happened had Ms Jacobsen whipped up the other passengers into a panic striken fury. I’m sure we’d have had 14 dead or injured innocent Arabs on our hands. Then the terrorists would spin this incident into more anti-American propaganda.
There is something to be said for letting the pros to do their job. I hope nobody here would bust in on a crime scene and attempt to “help” the cops conduct their investigation. Anne Jacobsen’s freaking out is along these same times.
I have to agree with Ratan that I believe the law enforcement professionals on the scene instead of Ms. Jacobsen. Why do the rest of you refuse to believe the account of the hard-working officers who try to keep our skies safe? Why do you hate America?
Hysterical, Stefan!
John Scalzi’s WHATEVER is on it, too. In his opinion, this isn’t a liberal v. conservative issue at all.
http://www.scalzi.com/whatever/archives/001030.html
David2 said, “And when she made eye contact and smiled at him, he gave her one of the hate filled looks.”
Some psychologist should be studying this story in terms of the word-of-mouth exaggeration factor. Jacobsen’s original story only said, “The man did not smile back. His face did not move. In fact, the cold, defiant look he gave me sent shivers down my spine.”
Sure, not friendly, but not “hate-filled” either.
It occurs to me that if a woman nearby me started casting me shifty glances, pointing at me while talking in stage whispers to her husband, and otherwise acting like I, who had done her no harm, was public enemy number one…
…if she then made eye-contact with me and grinned, I’d probably give her a pretty hard stare myself. I’d shoot her my best facial expression equivalent of “Lady, get OFF my back!”
I think I’ve read every story that’s been written abou this incident, and most of the comments on the different threads here.
A few people have mentioned the possibility that these folks were in fact legitimate musicians, but who deliberately choose to act this way to mess with people’s minds. Having spent some time in the Mideast, as well as read a lot about it, I feel sure that this is what happened.
It’s a way for them to feel superior to the “craven” Americans. All of you must have read about how many Arab Muslims take pride in their supposed indifference to death, as opposed to the West. It’s part of their “groupthink”.
Afterwards, in the interviews with law enforcement, they would of course have denied that they were “terrorists” in the sense of not being a part of any organized Al Queda type conspiracy (and almost certainly, they probably weren’t).
Recall the episode of the two men traveling to Florida (med students?) who evidently deliberately talked about “bombs” in the restaurant in Georgia, for the fun of scaring people who were looking at them suspiciously. Later they were stopped by the police authorities in Florida, and the story went national for a while.
The only way to handle this type of thing is to revoke their visas for violating safety rules on the aircraft, and then put them on a watch list barring them from any future entry into the country.
And this is what should have happened to those two clowns who talked about bombs in the restaurant as well.
Believe me, the word of this would spread like wildfire amongst the Arab Muslim expat community and then back to the home countries, and this type of behavior would quickly stop.
It would require political courage by the Homeland Security Dept and the Administration, of course. But I don’t see how civil libertarians could stop such a ban to re-entry with legal action. There is no “right” of aliens to enter this country and then deliberately act in a provocative manner, especially when they are in specific violation of particular laws and rules (ie 7 guys deliberately standing up on the aircraft when they are supposed to be in their seats and belted).
If I was a traditional Arab Muslim male I’d also not appreciate it if a strange married woman approached me and started smiling. I might interpret it as flirting, which would be disrespectful to both me and her husband, and I’d give her a cold stare to shut her down.
Nice work Michelle — hang in there! Hell, no is right. And kudos to Clint Taylor also.
With handicaps like the “business attire for FAMs” and “can only question 2″ rules it’s simply absurd to believe the Feds have really learned anything.
People pooh-poohing Annie have amnesia about Flight 93.
And another real service here from Annie is that her story has smoked out lots of stuff (see the Washington Times article Michelle linked to previously) like reports from various crews of other similar incidents and the guy who had taken off the lavatory mirror trying to get through to the cockpit. In fact, I find it rather telling how the nay-sayers are using what boils down to an ad hominem attack on Annie rather than “connect the dots” of the big picture she has uncovered!
Somehow nobody notices that ad hominem is in fact the lynchpin of PC — and PC idiocy is exactly what Annie is worried about in her articles!
Ugghh.
