Althouse: A Christmas day terror attack.

December 25, 2009

A Christmas day terror attack.

"The 23-year-old suspect lighted a powdery substance as the aircraft was preparing for landing, around noon, a federal counterterrorism official said. Two other passengers on the flight noticed, and a third person jumped on the man, the official said...."

58 comments:

David said...: An incompetent terrorist. Fortunately.; 12/25/09, 7:55 PM
Christy said...: "As it prepared to land" ?? Sounds feeble. Not for the fellow passengers, of course, and I'm glad they are safe, but does it sound up to the usual al Qaeda standard to you?; 12/25/09, 8:07 PM
vbspurs said...: Did you guys listen to the eyewitness being interviewed by Fox and CNN (MSNBC are not covering the incident...)? I thought that though he was heavily-accented, he was fairly comfortable speaking in public. Most random eyewitnesses have that "cringe-factor" when interviewed, and either drone on or get too excited, making one uncomfortable listening to them.

Seems that Syed Jafry might have practise speaking in public, as according to these records, he ran as a Democrat for Congress District 40 in Michigan.

I love the form he filled out, posted at vote-usa.org.

"I am a life long Civil Servent Mrried to Amna with two young adults, Wonderfull wife, Amna, MD who is specialized in taking care of children in critical emergency needs in ER. Most hard working and beautiful Daughter, Fizza, recently graduated from Tuft University, Boston, currently in first year residency program in Dentistry in Long Island Jewish Hospital in Long Island, NY. and a Son, a handsome hard working devil, Zan, a Medical student"

Handsome hard working devil. Heh.

Just a little colour commentary for you to have in mind, since this isn't media's cuppa.

Cheers,
Victoria; 12/25/09, 8:11 PM
vbspurs said...: An incompetent terrorist. Fortunately.

An incompetent engineering student at University College of London...

I hope they raid his Facebook for links to sympathisers.

Cheers,
Victoria; 12/25/09, 8:13 PM
Ricardo said...: Why is this so-called terrorist talking so much?; 12/25/09, 8:17 PM
Michael Haz said...: The sense of disappointment in nearby Dearborn must be overwhelming.; 12/25/09, 8:22 PM
Cedarford said...: Abdul Mudallad, a Nigerian.

What are the odds he is Islamoid? Pretty good, as his name indicates, though the media avoided that "delicate little topic". I guess letting the name and nationality speak to the identity and motive of the "suspect".

IMO, he tried to kill masses of people and failed. Just because his bomb failed to detonate doesn't mean murderous intent wasn't there...and the media always tries to minimize and belittle failed Islamoid attacks as "bungling, no real threat" type of incidents. Until the next one does cause mass butchery.

If someone shoots at me and misses, I wouldn't laugh at the time over the guy being a bad shot. If armed at the time(carry permit), I would shoot back and try and kill them. Or if the situation was different and an armed personal response not doable...the cops would be contacted and I would be pushing for a long, long jail sentence.

And why exactly do we have Christian charities and Jewish lawyers so convinced that mass immigration of Islamoids from troubled lands into the US is a wonderful thing? It isn't. We should stop it. No more mass settlement of hardcore Islamoids from dangerous barbaric countries here...not even as students or as tourists seeking to go illegal and stay.; 12/25/09, 8:23 PM
Fred4Pres said...: Thank God it was unsuccessful.; 12/25/09, 8:25 PM
JohnAnnArbor said...: Like Richard Reid, maybe. Sending the loser to try a new tactic. If it worked with the chucklehead, try ten at once a few months later.; 12/25/09, 8:27 PM
Anonymous said...: It's hard for a Nigerian to get a visa to visit the US. So how did this guy get one and how did he get on the plane?; 12/25/09, 8:54 PM
LoafingOaf said...: An incompetent terrorist. Fortunately.

But if an incompetent terrorist can still get a bomb on an airplane and nearly blow it up, that's rather alarming, and may suggest some competent terrorists were helping him.

