What were they up to? Richard Miniter seems to have the most comprehensive story so far. It looks to me like they were either attempting a hijack, testing security, or attempting to weaken it by intimidating the airline. I can't imagine an innocent explanation for their behavior.

And not that they should have any credibility at this point, but if CAIR wants to be taken seriously, they need to renounce all their previous denunciations of US Air. But I'm sure they'll continue to whine about discrimination. And of course, the media will continue to treat them as though they're worthy of respect, and not on the other side.

CAIR (and the media) certainly want to be taken seriously. By the other side. I'd say they're doing a good job.

It sounds to me like these guys weren't so much actually trying to test security or hijack the plane themselves, but rather cause deliberately cause enough of a disruption that they got ejected from the plane and then could get publicity about it. Which is exactly what's happening.

It reminds me of the case back in August where two guys were acting so bizarrely that passengers started leaving, and were eventually kicked off the plane. As it turns out, it seems they were doing it deliberately.

When I heard this first I thought they were doing it to weaken our security and resolve by poking at our soft politically correct underbelly. Sorta like the bully who goes around and feints a punch at someone just to see them jump. Its easy to cringe cause everyone saw that same bully beat up a geek behind the cafeteria one time so now his reputation precedes him. He doesn't even have to be violent any more to cause flinching and fear.

I suppose it's too much to expect that the names of these six worthies wind up on the TSA's terrorist watch list.

Did US Air stage this to bring in business? If GWB can stage a war to make his oil buddies rich, why can't US Air hire shill Imams to make themselves look good to the flying public?

It's all very diabolical and greedy.

Sounds like nothing.

IF these guys were hooked up with Al-Qaeda,
the FBI would know this and would be holding them.

6 people boarding together at the wrong time?
Big Deal.

Someone from First Class going back to hang out
with their buddies in the aft?

Even if it was true, let 6 guys try and take over
a plane with the best weapon being a seat
belt.

All those big old swedes in Minnesota would
have gone berserker on their asses if they
had tried a single thing.

Frankly this is just more of the Bush
atmosphere of fear and terror.
Instead of urging american's to stand up
and emulate the people of Flight 93,
Cowardly george has imposed the TSA and
the rest of the fascist police state on us.

I wish the Fascist Police state you seem so certain exists would hurry up and stomp some sense into you.

I guess that you can't get other peoples deluded paranoid fantasies to make the trains run on time.

If Bush were a fascist and this a police state, you would not be here posting, you would be in a work camp or a shallow grave. Your dribblings are an insult to anyone who suffered under actual fascism. Your idiocy dumbs down and cheapens the language until words no longer have any meaning.

Your continued presence amongst the living puts lie to your excrement.

Puckett

Assuredly you will be the first to put on jackboots
and goosestep down the block.

Once again, I find myself in (very partial) agreement with Anonymous -- thanks to the spirit of Flight 93, the TSA is clearly unnecessary.

I note that the "fascist police state" hasn't yielded much in the way of, y'know, actual midnight arrests and concentration camps and what not, which must surely be a disappointment to those with BDS. (Well, except for the drug-war shenanigans that have been underway for a generation, effectively unopposed by Democrats.)

But I digress. The follow-up question is obvious:

So how many other Federal agencies are doing things we could do perfectly well for ourselves, or if absolutely necessary, at the state and local level? I'd guess at least half of them ... will Anonymous nominate a few?

The problem is that Anonymous once again confuses the issue. First, he suggests the whole story is likely nothing, then he points to the activities of the Imam as "no big deal" (activities observed not by the TSA but by passengers), and then criticizes the TSA as a facist state organization. The logic is completely disconnected.

In reality, the TSA let the Imams pass through security and board the plane without issue. It was indeed the passengers who took action (like in Flight 93) in response to what they believed were irregular action. It took the captain and passengers to get federal authorities involved.

All that really occurred is completely contradicted by this statement:
Frankly this is just more of the Bush
atmosphere of fear and terror.
Instead of urging american's to stand up
and emulate the people of Flight 93,
Cowardly george has imposed the TSA and
the rest of the fascist police state on us.