Bob
I still fail to see what type of “behavior” people are talking about. A group of musicians who all know each other get a on a plane together and then talk to each other and get up to use the bathroom occasionally throughout the flight. Oh, and one of them brings a bag of McDonald’s food on board, which the then proceeds to eat before throwing the bag away. Harrowing! Terrifying! Home of the brave, indeed….
The most worrisome thing to me about this whole episode is that, until reading it, I had this slightly comfortable feeling that
a plane load of passengers wouldn’t stand for another 9/11 takeover and, surely, no more than a few terrorists could board without someone screening them out.
This group boarded at different airports in small groups-DOAH!- and by the time they were finished, if indeed they could assemble bombs after they boarded,I doubt they would have too much trouble controlling the passengers.
Even if Annie Jacobsen’s story turned out to be a false alarm, I’m glad she published it. We have a barn door mentality in this country and I hope her
account rattled airport security people as much as it did the average reader
For starters, I put very little faith in these random, after-the-fact accounts from people who claim to be Air Marshals. I understand why one wouldn’t want to give his/her name, but that destroys all credibility. There have been a few shots taken at WomensWallStreet, but KFI?
MB: That’s exactly my point. If the authorities DIDN’T know that the Syrians weren’t a danger to the flight, how is it reasonable to say that Ms. Jacobsen overreacted? She wasn’t acting THEN with the info we have NOW… she saw Middle Eastern Men acting VERY strangely on a flight. She didn’t have 40 bloggers text-messaging her with advice and information.
Liberal Avenger WROTE
“Tears on my pillow
Never felt so good
Hold me, Daddy
I’m afraid to fly”
I write –
The smile on my face
is bigger each day
as I judge others
in a bad way.
Is this what it means to be a liberal, LA?
LA WROTE
“Terror in the sky
Silently weeping I sit
Xanax cures all”
I write —
I’m a puppy
with no nerve endings
I have no common sense
I think I have wings
Let me convince others
that I can fly
though the pattern exists
that that is a lie
Isn’t it grand to have your head in the sand, LA?
Liberal Avenger wrote—
“Arabs on a plane
Covert glances, winks and nods
Seatbelts unfastened”
I write—
Arabs on a plane
killed others in front of us
Boxcutters, years of planning
Now whats all the fuss?
Does no pattern exists, LA?
Clint Taylor,
Thank you. I made that point before. Those of us who bash Annie must realize that you are effectively suppressing any future Annie’s from telling their story.
How is that helpful to America’s national security?
If we collectively come to the realization that these were nice gentlemen who had no intentions of harm then GOOD ! WE WIN !
But if we all come to the collective realization through discussions that we need to have a better system than allowing people to form a line in the front of the plane near the cockpit. THen GOOD ! We WIN !
And if we come to the collective realization that camera’s and other such items that can have their inards replaced shouldn’t be brought back and forth to other passengers DURING a flight then GOOD ! WE WIN !
The discussion is GOOD !
Folks like LA, Monkey, and Kevin P and others on the “LEFT” who would effectively suppress Annie’s in the U.S. don’t have good perspective. They just want to attack us, cast aspersions and call us names.
Pete: If they didn’t know for sure, then the right thing to do is surveillence. Which is what the flight attendent seems to have suggested and the agents seemd to have done. I do not fault the author for watching carfully, that is the RIGHT thing to do. It’s the fear and panic which is WRONG (even if natural at the time) and needs to be discussed. And the fearmongering/hit-driving article which is wrong.
Again, I ask what is accomplished? By discussion of the issues, great. Two things have hopefully come out: people need to be vigilant and watch others, because there have been unreported incidents. And that vigilance does not mean panic, because certain behavior is normal.
Oh, and another lesson is that well-written fear-mongering is a great way to drive traffic to your website. And that there’s a lot of panic scared people out there who want to add rules like ‘no arabs may fly’. In at least one case I’ve seen someone proposing new rules who turned out to have never flown under the current rules.
So, again, what specific changes need to be made to the current system which appears to actually be working (suprisingly) successfully?
David2 said: “Michelle, I seem to remember that Annie did muster up some courage and try to communicate with one of Ackmed’s Hijackers on the airliner. And when she made eye contact and smiled at him, he gave her one of the hate filled looks.”
