Attempted terrorist attack on plane landing in Michigan

[PokemonHero]

Source

WASHINGTON – A Northwest Airlines passenger from Nigeria, who said he was acting on al-Qaida's instructions, tried to blow up the plane Friday as it was landing in Detroit, law enforcement and national security officials said.

Passengers subdued the man and may have prevented him from detonating the explosives, the officials said.

"We believe this was an attempted act of terrorism," a White House official said.

Federal officials imposed stricter screening measures after the incident.

Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., ranking GOP member of the House Homeland Security Committee, identified the suspect as Abdul Mudallad, a Nigerian. King said the flight began in Nigeria and went through Amsterdam en route to Detroit. There were 278 passengers aboard the Airbus 330.

There was nothing out of the ordinary until the flight was on final approach to Detroit, said Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Elizabeth Isham Cory. That is when the pilot declared an emergency and landed without incident shortly thereafter, Cory said in an e-mail message. The plane landed at 11:51 a.m. EST.

One of the U.S. intelligence officials said the explosive device was a mix of powder and liquid. It failed when the passenger tried to detonate it.

The passenger was being questioned Friday evening. An intelligence source said the Nigerian passenger was being held and treated in an Ann Arbor, Mich., hospital.

All the sources spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation was continuing.

One law enforcement source said the man claimed to have been instructed by al-Qaida to detonate the plane over U.S. soil.

The official said an official determination of a terrorist act would have to come from the attorney general.

The official added that additional security measures are being taken without raising the airline threat level.

The official declined to describe what additional measures law enforcement was taking.

The White House was coordinating briefings for the president through the Homeland Security Department, the Transportation Security Administration and the FBI.

A law enforcement source said the explosives may have been strapped to the man's body but investigators weren't immediately certain, partly because of the struggle with other passengers.

One passenger from the flight was taken to the University of Michigan Medical Center in Ann Arbor, hospital spokeswoman Tracy Justice said. She didn't know the person's condition, or whether the person was a man or woman. She referred all inquiries to the FBI.

Passenger Syed Jafri, a U.S. citizen who had flown from the United Arab Emirates, said the incident occurred during the plane's descent. Jafri said he was seated three rows behind the passenger and said he saw a glow, and noticed a smoke smell. Then, he said, "a young man behind me jumped on him."

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

Rich Griffith, a passenger from Pontiac, said he was seated too far in the back to see what had happened. But he said he didn't mind being detained on the plane for several hours. "It's frustrating if you don't want to keep your country safe," he said. "We can't have what's going on everywhere else happening here."

President Barack Obama was notified of the incident and discussed it with security officials, the White House said. It said he is monitoring the situation and receiving regular updates from his vacation spot in Hawaii.

J.P. Karas, 55, of Wyandotte, Mich., said he was driving down a road near the airport and saw a Delta jet at the end of the runway, surrounded by police cars, an ambulance, a bus and some TV trucks.

"I don't ever recall seeing a plane on that runway ever before and I pass by there frequently," he said.

Karas said it was difficult to tell what was going on, but it looked like the front wheel was off the runway.

"We encourage those with future travel plans to stay in touch with their airline and to visit http://www.tsa.gov for updates," Homeland Security Department said in a statement.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has been briefed on the incident and is closely monitoring the situation.

The department encouraged travelers to be observant and aware of their surroundings and report any suspicious behavior to law enforcement officials.

Thank God the device didn't detonate.

 

[hurristat]

I'm glad that i went on vacation by car... i live in MI.

 

[Nicoleta01]

Glad the guy was stopped before he could do any damage. Though whatever he had may now be banned on planes (If it's a common substance), which on the whole would stink. :/

 

[Phoenicks]

Like said, it's good that the guy was stopped.

All of these Islamic Extremist events show something. Most of the incidents since 9/11 have occured in the past year - Muhammad, Fort Hood, even the arrest of the 5 Americans in Pakistan. Clearly something has changed in our relationship with Islamic extremists, but whatever the cause *HINTHINT, the effect is the end of our vacation from Islamic Extremism in the US.

 

[Dr. GM]

My God that's terrible! Why even fight because someone else doesn't believe in your own beliefs? I mean, I believe that Texas has come up with the best fast-food joint ever (Whataburger), but I don't stab the ones who dont agree! :disgust:

 

[the gadfly]

Clearly something has changed in our relationship with Islamic extremists, but whatever the cause *HINTHINT, the effect is the end of our vacation from Islamic Extremism in the US.

Pray tell us, what is that cause you're hinting at.

