14 thoughts on “Why Wasn’t Nigerian Subjected to Full Body Search? – Tikun Olam תיקון עולם إصلاح العالم
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  1. I think this procedure exists, at least checking flagged people more closely and he wasn’t even that, another case of multiple agencies having turf wars instead of achdut mesima (united efforts).

    http://www.mcclatchydc.com/227/story/81317.html

    The place of the concealed explosives facilitates strip searches, the Yemeni part makes the covert US action there more easy to be publicised, if i were a conspiracist i would call this a false flag operation, a “forgery”.

    “President Saleh agreed to expanded overt and covert assistance in response to growing pressure from the United States”

    http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/28/world/middleeast/28yemen.html?_r=2&partner=rss&emc=rss

    http://willyloman.wordpress.com/2009/12/30/billions-in-recent-yememi-investments-and-the-underwear-bombers-daddy-its-a-small-world-aint-it/

  2. It would be absolutely onerous if you were one of the tens, probably hundreds of thousands of people who were on that list for not real reason. I actually know a few people who are on that list who are good old Americans of Christian European origin, and not even particularly interested in the Middle East or any other issues that should bring them that kind of notice.

    Of course, the truly onerous thing is that they are on that list at all.

    1. This list is too big and cumbersome to be of any use, which is what this instance illustrates.

      I don’t even think the Nigerian intended to blow up the plane. I think it was a test to see just what could get through the security, and to frighten people into seeing that most of the airline security procedures are worthless.

      The US needs to take a good hard look at its silly policies of “no fly lists” and “watch lists.” This event proves that these lists are useless and and they merely harass innocent people.

      1. The airport security shtick is almost pure theatre. Very little of it has to do with actual security. And every time the intelligence/security agencies screw up passengers are punished with new mostly completely nonsensical humiliations and restrictions. NOW we are going to be subjected to having our body parts revealed in detail by some machine, and we are supposed to be OK with that because the person viewing will be a stranger?! And never fear, they will find a way to make us pay extra for the privilege too.

        And now we not only cannot get out of our seats for the last hour, we get to be cold, bored out of our minds and completely non-productive while traveling in addition to the general discomfort of traveling by air.

        This is getting more and more outrageous. How much will it take before American people stand up for themselves, and say “no more”?

        1. It’s a big show to make us aware that every moment of our lives we’re susceptible to another “attack.” That this little debacle was actually referred to in the media as an “attack” made me realize just how easily the government and the media instill fear via use of language. This dumbass had a panty bomb that was a dud, and how laughable that the great al Qaeda is reduced to sending young men to blow up their skivvies, and they can’t even do it right.

          Now, after we’re x rayed, interviewed, manhandled, scrutinized, spied on in the bathroom, made to put our toiletries into little teeny bottles inside one quart-sized clear plastic bag, and our laptops are shot by overzealous employees, we’re going to parade nakedly in front of strangers? So that the US and Israel can continue to kill and imprison Muslims all over the world while fighting wars of aggression.

          Someone please explain this to me.

          1. Exactly. And the American people, including a great many otherwise intelligent and thoughtful ones, react to all this exactly as expected by those in power.

            And of course the government and the media will always work overtime to label anything they can as terrorism, and they’ll stretch even farther to make a connection with Al Qa`eda. I am reminded of the selling of Zarqawi, a small-time thug who was rejected by Al Qa`eda, and went on to be presented by the U.S., as “one of the most powerful terrorists in the world”, and, of course Al Qa`eda’s equivalent to “chief of mission” in Iraq. Then, of course, there was the so-called “Al Qa`eda in Iraq”, which in reality had no connection to bin Laden’s group outside of trying to brand itself by using the name, but was quite successfully sold to the U.S. public as a “branch” of the real Al Qa`eda. And the huge effort to make sure that everyone in America believed Nidal Hasan’s actions were motivated not by the kinds of things that have motivated nearly everyone else who has committed similar acts, but by a desire to “wage jihad” – how convenient that he is a religious Muslim. Now we have an all-out campaign to connect the “undies bomber” to Al Qa`eda, which I am very skeptical of. I strongly suspect that this new organization “Al Qa`eda in the Arabian Peninsula” or whatever they are calling it is, to the extent it exists at all, another Al Qa`eda in Iraq using the Al Qa`eda brand to make itself sound big-time.