We tend to forget the Arab contempt for women without vails and, especially, women smiling at them, other than their wives. He may have taken Jacobsen’s smile as a solicitation. Eye contact says many things to many people, even to dogs.
Michelle, THANKS for keeping this story follow-up going. It’s a great service not available elsewhere. Look at all the stories we see in the newspapers that are never followed up and stories that never reach newsprint which should have.
Some here give U.S. Marshals too much credit. They evidently did not read about the government hiring hundreds of new ones for trainiing — ordinary citizens with badges and guns who can make mistakes just like the rest of us.
Because pilots wear uniforms doesn’t mean they are somehow above being scared, along with the passengers, about dry-runs and other threats. They are! But their professional training enables them to steel their nerves and reach their destinations.
We are ALL scared citizens working together to avoid a “next time”. But we should not let the terrorists enjoy our fear and use it to their advantage. Prudent caution — being vigilant — is not “freaking out”. Jacobsen’s bashers will be the first to scream their heads off when the next attack comes.
Remember, it is the terrorists main plan to either convert the world to Islam and to kill all who refuse to accept it.
Do we wait until hundreds of thousands of black-clad soldiers storm our beaches before acting? I think NOT. And at what point will the man who is president have the courage to launch a nuclear response to an attack on a country supporting terrorists? That day may also come.
It’s them or us — take your choice.
JFM
When I heard this story, I too immediately thought of the two clowns in Florida as well, just stirring up the cowardly Americans. If these guys are not actually connected with some terror group, then that’s probably what they were up to. I hope that constitutes adequate grounds for immediate deportation and permanent bar to re-entry.
It seems that in every story involving attempted self defense by one of the unwashed groundlings, our betters rush forward to remind us to suspend our common sense and leave defense to those who have mastered nuanced analysis.
Quick thought experiment: What if Flight 93 had been populated only by the brilliantly nuanced thinkers who find racism behind every bush? Perhaps the passengers would have demonstrated their superior understanding of the plight of the Arab freedom fighter, which would have melted the righteous hatred of the hijackers. The plane would have landed safely and there would be a love-in on the tarmac. Or maybe they would just stay in their seats and issue cellphone communiques on behalf of the terrorists, deploring the imminent destruction as a sad but necessary incident to jar the Americans into paying attention to “Why They Hate Us.” At least they would enjoy the temporary frisson of moral superiority (just prior to impact).
Possibly. But my bet is they would have begged for mercy then pissed themselves in their seats, and the plane would have reached its intended target with no credible opposition.
So here are the rules I take home from all of this commentary:
(1) the rules of the “war on terror” apply only to Americans and all others who unquestioningly comply with them and therefore pose no threat
Example: If I joke with security or say the word “bomb” during the security check ON THE GROUND I will be given special attention from security personnel and likely not fly that day, also, I have been firmly asked to leave the restroom line during approach, but it’s OK for these guys to whatever they want whenever they want;
(2) If I raise my concerns about this in the air (just doing my job being vigilant) I will be branded as uncooperative, or worse, an overwrought racist when we land unharmed;
(3) Indeed, merely entertaining the thought that these people exhibited odd or questionable behavior is the result of my fear and misunderstanding of their cultural norms (which as we are always reminded trump mine wherever in the world we may be), or more likely are a symptom of my irrational, likely genetically transmitted fear of mere swarthiness; and
(4) if the flight crashes in flames, well, the racist Americans could have done more to prevent it.
Before somebody says I am the type who causes the problems — let me say that Liberals over-react to situations and Conservatives under-react or do nothing. That’s why the up-coming election decisions are so frustrating — we are not of one mind on how to defend our country. I have about as much faith in the current adminstration as in the challengers, which is to say very little.
Some how, God protects us from evil doers and politicians mainly working in their own interests for greater glory and profit.
JFM
The fact that the crew knew that air marshalls were present was very detrimental on Jacobsen’s flight. The crew waited for the marshalls to react while the marshalls were more concerned with maintaining cover than protecting people. As a result, the crew did not insist the misbehaving Syrians sit down when the seatbelt sign went on, so the flight was out of control in terms of crowd management. The passengers looked to the crew for basic leadership regarding the situation, but instead saw passivity and fear. So the psychology of deferring to the more responsible persons was very disempowering.
