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| Two Pakistanis held in U.S. | |
| 2003-08-14 | |
| This is getting interesting. Two citizens of Pakistan, one of whom had a British Columbia driver’s licence, are being held by U.S. authorities in Seattle after their names showed up on an antiterrorist "no-fly list" when they tried to book one-way flights to New York. They were nabbed at the Sea-Tac International Airport on Saturday night, less than 12 hours after a curious incident in Vancouver in which a drug suspect plunged to his death from a seventh-floor apartment balcony as he tried to flee a police raid. "You’ll never catch me, copperrrrrrrrrr......SPLAT The RCMP confirmed yesterday that its antiterrorism unit is investigating whether the dead man was connected to "a terrorism group or groups." He is suspected of funneling drug profits to the al-Qaeda terrorist network. Neighbours said the 31-year-old was almost always seen in the company of two men who appeared to be from "the Middle East." Late yesterday, BC-TV identified the dead man as Mohammad Saleh Aramesh. Like the two men taken into custody in Seattle, he was Pakistani. One of those things that make you go, hummmmm. While not confirming a link between the two events, RCMP spokesman Corporal Pierre Lemaitre said it was "safe to say" that members of the Mounties’ special Integrated National Security Enforcement Team were in touch with the FBI over the matter. Regardless of whether the two incidents are related, questions are bound to be asked about the alleged B.C. links of the two Pakistanis detained in Seattle. The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force has launched an international investigation into their activities. The Seattle Times newspaper quoted a U.S. federal source saying that "this is going to turn into a big deal" once the identity of one of the men is confirmed. First thing to do is to show pictures of these two guys to the late drug smugglers neighbors, see if they are his "friends". The newspaper said that the two detainees told investigators they had been smuggled into the United States from British Columbia near the province’s major border crossing point south of Vancouver. One of the men, 36, was carrying a B.C. driver’s licence, the paper said. If the three Pakistani nationals are found to be linked in a terrorist cell, Canada would certainly come under more fire from those in the United States who consider this country a haven for illegal immigrants and an organizational comfort zone for planning terrorist attacks. Ahmed Ressam, convicted of a terrorist plot to blow up Los Angeles International Airport, spent many years in Canada fighting for refugee status, and several months in Vancouver making explosives before his arrest at a U.S. border point.
Gravity sucks. | |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #5 The Pacific northwest is a perfect entry point and, even better, has two cities, Seattle and Portland, that are "welcoming" communities for terrorists. Think I'm exaggerating? Look at the Mike Hahweh case, and the other numbnut from Portland who was trying to develop a terror camp in Oregon. Seattle has, as pointed out in a prior post, a history of these money laundering outfits. More important both cities are extraordinarily liberal. Portland's cops outright refuse to work with the INS on alien issues, and I believe Seattle has the same attitude. Great places to go if you're sneaking in from Canada. |
| Posted by: R. McLeod 2003-8-15 4:43:56 AM |
| #4 Detroit may be a hotbed, too. There were quite a few Iraqis interviewed there in the days leading up to the war, and I'm just assuming there may be many more Arabs from other than just Iraq. |
| Posted by: Dar 2003-8-14 2:08:35 PM |
| #3 seattle tv is reporting that one of the two wasz 'detained' on 9/11 as a potential terrorist. (Damn that John Ashcroft for the assault on our rights.) My guess is that the northwest is a terrorist corridor into the US, of both people and money. Its very clear that there are terror cells operating in Canada ( can this be the return of the FLQ, funded and operated by algerian muslims?) and the border is so open as to not really count, a simple boat ride from vancouver to any of the ferry stops in the san juan islands would put you into the US easily. The san juans have been used as a smuggling center for years. I would also take the leap and say that there are many sympathisers to terrorists living in the seattle/portland/eugene area that have provided safe houses and identity protection. I would put Seattle washington and Newark new jersey down as places where terrorists are likely to be working from. |
| Posted by: Frank Martin 2003-8-14 1:10:37 PM |
| #2 Nice that the journalists are reporting exactly what tipped off the capture. I can see an Al Queda contractor checking of a list: Oh, do not buy one-way tickets and do not use cash. Must remember that. Question is, do you think this was a practice run for an attack on the West Coast (where they would have the most fuel) or the East Coast (where they have the most symoblic targets). |
| Posted by: Yank 2003-8-14 12:01:05 PM |
| #1 Seattle: - where no fewer than 5 money laundering cells for al queada have been closed since 9/11, -where several meth busts show ties not to organized crime but once again to terrorist cells. - where syrian "pilots" were found illegally living in the area, after a large sting operation involving a large residential jewel hiest. |
| Posted by: Frank Martin 2003-8-14 11:38:40 AM |