 

[TTEchidna]

They're testing Obama the same way they tested Bush in 2001 and Clinton in 1993.

Also, vacation from Islamic extremism? We've got plenty of other extremisms we haven't had a vacation from.

 

[The Big Al]

Actually, local news sources say he actually set it off. However, it was so badly constructed and he sweated on it because it was hidden in his pants he only succeeded in burning his legs. The other passengers only gang tackled him when they heard popping and smelled smoke.

 

[Ghost]

It feels like this happens every Christmas....

 

[Fig]

Like said, it's good that the guy was stopped.

All of these Islamic Extremist events show something. Most of the incidents since 9/11 have occured in the past year - Muhammad, Fort Hood, even the arrest of the 5 Americans in Pakistan. Clearly something has changed in our relationship with Islamic extremists, but whatever the cause *HINTHINT, the effect is the end of our vacation from Islamic Extremism in the US.

Which vacation, the one you just made up in order to score a moronic political point?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_transatlantic_aircraft_plot
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_Fort_Dix_attack_plot

According to most reports so far, the reason this one got so far is most likely that he was acting alone, not as part of a large plot. When half a dozen or more people are involved in something, the odds of one of them tipping off the authorities are just much greater than when a single person is doing it.

 

[Big Lutz]

According to most reports so far, the reason this one got so far is most likely that he was acting alone, not as part of a large plot. When half a dozen or more people are involved in something, the odds of one of them tipping off the authorities are just much greater than when a single person is doing it.

I would be very surprised if this guy acted alone, this plot seems to mirror a KSM idea that al Qaeda has tried multiple times in the past, that being a person sets off a type of explosive inside of a plane to try and detonate it either over a US City or over the ocean.

They're testing Obama the same way they tested Bush in 2001 and Clinton in 1993.

Most likely, my question is why did it take 3 hours for word to reach Obama as is now being reported. You would think if a possible wide spread terror attack was happening over the United States as the original 1996 plane bombings called for, you would want the Commander in Chief to be informed and in command very quickly. There seems to have been a massive screw up in the chain of command in getting the correct info to the President.

 

[RavenKingSage]

They're testing Obama the same way they tested Bush in 2001 and Clinton in 1993.

Also, vacation from Islamic extremism? We've got plenty of other extremisms we haven't had a vacation from.

 

[Phoenicks]

My general point is that we've seen an uptick in attempts recently. Not all are linked to terrorist groups (Hussan for one, was probably independant of any other group), but Islamic extremism has seen more US-related attempts recently. The evidence on this one so far shows that it only failed because of the bomber's incompetence, not because of our security measures. There has to be a cause for there to be an effect. So, something must have changed in order for this change to occur. I believe that it is because of Obama's different handling of foreign policy.

EDIT: Clarification: I'm talking about the US when I refer to a 'vacation'. Not Worldwide or on Western nations.

 

[Misty]

Most likely, my question is why did it take 3 hours for word to reach Obama as is now being reported. You would think if a possible wide spread terror attack was happening over the United States as the original 1996 plane bombings called for, you would want the Commander in Chief to be informed and in command very quickly. There seems to have been a massive screw up in the chain of command in getting the correct info to the President.

My best guess is that it wasn't declared a terrorist attack for some time. The pilots had to become aware of a disturbance; call for law enforcement; land the plane; law enforcement had to arrive, deal with the suspect, call an ambulance for him and the passengers who got burns; the police had to investigate the scene, make a decision about the nature of the scene, and pass that along to their superiors. I'd wager all of that took about an hour to an hour and a half. After that, it had to go up the chain of command, which may have been somewhat impeded by the fact that it was Christmas day. 3 hours seems relatively appropriate, really, especially since nobody actually died.

 

[Big Lutz]

Possibly, but when you have keywords like "Bomb on Airplane" the police do not act like it is a murder down on 3rd street. Before the plane even landed they knew that something was dangerously wrong. At that moment the police should and most likely did tell federal officials, the moment they found out the man was a foreigner is when alarm bells should have started ringing. The original plot cooked up in 1996 was for multiple planes to be blown up over the Atlantic, if I remember correctly there was a amended version of it where al Qaeda would blow up multiple planes over cities to heighten the damage due to wreckage falling below. Within 3 hours they could have destroyed or been in the process of destroying numerous planes all across the United States. That is a failure in the chain of command, either at the police level or the federal level.

