BRKG Detroit: Nigerian Lites 'Fireworks' During Plane Landing

[nharrold]

Originally Posted by MaureenO

It's one thing to know you have a burglar in your neighbourhood--to even know his name--but we can't predict which house he's gonna break.

Knowing some info is the hard part because we will never get the "rest of the story" until it's too late to be of help.

What we DO know now is that WE all have a part to play in this new "normal" life of ours.

This attack yesterday was a win-win for jihad. All forms of security are gonna be tightened leading a lot of Americans to perceive our liberties are being stripped away--bit by bit. This turns us against each other also and deteriorates our sense of freedom.

If stricter security is not implemented and we are successfully hit again, there will be those shouting we didn't do enough to secure America's safety. And they'll be correct.

Don't think the jihadists aren't glad-handing each other over this, they are. In instituting such attacks, they pit us against each other in the hope America will self-destruct. They prey on the "conspirator" in all of us and, so far, they're winning.

It's up to us to make sure they lose, even if we have to be temporarily inconvenienced by stricter security measures.

Maureen

Correct. That's the whole point of "terrorism".

[Wardogs]

Originally Posted by et2

Maureen, I'm not looking to get into a argument with you.

If that is your point, I believe there are many others who have been commenting on this thread that don't understand that, or disagree with you. They want to turn it into a political pissing match. Based on what you said .... nobody should be to blame for terrorist attacks,that we can't stop them. Many are blaming Obama for something he probably had no control over. Even commented if it was Bush it would be a different story. This is what I'm discussing.

I'm not sticking up for the left or the right. I really hoped the thread would stay on track. The BS get's to you after awhile.

There is only one place to place "blame" here. On the people who perpetrated this incident. Period.

There is also only one place to look for "protection" as well...your own awareness.

If the substance was indeed PETN, 80 grams would have blown a good size hole in the fuselage or deck of the aircraft. The chances of it causing a crash are high. The chances of it killing many in the cabin are 100%. PETN is highly volatile in a completed form. It's a powerful high explosive with 140% the power of TNT. Because PETN is more sensitive to shock or friction than TNT, it is primarily used in conjunction with other, more stable explosives like Semtex. It was a PETN/Semtex combo that brought down the Lockerbie flight 800.

In 1982, a bomb exploded on a Pan American flight to Honolulu. Two weeks later, another Pan Am flight, from Miami to Rio de Janeiro, was found to have a bomb on board. The bombs were determined to have been virtually identical, and their chief component was PETN. In the Rio bomb, the PETN was molded into a 4-by-10-inch strip and sewn into the lining of a suitcase, total weight was less than 12 grams.

In binary form like it seems that this was, the initiator injected into the "powder" would take a minute or two to "set up" before actually exploding. With crystalline forms of PETN, if the correct stimulus isn't used, or the process is interrupted then the material would no longer behave like an explosive. If this is the case here, the young Dutchman averted a catastrophe.

Here's what a 50g charge of PETN looks like...

Nano Explosives, PETN
http://www.depts.ttu.edu/communicati...explosives.php

(Adobe flash player needed)

Screengrab:



wardogs

[TheHippie]

The way the MSM is portraying all of this, it seems this event is gonna give our .gov justification for their venture into Yemen.

How convenient.

I'm surprised they aren't trying to link this Nigerian to Iran.

[Thomas Paine]

Kozanne posted from an article:

The device intended to blow up the Northwest flight was made at the location in Yemen, according to Abdulmutallab, and consisted of a six-inch packet of powder and a syringe with a liquid. Both were sewn into the student's underwear so they would be near his testicles and unlikely to be detected, he told agents.

This immediately jumped out at me. Break fluid and Shok It(powdered Chlorine) came to mind. mixed together it can create a small explosion and rocket like reaction with temps well over 3000 degrees. It's one of my favorite improvised incendiary formulas but is extremely unpredictable as to ignition timing. Not something I'd want near the wedding tackle.

[Thomas Paine]

Originally Posted by TheHippie

The way the MSM is portraying all of this, it seems this event is gonna give our .gov justification for their venture into Yemen.

How convenient.

I'm surprised they aren't trying to link this Nigerian to Iran.

Yeah the Iranian /Yemeni vs Saudi clashes recently this could be used as an excuse. Saudis never have been much in the modern times for getting thier hands dirty when they could get western oil customer proxies to do it. But I don't get the connection you are trying to make?

[buff]

Originally Posted by TheHippie

The way the MSM is portraying all of this, it seems this event is gonna give our .gov justification for their venture into Yemen.

How convenient.

I'm surprised they aren't trying to link this Nigerian to Iran.

[night driver]

Heliobas Disciple:

Thanks for laying out the sorts of Intel a dry run gives to the perps. WAY too many folk think that these things are just blue-skied, set up and run without any prep time or effort.

Mo, you have it right, as the defensive responsibility now rests on us regular Joes and Janes.

[night driver]

The proper incendiary device in the right seat on the plane can do MORE damage than WD's 50grams of PETN....

[Wardogs]

Originally Posted by night driver

The proper incendiary device in the right seat on the plane can do MORE damage than WD's 50grams of PETN....

Absolutely true...

[Thomas Paine]

Originally Posted by Wardogs

There is only one place to place "blame" here. On the people who perpetrated this incident. Period.

There is also only one place to look for "protection" as well...your own awareness.

If the substance was indeed PETN, 80 grams would have blown a good size hole in the fuselage or deck of the aircraft. The chances of it causing a crash are high. The chances of it killing many in the cabin are 100%. PETN is highly volatile in a completed form. It's a powerful high explosive with 140% the power of TNT. Because PETN is more sensitive to shock or friction than TNT, it is primarily used in conjunction with other, more stable explosives like Semtex. It was a PETN/Semtex combo that brought down the Lockerbie flight 800.

In 1982, a bomb exploded on a Pan American flight to Honolulu. Two weeks later, another Pan Am flight, from Miami to Rio de Janeiro, was found to have a bomb on board. The bombs were determined to have been virtually identical, and their chief component was PETN. In the Rio bomb, the PETN was molded into a 4-by-10-inch strip and sewn into the lining of a suitcase, total weight was less than 12 grams.

In binary form like it seems that this was, the initiator injected into the "powder" would take a minute or two to "set up" before actually exploding. With crystalline forms of PETN, if the correct stimulus isn't used, or the process is interrupted then the material would no longer behave like an explosive. If this is the case here, the young Dutchman averted a catastrophe.

Here's what a 50g charge of PETN looks like...

Nano Explosives, PETN
http://www.depts.ttu.edu/communicati...explosives.php

(Adobe flash player needed)

Screengrab:



wardogs

I've forgotten the formula but wasn't PETN or RDX doable from the old pink military heat tabs and a few other chems, one a liquid? I need to dig out the notes and the books as that part of my life was along time ago but people would be amazed at the things you can make go boom with a little time and effort. Asprin and readily available chemicals can be made to make a boom.

[windsail]

I'm more convinced than ever that more....plural......terrorism incidents are

coming our way.....sooner than later....windsail......

[Jazzdad]

Originally Posted by Thomas Paine

This immediately jumped out at me. Break fluid and Shok It(powdered Chlorine) came to mind. mixed together it can create a small explosion and rocket like reaction with temps well over 3000 degrees. It's one of my favorite improvised incendiary formulas but is extremely unpredictable as to ignition timing. Not something I'd want near the wedding tackle.