I'm just getting up to speed on this story as I was blissfully unaware of the news of the world the past 36 or so hours. Looks like CNN is the only news channel that's live right now. I sure wish I wasn't ending Christmas by watching breaking news on a failed terrorist attack, but I guess that's the world we live in. :(; 12/25/09, 8:54 PM
LoafingOaf said...: Sending the loser to try a new tactic. If it worked with the chucklehead, try ten at once a few months later.

Yeah, that's a good point. Maybe they were just testing airport security.; 12/25/09, 8:58 PM
MnMark said...: I'd like to know more about the hero passenger who jumped over other passengers to subdue the terrorist. We need to acknowledge men who do that...how many times has it happened now that passengers in a jet had to subdue a terrorist? More evidence of the truth of the old saying: "when seconds count...the police are only minutes away." And more evidence of the need of a prepared, armed citizenry that can act to protect itself without waiting for the government authorities to arrive.; 12/25/09, 9:34 PM
David said...: MnMark said...
"I'd like to know more about the hero passenger who jumped over other passengers to subdue the terrorist. We need to acknowledge men who do that . . ."

Well, maybe. Remember that in Mexico last week the wife and children of a soldier who died in a drug raid were assassinated in retribution. How long until terrorists pick up on that tactic?; 12/25/09, 10:39 PM
vbspurs said...: I'd like to know more about the hero passenger who jumped over other passengers to subdue the terrorist.

Me too! That was the first thing I thought of when I heard about the takedown.

Given what that Syed Jafry person said, he was a 20-24 year old guy, so my first thought (that he was an Air Marhal) possibly is not correct. It's probably just a random American hero, and I hope that regular joes like him won't be called on to act quickly like that, in the coming months.

2 attacks by Muslims on US soil in the last two and a half months. Heckuva job, Obama.

Cheers,
Victoria; 12/25/09, 11:10 PM
KLDAVIS said...: From initial reports, it sounds like it took almost 2 hours for Obama to be notified in Hawaii and take "action".; 12/25/09, 11:13 PM
vbspurs said...: David wrote:

So how did this guy get one and how did he get on the plane?

I think it's easier when he's an University student in the UK. According to Rep. Peter King, his name was known but they didn't have enough on him, to warrant more vigilance...

Ricardo wrote:

Why is this so-called terrorist talking so much?

He does seem a little too chatty, doesn't he? Not only did he blurt out he's tied to Al-Qaeda, but that the explosive device hailed from Yemen. What makes it odder is that the news was divulged to the public, almost immediately.

There's more to this story than meets the eye. I think it's closer to what John of Ann Arbor is thinking.

Cheers,
Victoria; 12/25/09, 11:15 PM
vbspurs said...: From initial reports, it sounds like it took almost 2 hours for Obama to be notified in Hawaii and take "action".

Are you kidding? And interrupt the Obama family Christmas gym workout?; 12/25/09, 11:18 PM
vbspurs said...: How long until terrorists pick up on that tactic?

Well, actually, David, it could be retribution for the strike in Yemen which killed that cleric (Alaubi?) who apparently counseled Major Hassan on killing US soliders and openly taunted the Americans for being unable to shut him up...

(There's that Yemen link, to do with the explosive used); 12/25/09, 11:25 PM
save_the_rustbelt said...: Depending on the approach, he might have dropped the plane in a densely populated area.

Incompetent indeed - thankfully.

At least Detroit finally caught a break.; 12/25/09, 11:43 PM
JAL said...: "... he asked aides to ensure that all measures are in place to provide secure air travel."

Does that mean all measures were not in place?; 12/26/09, 12:03 AM
Cedarford said...: I'm one for keeping the word hero reserved for (1)People who show selfless bravery in defense of others or for a cause; (2)People who show extraordinary skill/and-or accomplishment in a profession or in a situation.