I'm not a big fan of Homeland Security, and it was top on my list for reasons not to vote for Bush (if only the DNC offered something other than Kerry). However, TSA I think was a good idea, if only they weren't kneejerk with their policies from time to time, but they are usually quick to modify them. I think airport security prior to 9/11 was a joke, and sadly, so did the hijackers. Passengers and armed pilots (I support arming the crew) are in a better position to protect themselves from hijackers who engage them. However, without security screeening, passengers and crew could do little to stop a bomb that didn't know was there.

Passenger screening on 9/11 worked.

Controversial but true.

The 9/11 crime gang boarded planes without
Guns, bombs or effective weapons.

Their trick was to game the system to
take advantage of the FAA instructions
to "CDE": Cooperate, Deescalate, Evacuate".

Every prior hijacking ended up with some period
of time on the ground, somewhere, one or two
casualties and everyone walked off.

9/11 they changed the rules to gain cooperation
briefly and then cruise mid-flight into
a suicide run.

That worked for about one hour, and then
the passengers of flight 93 behaved like
Regular americans got up and started kicking
ass.

The Apotheosis of this incident was richard Reed
shoe bomber extra-ordinaire. He gets up
starts, and in seconds the passengers are
kicking his ass into the decking.

Now, a real president would have stood up
and said on 9/11. "We have nothing to fear,
this is a minor gang of criminals, they
seek to profit from murder, i ask you when
you board a plane, to shake hands with your
seat mate, and if faced with a threat, to
support the crew in kicking ass".

banning nail clippers, and toothpaste?
well, that's the action of a coward, a moron
and a fascist.

and as i've lived in spain a fascist state,
i've seen fascism.

"Puckett

Assuredly you will be the first to put on jackboots
and goosestep down the block.

Posted by anonymous at December 3, 2006 06:26 PM"

It think it is you who has already been fitted being you are a good little lickspittle.

If the Jackboot fits, I guess you will wear it.

"and as i've lived in spain a fascist state,
i've seen fascism"

...and yet to everyone else on this board you are so obviously and totally clueless as to what constitutes actual Fascism. Isn't that amazing!

"The 9/11 crime gang boarded planes without
Guns, bombs or effective weapons."

No effective weapons? The terrorists themselves were the effective weapons, highly trained, high motivated, highly disciplined, and completely ruthless. Standard procedures in dealing with hijacking and cowed passengers and crew allowed them to gain control. Once that was accomplished the planes became WMDs. And never for a moment think that the goal wasn't tens of thousands of casualties in NY.

By the way, I have no doubt that I could carve you up with a boxcutter.

Now, a real president would have stood up
and said on 9/11. "We have nothing to fear,
this is a minor gang of criminals, they
seek to profit from murder, i ask you when
you board a plane, to shake hands with your
seat mate, and if faced with a threat, to
support the crew in kicking ass".

Al Qaeda is a minor gang of criminals? I guess the Blood and Crips are simply misguided neighborhood youth groups to you.

The 9/11 crime gang boarded planes without
Guns, bombs or effective weapons.

Really? Do you have any evidence to support this statement?

I'll accept that I have read nothing that suggests the hijackers had guns. Apparently the hijackers had effective weapons, because several reports were made of crewmembers being killed during the take over. As for bombs, all the reports said the hijackers claimed to have a bomb.

For all your spin, you are still contradicting yourself with the original story of the Imams. TSA and "the facist state" didn't kick the Imams off the flight. The passenger and crew, with the backing of the airline, kicked the Imams off the flight.

Anonymous, you've established that you understand what a bunch of great self-organizing ass-kickers Americans are.

So what portion of Federal agencies can we do without? 10%? 25%? 50%? 75%?

it appears we could do without the WhiteHouse,
at least as long as it's filled with neo-cons.

OK, Anonymous, I want to help you, I really do.

Do you, for example, trust the Federal government with your data?

Just asking ... do you really implicitly trust the Feds?