PETN is a high explosive and requires detonation with a shock wave above a certain speed or it will not explode. This also applies to the peroxide type explosive that these jihadis like to use. Richard Reid failed because his detonator didn't work. It looks like this guy's detonator also didn't work. The crew reported that they heard a pop and that could have been the shock wave from the detonator. It must have not been energetic enough or not properly coupled to the high explosive portion. The heat from the attempted detonation was apparently enough to ignite the HE but not detonate it.

[Wardogs]

Originally Posted by Thomas Paine

I've forgotten the formula but wasn't PETN or RDX doable from the old pink military heat tabs and a few other chems, one a liquid? I need to dig out the notes and the books as that part of my life was along time ago but people would be amazed at the things you can make go boom with a little time and effort. Asprin and readily available chemicals can be made to make a boom.

Basic ingredients for PETN are 65% Analytical Grade Nitric Acid, 98% Analytical Grade Sulphuric Acid, 99,5% Analytical Grade Acetone and 99.8% Extra Pure Pentaerythritol. (Sodium Bicarbonate is needed as a neutralizer during wash and filtering, but it's not an ingredient).

Simple process to make, but dangerous if proper cooling procedures are not followed. Very susceptible to shock as well.

wardogs

[TheHippie]

Originally Posted by Thomas Paine

But I don't get the connection you are trying to make?

What I was getting at...this guy became linked to Yemen so quickly, it reminded me of OBL being linked to Afghanistan so quickly, when he should have been tied to Saudi Arabia. Just seems like an end justifying a mean. Some people think that the "terrorists" have the Cui Bono in this, but the .gov is getting way more out of it. More regulations plus the expansion of the 'War on Terror'.

The corporate TV news had been very quiet on Yemen until today. Now they are loosely admitting we have been participating in bombing runs there.

You remember that thing Rahm said about not letting a crisis go to waste, to me this seems to be an example.

[Grantbo]

Originally Posted by TheHippie

More regulations plus the expansion of the 'War on Terror'.

Not likely, bamma is more likely to apologize than to attack his brothers.

[Thomas Paine]

Originally Posted by Wardogs

Basic ingredients for PETN are 65% Analytical Grade Nitric Acid, 98% Analytical Grade Sulphuric Acid, 99,5% Analytical Grade Acetone and 99.8% Extra Pure Pentaerythritol. (Sodium Bicarbonate is needed as a neutralizer during wash and filtering, but it's not an ingredient).

Simple process to make, but dangerous if proper cooling procedures are not followed. Very susceptible to shock as well.

wardogs

Thanks it was years ago There was a explosive that a could be made from the old heat tabs it was simply but a dangerous process for the field, a last ditch thing. I have my notes from then packed away. Somehow I don't think it PETN. Most of the improvised stuff has a down side to it.

[Lost Patriot]

I thought they said Obama was in Hawaii for Christmas:

[et2]

Originally Posted by Thomas Paine

Thanks it was years ago There was a explosive that a could be made from the old heat tabs it was simply but a dangerous process for the field, a last ditch thing. I have my notes from then packed away. Somehow I don't think it PETN. Most of the improvised stuff has a down side to it.

Reported on local news to have been PETN. They also reported the terrorists father reported his son prior to the attack as a possible terrorist and thought he was tied to Al Qaeda.

[BigBadBossyDog]

Originally Posted by Kent

CBS News has identified the suspect as Nigerian national Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, 23.

I note that they didn't mention his religion, I guess he was Baptist.

No, no, if he were a Baptist, the media would be calling him a Nazi, right-wing nutjob.

[et2]

Local news in detroit reported the terrorist had the powder attached to his upper leg connected with duct tape. He tried to set it off in his seat but had problems getting it through the tape as it was in the way. He reportedly got up went to the bathroom for some time and made a opening in the tape to get the syringe into. Then he returned to his seat and covered his lap with a pillow. He told passengers he has stomach problems. He then attemped to inject the explosive. Passengers then heard loud pops and he started to burn and well as the side of the plane. The syringe was smoking and melting in his hands. That is when he was subdued by the passenger and the fire put out.

[Volleyball Granny]

Originally Posted by et2

Reported on local news to have been PETN. They also reported the terrorists father reported his son prior to the attack as a possible terrorist and thought he was tied to Al Qaeda.

There was a long story about it on KHOU news tonight. Evidently, the man had been to Houston recently. The Nigerians (in this community and abroad) seem to be cooperating as much as possible--the one interviewed here is a leader in the community and said that whomever he visited here should be investigated. He also said that the man's father had gone to the authorities to report that he though his son was becoming a terrorist.

[Witness]

If the flammable material was covered in heavy duck tape, would the burning or explosive effects have been directed inward?

Someone said the terrorist seemed to be in a trance. Would a small explosion and fire in a man's groin area cause this response?

It is reported that he had no checked baggage. Doesn't that send up a red flag for TSA?

Having no passport should send up a red flag.

The terrorist flew to Houston. Did he meet with people that the terrorist who shot up the military base knew? Wasn't that in Texas?

Why do I get the feeling this incident is planned as a distraction?
Anyone else have this feeling?

[Wardogs]

The FBI has released the formal charges against this guy...not attempted murder of close to 300 people, not terrorism, but "Placing a destructive device on an aircraft, and attempting to destroy an aircraft." The charges carry a maximum of a fine and up to 20 years in prison...

Criminal Complaint (pdf)
http://talkradionews.com/wp-content/...-Affidavit.pdf

In response to this attack, the administration has released new rules that state that passengers must now stay seated for the final hour of flights and can have no personal belongings or access to carry on luggage.

Ummm, wasn't this guy....seated?

The affidavit does give a detailed description of events and confirms that the device was an explosive containing PETN, but other elements as well. This makes more sense because PETN is rarely used by itself because of it's instability.

It also gives accounts from the witnesses that are really remarkable. The passengers saved that aircraft and now the new rules will make it harder for that to happen in the future...

wardogs

[TheHippie]

Just FYI...Napalitano is currently on CNN discussing this. Seriously, where is the press conference or have I missed one?

[Wardogs]

I have to wonder if the detonator "failed" or if it was the quick actions of the young Dutch guy that prevented it from fully setting up for a complete reaction.

Officials: Only A Failed Detonator Saved Northwest Flight
http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/northw...ory?id=9426532

Officials now say tragedy was only averted on Northwest flight 253 because a makeshift detonator failed to work properly.

A member of staff from Manchester Airport looks at the results of a scan from the new X-ray machine...
(Dave Thompson/PA Wire/AP Photo)

Bomb experts say there was more than enough explosive to bring down the Northwest jet, which had nearly 300 people aboard, had the detonator not failed, and the nation's outdated airport screening machines may need to be upgraded.

"We've known for a long time that this is possible," said Richard Clarke, former counterterrorism czar and ABC News consultant, "and that we really have to replace our scanning devices with more modern systems."

Clarke said full body scans were needed, "but they're expensive and they're intrusive. They invade people's privacy."

Al Qaeda, said Clarke, is aware of this vulnerability in the U.S. airport security system. "They know that this is a weakness and an Achilles' heel in our airport security system and this is the second time they've tried it."

In 2001, would-be "shoe bomber" Richard Reid failed in his attempt to blow up a transatlantic flight with a highly explosive chemical known as PETN. He attempted to light a fuse to his shoe on a December 22 American Airlines flight from Paris to Miami but was subdued by other passengers.

According to investigators, the bomb on Northwest flight 253, which was en route from Amsterdam to Detroit when suspect Umar farouk Abdulmutallab allegedly detonated it, contained more than 80 grams of PETN. The material was allegedly sewn into Abdulmutallab's underwear, and was not detected by airport security.

