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| That Idiot Qatari PNG'd, Has Days To Leave U.S. Forever | |
| 2010-04-10 | |
| The Qatari diplomat who allegedly sneaked a smoke in an airliner bathroom, setting off a terrorism scare that forced F-16 fighter jets to scramble and delayed tired passengers for hours Wednesday night, will pay for his stunt with a one-way ticket home. U.S. officials said Mr. Madadi was expected to leave the U.S. in the next few days. Qatari officials were told by the State Department that the U.S. viewed the matter very seriously. Qatar's ambassador to the U.S. called the incident "a mistake," and said Mr. Madadi was traveling to Denver on official embassy business. There was confusion Thursday about just what that business was. Mr. Madadi initially told investigators he was going skiing with a friend. But later a State Department official said he was making a consular visit to Ali al Marri, a Qatari citizen imprisoned in Colorado as an alleged al Qaeda agent in the U.S. When he was free to leave Denver on Thursday, Mr. Madadi attempted to board another United flight to return to Washington, but United declined to let him fly and he booked with another carrier to Baltimore. A United spokeswoman said it declined service because "he violated FAA's rules and United's policy." It cost the U.S. government $15,000 to scramble the F-16 fighters after the North American Aerospace Defense Command responded to what it thought might be a terrorist incident. The 157 passengers and six crew on United Flight 663 endured up to five hours of frustration and exhaustion as federal authorities conducted their probe and screened luggage. Matt Erickson, a middle-school counselor who was returning from a week in Washington chaperoning 50 eighth graders on a spring-break trip, sent an instant message at 11:28 p.m. to his wife, Debbie Adams, who had been waiting for him in the airport for nearly five hours as authorities questioned passengers and Mr. Madadi. Mr. Erickson wrote: "Only in America--a Qatari diplomat decides to light up a cigarette in the bathroom and use his shoe bottom to put it out. He then jokes about it to the guy sitting next to him--who happens to be a freakin' air marshal. Now hundreds of people are inconvenienced, to say the least." Mr. Madadi is described by other diplomats as a man in his mid-20s who went to college in Washington, and as a fixture on the party scene in the city's affluent Georgetown section. On his profile on the LinkedIn social-networking site, Mr. Madadi listed his title as a database administrator for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at the embassy. He studied at George Washington University, where he earned his master's degree of science in information systems technology in 2008.
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| Posted by: |
| #9 However, if I was writing the novel, I would waterboard our hero, just to be sure. Maybe just to remove his smart a$$ stoned smirk. Put him on the no-fly list please. |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2010-04-10 10:25 |
| #8 Hopefully before. He can swim home. |
| Posted by: gorb 2010-04-10 09:52 |
| #7 Will he go on the no-fly list at the same time he leaves the country? |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2010-04-10 08:28 |
| #6 Why would Qatar send an IT guy, to speek to an IT qualified terrorist in jail for a bunch of crimes where use of IT is a recurrent theme[?] Because Lynne Stewart is unavailable? |
| Posted by: Free Radical 2010-04-10 06:23 |
| #5 The smoking on planes, hot shoe act and faux pas with the sky marshall might have been a deliberate play to ensure he was kicked out of the country quickly, Except he hadn't yet met the prisoner, Bunyip. He was on his way to the meeting, not on his way back. Otherwise really good points. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2010-04-10 05:30 |
| #4 Seems to me that there is more to this. Why would Qatar send an IT guy, to speek to an IT qualified terrorist in jail for a bunch of crimes where use of IT is a recurrent theme (researching WMDs, encoding emails, online credit card fraud for example)? It seems to me that Madidi might have been sent to find out some key information. It might be, for example, an encryption key, that might give access to something someone really badly wants to know, or badly doesn't want anyone to know. Maybe some plans, account details or something like that. The smoking on planes, hot shoe act and faux pas with the sky marshall might have been a deliberate play to ensure he was kicked out of the country quickly, which makes me also speculate that he might have been working IN the Qatari embassy, but not FOR Qatar. There is a spy novel in there somewhere. However, if I was writing the novel, I would waterboard our hero, just to be sure. |
| Posted by: Bunyip 2010-04-10 02:23 |
| #3 I did not see where the original article said the Qatari 'diplomat' was declared persona non grata, only that he was 'expected to leave.' Of course expectations can change at a whim. Mr. Madadi listed his title as a database administrator for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at the embassy. In his mid-20's, what business did a database administrator have visiting an imprisoned Qatari? Much of this story doesn't make sense. |
| Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 2010-04-10 02:08 |
| #2 Hopefully, young Mohamed has some souvenirs to remember his vist to America - like maybe a few bruises and a sprained neck. |
| Posted by: SteveS 2010-04-10 01:06 |
| #1 word is, it was weed. Hypocrite |
| Posted by: Frank G 2010-04-10 00:47 |