Daniel Pipes details what we need to see in airport security procedures in FrontPage: Accordingly, Time goes on, the TSA is launching a passenger profiling system known as Screening of Passengers by Observation Techniques, or SPOT. Under SPOT, the TSA staff learns to recognize suspicious personal behavior. “Passengers who flag concerns by exhibiting unusual or […]
Australia man targeted LA Airport
From News.com.au, : FRENCH anti-terrorist prosecutor Jean-Louis Bruguiere claims a mystery man in Australia was connected to the “millennium bombing plot” to blow up Los Angeles airport in 2000. Judge Bruguiere said telephone intercepts had linked a suspect in Sydney to Algerian Ahmed Ressam, who was arrested in December 1999 in Canada before he could […]
Possible terrorist sighting in Nantucket
Maati has Canadian citizenship. From the Boston Globe, : HYANNIS — A long-sought suspected Al Qaeda member who has eluded a concerted international dragnet may have been sighted at a Nantucket airport this week, prompting the FBI to distribute a picture of the suspect to law enforcement and transportation officials on the island. Law enforcement […]
Air marshals cover only a few flights
Five percent, and decreasing. From the Washington Times, : “They are flying on a relatively limited number of flights due to availability,” said Capt. Stephen Luckey, chairman of the national-security committee of the Air Lines Pilots Association, which represents 64,000 pilots. The number of federal air marshals who protect planes from terrorist attacks is classified, […]
Airliners make emergency landings
Two passenger jets made emergency landings in Budapest yesterday. From CNN, : BUDAPEST, Hungary — Security threats forced two passenger jets operated by Lufthansa and Turkish Airlines to make emergency landings in Budapest Sunday. The Lufthansa Airbus A-321 jet, which was en route from Istanbul to Frankfurt with 169 passengers, landed in Budapest after airline […]
Canada’s PM: Let Muslim women keep hijabs on at airport security checkpoints
Sikhs can’t carry their swords, and other groups are subjected to similar inconveniences, but Muslim women should be allowed to keep their hijabs on when passing through security, says Canadian PM Paul Martin. Immigration authorities have been requiring all people to take off any and all headgear, so that they can see their faces unobstructed. […]
College with flight school puzzled by Pakistan ad
A small college in New Hampshire that is known for its flight school has found its course offerings reprinted in a Pakistani newspaper. From AP, with thanks to Miss Moneypenney: NASHUA (AP) — Officials at Daniel Webster College, known for its aviation program, are puzzled about an extensive listing of the college’s offerings that appeared […]
Man detained after terror attacks deported
From AP, : Ansar Mahmood, 27, a former pizza deliveryman, called a supporter Thursday night to say he was at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City and getting ready to board a plane for Pakistan. Mahmood raised suspicions when he was seen taking a photograph near a reservoir in upstate New York […]
Northwest Flight 327 Update
Much has been made of the fact that the 14 Syrians on Annie Jacobsen’s famous flight were indeed musicians — as if that proves they couldn’t have been up to anything. But, as Michelle Malkin points out, they were all here on expired visas. Two questions: Why, and How did they get in?
Jihadists scouting American jetliners for new attacks
Annie Jacobsen’s now-famous experience was not isolated. According to this Washington Times piece (thanks to Jjp Mackie), those kinds of dry runs are going on with disturbing frequency. Flight crews and air marshals say Middle Eastern men are staking out airports, probing security measures and conducting test runs aboard airplanes for a terrorist attack. At […]