The bomb was built and the plot organized, say U.S. officials, by al Qaeda leaders in Yemen, just north of the capital city of Sanaa.

Suspect Was On Terrorism Watch List

Authorities say the 23-year-old suspect spent months in Yemen being trained for the Christmas Day suicide mission.

A member of staff from Manchester Airport looks at the results of a scan from the new X-ray machine...
(Dave Thompson/PA Wire/AP Photo)

Investigators believe Abdulmutallab was connected to al Qaeda by the same radical imam, American-born Anwar Awlaki, who is linked to the American Army major accused of opening fire at Fort Hood in November.

According to investigators, the bomb used yesterday was built in Yemen by a top al Qaeda bomb maker.

Northwest Airlines flight 253 -- operated on a Delta airplane - was getting ready to land in Detroit just before noon Friday when "a passenger caused a disturbance," said Delta spokeswoman Susan Chana Elliott. The man, later identified as Abdulmutallab, was trying to ignite when was initially reported as firecrackers.

According to the criminal complaint filed against Abudlmutallab, he boarded KLM Flight 588 from Lagos, Nigeria and transferred to Northwest Flight 253 at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam.

Prior to the incident, Abdulmutallab went to the bathroom for about 20 minutes. Upon returning to his seat, Abdulmutallab said he had an upset stomach, and pulled a blanket over himself.

Passengers then heard popping noises similar to firecrackers and smelled an odor. Some saw Abdulmutallab's pants leg and the wall of the airplane on fire. Passengers and crew then subdued Abdulmutallab and used blankets and fire extinguishers to put out the flames.

A passenger apparently saw the suspect holding what a partially melted and smoking syringe. The passenger took the syringe, shook it to stop it from smoking and threw it to the floor. Dutch filmmaker Jasper Schuringa has been identified in the media as a passenger who subdued Mutallab.

Abdulmutallab, who flew from Nigeria to Amsterdam and then Detroit, was taken into custody at the Detroit airport and was interviewed by authorities there. He was then taken to an area hospital to be treated for burns.

Abdulmutallab was on a terrorism watch list, but not on a no-fly list. Said Clarke, "So once again, we have the U.S. government, as in the case of the Fort Hood attacks, knowing about someone, knowing that they were suspicious, but that information didn't get to the right people in time."
*********************

More on suspect Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab and his ties to Yemen:

Abdulmutallab, A Banker's Son Turned Muslim Radical
Accused Northwest Bomber's Emails Tell of Desire to Go to Yemen
http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/abdulm...ory?id=9426890

wardogs

[intothatgoodnight]

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/27/us..._r=1&th&emc=th

Passengers’ Quick Action Halted Attack

By SCOTT SHANE and ERIC LIPTON

Published: December 26, 2009

Despite the billions spent since 2001 on intelligence and counterterrorism programs, sophisticated airport scanners and elaborate watch lists, it was something simpler that averted disaster on a Christmas Day flight to Detroit: alert and courageous passengers and crew members

During 19 hours of travel, aboard two flights across three continents, law enforcement officials said, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab bided his time. Then, just as Northwest Flight 253 finally began its final approach to Detroit around noon on Friday, he tried to ignite the incendiary powder mixture he had taped to his leg, they said.

There were popping sounds, smoke and a commotion as passengers cried out in alarm and tried to see what was happening. One woman shouted, “What are you doing?” and another called out, “Fire!”

And then history repeated itself. Just as occurred before Christmas in 2001, when Richard C. Reid tried to ignite plastic explosives hidden in his shoe on a trans-Atlantic flight, fellow passengers jumped on Mr. Abdulmutallab, restraining the 23-year-old Nigerian.

Jasper Schuringa, a Dutch film director seated in the same row as Mr. Abdulmutallab but on the other side of the aircraft, saw what looked like an object on fire in the suspect’s lap and “freaked,” he told CNN.

“Without any hesitation, I just jumped over all the seats,” Mr. Schuringa said, in an account that other passengers confirmed.“I was thinking, Oh, he’s trying to blow up the plane. I was trying to search his body for any explosive. I took some kind of object that was already melting and smoking, and I tried to put out the fire and when I did that I was also restraining the suspect.”

Mr. Schuringa said he had burned his hands slightly as he grappled with Mr. Abdulmutallab, aided by other passengers among the 289 on board, and began to shout for water.

“But then the fire was getting worse, so I grabbed the suspect out of the seat,” Mr. Schuringa said. Flight attendants ran up with fire extinguishers, doused the flames and helped Mr. Schuringa walk Mr. Abdulmutallab to first class, where he was stripped, searched and locked in handcuffs.

“The whole plane was screaming — but the suspect, he didn’t say a word,” Mr. Schuringa said.

He shrugged off praise for his swift action, which he said was reflexive. “When you hear a pop on the plane, you’re awake, trust me,” he said. “I just jumped. I didn’t think. I went over there and tried to save the plane.”

In an affidavit filed in court, an F.B.I. agent said that Mr. Abdulmutallab stayed in the bathroom for 20 minutes before the attempt, returned to his seat, told his seatmates that his stomach was upset and covered himself with a blanket. It was then that the smoke and popping sounds began.

After he was subdued and the fire extinguished, a flight attendant asked him what had been in his pocket, and he answered, “explosive device,” the affidavit said. The powder was identified by the F.B.I. as PETN, a high explosive.

The close call was followed by several tense hours as counterterrorism officials checked on other United States-bound flights to determine whether more planes were targets, as in the thwarted 2006 plot to smuggle liquid explosives aboard multiple flights leaving from Britain.

They found no immediate signs that other flights were in danger, officials said. They tightened airport security, ordering new restrictions on carry-on luggage and passenger movement inside the cabin, but did not elevate the nation’s threat level, which has been at orange since 2006.

Dozens of investigators led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation were working Saturday to understand exactly how a passenger managed to get PETN and a syringe of chemicals aboard the flight. Intelligence agencies were studying intercepted communications to see whether clues were missed and to assess whether the incident could presage more attacks.

David Schilke, 49, of Livonia, Mich., who works in the information technology department at the Ford Motor Company, was traveling home from Moscow with his wife, Iliana, and their 5-year-old son, sitting two rows behind the suspect. He said he heard a pop, and then someone asking for water and screams coming from the rows in front of him. The fire, he said, lasted for a full minute.

“The guy wasn’t fighting or doing anything,” Mr. Schilke said. “He was just sitting there in the flames. I was shocked that he would do that.” He added that he was surprised at how little panic there was. Many passengers who were farther away thought the pops were from fireworks, he said.

Richard Griffith, 41, of Pontiac, Mich., who said he had been sitting in the back of the plane during the episode, praised the crew for its professionalism in preventing panic.

Mr. Griffith said the passenger who had been sitting next to the suspect told him the suspect got up once midflight to use the bathroom and returned to the bathroom about 20 or 30 minutes before the attempt, apparently to brush his teeth. Otherwise, he said, “He just sat there; he didn’t talk to nobody.”

The episode, which riveted the attention of President Obama on vacation in Hawaii and prompted counterterrorism officials to rush back to work, capped a year in which plots of violence inside the United States have surged. The attempt appeared to underscore the continuing determination of Muslim militants to kill Americans more than eight years after the Sept. 11 attacks.

Passengers transferring from foreign flights at the Amsterdam airport, where Mr. Abdulmutallab changed planes and boarded the flight bound for Detroit, are required to be screened by security there before taking off on another flight, an airport spokeswoman said Saturday. She could not confirm the details in Mr. Abdulmutallab’s case but said he was presumably subject to that sort of screening.

Investigators planned to interview all the passengers on the suspect’s flights and to look over any security-camera video footage of him, a law enforcement official said.