The left isn’t just concerned with actions, they care about what you think. Annie thought the wrong thoughts, and so she was freaking out. Because she thought the wrong thoughts, she should be derided. Never mind what she did, the fact that she actually thought that these 14 Syrians who couldn’t stay seated might be terrorists, she is out of control.
I’m not convinced that this was a “dry run”. But I’m not convinced that it wasn’t, either.
Think about what it would have taken to stop 9/11. Bush is being flogged for “not doing enough”, but any effective action would have had to include the roundup and detention of a number of people of Mideastern descent – some would-be hijackers, some perhaps not. And imagine the howls you would have heard then about profiling, especially if the effort had been successful and 9/11 had not happened! We’re hearing them now even *with* this tragedy still fresh in our minds.
As for “taking the words of a Fedral Air Marshall more seriously than those of a writer for an online magazine I’d never heard of”, maybe – if those words weren’t anonymous and second- or third-hand. Ms. Jacobsen put herself on the line and didn’t hide behind any anonymity. And let’s not forget that when her story first came out, some of the reflexive bashers questioned whether she even really existed!
I have read about a lot of incidents in the sky since 9/11 where people did things and were asked to sit down. Sometimes these situations escalated and they were arrested. In this case nothing was done because there were 14 men from Syria who might not have been easily subdued, not one American who had stopped taking his meds. And they were probably probing to see what the reaction would be. Next time they will know what the A team can get away with.
Or they were having fun terrorizing passengers which I think is less likely if they are really musicians and don’t want to be banned from US flights.
Or exactly half of them (seven) had to use the lavatory at the same time as the flight is ending which is even less likely. (Why is this the probable explanation for some? I don’t get that.) Clearly, the flight crew were so alarmed they didn’t do their usual thing and try to get the men to sit down. The FBI was called. But one passenger, who wrote an accurate account for the rest of the world, is the problem?
The problem is that we are asked to be vigilant by govt. But when something happens like this, we are given no information or false information. And the problem is that things like this are allowed to happen even to the point where things could get very ugly. Because of PC.
It’s time to get serious about protecting the flying public. I understand that John Kerry has his own airplane and doesn’t have to worry about this type of situation. For that matter, the President’s staff would NEVER allow something like this happen to him. But the rest of us would appreciate flights that do not allow this type of thing to happen. Is that really too much to ask? I don’t think that it is.
Somebody needs to figure out what happened on this flight. It doesn’t require a genius. And then the govt. needs to be very honest about what happened. And then they need to put in rules that will prevent a recurrence. Our anonymous air marshals have already admitted that it does happen, even while they are downplaying this case. So how do you prevent it, guys? Let your next statement address this issue, and let it be constructive, for a change. You DO want to prevent it, right? And you aren’t helpless, are you, in this regard?
I would rather be paranoid than unaware with my head buried deep in the sands of denial
Thank you for your common sense Michelle!
I agree with David 2, Brenda and others who care about one thing: protection of our country (regardless of party,race, or creed, which is what our country is founded on). Political correctness should not interfere with safety on board a plane or anywhere in the world. Diplomacy and politeness do not work with terrorists.These men, regardless of nationality, should not have been allowed to act as they did on a flight, whether mentally terrorizing passengers or on a dry run.
I highly recommend everyone emailing, faxing or writing/calling their state senators and congressmen. One thing our country is united on is terrorism prevention.Joe Scarborough on MSNBC has an easy link to do this.
If nothing else, the Jacobsen article made me more aware of the lack of security layers for connnecting flights and metal utensils in restarants in “secure” areas of aiports. Write your elected officials and ask for them to come back early from their break and get something done.
Thank you Annie and Michelle for bringing this to our attention. The media sure hasn’t.
Relax people ,remember you can always depend on a future 9/11 commison to whitewash your fears away.
Now will the Liberals, among us please name all or any of the Arab countries that open up their arms to Christain or Hindu or any other outsiders to come and settle in their homeland. Or have ” Diversity” as part of their offical immigration policy
Ratan
…”I’m sure we’d have had 14 DEAD or injured INNOCENT Arabs on our hands…
One is an oxymoron and the other is a good thing. I’ll let you figure out which is which.
“Real” Terrorists or not, their actions placed “terror” in the hearts of others. That makes them “Terrorists”.
Since we’ve seen hide nor hair of these maggots since the incident hopefully they’re in jail or already deported.
