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| Home Front: WoT |
| Are US high schools to become targets of terrorism? |
| 2006-05-24 |
| The response was typical from the local office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR): Ahmed Bedier, the director and a spokesperson for CAIR’s Central Florida Council stated, “Obviously, if they had recently arrived here and they are from Saudi Arabia, they may not be familiar with American rules and laws. They might have thought it was some kind of public transportation.” CAIR’s usual response any time authorities detain or question Muslims or Arab nationals in the US who are suspected of potential terrorism planning came about when two young Saudi nationals, Mana Saleh Almanajam, 23, and Shaker Mohsen Alsidran, 20, both of Tampa, boarded a Florida high school bus with local students one morning. The bus driver who radioed police was notified by alarmed students on board when they noticed the Saudi men behaving strangely and one wearing a long trench coat on a very hot day and profusely sweating. A half hour later they were removed from the bus by a sheriff’s deputy and interrogated. Almanajam and Alsidran are both reasonably fluent in English according to acquaintances and Florida State University language instructors and should know the difference between public transportation and a school bus. So was this just a mistake or another example of our State Department, Saudi Arabia’s best friend, at work? Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office spokesman J.D. Callaway explained, “the men were speaking in Arabic, they were making funny sounds, it was very unusual. It was alarming for the students on the bus.” Callaway described them as “cagey and evasive” as they answered questions. “The men told authorities they were from Morocco because they worried Americans fear Saudi Arabian men.” “They told authorities they are enrolled at the English Language Institute at the University of South Florida. The defendants gave several versions of the reason they took a school bus to a high school, “ said Callaway. Excuses changed from their seeking to enroll in an English language program at the high school even though they already were in one at the University of South Florida, to they just wanted see a US high school or just for “fun.” In 2001, after information came out that most of the hijackers on 9/11 were Saudi nationals, the visas of most Saudi students in US colleges were revoked sending them home. But Almanjam and Alsidran were admitted recently to a US college thanks to the US State Department once again allowing 21,000 Saudi national to flood US campuses after pressure from US colleges seeking Saudi tuition money. That figure is roughly equal to the number here just before 9/11. These two men were initially charged with trespassing by local prosecutors and already had a bond posted and CAIR to speak on their behalf, but after further deliberations the bond was revoked and Homeland Security has begun investigations into their cell phone communications and documentation (anyone hear the ACLU screaming?). Further interrogations revealed the two had planned the bus invasion the night before and knew what they were doing. One law enforcement official involved in the case described the two Saudis as “very cocky” in their dealing with authorities. And why shouldn’t they be? Surely someone at State will respond to appeals from the Saudi consulate along with help from CAIR. Meanwhile, the government has scheduled these two Saudi students for an immigration hearing so thankfully they are still in custody in federal lockup and will probably be deported since these aren’t the sons of some fabulously wealthy sheiks. But don’t bet on it. Even though they were in the country as “students,” subsequent information has also revealed they were not qualified as such, needing to complete a course in English at FSU to even apply. Apparently the US State Department is so intent on allowing Saudi “students” into the US they are even admitting those ill-equipped to follow a normal required course of study. Perhaps all a Saudi “student” needs to get a State Department visa is the ability to fly an airplane, no need to know how to takeoff or land. As mentioned, several of the hijackers on 9/11 were Saudi “students” who overstayed on student visas. The US State Department just doesn’t get it—or doesn’t want to. Long trench coats on hot days and heavy sweating are something security forces tell bus drivers to look out for in Israel to prevent suicide bombings on buses. Was this a dry run or an experiment to see how easily access to school buses could be attained? In any event, the government has scheduled these two Saudi students for an immigration hearing With no bail and thankfully they are still in custody in a federal lockup. The first World Trade Center attack in 1993 proved to al Qaeda and its terror allies the need for preparation and dry runs before launching a successful mission. This event needs to be scrutinized as potential training and preparation for what may lay in store for high schools across the US. Our high schools and children are and will be one of our most vulnerable targets not just by indoctrination in the classrooms and textbooks, but for physical attacks as well in the case of terrorist attacks. Leave it to the US State Department to leave open any possibility of another 9/11 when it comes to admitting Saudi “students.” |
| Posted by:anonymous5089 |
| #6 Dry run |
| Posted by: DMFD 2006-05-24 18:34 |
| #5 thankfully they are still in custody Nope. |
| Posted by: Gene the Moron 2006-05-24 16:06 |
| #4 My gut instinct is they were not terrorists but instead plants put there to create a stink and prove anti-Arab bias by some group or another. Why not both? |
| Posted by: Rob Crawford 2006-05-24 16:01 |
| #3 My gut instinct is they were not terrorists but instead plants put there to create a stink and prove anti-Arab bias by some group or another. |
| Posted by: rjschwarz 2006-05-24 15:20 |
| #2 I thought passports and visas had been transferred from State to DHS. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2006-05-24 14:13 |
| #1 Man, if they ever hit a school they'd prolly earn a tactical nuke in response. |
| Posted by: Broadhead6 2006-05-24 14:06 |