Why is Republican Representative Peter King talking to the media? He can't possibly have direct information and he is just a member of the Homeland Security Committee. Well, I guess attention is good.
"My understanding is ... that he does have al Qaeda connections, certainly extremist terrorist connections, and his name popped up pretty quickly" in a search of intelligence data bases. Indeed? If so I guess the no-fly list is restricted to people who are either blameless or, perhaps, are agitators for some cause or another because the suspect cleared security.
As for the device being "fairly sophisticated", clearly it got through security but equally clearly it was not foolproof. Why the suspect didn't go the restroom to light up is unclear. Perhaps the device was too sophisticated to deploy in a little stall?
I seem snarky -- it's not because the incident is trivial -- the incident is very serious. It's because in the rush to news, speculation is being taken as fact. The suspect may well have ties to radical Islamic groups -- or he may be a millennial Christian or a crazed vegan -- but let's get some facts first. If, as I suspect, he is a sympathiser of Al-Qaeda there will be time enough to figure out what that implies. If he's something else then we have another threat to worry about:
Attempted plane bomber has Al-Qaeda ties
Friday, Dec. 25, 2009
DETROIT -- A Nigerian man linked to al Qaeda tried to set off an explosive device aboard a U.S. passenger plane as it approached Detroit on Friday, but was overpowered by passengers and crew and the plane landed safely, U.S. officials said.
...
Representative Peter King, who sits on the House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee, said the explosive device was "fairly sophisticated," and the suspect was a 23-year-old Nigerian.
"When it did go off, he himself was seriously injured. He has third degree burns. ... It appears to be different from what we've encountered before," Mr. King told Fox News.
Speaking to CNN, King, a New York Republican, said the suspect "did appear in a database as far as having a terrorist connection."
"My understanding is ... that he does have al Qaeda connections, certainly extremist terrorist connections, and his name popped up pretty quickly" in a search of intelligence data bases, Mr. King said.
...
James Morton
1100-5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4
416 225 2777
www.jmortonmusings.blogspot.com
1 comment:
"It's because in the rush to news, speculation is being taken as fact. "
You're friends in the "progressive" movement have no problem accusing Canadian soldiers of being complicit in torture.
The hypocrisy is not very "progressive".
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