K/H D
They were probably hired somewhere in the US. Don’t worry, “they take the jobs no one else wants”.
Has anyone seen the protest cages in Boston? Right now protestors have filed suit in federal court to challenge this. I’m sure lawyers on both sides surrounding the Republican convention are eyeing this closely. I have to say, as much as I favor putting some protestors in a cage like the animals they are, I think it is over the top no matter which Political party wants to have it. As far as groups like the Ruckus with a known history of violence and deadly assaults on police officers, they should be banned completely and if seen or recognized as members, should be arrested on the spot.
Arab doesn’t mean muslim, though the majority (90%?) are. The arab Christians get a very raw deal, as non-arabs assume all arabs are fundamentalist muslims, while arab muslims don’t want there to be any non-muslims. In fact, the president of Syria is not a mainstream muslim, though the Alawites are usually considered a sect of Islam. There’s a few other odd groups too, including arab jews, though there aren’t many left, nor many who identify themselves that way.
>>”If I was a traditional Arab Muslim male I’d also not appreciate it if a strange married woman approached me and started smiling. I might interpret it as flirting, which would be disrespectful to both me and her husband, and I’d give her a cold stare to shut her down.”
Posted by Stefan<<
Hmm, if some “traditional Christian conservative males” intimidated people in this manner, I wonder if you’d be as understanding.
Evidently you aren’t too well acquainted with the conduct in the West of many “traditional Arab Muslim males”.
As for the Arab Muslim males who are genuinely “traditional” in the puritanical mode you imply, they should stay in their own country and inflict their religious pathologies on their own countrymen, instead of clamoring to visit or sojourn in the bosom of the “Great Satan”.
Yes Paul H,
And whatever happened to common decency and common sense? Whenever I get into an elevator with a woman by myself, I always say “Good Morning” and smile.
Never is it considered an opening line towards an intimate relationship. Only in a liberal debators mind who can’t concede they lost the debate.
I haven’t been to the Mid-East, but I agree with Paul H.’s points, including this—
The only way to handle this type of thing is to revoke their visas for violating safety rules on the aircraft, and then put them on a watch list barring them from any future entry into the country.
And this is what should have happened to those two clowns who talked about bombs in the restaurant as well.
Like I said on an earlier thread—at best, these & other Middle Easterners are engaging in resentful taunting behavior rooted in their bottomless Muslim bigotry, their wounded Muslim “pride.”
While trying to draw us into the sucker’s dialectic of pandering to Muslim pride & shame, simultaneously they are behaving in sympathy with the terrorists for they are providing cover—they are aggressively trying to engender a crowd of suspicious behaviors (averaged across many flights) into which the terrorists can blend. They cause terror about violent islamofascism AND do it in such a supposedly harmless way as to help pave the way for the violent terrorists to commit mass murder. And they don’t know what they’re doing? Please.
And that’s at best. I still suspect worse.
Brenda laid out an excellent point about how, in the interaction or “inter-stasis” among passengers, crew, & marshals, “the psychology of deferring to the more responsible persons was very disempowering.”
Clint Taylor’s article in NRO tried to keep it light—which was a good idea in itself—but the effect was at times a seeming to indirectly make light of the fears:
And then I noticed something that was truly terrifying, something linking Nour Mehana to a figure of such repulsive evil that I felt a rush of prickly fear not unlike Jacobsen’s: Just one week later, the same company that arranged Mehana’s performance, also booked Carrot Top!
That’s the effect, even though elsewhere Taylor clearly & repeatedly says Jacobsen’s fears were valid. Yet then—“Danke Schoen, Darling.” I know what Taylor was trying to do—something like using the comic tone that people sometimes adopt after personally getting through a bad scrape—but instead it ended up seeming as though Taylor was making tonal concessions to those who would ridicule Jacobsen. They galloped forth from his story in full ridicule mode. It’s clear that Taylor thinks the ridicule totally wrong & his next article on the subject will doubtless factor in the response from the PC-hysterical nags.
Nice comment points to Paul who had the killer comeback.