Mr. Abdulmutallab apparently left Murtala Muhammed Airport in Lagos aboard KLM Flight 588, a Boeing 777, at 11 on Christmas Eve and arrived at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam a little early, at 5:37 a.m. on Christmas Day.

Three hours later, at 8:54 a.m., Northwest 253, an Airbus A330, took off for Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, with three pilots, eight flight attendants and the 278 passengers.

Amsterdam has long been an airport of concern for American aviation security officials, like other major gateways in Europe, including London, Brussels and Frankfurt, where the Transportation Security Administration sees an unusually large number of hits from people on so-called selectee or no-fly lists associated with security threats, one former senior Homeland Security official said.

In 2007, the Amsterdam airport began testing body-scanning machines that can find threats hidden under passengers’ clothing, but there are only 10 such machines out of 200 security checkpoints at the sprawling airport. In the United States, the T.S.A. has begun to substitute similar machines, called millimeter-wave technology, for walk-through metal detectors.

“Those will pick up anything underneath clothing,” said Edmund S. Hawley, who served as the agency’s administrator until January. “If he had it taped to his leg, it could have easily identified something there.”

Mr. Hawley said of Al Qaeda and like-minded militants: “They have been trying since 2001, and they are going to keep trying. You have to keep your vigilance up over the long term. That is the hard thing.”


Reporting was contributed by Eric Schmitt in Washington, Sarah Lyall in London, Micheline Maynard and Nick Bunkley in Detroit, and Matthew L. Wald in Sarasota, Fla.

[jcberean]

The answer of course: Ban the sale of all fireworks immeadately!

[CelticRose]

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage...-bomb-bid.html

By STAFF REPORTERS

Published: 26 Dec 2009
THE former London student charged with attempting to blow up a transatlantic jet had been barred from Britain earlier this year, it has emerged.
Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab, who was travelling from Nigeria, tried to ignite a "powdery substance" on a flight from Amsterdam as it began to land at Detroit.

He set off a firecracker on Northwest Airlines Flight 253, an Airbus 330 carrying 278 passengers

A fresh visa request was refused in May when it came to light he had applied for a bogus course, Whitehall sources said.

The 23-year-old son of a wealthy Nigerian banker was charged in hospital on Saturday night with attempting to destroy the aircraft carrying 278 passengers.


Do you know Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab? Did you go to university with him? If so call the newsdesk on 0207 7824104Email
exclusive@the-sun.co.uk
Mutallab had the device attached to his body when he boarded the aircraft in Amsterdam on Christmas Eve, according to a court affidavit.


A passenger hailed as a hero after tackling the airliner terror suspect said: "I didn't hesitate, I just jumped."


Jasper Schuringa, a 32-year-old film maker from Amsterdam, was applauded by fellow passengers after he and cabin crew subdued Mutallab as the flight as about to land at Detroit airport.


Mr Schuringa was sitting one row behind the suspect but on the other side of the plane when he heard what he said sounded like a firecracker going off.


He told America's CNN news channel he heard a sound that reminded him of a firecracker and someone yelling, "Fire! Fire!"


He said: "I pulled the object from him and tried to extinguish the fire with my hands and threw it away.



"My hands are pretty burned (but) I am fine. I am shaken up. I am happy to be here.


"When (it) went off, everybody panicked then somebody screamed, 'Fire! Fire!"'


Looking across the plane, he saw smoke rising from a seat. "I didn't hesitate. I just jumped," he said.


Diving over four intervening passengers, he said his suspicions grew when he found the suspect doing nothing despite having a smoking blanket on his lap and flames "coming from beneath his legs".


Mr Schuringa said he frisked the suspect and discovered his trousers were open and that he had a flaming object resembling a small, white shampoo bottle strapped to his left leg near his crotch.


"I pulled the object from him and tried to extinguish the fire with my hands and threw it away," he told CNN.


Mr Schuringa said he patted out the fire with his hands and shouted for water.


As cabin crew arrived with fire extinguishers, the Dutchman hauled the suspect out of his seat and, restraining him in a choke lock, took him to the first class compartment.

It has also emerged that Mutallab's dad had voiced concerns to US officials about his son.


The father warned US authorities last month about his son's extreme views, say officials.


The engineering student from University College of London is currently under guard at a Michigan hospital.

He was enrolled on a mechanical engineering course at the institution between September 2005 and June 2008.

A spokesman for the university said: "It must be stressed that the university has no evidence that this is the same person currently being referred to in the media.

"Until the situation becomes clearer, UCL will not be making any further comment."

Reports also claimed the suspect had been in a law enforcement-intelligence database but was not on the government's no-fly list.

He was flying to the US for a religious ceremony according to his entry visa, ABC News said, which was issued on June 16 last year and valid until June 12, 2010.

The suspect was early today being quizzed by police and the FBI after he told them he had connections to al-Qaeda.

It also emerged that US authorities are now liaising with anti-terror officers at Scotland Yard over the suspected attack and addresses in central London near the UCL campus were being searched today.

Witnesses on the flight said they heard a sound like a firecracker going off and one passenger jumped over others and tried to subdue one of the passengers.


Panic

Shortly afterwards, the supect was apparently taken from the front row seat with his trousers cut off. He suffered second degree burns and was treated for his injuries at a local hospital.


Passenger Syed Jafri said he was seated three rows behind the suspect and saw a glow and smelled smoke. Then, he said, "a young man behind me jumped on him".

"Next thing you know, there was a lot of panic," he said.


Delta Air Lines spokeswoman Susan Elliott said the passenger was subdued immediately.


A senior intelligence official said: "He claimed the device was acquired in Yemen along with instructions as to when it should be used."




Advertisement

The man was taken into custody at Detroit airport.

News also emerged that a prominent Nigerian banker was meeting security officials in the country's capital, Abuja, amid suspicions his son may be the man who tried to bomb the passenger jet.

Alhaji Umaru Mutallab confirmed his 23-year-old son may be the man connected with the failed plot.

He also said he had travelled from his home in Nigeria's Muslim-dominated north to meet officials in Abuja.

He said his son left London - where he was a student - to travel, though he did not know where to.

Mr Mutallab Snr - a former minister and chairman of First Bank in Nigeria - said: "I believe he might have been to Yemen, but we are investigating to determine that."

The father and several relatives were listed as living at the central London property which was searched by police today.

US President Barack Obama, who is on vacation in Hawaii, was "actively monitoring", the situation.

Mr Obama spoke by conference call with national security advisers and then he "instructed that all appropriate measures be taken to increase security for air travel", a White House spokesman said.

A Metropolitan Police spokeswoman said: "We are in liaison with the US authorities. Searches are being conducted as part of ongoing inquiries."

She could not confirm whether the suspect was a student at a London university or whether he was known to UK police.

The incident is reminiscent of a terror attempt by "shoe bomber" Richard Reid, a Briton who tried to destroy a transatlantic flight in 2001 with explosives hidden in his shoes.

The Prime Minister said today he would take "whatever action was necessary" to protect passengers after the jet scare.

Gordon Brown said he had been contact with Sir Paul Stephenson, the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, because of the "serious potential threat".

The Prime Minister said: "The security of the public must always be our primary concern. We have been working closely with the US authorities investigating this incident since it happened yesterday.

"Because of the serious potential threat posed by the incident, I have spoken to the commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, whose officers have been carrying out searches of properties in London.

"We will continue to take whatever action is necessary to protect passengers on airlines and the public."

Meanwhile Britons travelling to the US today were told their hand baggage allowance had been reduced to one item following the terror alert.