Captain Sulleberger was a hero not because he bravely saved his own ass, but for the unusal, extraordinary skill with which he did so - which was worthy of commemoration.
Others, like the people on Flight 93 now enshrined in the Herohood Narrative, maybe not so.

Nowadays any person as victim or assister is automatically made into a hero.
"The hero accident victim bravely struggled to stay alive...for his wife Edna and child Little Timmy. Hero passersby called 9/11 and hero cops and EMTs arrived, and an ambulance heroically made by workers in Detroit rushed him to the hospital on roads heroically plowed of snow hours before by noble sanitation workers. Once in the ER, hero doctors and hero nurses, trained by hero teachers, worked on him through guts and blood a non-hero would shrink from.

And the hero line workers, who run to downed power lines while other mortals run, deserve credit for having the hospital lighted, as do the hero firefighters whose job it is to rush to fires that others flee from...standing ready to do hero deeds if the hospital caught fire.
And credit to the hero truck drivers who brave death everyday on the road to bring vital supplies, like the medical stuff that kept the hero-victim car accident guy alive for his nurturing heroic wife to help attend to..

And if anyone says anyone is not a hero, well, they are just insensitive shitty humans, because we are all heroes and we even have hero dogs!

At best, the passengers and crew that dealt with the Islamoid deserve praise for quick thinking and good actions...but perhaps not for simply trying to save their own asses..The Nigerian was stopped with no particular skill or selfless act of bravery.; 12/26/09, 12:08 AM
former law student said...: 2 attacks by Muslims on US soil in the last two and a half months. Heckuva job, Obama.

The case of the psycho psychiatrist shows that even long-term, formerly high-performing servicemen can go bad. To effectively eliminate the risk from such people, screening out the unfit must be ongoing. As CinC Obama can mandate such process improvements.

In today's incident at Detroit, a terrorist got destructive materials through Amsterdam airport security. Either Amsterdam airport security (and/or KLM/NW/Delta security) is inadequate or all airport security is inadequate. Obama can direct the TSA to upgrade general security procedures, and decertify AMS until they improve their screening.; 12/26/09, 12:30 AM
Kirk Parker said...: "I'd like to know more about the hero passenger who jumped over other passengers to subdue the terrorist."

For my part, I'd rather know whether the statement "The suspect was being treated at a hospital for burns he suffered while igniting the device, the Transportation Security Administration said..." was (a) unintentional (but unsurprising) bad reporting, or (b) intentional bad reporting.

I suppose there is always (c) some guy jumped him on the plane and subdued him, but this caused no additional injuries of note, but you can be darned sure if I were the interventionist here the burns wouldn't be the most reportable injury.; 12/26/09, 2:05 AM
Penny said...: I could never be an unsuccessful terrorist if I paid your bill on time.; 12/26/09, 2:22 AM
Humperdink said...: Couple of things:

Even the Bamster administration is calling this a terrorist attack as opposed to a "man caused disaster". Are they finally growing a pair?

I wonder if the terrorist was read his rights prior to questioning?; 12/26/09, 6:03 AM
vbspurs said...: Even the Bamster administration is calling this a terrorist attack as opposed to a "man caused disaster". Are they finally growing a pair?

Well, it's pretty much inevitable if the suspect identifies himself as part of the Al-Qaeda network.

So did Ramzi Yusuf, of course, but one suspects this guy is a fanboy.; 12/26/09, 6:11 AM
vbspurs said...: Another thing, the "trigger" mechanism to activate the bomb was a syringe...

This shows that Al-Qaeda monitors what you can take on international flights, and have adapted their methods. Since you can't stop diabetics from boarding a plane, a syringe activator flies under the security radar.

Another thing, it seems Abdul (because the spelling of his surname seems to be uncertain at the moment) only went through security at Lagos, and not Schiphol. What's to prevent someone from bribing guards to look away or secrete something in for a terrorist in those types of places.