I think I’ll add just one cent, instead of two cents to that:
The supposedly puritanical islamoterrorist hijackers of 9/11 fame not only cavorted about drinking like mad prior to their day of duty to “Allah”, but some of them even had prostitutes. I’m sure however, there is some justification for this. Like, we were only practicing for the 70 virgins and we got drunk because we were very nervous (it was our “first time”, you know)… or something like that. While the suicidal aspect of their plot does seem to infer some form of expectation for what lies on the other side (getting shagged, I guess is a pretty good one and one any male would understand) it is hardly orthodox mohammedism, as they keep telling us. I hope not, and I do know a few muslim friends, none of which would fly a plane into a building and if their spouses found out they were thinking about 70 virgins…we’ll there WOULD be some terrorism in those households. On the other hand a wise man once said, “you shall know them by their fruits”. So I challenge the islamic community to clean up their own reputation or stop complaining when word gets around and it’s not favorable.
Sure, we as Americans have our own fruits to contend with. But by and large, they all live out in California.
p.s. typo: “While the suicidal aspect of their plot does seem to infer some form of expectation…” – meant, “confer”
Talk about typos, I didn’t realize this site doesn’t permit italics. So my quotations of Paul H. & Clint Taylor ended up not properly set off. Had I known, I’d have done like this:
66_______________
The only way to handle this type of thing [etc.]
And this is what should have happened [etc.]
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯99
It’s pretty clear that the actions of the Syrians was all about INTIMIDATION. Either they were trying to act tough or scouting the reactions of the American public. I am sure it is very reassuring to women and children on that flight to know that our US government allows this sort of thing to go on. The men were probably wondering what to do next.
It’s nice to know this gang were let go. Maybe they will be riding with you next time.
Write and thank your congressman for providing entertainment on your next journey.
If you’d rather read about what the Bush twins are wearing
No, I think I can safely say we’d all rather hear you spew your rascist agenda.
“Hell, no”
That’s what I said. The “no” part anyway.
Perhaps I used somewhat more assertive language for the first part.
you got it baklava,A man or woman cannot be polite and friendly to someone they don’t know? What makes you so sure that I am not a “non-white” Stefan?
Robert, no need calling names just because you can’t have a date with Jenna.
Annie Jacobsen was hung out to dry by the federal marshals, in a clear effort to distract our attention. Sadly, it seems to have worked.
In all the coverage I’ve seen on this incident, I’ve not come across a single explanation for the air marshals’ presence. It’s uncommon for a flight to have even one air marshal, much less two.
Why were they there? Was it just a coincidence? They were both on their way to a buddy’s funeral, or wedding?
A possible explanation is that the air marshals were on the flight because the Syrians’ presence had flagged an indicator in some way. This would be in keeping with the increased vigilance and the reports of various “dry runs”.
If this were the case, I would actually find it rather comforting. The government is actually monitoring flights and individuals, and placing extra security on those flights that they think warrant it.
But if that were the case, then it means that not only did Ms. Jacobsen not overreact, but she came to the same conclusion that the government did: these men might be up to something. If that’s the case, then how dare the government then turn around and sneer at her for overreacting?
Until it’s reported that the air marshals were on that plane by virtue of a complete coincidence, the possibility remains that they were on the plane to monitor the Syrians. If that’s so, then their disparaging treatment of Ms. Jacobsen is shockingly dishonest, whether they’re desperately trying to maintain their cover or assuage public panic.
Even if it’s a coincidence, their attitude is disgusting. A passenger has every right to question the behavior of another passenger, and no reason at all to trust that someone else is taking care of it.
A hypothetical, hyperbolic question:
You are some sort of a god and you have been assigned a single task…
You have the power to implement a single, unbreakable physical “law.” You may choose from two “laws”:
Choice A.
You can universally protect every domestic or international flight with one or more stops in the United States from any terrorist attack. This protection will last for as long as commercial aviation exists in The United States.
Choice B.
You can guarantee that the Bill of Rights will be enforced for as long as the political entity “The United States of America” exists.
Which do you choose?
Robert McClelland,
Oh you are so witty (NOT)….You say Michelle is a racist…do you know who the biggest racists in this country are…Liberals…they inact programs that inforce the idea that minorities are less able to compete and then sit back and call other racist to deflect attention from their actions.
Focus on facts
Everyone should see today’s Dallas Morning News article. Some new facts.
Of the 14 (apparent Syrians), 13 were on the expired visas, while one was a legal US resident. All have now returned to Syria.