American Government officials issued "revised security arrangements" relating to all flights after the scare, British Airways said.



>>>>>>>>>>>>>>What I find a wee bit absurd is the second to last line in the article:

Meanwhile Britons travelling to the US today were told their hand baggage allowance had been reduced to one item following the terror alert.

Forget that this rich-kid nut-job had the explosive mixture sewn into his drawers , near his testicles, to avoid discovery....... But increase the prohibative bans upon all passengers.

There's a reason why profiling is effective. Sadly the PC embracing jerks of the work prefer to ignore reality whilst they flitter along in their own private delusion........ Worse is that the public en masse must live with the the products of their delusions.........

[Thomas Paine]

Originally Posted by et2

Reported on local news to have been PETN. They also reported the terrorists father reported his son prior to the attack as a possible terrorist and thought he was tied to Al Qaeda.

I was refering to the improvised explosive I was thinking of. My memories of those classes and lessons are stale and several people here have much more and more recent knowledge than I of improvised munitions. I don't doubt he PETN if that's what is released. If you re read my post and look at context you'll see what I mean.

[Mr. Dot]

Apologies if this has been brought up - don't have time to read through 5 pages of posts - but the attempted assassination of Saudi Prince Mohammed bin Nayef this past August seems similar to this method. First reports speculated that the bomber had the explosives hidden in his rectum but I think that was changed to 'underwear'. Now hearing that this new would-be bomber had the explosive taped to his groin rings the non-tinnitus bells in my head.



http://news.ninemsn.com.au/world/855...uicide-bombing

[G-Man]

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab



does this mean we will now invade Nigeria???

[Heliobas Disciple]

Originally Posted by kozanne

Interesting snippet from the online WSJ:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB126180624205805587.html

--excerpt--

Filming a martyrdom operation is a common procedure with jihadis....

More on the guy with the camera, from a different witness to it:

http://www.620wtmj.com/news/local/80201152.html
(fair use applies)

Oconomowoc Family Survives Terrorist Attempt
By Jay Sorgi
Dec 28, 2009

MILWAUKEE - "I would just like to know how to get to Ethiopia by boat."

Patricia "Scotty" Keepman still has a sense of humor after the harrowing experience she, her husband, daughter and two new adopted children from Ethiopia had as a man tried to detonate an explosive device while their plane was getting ready to land in Detroit on Christmas Day.

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab of Nigeria was charged Saturday in the Christmas Day attempt that only sparked a fire on the flight from Amsterdam.

"I honestly don't think I've had a chance to let it sink in, because having these children with us, we've just got to keep them grounded, and I'm just really focusing on the kids," said Patricia, who lives in Oconomowoc, on 620WTMJ's "Wisconsin's Morning News."


They were sitting about 20 rows behind Abdulmutallab, in a center aisle with her husband and daughter a row ahead of her and their two new adopted children, a six-year-old girl and an eight-year-old boy.

Her daughter said that ahead of them was a man who videotaped the entire flight, including the attempted detonation.

"He sat up and videotaped the entire thing, very calmly," said Patricia. "We do know that the FBI is looking for him intensely. Since then, we've heard nothing about it."

"We heard what sounded like an electrical pop to me. Everybody looked above their seats, kind of like startled, panicked. Shortly thereafter, we heard the screams. We could not see what was going on. We were too far back. We heard shouting, and you could hear the mayhem happening.

At that point, two flight attendants ran at full speed to get fire extinguishers.

"Whatever they did, it all went on for what seemed like a long to me, but what was probably a very short time."

What Was Going On In Her Mind At That Time?

First: to convince her new children that everything was OK.

"No matter what happened, these kids would never know if we didn't make it. We wanted them to think this was a game," explained Patricia.

"They were very concerned when they saw the flight attendant. They were very withdrawn. So I told them that they were just being very funny and silly, and this is what they do on airplanes, since they'd never been on one, and we got them to giggle about it.

But then, the gravity of the situation came over the whole family.

"As the seriousness progressed, and we knew that this could possibly be it, my husband and daughter put their hand through their seats and we all held hands in a circle and sang 'Jesus Loves Me' and we prayed, and we just made it as much of a game as we could and make them completely innocent as to what was happening."

"The holding hands gave us a real sense of peace. If it happened that point, it would happen. We were ready. We just weren't ready for it to happen for the kids. We just kept thinking, 'God didn't bring us this far, to go through all of this, to shorten these kids' lives,' and sure enough, He didn't."

Once the flight attendants told everyone that the suspect was under control, and the fire was contained, Patricia said that most of the people handled the rest of the flight "fabulous."

"We all sat in our seats. We stayed calm, other than (hearing) crying. Shortly thereafter, the captain said they were making an emergency landing.

"They got us off faster than anything you've ever seen, and then they shuffled us off to a room where we spent quite a few hours. They were doing their very best. We were frustrated, because there was never water distributed. There was one bathroom for 300 people, and it was very hard because there were kids crying. Nobody knew what was going on. We were not allowed to call anybody."

Patricia also expressed anger toward the airline for how she feels they were treated after the flight.

"We're very frustrated with Delta because, once we finally got released and we were able to go, of course, everybody missed their flights, but they did not help us in one way. We were just thrown out there. We had to scramble and look for flights, try to rent cars, whatever we could do. That was very disappointing to us."

(snip).

[intothatgoodnight]

This whole damned incident smells to high heaven.


intothegoodnight

[Double_A]

Explosives hidden within the rectum or vagina would be undetectable even to the new scanners that see underneath clothing.

Our hi-tech approach to the problem, IS the problem. Hi-tech is not the answer here, but we seem fascinated with Hi-tech, that it can solve everything. Having lived and worked in the hi-tech capitol of the world - Silicon Valley, I can tell you Hi-tech is not the answer here for this issue.

We need to go to a behavioral monitoring approach like the Israeli's. Trained people, pull passengers to the side and chat with them.

[Cheval]

Originally Posted by Double_A

Explosives hidden within the rectum or vagina would be undetectable even to the new scanners that see underneath clothing.

The approach to the problem, IS the problem.

We ned to go to a behavioral monitoring approach like the Israeli's. Trained people, pull passengers to the side and chat with them.

well then in the future won't be surprised to find hugh hefner and elton john as body searchers at the airport.

[Double_A]

Originally Posted by Cheval

well then in the future won't be surprised to find hugh hefner and elton john as body searchers at the airport.

Body searches are not the solution I was referring to.

[Heliobas Disciple]

Here's a link to a youtube of an interview with Kurt Haskell, the lawyer who witnessed the older Indian man who got the terrorist onto the plane without a passport.

Interestingly, he also says another younger (30's) Indian man was arrested later on after the plane landed, after bomb sniffing dogs alerted agents to his carry on while they were all waiting to be debriefed. He said after that they were all moved to another, 'secure', location.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTL9qC2SZEA


Here's another witness who wrote out what happened. He also describes the arrest of the Indian man while they were waiting around to be debriefed but his description of the arrest doesn't match Haskell's and he describes an older Indian man dressed in a suit being arrested - so maybe this was the man who helped the terrorist onto the plane (?). This person also talks about them looking for the guy with the video camera.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/roey-r..._b_404255.html
(fair use applies)

Over Detroit Skies
Roey Rosenblith
Director of Village Energy, Uganda
Posted: December 27, 2009 10:30 AM


Roey Rosenblith is the Founder and Director of Village Energy (Uganda) Limited, a startup solar company that he runs out of Kampala, Uganda with his business partner Abu Musuuza. Village Energy is dedicated to providing renewable energy solutions and services to the 80% of Africans that currently lack electricity. On December 25, 2009 he was flying home on NW Flight 253, en-route from Kampala to visit his family in St. Louis. The following is his account of events that transpired on that day.