            In my area we have the top talk radio station in the country, and in general as talk radio goes it is pretty decent quality with a good variety of positions and views among its hosts, who tend toward centrist to liberal positions on most issues. However, virtually all of them generally accept without a trace of skepticism the standard U.S. government/military/MSM line on anything to do with the Middle East, and Israeli hasbara is all but gospel to most of them. There is really only one regular host who challenges these things, and he has the 1 AM-5 AM slot, so has by far the smallest audience. He is also a leftist-extremist ranter, so has some credibility issues with a lot of people, including me. The only other one who presents any kind of opposing views on Israel and the Middle East is Christine Craft, who is an occasional fill-in host.

            The number of Zionists among the regular hosts has increased steadily in recent years and now three out of the five regular weekday hosts are committed, fully-indoctrinated knee-jerk Zionists who take the standard knee-jerk “liberal Zionist” position on virtually everything, despite being generally thoughtful and centrist-to-liberal on most other issues. It is beyond appalling to see how enthusiastically and unquestioningly they not only buy into but unrelentingly promote the worst possible interpretations of any and all negative events involving Muslims and predominantly Muslim countries without even considering that there might be other interpretations. One of them consistently defends Islam as one of the world’s great religions while incessantly sending the implicit message that Muslims are the greatest danger to world peace and security (that honour actually belongs to the United States with Israel as its tag along pal). In particular he goes on and on and on in a semi-hysterical tone, about the latest “deeply alarming developments” in Iran without presenting any kind of opposing or moderating view of the significance of those events. These people have so much influence over the thinking of so many people, and they repeat their message day after day after day. And that’s exactly how you make lies into the truth.

          2. What is happening now is the same scenario as always: repeat something often enough, and it becomes accepted as fact.

            Before the War on Terror, this incident would not have caused a tenth of the hubbub it has generated. One reason, according to a great column by Glenn Greenwald (based on a surprisingly good piece by David Brooks in the NY Times:

            http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2010/01/02/fear

            Both columnists discuss how the American people have been scared into behaving like children, demanding to be “safe and protected” beyond all reason, even to the point where they are, and have been, willing to give away their civil liberties and toss out constitutional protections. This is what is most frightening about terrorism, not that we should believe we’re in any imminent danger of annihilation by misguided young fanatics with incendiary devices loaded into their underwear.

            I still will travel and enjoy seeing the world, and I have no fear of terrorists. If it is my day to die, it will happen whether I am on a plane, walking down the street or reading a book in bed. I refuse to be sold a dose of fear by those who actually are one of the most significant causes of terrorism in the world. Now Obama has joined their ranks (or was he there all along?). The voice of reason has become as hysterical as Bush.

          3. This afternoon someone asked me whether I was more fearful of flying these days. I told them I am more hesitant about flying, but not for the reasons they might think. I have no fear of terrorism at all. It is illogical and foolish to fear being killed by a terrorist since the probability is orders of magnitude greater that I will be killed while driving to the grocery store, and I do not even consider that as a risk. The reason I am more hesitant to fly now is 100% about the treatment I am likely to receive at the airport and on the plane. It is getting steadily worse, and each time they rachet it up it becomes more and more stupid, intrusive, unpleasant, and potentially humiliating.

  3. From the World Socialist Website:

    “In fact, there are serious questions about how the student, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, was able to board the plane. He reportedly bought a one-way ticket, paid for in cash, and checked no luggage. Moreover, according to an account given by fellow passengers, he and an accomplice had tried to get him on the flight without showing a passport.

    “On Tuesday, the Associated Press cited unnamed intelligence officials as stating that they had recordings of conversations between Abdulmutallab and at least one member of al Qaeda. His father had informed the US Embassy in Lagos more than a month earlier that his son had fallen in with Islamist extremists in Yemen, which resulted in his name being placed on a terror watch list.

    “Any one of these things should have triggered intense scrutiny. That they did not suggests the possibility that Abdulmutallab’s boarding the flight was facilitated from within the national security apparatus, allowing him to carry out an action that is now being used to justify yet another US military intervention abroad.”

    http://www.wsws.org/articles/2009/dec2009/yeme-d30.shtml

    1. Several years ago I flew from Detroit to Istanbul on KLM on a one-way ticket paid for with cash, to an ultimate destination of Karachi, Pakistan. I did not check any baggage. My carry-on was searched and I was asked why I didn’t have luggage, and I explained that I had no time to check bags because I arrived at the airport too late. I flew to my destination without incident.

      On the other hand, trying to fly someone without a passport is damned weird.

    2. BTW, the World Socialist Website is a great news source, whether you agree with their politics or not. Their research is good and their facts are solid. I read this website daily.

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