The expired visas were missed because no Immigration Control (ICE) agent was present for the questioning. This will apparently “never happen again”.
Federal air marshals found the group’s behaviour suspicious (they checked the bathrooms several times), so it wasn’t just Annie Jacobsen. It was the FMA’s who called ahead for law enforcement.
Facts are good; without them, we’re just ranting.
I’m not here to discuss or debate or call you racists or call fellow liberals stupid.
I do however, want to point out that you may have missed the point. When liberals were talking about “panic”, it was more what happened AFTER the flight (by the right-winged media) and not what happened during. The left, (remember…the huge liberal media bias of not reporting how syrian musicians were trying to kill us all? just like how it ignored all the wmds matt drudge keeps finding in iraq?) didnt care about the incident AT ALL until the right-winged media had a frenzy over it.
do you know who the biggest racists in this country are…Liberals
Do you rubes really think you’re going to make that dog hunt? Everything the right does reeks of rascism.
What happened to all the other passengers?
Have I missed something or have all the other passengers on this flight from hell disappeared? If fear was running rampant through the customers on the flight, including a frantically weeping woman, according to Mrs. Jacobsen, then why have none of them come forward. I have wasted much time reading articles and blogs on the Jacobsen story and find no other passengers presenting a point of view.
I choose A and B. Since we aren’t God, all we can do is keep trying, documenting, watching, paying attention to patterns and do so without doing anything that is against our constitution.
Unfortunately to you Liberal Avenger you deal in the extremes. To you we can’t possibly be following the constitution and notice that patterns of behavior exist.
Point to me where in the constitution we have to have our heads in the sand?
Nowhere. And thank God.
“Tom Ridge and Norm Mineta ask us all to be vigilant, buy our duct tape, hand over our nail clippers and knitting needles, keep our lips sealed, and relinquish complete control and responsibility for homeland defense–and self-defense–to The Professionals.”
They want us to be sheep! How utterly insulting… everyone knows what happens to sheep… they are easily led to the slaughter.
Jennifer Martinez sends
That is a good point, Mark. It is something which also needs to be answered, because its key. Any thinking person needs to ask that question and look for an explanation to this. As substantial as much of her story seems, it still has holes in it.
Robert McClelland spends his time trolling blog comment areas. He doesn’t have anything rational, or worthwhile, to say, and he’s just trying to drum up some traffic to his own (lackluster) blog.
Don’t waste your time with him. He’s a troll, pure and simple.
“Some annoyed bloggers wonder why I keep “flogging” this subject.” – Michelle
My opinion, if what you’re writing is “annoying” some of the blogistan opinion shapers – then you’re doing a good job. You should try to annoy a larger segment of them on this topic.
*waves at Armed Liberal* Aggravating some of the terminally annoyed isn’t always a Bad Thing. ;]
Color me with JenMartinez, Spoons, you, and Laughing Wolf: I do not see Annie Jacobsen as “the problem” here. As I see it, the bigger part of the problem is a security and screening system that allowed 13 people with expired passports from a country that’s known to both actively and covertly support terrorism to pass through our airport “security” without raising an eyebrow until they started acting wierd. If as GJJ mentions, “that will never happen again”, well… that’s all to the good.
The fact that in the wake of 9/11 and the demise of Flight 93 it was permitted to happen at all by a lapse in pre-boarding screening is *NOT* reassuring. If harrassing grandmothers while allowing college kids to slip box cutters onto planes for a lark, and allowing expired passports from terrorist abetting countries on board is the best that post 9/11 security increases can do – then mayhaps we need more paranoid people like Jacobsen, not fewer.
I’d have been on that plane, I’d have been a bit perturbed by the situation.
By the way – I’m miffed: we were in the crowd welcoming you to the Blogosphere, Michelle, and FrankJ is the only one who got the nice “Thank you” post. Sheesh, what’s he got other than an inordinate fear of monkeys? ;]
Welcome to Blogistan. Check your sanity at the door, but it’s a fun ride anyway.
Nice comments, Ironbear, but I am convinced that not all of us are in “blogistan.” It’s just too difficult to morph the two words “blog” and “turkey”.
How do we define the place from which the far-libs who enjoy randomly calling names and refusing to be confused by the facts? Blurkey, anyone?