I was on my third in-flight movie when the screaming started, shattering my tired half-awake travel state. I had gone from watching Up to Inglorious Basterds and had decided to try rounding things off with Land of the Lost. That was when my fellow passenger Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab decided to ignite his explosives 19 rows ahead of me.

I had been traveling for more than a day, starting in Kampala, Uganda, where I've been creating a solar lighting company called Village Energy, and living what I thought, up until that point, was a fairly adventurous life. I had woken up 12 hours prior at 4 a.m. in my apartment on the outskirts of Kampala to fly to Nairobi for a 10 hour layover, and then finally on to Amsterdam to catch my flight to Detroit, where I would make my final connection to visit my family in St. Louis. But that didn't happen, at least not that day.

At 6 a.m. CET, I had arrived in Amsterdam. It's a beautiful airport, just as you would imagine the Dutch would design it, boxy and metallic architecture, silver roofs and granite floors with bright yellow signs marking the terminals extending from central hubs in every direction. Orderly and calm, the opposite of my chaotic life in Uganda. At Amsterdam we went through security, and what seemed like the time was good security. At the gate everyone was interviewed by a team of around 10 personal screeners, who asked us a battery of questions in quick succession. This was something I had only experienced at Tel Aviv airports and it came as quite a surprise, but one that I welcomed. After personal screening we passed through metal detectors and a baggage X-ray. Even though I had all the change out of my pockets, cell phones, and belt removed I still set off the detector (perhaps the rivets in my jeans). As soon as that happened I was frisked so thoroughly by the young Dutch security guard that I began to wonder if he was enjoying himself. Later on when I read the news reports I realized that if Abdul Farouk Abdulmutallab had the explosives stashed in his underwear, even if he had been thoroughly frisked the only way the guard would have noticed anything is if he literally put his hands down the guy's pants, and searched his groin.

While we waited to board I chatted with a young British woman going to visit her family on vacation in Florida. She was nervous because this was the first flight she had made on her own, and thus it had been severely delayed because of weather. To my left sat a Nigerian woman and her two-year-old son, annoyed with all the warm clothes that he was very unused to wearing. Across from me was an American guy from Ohio State that had previously spent a semester in Spain and was now coming back from a winter trip to visit his Spanish girlfriend. We talked about simple nothings, what we did, what we thought about traveling in Europe. The British girl offered to share some snacks with me. The two year old Nigerian boy pulled on my beard and grabbed my cheek, seemingly fascinated by my facial hair and unfamiliar looks. His mother said they were flying from Lagos to Baltimore. Across from us next to the Ohio State student was an older Nigerian woman wearing a black robe and hijab. She seemed to speak little English and I assumed that she was the young boy's grandmother, at least she smiled at him that way. In front of us a tall, unassuming, and stylishly dressed Dutch fellow talked on his cell phone. When I played the memories back in my head I realize that's the only image I had of Jasper Schuringa, the man who may have saved all of our lives.

Nothing particularly memorable happened once I got on the plane. It was snowing heavily in Amsterdam and the takeoff was delayed so the plane could be de-iced. I remember looking out the window at the sunrise as melting crystals kept falling across the window disappearing against a stream from the spray gun's hot chemical bath. We took off about an hour late. For the next seven hours as we crossed the Atlantic nothing eventful happened.

Just after they announced that we would be landing I heard two people yelling, screaming, then it grew to a muffled chorus of yells and cries, the words "Fire, there's a fire," drifted back to where I was sitting in economy window seat 38J. I looked at my companion in next seat over, 38I. He was young man in his early 20s, finance major from the University of Ohio who had been studying in Milan. He looked more confused than afraid tilting his head incredulously trying to figure out what was happening. As I recount this I can't even remember his name. Everything up until that point was just so normal and unmemorable. The niceties shared as we sat down. "I work in Uganda starting a solar power business; I'm a student taking a semester abroad." As we listened to the screams I touched his arm and wondered if he was going to be the last person I ever spoke with. My Ugandan cell phone was dead, and probably not going to work in Detroit, so calling my family once last time was not going to happen. I looked out the window and saw nothing but thick white clouds, and water droplets rushing past. The simple fact that there was no escape from whatever was happening quickly set in.

Suddenly a female flight attendant, a middle-aged Asian woman with shoulder-length black hair, rushed past our aisle from the front with incredible speed, grabbed something from one of the overhead compartments in the back, and then ran back up the opposite aisle. Later I would find out she was grabbing a fire extinguisher. I was filled with an intense sense of trepidation, the instinct to run was overwhelming, but there was nowhere to run to in this metal tube filled with almost 300 people. All you could do was look around at your fellow travelers, who were doing just what you were doing: trying not to panic, looking around for some clue in the eyes and faces of other passengers if anyone knew what was happening .

Eventually the screams and sounds of struggle subdued. A voice came on the intercom, a male flight attendant who earlier had served me my breakfast and lunch, then collected my trash. In a voice that was struggling to stay calm he said, "Everything is under control! Your federally trained flight attendants have the situation under control. We are now landing. The landing gear is down! Stay in your seats, we are getting ready to land." Suddenly the plane began a sharp descent. The Asian flight attendant came back to where we were and took her seat opposite the first row in the economy area waving her hands in a downward motion for people to stay seated, and then slumping against the wall before strapping herself in.

As we began descending the worst fear I have ever experienced in my life set in. Not knowing what had happened it was unclear that we were going to land safely. Was there a mechanical failure? Was the fire inside or outside the plane. How did it start? Electrical problems? Why had people been screaming? Did they look out the window and see the wing on fire? How did the smoke spread to inside the cabin? What were our chances of surviving? For ten more minutes as we descended nothing was answered, we all seemed to be trapped in a kind of mental limbo, incapable of speech. Across the aisle from me there was a young mother of Indian descent and her son who looked to be around five. I smiled at him in some sort of attempt to make him believe that everything was normal, he smiled back at me, seeming to be blissfully unaware that his short time on Earth could soon be coming to an end.

As we made our way through the thick cloud cover I begin to see patches of the green and gray, the drab suburbs of Detroit, they seemed as beautiful as a light house beckoning to a ship lost in a stormy sea. For the first time an intense fear gave way to the hope that we might all live to see another day. As the land got closer, that hope grew, and when we hit the runway the airplane broke out in grateful applause.

Another male flight attendant with glasses came in, "For everyone in the back, we had an incident, someone tried to start a fire, but we took care of it. The authorities will be coming on the plane, everyone stay in your seats until they get off." I remember telling my seat mate, the Ohio State guy, that we weren't going to be going anywhere for a while. Everyone is going to need to get screened -- this guy was trying to blow up the plane.

As we began to taxi down the runway, I could see yellow emergency fire vehicles coming in after the plane. After them a white SUV with flashing police sirens on top. The plane taxied to a gate, and immediately up ahead I could see security officials enter the plane and take someone off. Shortly afterward a young man with sandy blonde hair and a striped green-and-white shirt stood up and walked out as well. As he made his way down the aisle, there was more applause and a few cheers.

For about thirty more minutes we stayed in our seats. An old African man stood up, to pull something out of his overhead compartment. Everyone started yelling at him, but he explained he needed his medication. A flight attendant told him if he didn't sit down he would be the next one escorted off by security officials. Finally the captain spoke, "We apologize for this happening, and we wish incidents like this would never occur. Apparently someone brought firecrackers on the plane. Please prepare to exit, we realize some of you need to make connecting flights and we apologize for the delay. If Detroit is your final destination, please stay seated and let those who are making connecting flights get off first." No dice, everyone got up at once.