Please, what are the Europeans playing at? It's still 9/10 there.; 12/26/09, 6:16 AM
vbspurs said...: Richard "Kinky" Quest is on CNN live at the moment, at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport. He says that in future, all US-bound passengers will be searched there. In the UK, the new rule is only one piece of hand luggage.

You know, I always found it unfair that I am allowed to take a handbag, but men are not. It doesn't count as an extra piece of hand luggage for us. Could we see more women in future, as air terrorists?; 12/26/09, 6:20 AM
vbspurs said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 12/26/09, 6:31 AM
vbspurs said...: The case of the psycho psychiatrist shows that even long-term, formerly high-performing servicemen can go bad.

There is a chasm of difference betwee a mentally-stressed serviceman or veteran becoming a rapist, for example, and Major Hassan. You seem to concentrate on the outcome. To effectively deal with terrorists, you must look at the cause, then the reason, then the trigger.

Major Hassan is a devout, highly educated well-to-do Muslim-American, radicalised by American military involvement in Muslim-centric areas. Though the trigger is not known, exactly, it's certain that he was thinking about mowing down as many American soldiers as he could, for a VERY long time.

This is vastly different from an Iraq War vet who loses it, and goes out and holds up a 7/11.

To ignore the circumstances, is to willfully dare it to happen again.; 12/26/09, 6:34 AM
Michael Haz said...: "... he asked aides to ensure that all measures are in place to provide secure air travel."

It's comforting to know that the aides are all over this. After all, we elected the aides and expect them to show leadership in times of crisis or emergency.; 12/26/09, 7:07 AM
rhhardin said...: Blowing up an airplane is a news story only. There's no particular damage.

He's called a terrorist because the media use him to supply stories and spinoffs, which supplies them with daily audience. Everybody wins.

In a responsible world the media wouldn't mention it; they wouldn't be used.

Which makes blowing up airplanes pointless.; 12/26/09, 7:20 AM
The Drill SGT said...: Michael Hasenstab said...
"... he asked aides to ensure that all measures are in place to provide secure air travel."

"Handle it will you Rahm, I'm on vacation."

I was struck by the same line. I would have much rather seen the more traditional POTUS leadership model.

"Aides said that the President spoke with the Secretaries of Homeland Security and Transportion and directed ..."; 12/26/09, 7:23 AM
Leland said...: "As it prepared to land" ?? Sounds feeble.

Well, he could have done something like TWA 800, over the ocean during the voyage. A plane would never arrive, and it would be news for a week. Or, you can wait until the plane is over a populated area, say near the airport, and crash it there.

Then again, I happen to live under an approach to a major airport, so I think about these things.; 12/26/09, 7:29 AM
vbspurs said...: Blowing up an airplane is a news story only. There's no particular damage.

Unless you count the very real psychological damage of the uncertainty and vulnerability of being an airline passenger. That's why it's called terrorism.

You don't know when it'll happen (uncertainty) during a time when 200+ people are in effect in a very vulnerable position in the air.; 12/26/09, 7:53 AM
bearbee said...: In a responsible world the media wouldn't mention it; they wouldn't be used.

Which makes blowing up airplanes pointless.

Whether or not it makes headlines, blowing up a plane puts the government on notice and on the defensive.; 12/26/09, 7:54 AM
Xmas said...: I've flown there Schipol Airport a half dozen times in the past year.
I'm hearing some talking heads talking about the security at the airport in Nigeria being a problem, but there is a security checkpoint right at every gate in Amsterdam.

When you go to board, you pass through a metal detector and your carry-on bags get x-rayed. You then wait in a walled off area before you get on the plane. Also, for flights bound for the US, they usually question each passenger getting on the plane.

It may be that the security on Christmas day was short-handed or lax, though that is very surprising.; 12/26/09, 7:59 AM
vbspurs said...: Most random eyewitnesses have that "cringe-factor" when interviewed, and either drone on or get too excited, making one uncomfortable listening to them.

