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| Mystery flight |
| 2005-04-17 |
| It's part of the routine for air travel since 9/11. Fifteen minutes after KLM Flight 685 took off from Amsterdam for Mexico City on April 8, Mexican authorities forwarded the names of all the passengers to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The reason: the flight was scheduled to pass through U.S. airspace after making a long swing over Canada. The information was then passed on to the U.S. National Targeting Center, based at a secret address in the Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C. That's when the routine became extraordinary: by the time the Boeing 747 had finished its three-hour crossing of the Atlantic, Homeland Security screeners were on high alert. The names of two Saudi passengers aboard the KLM flight had begun producing "hits" on the screening center's lists of 70,000 suspect foreigners. One of these hits—from an FBI database of terror suspects known as TIPOFF—smacked investigators right between the eyes. The two Saudis, the database reported, were brothers and pilots who had attended the same Arizona flight school as 9/11 hijacker Hani Hanjour. Soon the multiplicity of U.S. terror databases started pumping out similar hits. Fearing that Flight 685 might be a 9/11-style plot in the making, U.S. authorities refused the plane overflight rights, and Canada rejected a request to land. Much to the chagrin of its 278 passengers, the KLM jet made an exhausting odyssey back to Amsterdam. Was it a plot? The KLM 685 incident—which was not widely publicized by the U.S. government—is an illustration of just how hard it has become to tell ordinary guys from bad guys in the war on terror. Washington's concern about the KLM flight seems legitimate: in the past year, U.S. counterterrorism officials have cited intelligence indicating that Al Qaeda might be planning to use foreign-based airliners to launch attacks against the U.S. homeland. One U.S. counterterrorism official told NEWSWEEK that the two passengers were "bad dudes." And a European intelligence official said the two have "extensive but secondary" links to Al Qaeda. At least one of the two Saudis had previously been deported from the United States, according to Homeland Security sources. A former neighbor in Arizona, who asked to remain anonymous, recalled that federal officials in full body armor rushed the Saudi's empty house several weeks after 9/11 and later arrested him. During FBI questioning, a law-enforcement official told NEWSWEEK, the Saudi acknowledged knowing Hani Hanjour. Upon further questioning, he also conceded that he had known another of the 9/11 hijackers. Even so, by the end of last week the reasons the Saudi brothers gave for their trip to Mexico appeared to be holding up, U.S. investigators conceded. The men told authorities they were visiting their ill father, a retired Saudi diplomat who is living in Mexico. A Saudi official in Riyadh later told NEWSWEEK that the father was a former "administrative employee" of the Saudi Foreign Ministry, but that he has not worked for the government for 10 years and has a Mexican wife. One counterterrorism official said authorities were aware of the family and had been watching the brothers for some time, adding, "I just don't think this was a plot along the lines of 9/11." Much as some intelligence officials insist that the Saudis have Qaeda links, no Western agency made a move to arrest them. (Because of the ambiguous nature of the case, NEWSWEEK has decided not to publish their names.) So did the United States overreact? "There are so many people on that watch list that shouldn't be on it," explained a U.S. official privy to the KLM case. "But you have to err on the side of caution in the post-9/11 world. You've got a plane with unknown quantities hurtling towards the U.S. You're going to act first and think later." Unfortunately, some foreign governments now think Washington does too much acting and too little thinking. While the Bush administration has made the case that this is a war without rules, Europeans still tend to see counterterrorism as a law-enforcement problem. That is partly why Dutch and other European authorities, lacking direct proof of a crime or plot, decided not to detain the two Saudis. Yet even the Europeans aren't completely on the same page. Officials with Dutch and U.S. intelligence say that after the two men arrived back in Amsterdam, they flew to London, where they were refused entry. Then they flew back to the Netherlands, where they were under surveillance before returning on their own to Saudi Arabia. British officials were later peeved that Dutch authorities failed to communicate to them the full tale of KLM 685. A Saudi official later told NEWSWEEK the two men had been detained for questioning. Some counterterrorism officials worry that the Saudi brothers could be living double lives. One of the Saudis lived in the United States for at least 14 years and took an engineering degree at Arizona State University. A former neighbor of his in Tempe remembers him as "really nice." But another former Arizona neighbor recalls that a day or two after 9/11, the normally self-contained Saudi was behaving oddly. "He was wearing a wide grin. He said, 'Hi, Neighbor, isn't it a great day?' It seemed inappropriate." Other intelligence officials say if the two were indeed part of a Qaeda operation, it is no surprise their destination was Mexico City. U.S. officials fear that Latin America, and more particularly Mexico—with its porous U.S. border—may become a staging ground for Al Qaeda. The big question is, wherever the next threat comes from, will authorities be able to spot it in time? The possibilities for mistaken identity are many, but the room for error is very, very narrow. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #14 Stop in Gander Newfoundland, then fly due south outside US airspace - maybe an extra 90 minutes flight time. |