As we were exiting the plane to my immediate right I saw Jasper Schuringa being attended to by paramedics and police, his hands already wrapped in bandages from what appeared to be intense burns. We made our way down to customs, many people complaining about the delay, and not being able to get home for Christmas. But when we got to the customs gate, instead of being met by the usual lines and immigration personnel we found nobody there. We were met by police officers who led us straight past customs to the baggage collection area.

There were hundreds of police officers; eventually they told us there were 250 agents. About 20 of them were directly in front of us, creating a barrier that funneled us into a corner behind the first two luggage carousels. There was no explanation, no time table, and no communication of what was to happen next. People attempting to call their families were told immediately to shut off their phones. When officers were asked what was happening they politely said they didn't know, but were under orders to keep us all in this area until further notice.

As the first hour went by we begin to settle in. I found the British girl who had been sitting in the same row as Abdul Farouk Abdulmutallab. We all just kept talking to each other, trying to piece a story together as to what happened. Slowly a picture began to emerge. After the announcement that we were landing started, there was a popping sound, like a gun that went off. The next thing was a three-foot orange flame from where the suspect was sitting, between an old woman and another man. The man he was sitting next to immediately put this guy in a headlock and then someone, presumably Jasper Schuringa, jumped from two rows back into the man's seat and pulled him into the aisle grabbing whatever was on fire and trying to put it out. People started screaming and passing up bottles of water, then they put a blanket over it, but the blanket caught on fire. Others described the water having very little effect, making a sizzling sound. Apparently the fire extinguisher was what put it out. They stripped him at some point, pulled down his pants and took off his shirt. They then pulled the guy up front and tied him down.

"Firecrackers, the guy was crazy, you 'd have to be crazy to bring something like that on the plane."

Most people seemed to be in denial of what I saw was evident. This guy wanted to kill all of us, he had wanted to blow up the plane. When I said this, they would just shake their heads; even those that had seen it happen didn't want to believe it.

We stayed in the baggage claim area for 3 hours without any word of what happened next. We were only allowed into the bathroom one person at a time by an officer who guarded the door. Behind the line of our immediate security detail there were hundreds of other police officers moving around back and forth, as if they were on they were on the night watch guarding a military base from a potential threat. What they were doing was unclear. The only thing that I recall happening is seeing an Indian guy off to the side, an older gentleman wearing a gray suit leaning against the wall. Suddenly there was a police officer next to him pulling his arms back and pulling handcuffs on him. The man didn't struggle, the bags which seemed to be his were left there, and he and the police officer disappeared around the corner.

Eventually plain clothes officers with necklace badges appeared. We assumed these guys were the head honchos everyone was waiting for, FBI and Homeland Security folks. Shortly after they arrived we were suddenly moved to another location.

They marched everyone back across the customs desks, into an adjacent corridor. After we had all been moved into this rather tight place we waited for about half an hour. An officer then started to talk to us, his voice echoing down the hall.

"We have had a serious incident today, we thank you for your patience but we have to wait and sort this all through. We realize you have been delayed and want to get you home to your loved ones."

This prompted some angry responses, some passengers demanded to see their lawyers, others said they wanted food and water. This last demand was answered affirmatively; the officers promised they were securing snacks and water for everyone. The officer continued:

"But every single one of you will need to be interviewed today. Before you go home. How many people here don't speak English? Raise your hand."

This last message prompted a bit of laughter. Most people seemed to be able to speak English but there were probably a handful of older and younger people that didn't. Next to where I was sitting there was a mother and daughter from Wisconsin that had just adopted two Ethiopian children, a boy and girl of about six. Neither spoke English, and apparently this was their first airplane trip anywhere. Their adopted mother was very hopeful that they had no idea what was happening. In our little group there was a Somali guy, apparently an electrical engineer who had recently received US citizenship, who offered them comfort in the few Amharic words he knew.

Suddenly a tall plain clothes officer appeared. Oddly he was wearing a sweater, athletic shorts, and sneakers. As if he had been called in mid-workout. Only his necklace badge made it evident he was with the authorities. As he was walking down the corridor, he asked people a new question, "We have been told someone was videotaping the incident. If you were videotaping the incident can you please make yourself known." A few people around me confirmed that they saw a guy videotaping the whole thing. I told them they should talk to the officers and help identify the guy. A few got up and followed the police officer around, searching for him. I still don't know if they found him.

For the next twenty minutes I talked to a young American-Chinese girl named Jena who was working in Vienna for a renewable energy foundation, called Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP). Since I was starting a renewable energy company, Village Energy, to provide affordable electricity to folks in East Africa, we had something in common. We joked this was an odd place to network, but nonetheless exchanged business cards and even talked about the recent Copenhagen UN Climate Conference and strategies for getting affordable renewable power to the developing world. We were joined by our Somali compatriot, who as an electrical engineer who had lived in Africa had some interesting insights. But near the end of our talk, I was suddenly overwhelmed by the severity of what took place and said "I don't think this guy was crazy. I think he wanted to blow us up. Everyone seems to be in denial but that's the only thing that makes sense, he wanted to kill all of us." No one said anything in response.

Soon we were directed back to the baggage claim area and officers started bringing everyone's luggage on carts. Three officers then appeared with security K-9 dogs and systematically had the dogs sniff all our hand luggage. Apparently over the last few hours all the check in bags had also been meticulously searched. Next up were the interviews. They had set up chairs and one and two at a time every passenger was screened and their accounts written down. I gave my account of everything I experienced then was ushered back into customs.

As I gave the customs agent my passport, I asked him if he knew what happened to the guy who started the fire. The customs agent stamped my passport and said, "All I know is, he's never going to see the light of day."

After checking with the Delta desk and booking a new flight, I was given a hotel to stay, at the nearby Embassy Suites, and a dinner voucher. Waiting for the shuttle I met three other people from the flight, an American electrical engineer with Schlumberger and an African-Dutch couple who were moving to New York. We got to the hotel and went up to our rooms to shower but first made plans to have dinner together. When I got to my hotel room I called my parents. I had borrowed someone else's cell phone to let them know I was alright earlier. My mother had been at the airport in St. Louis waiting to pick me up.

"Where you on that plane with the crazy guy?" she had asked.

"Yes, but I'm okay. Everything is fine. I'm fine. I love you and I'm booking a flight home."

I called again from my hotel room, just as I turned on CNN. Both my mother and CNN told me the same thing at the same time, he was in Al-Qaeda, he had explosives, and a harsh and frightening reality suddenly set in as my suspicions were confirmed. I and everyone on that flight had come very close to being nothing but pieces of charred bone and fragments of flesh, identifiable only by DNA testing and dental records.

After showering I and the three other passengers had dinner together at the hotel. It was strange how normal it all seemed. Just a group of young folks, stranded on a Christmas flight, enjoying each other's company. But I do have to say, when I looked around me, at these people, at the hotel's décor, the trees outside the hotel, there was something sharp, something vital, something beautiful to all of it. There is something about having this gift of life, of surviving someone else's desire for martyrdom and death.

It's been less than two days since all of this has happened. We still have a lot to learn about who Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was and what made him into a human bomb. From what I know the story is particularly tragic, because on a continent where most people have so little he seemed to have so much. He made up an elite group of perhaps .1% of the population. Not only did he study abroad, he studied to be an engineer. He could have come back to Nigeria and put his skills to use in a wide array of fields: agriculture, health, transportation, telecommunications, he could have created solutions that would help some of the poorest people on earth. Even if he didn't want to do that, with a wealthy family and well-connected father, the world was his oyster. Why would he throw all that away to follow this horrific path? When he studied in England, what happened there to infuse this hatred into his heart?