To anyone who is watching Fox News coverage at the moment, you'll see a mum (Diana Lyons) who turned in her own young daughter to the cops, for shoplifting. Hoo-ey. Watching her relate what happened is like watching teeth being pulled. She's hesitant, uses "Dick and Jane" vocabulary, has bad grammar, etc.

Poor thing, she must be nervous and not everyone can perform flawlessly on the spot.

Which really highlights the ease the NWA passengers have had, in describing the tense situation during the terrorist attack. To a man and woman, all those interviewed (even the heavily-accented ones) have been extremely well-spoken.; 12/26/09, 8:00 AM
rhhardin said...: Unless you count the very real psychological damage of the uncertainty and vulnerability of being an airline passenger. That's why it's called terrorism.

That's why it's a news story. The media take audience any way they can get it.

The media are part of the apparatus of terrorism, and both parties know it.

There's no news story on realistic odds, which would place terrorist incidents in the entertainment category, riskwise.

You'll more likely die driving out for pizza. Yet you don't worry about it! Why is that?; 12/26/09, 8:01 AM
vbspurs said...: You'll more likely die driving out for pizza. Yet you don't worry about it! Why is that?

Because dying driving out for pizza is not evil.; 12/26/09, 8:03 AM
bearbee said...: Because driving out for a pizza is ordinary and seemingly under your control.; 12/26/09, 8:08 AM
vbspurs said...: It may be that the security on Christmas day was short-handed or lax, though that is very surprising.

What I didn't remember is that Richard Reid, the "shoe bomber", claimed he had lost his passport and got a new one at the British embassy in Amsterdam, and frequently flew out from there to Pakistan. Just a detail.

Oh, you know what I learnt from news coverage that I didn't know previously? That KLM are now owned by Air France. Mighty KLM! One of the best flights I ever took was KLM's Schiphol to Colombo. Very cushy.; 12/26/09, 8:09 AM
JAL said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 12/26/09, 8:27 AM
Cedarford said...: Michael Hasenstab said...
"... he asked aides to ensure that all measures are in place to provide secure air travel."

It's comforting to know that the aides are all over this. After all, we elected the aides and expect them to show leadership in times of crisis or emergency.

===============

My eyes roll a bit at that.

1. What CRISIS!!! What EMERGENCY!!!
??????????????
There was an incident that was over before the Prez knew it had happened. Unlike Jimmy Carter or Dubya, this guy is at least smart enough to know he is an executive leader who has about 8 million people working for him and presumably they can handle the situation without Obama having to personally fly in, assess the plane, and interview passengers and TSA - or get on TV for another "special speech" and assure Americans that "They are perfectly safe, thanks to the Heroes...so shop, travel, do something nice for a neighbor."

2. Bush got the same thing from idiots on the Left. When a tornado hit Indiana and killed 18, critics were screaming that Bush "failed" to personally come and help..Just like he failed to direct firefighters in California wildfires, be out bailing sewage after Katrina, or personally audit Bernie Madoff books and failed to visit poor dying little Hector Gonzalez in a Las Vegas hospital.

3. I elected a President to be an overall leader and not get bogged down in chickenshit about a failed little Islamoid in a failed little plane fiasco.
Nixon, HW Bush, Reagan, and Clinton understood this - keep at the big things -show a little empathy now and then (yes, Nixon needed to do more fake empathy as Reagan and Clinton did well). But don't let the media win in their demand that you personally handle as President every big news story they fancy or little incidents like with Islamoid "evildoers" they hype to the Max.; 12/26/09, 8:27 AM
Anonymous said...: One of the earmarks of Al Qaeda is its predictability. But even knowing what we know, an Islamic terrorist boarded an US-bound plane as easily as a Muslim entering a mosque.

Of course, courtesy of Mr Obama, there's no longer a War on Terror - just garden spots like Hawaii, and Nigeria.; 12/26/09, 8:28 AM
bearbee said...: Unlike Jimmy Carter or Dubya, this guy is at least smart enough to know he is an executive leader who has about 8 million people working for him and presumably they can handle the situation...