Also ABC News pretty much has confirmed it was a Al Qaeda plot

The plot to blow up an American passenger jet over Detroit was organized and launched by al Qaeda leaders in Yemen who apparently sewed bomb materials into the suspect’s underwear before sending him on his mission, federal authorities tell ABC News

http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/northwest-bomb-plot-planned-al-qaeda-yemen/story?id=9426085

 

[Fig]

Ah, CNN was talking about acting alone.

The initial impression is that the suspect was acting alone and did not have any formal connections to organized terrorist groups, said the senior U.S. administration official, who is familiar with the investigation.

Even their updated article still leans in that direction :

The official said there was no evidence that Abdulmutallab was a hard-core, trained member of al Qaeda.

Though even if it's orchestrated by AQ leaders in Yemen that still possibly leave only a single operative on the field - still a bitch to successfully catch.

Someone - I forgot who - once observed that if a single determined invidual were to decide to kill the president, and was willing to go to any length to do it (and didn't accidetally betray himself to somebody), it'S likely he would pull it off.

 

[The Big Al]

Possibly, but when you have keywords like "Bomb on Airplane" the police do not act like it is a murder down on 3rd street. Before the plane even landed they knew that something was dangerously wrong. At that moment the police should and most likely did tell federal officials, the moment they found out the man was a foreigner is when alarm bells should have started ringing. The original plot cooked up in 1996 was for multiple planes to be blown up over the Atlantic, if I remember correctly there was a amended version of it where al Qaeda would blow up multiple planes over cities to heighten the damage due to wreckage falling below. Within 3 hours they could have destroyed or been in the process of destroying numerous planes all across the United States. That is a failure in the chain of command, either at the police level or the federal level.

Might I ask what we could have done? We had nothing to go on beyond a single guy with a badly constructed bomb. There was nothing to indicate other flights were targeted, which ones would be targeted, and who would be targeting them. We'd only cause a trans-Atlantic panic. We aren't working on a short circuit anymore. We're actually thinking.

Also ABC News pretty much has confirmed it was a Al Qaeda plot

The plot to blow up an American passenger jet over Detroit was organized and launched by al Qaeda leaders in Yemen who apparently sewed bomb materials into the suspect’s underwear before sending him on his mission, federal authorities tell ABC News

http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/northwest-bomb-plot-planned-al-qaeda-yemen/story?id=9426085

That's news to me.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34592031/ns/us_news-security/#storyContinued

 

[Big Lutz]

Might I ask what we could have done? We had nothing to go on beyond a single guy with a badly constructed bomb. There was nothing to indicate other flights were targeted, which ones would be targeted, and who would be targeting them. We'd only cause a trans-Atlantic panic. We aren't working on a short circuit anymore. We're actually thinking.

And that kind of stupidity could have possibly caused numerous planes to explode. 'Actually thinking' in this type of situation, especially when that kind of 'thinking' is keeping our national leader out of the loop is pathetically stupid of the highest level.

What could have been done, quite a lot, including working to ground all aircraft, the President has authority that no one else has, something I believe you liberals have repeated over and over again in the minutes Bush waited in the class room after 9/11.

You are right the FBI had nothing to go beyond a single guy, the bomb being badly constructed is hindsight, and we had no idea if the flights were targeted or not, which is why you air on the side of caution. Keeping the President out of the loop in what could have easily been a moment of national crisis is as dangerous as it is stupid.

I cannot believe you disagree on that.

Though even if it's orchestrated by AQ leaders in Yemen that still possibly leave only a single operative on the field - still a bitch to successfully catch.

Well al Qaeda is also getting alot more desperate, and is not the organization it used to be including having many new leaders and new planners. This could be a possible shift in their operation from a multi manned cell, to sending one or two singular suicide bombers.

 

[hurristat]

My question is: why Michigan? There's no political value in bombing Michigan (or maybe the terrorist really didn't like that Chrysler he had.)

I also heard somewhere that the terrorist was going to college in Britain... correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[Fig]

Well al Qaeda is also getting alot more desperate, and is not the organization it used to be including having many new leaders and new planners. This could be a possible shift in their operation from a multi manned cell, to sending one or two singular suicide bombers.

That'd be both good and bad. On the plus side, coordinated strike have the potential to do much, much more damage, and there are things an individual acting alone is unlikely to do (a single terrorist would have a hard time taking over a plane even with limited security measures, for one thing). On the downside, 18 terrorists trying to coordinate are bound to betray themselves and tip off the authorities (well, in theory. Sometime, eg 9-11 proper, the authorities just aren't coordinating enough to put together the information available), but a single terrorist acting alone will be much less likely to tip off people in time.