I've spent the last five years of my life dedicated to engineering products that would help the world's poor. I wonder if I had ever had the opportunity to meet Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab and talk shop with, discuss the agro-processing devices and small solar lighting systems ... supply chains and accessing rural markets ... that he might have seen that at least this American was not his enemy. Or maybe it wouldn't have mattered at all; how can you reason with what is inherently unreasonable. I suppose that all we can do, all I can do, is not give up.

In a few weeks my vacation is over. I'm going back to Uganda, to work with my Ugandan business partner Abu Musuuza, who by the way is a practicing Muslim (and I, by the way, am a seldom practicing Jew). With our American investors, Ryan Allis and Ron Boehm, our company Village Energy is going to provide light and power to as many people as we can get it to. And even though al Qaeda tried, I'll be damned if they manage to stop me or anyone else on that flight from going out and achieving our life's ambitions.

[Heliobas Disciple]

Ace of Spades blog has alternative theories as to why someone from AQ would be videotaping. The text I highlighted is the creepiest. Live footage as the plane blew up? Is technology like that available? Leave it to AQ jihadis to exploit it if it does, they're all about using the internet.

http://ace.mu.nu/archives/296356.php
(fair use applies)

EXCERPT of longer article:

This of course could be just some harmless activity that appears sinister in retrospect.

If it's genuine, I wonder what Al Qaeda's idea is here. If the bombing were a success, the camera would probably have been destroyed, and even if it weren't, it would be found by US authorities who presumably would keep it a secret (so as not to spread panic).

Perhaps it's a back-up plan -- if the bombing fails, this guy can still probably get off the plane, and upload the video for the world's horror, thus completing the important terror step in terrorism, even minus the actual mayhem and death.

Or, of course, if it fails -- Al Qaeda has a record of how security responded to the man and thwarted him.

Joke's on them in that case, then: Security didn't respond to the man or thwart him.

Ha, ha.

Don't we all feel wonderful about that.

I suppose a last possibility is if this plane had Go-Go in-flight internet... maybe he was periodically streaming video to some server in Dubai or something.

[Heliobas Disciple]

Another youtube interview of another passenger's account.

This passenger also describes the bomb sniffing dogs stopping infront of a '30's year old, late 30's, middle eastern looking man's luggage' and then that man being arrested.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdlQVuWOkPc

HD

[Heliobas Disciple]

I'm not sure if this is posted anywhere else on TB, but I'll add it to this thread. This is a transcript of Obama's comments on the event this morning from Hawaii.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/44/...ine-secur.html
(fair use applies)

Transcript of Obama remarks on airline security and terror watch lists

President Obama's remarks Monday about airline security and this weekend's protests in Iran. The Washington Post maintains a full database of Obama's speeches here.

Good morning, everybody. I wanted to take just a few minutes to update the American people on the attempted terrorist attack that occurred on Christmas Day and the steps we're taking to ensure the safety and security of the country.

The investigation's ongoing. And I spoke again this morning with Attorney General Eric Holder, the secretary of homeland security, Janet Napolitano, and my counterterrorism and homeland security adviser, John Brennan. I asked them to keep -- continue monitoring the situation to keep the American people and members of Congress informed.

Here's what we know so far: On Christmas Day, Northwest Airlines Flight 253 was en route from Amsterdam, Netherlands, to Detroit. As the plane made its final approach to Detroit Metropolitan Airport, a passenger allegedly tried to ignite an explosive device on his body, setting off a fire.

Thanks to the quick and heroic actions of passengers and crew, the suspect was immediately subdued, the fire was put out, and the plane landed safely. The suspect is now in custody and has been charged with attempting to destroy an aircraft.

A full investigation has been launched into this attempted act of terrorism, and we will not rest until we find all who were involved and hold them accountable.

Now, this was a serious reminder of the dangers that we face and the nature of those who threaten our homeland. Had the suspect succeeded in bringing down that plane, it could have killed nearly 300 passengers and crew, innocent civilians preparing to celebrate the holidays with their families and friends.

The American people should be assured that we are doing everything in our power to keep you and your family safe and secure during this busy holiday season.

Since I was first notified of this incident, I've ordered the following actions to be taken to protect the American people and to secure air travel.

First, I directed that we take immediate steps to ensure the safety of the traveling public. We made sure that all flights still in the air were secure and could land safely. We immediately enhanced screening and security procedures for all flights, domestic and international. We added federal air marshals to flights entering and leaving the United States. And we're working closely in this country, federal, state and local law enforcement, with our international partners.

Second, I've ordered two important reviews, because it's absolutely critical that we learn from this incident and take the necessary measures to prevent future acts of terrorism.

The first review involves our watch list system, which our government has had in place for many years to identify known and suspected terrorists so that we can prevent their entry into the United States. Apparently the suspect in the Christmas incident was in this system, but not on a watch list, such as the so-called no-fly list. So I have ordered a thorough review, not only of how information related to the subject was handled, but of the overall watch list system and how it can be strengthened.

The second review will examine all screening policies, technologies and procedures related to air travel. We need to determine just how the suspect was able to bring dangerous explosives aboard an aircraft and what additional steps we can take to thwart future attacks.

Third, I've directed my national security team to keep up the pressure on those who would attack our country. We do not yet have all the answers about this latest attempt, but those who would slaughter innocent men, women and children must know that the United States will more -- do more than simply strengthen our defenses. We will continue to use every element of our national power to disrupt, to dismantle and defeat the violent extremists who threaten us, whether they are from Afghanistan or Pakistan, Yemen or Somalia, or anywhere where they are plotting attacks against the U.S. homeland.

Finally, the American people should remain vigilant, but also be confident. Those plotting against us seek not only to undermine our security, but also the open society and the values that we cherish as Americans. This incident, like several that have preceded it, demonstrates that an alert and courageous citizenry are far more resilient than an isolated extremist.

As a nation, we will do everything in our power to protect our country. As Americans, we will never give in to fear or division. We will be guided by our hopes, our unity, and our deeply held values. That's who we are as Americans; that's what our brave men and women in uniform are standing up for as they spend the holidays in harm's way. And we will continue to do everything that we can to keep America safe in the new year and beyond.

Before I leave, let me also briefly address the events that have taken place over the last few days in the Islamic Republic of Iran. The United States joins with the international community in strongly condemning the violent and unjust suppression of innocent Iranian citizens, which has apparently resulted in detentions, injuries, and even death.

For months, the Iranian people have sought nothing more than to exercise their universal rights. Each time they have done so, they have been met with the iron fist of brutality, even on solemn occasions and holy days. And each time that has happened, the world has watched with deep admiration for the courage and the conviction of the Iranian people who are part of Iran's great and enduring civilization.

What's taking place within Iran is not about the United States or any other country. It's about the Iranian people and their aspirations for justice and a better life for themselves. And the decision of Iran's leaders to govern through fear and tyranny will not succeed in making those aspirations go away.

As I said in Oslo, it's telling when governments fear the aspirations of their own people more than the power of any other nation.

Along with all free nations, the United States stands with those who seek their universal rights. We call upon the Iranian government to abide by the international obligations that it has to respect the rights of its own people.

We call for the immediate release of all who have been unjustly detained within Iran. We will continue to bear witness to the extraordinary events that are taking place there. And I'm confident that history will be on the side of those who seek justice.

Thank you very much, everybody. And Happy New Year.