I suspect if Obama had a 9/11 he would micro-manage henceforth.

Ya might want to give Bush a break in that respect.; 12/26/09, 8:44 AM
JAL said...: ...even long-term, formerly high-performing servicemen can go bad.

I note that vbspurs took this on quite well above.

If you are referring to Hasan, you're joking, right? If you are not joking, you are incredibly ill informed.

IIRC there is zero indication that Hasan was ever a "high-performing" serviceman.

While not doubting that that might ever happen, enlighten us as to how an Islamist yelling "Allah Akbar!!" at his unarmed targets (after premeditating murder for over a year) qualifies.

Get real. Really real, and get out of the OZone.

wv paidush
Hmmm.; 12/26/09, 8:47 AM
Humperdink said...: As a relative newbie to this site, help me with the "wv" at end of certain posts. What does it mean?; 12/26/09, 9:23 AM
The Drill SGT said...: rick said...
As a relative newbie to this site, help me with the "wv" at end of certain posts. What does it mean?

some "word verifications" appear to have hidden meanings :); 12/26/09, 9:40 AM
Bart DePalma said...: Now that there has been an attempted attack during their watch, it is interesting that the White House is again using the T-word.; 12/26/09, 10:11 AM
Anonymous said...: You ought not to become complacent because of the ineptitude demonstrated here. There's always the possibility of a more clever terrorist of a less obvious persuasion blowing up many of us-- just like right-winger Tim McVeigh did! We need to make sure Obama (as CINC) has the flexibility to deal with terrorist threats as he needs to.

As for limiting Muslim immigration like Cedarford says, don't you realize that we demonstrate the robustness of our country and its values to the world by the way we integrate Muslims now? They are able to succeed here in a way that they can't in other Western countries. Suggesting that be cut off is nothing but stupid reactionism.; 12/26/09, 11:34 AM
vbspurs said...: paidush

A very savoury Indian dish. Alternatively, it describes this terrorist -- a possibly paid douche.; 12/26/09, 11:48 AM
The Drill SGT said...: vbspurs said...
paidush

Andrew Sullivan?; 12/26/09, 11:53 AM
The Drill SGT said...: Julius Ray Hoffman said...
You ought not to become complacent because of the ineptitude demonstrated here.

It failed, but until they analyze the chemistry involved, it is not clear that it was inept.

It may turn out to be a very sophisticated bomb with liquid and powdered components triggered with a syringe.; 12/26/09, 11:56 AM
vbspurs said...: It may turn out to be a very sophisticated bomb with liquid and powdered components triggered with a syringe.

This is what people should be concentrating on, Drill Sgt.

Both sides are all too glib about placing blame politically for this breakdown in security (including my side). I went to Kos Kidz just now, and they're making jokes about Bush (as ever), ANYTHING, rather than admit that the WOT is alive and well.

- Who built the bomb?
- Who financed the plot?
- How long has this been planned?
- Was it connected to Richard Reid's failed shoe bomb attempt? (Knowing that Al-Qaeda like to "revisit" failed terrorist attacks, to finish the job; they also choose significant dates and anniversaries).

Etc. etc.; 12/26/09, 12:19 PM
miller said...: The guy somehow evaded security. The syringe was passed as unthreatening, and the chemicals taped to his leg weren't detected.

And yes, this shows that the Obama White House isn't taking the threats seriously. Waiting three hours to notify the president?

A mark of a man-child president.

Was he reading "My Pet Goat" to his kids or something?; 12/26/09, 12:53 PM
Michael said...: Someone mentioned, I think, that the suspect (because, remember, he is just a suspect) was on his way to a religious conference in Detroit. Can I guess? Should I guess? Would it be a hate crime to guess correctly?; 12/26/09, 1:55 PM