| Posted by: phil_b 2005-04-17 3:29:56 PM |
| #13 well, they weren't gonna get from Canada to Mexico without going a looooonnngg way around us Longer than the flight back to Amsterdam? I was thinking more that the Canadians could've held the two Saudis for the next flight back to the Netherlands, and let the rest of the passengers continue to Mexico--on a different plane if necessary. That may have been legally/logistically impossible, of course. |
| Posted by: Angie Schultz 2005-04-17 3:18:06 PM |
| #12 well, they weren't gonna get from Canada to Mexico without going a looooonnngg way around us |
| Posted by: Frank G 2005-04-17 2:03:10 PM |
| #11 ...Canada rejected a request to land. I wondered about this. The Canadians have not been exactly overzealous in the execution of anti-terrorism activities (from what I've heard). Were they just really impressed with the threat in this case, or did the US lean on them, or what? |
| Posted by: Angie Schultz 2005-04-17 1:51:06 PM |
| #10 Yeah, but it pisses off the others willing to pay $25K, Bret. |
| Posted by: too true 2005-04-17 1:11:18 PM |
| #9 So did the US overreact? I presume that the freakazoid at Newsweak asked this lame question in order to premise this article. I say we put the bullseye on this guy's behind and then ask him to answer his own question. |
| Posted by: Captain America 2005-04-17 1:09:15 PM |
| #8 I think a Mexican coyote would rather turn-in than help Arabs enter the USA. Think about it. Take $25K from the Arab, then turn him over to the Feds! Talk about your two-fer! |
| Posted by: Brett 2005-04-17 12:57:36 PM |
| #7 RC, That would require work and plus if they were to "dig up" information, they may be forced to report un-biased news. That would be a tragedy. |
| Posted by: Poison Reverse 2005-04-17 12:42:09 PM |
| #6 The KLM 685 incident—which was not widely publicized by the U.S. government Odd. It "wasn't widely publicized" but I heard about it on the day it happened and heard follow-up details for the following few days. And the choice of the word "publicized" is odd. Do "reporters" expect everything to be handed to them in a press release? Isn't it their job to go out and dig up information that isn't "publicized"? |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2005-04-17 12:10:04 PM |
| #5 as .com noted, when dead Americans in adequate quantities happen. Then everyone will be a "I've always been for secure closed borders" guy. I say close em now - if we need workers, find a secure way to bring em in, otherwise, shoot anyone that crosses |
| Posted by: Frank G 2005-04-17 11:57:39 AM |
| #4 U.S. officials fear that Latin America, and more particularly Mexico—with its porous U.S. border—may become a staging ground for Al Qaeda Think Beslan, US-style: 10-12 jihadists slaughtering hundreds at a mall, say, with small arms or an aircraft. Child's play for AQ to infiltrate any of the thousands of illegals who cross the border each day. Mexican, Colombian, Honduran etc narco-terrorists will help; narco-politicians may help even more. When will this country get serious about the threat to the south? |
| Posted by: thibaud (aka lex) 2005-04-17 9:49:14 AM |
| #3 Not one attributed quote. Even the two key questions, "Did we overreact?" and "Can we afford not to?", are not from sources - they are generated by the reporters. Interesting. The "product" this piece offers is a vague sort of fear, when it could have focused upon giving kudos to the people behind the process. What should have happened is precisely what did happen: they turned away a flight with dangerously suspicious people aboard who have the skills to use it in a 9/11-style attack. The system seems to have worked. That the individuals in question didn't do anything this time is not the point - John Dillinger didn't rob every bank he ever saw - the point is, IMHO, that the situation was there and our people did their jobs admirably. These two Saudis are interconnected with proven bad guys in ways that should arouse suspicion - and our people didn't fail to see it or act upon it. Kudos to the folks who do this, day in and day out, and only get noticed when someone in the MSM wants to cast doubts or raise fears. Imagine the story spin had they failed and these MSNBC reporters had found out... Ridicule, if nothing came of it, or vilification, if something did. Thanks, folks - you sure earn your pay. Good read, Dan - Thx! |
| Posted by: .com 2005-04-17 9:28:19 AM |
| #2 I hope the Saudis, who do not have such niceties as "human rights" will get the truth from them. You do not have to torture someone to get the truth. Look how the Paleos start "singing" the moment they are in Israeli custody. These 2 guys were ideal: They have legitimate reasond to travel to Mexico. Then, it's a no-brainer to commandeer a plane and hit us, or whatever their nefarious plans may be. |
| Posted by: Glereper Craviter7929 2005-04-17 9:16:24 AM |
| #1 I doubt if KLM's screening is good enough...Amsterdam Airport Schiphol certainly looks like a ticking timebomb...a couple of weeks ago the largest diamond robbery ever( 72 Mio Euro's)took place...2 people dressed in KLM clothing....Then Amsterdam airport employs quite an amount of islamic people all over the airport. Not that that should be a problem but when somebody with an osama style beard is checking your aircraft while you are already in it you start to feel funny. Maybe we must not be to negative and start to think those guys would be sleepers.... |
| Posted by: Dutchgeek 2005-04-17 9:02:09 AM |