I’ve criticized France before, but this is simply beyond the pale. When US authorities learned that terrorists may have been planning to hijack Air France airliners and crash them into Los Vegas, they immediately worked to stop those flights.
Here’s where the problem began:
Bush administration officials expressed frustration that al-Qa’eda operatives might have escaped capture after word leaked, early this week, of American concerns about flights from France to the United States over the Christmas period.
One official said Washington had been hoping to keep the US-French negotiations confidential, adding that the hope was that “we would be able to lure some of these people in”.
However, a French interior ministry spokesman said little evidence of a terrorist plot had been found.
French authorities released seven men – one French, one American and several Algerians – whose names were found to be on US watch-lists.
The seven men were all due to board a flight on Wednesday and had been briefly questioned. French authorities found nothing to suggest the men had terrorist links.
My reaction to this is something along the lines of espece de merde! You have an al-Qaeda message with detailed information on a terrorist attack. You have passengers who are already on terrorist watch lists. You manage to stop the flight and detain the people involved. Here’s what you don’t do. You don’t give them a cursory examination and then let them go. Exactly what the hell did the French authorities expect, for them to have their al-Qaeda Membership Cards in their wallets? You at least give it a few days to run a more detailed background check. You sure as hell don’t just assume that they’re not terrorists when there’s a hell of a lot of evidence suggesting elsewise.
Furthermore, US authorities are extremely upset that the French revealed the cancellations in such a public manner:
US Homeland Security officials are reported to be upset that the flights were cancelled so publicly.
An unnamed official told the Associated Press news agency security forces had been “hoping that we would be able to lure some of these people in”.
Terrorism expert Walter Purdy, of the Terrorism Research Center in the US, told BBC News the intelligence could have been better used to arrest the suspects at the airport.
He said: “Unfortunately now these individuals can still carry out this type of attack, though not on Air France or out of Paris.”
This is a serious breach of basic common sense and procedure. Personally, I’d start ensuring that all Air France passengers are given a thorough screening at all times at every US airport and Air France terminals be given extra security. If the French are that incompetent at providing security its clear that they cannot be trusted to handle these matters effectively. Given the way in which this case was handled, it’s clear that France is not taking the threat of terrorism seriously, which is unacceptable in a time when al-Qaeda is seeking any way they can to attack whatever targets they can.
Tell you what, Jay: if any of these individuals ever participate in an attack on the US or our allies, then I owe you a Coke.
I am sure that if these people that the French let go ever attack the United States, the people they murder will appreciate your generous offer of a Coke. It’s nice to see that there are people who think that potential terror attacks are a source of humor.
It’s nice to see that there are people who think that potential terror attacks are a source of humor.
What else besides humor would you use to combat irrational fear?
Sure, irrational fear. I’m sure Osama bin Laden is a myth, like the Easter Bunny or Santa Clause. It’s not like a group of terrorists made a big f-cking hole in the middle of New York or anything. Everyone knows there’s no danger from terrorism, unless you live in a major city, can die of anthrax, or have any interest in the state of the economy.
Sticking one’s head in the sand and ignoring a very real threat isn’t a rational way of dealing with terrorism.
“ticking one’s head in the sand and ignoring a very real threat isn’t a rational way of dealing with terrorism.”
Blowing that threat out of proportion and sacrificing the essence of what makes America free isn’t rational either, Jay.
It’s not like a group of terrorists made a big f-cking hole in the middle of New York
…and killed less people than died from heat in France in August. So where’s the War on Heat? Where’s the War on Homelessness? Where’s the War on Getting Hit by Lighting?
Let’s keep some fucking perspective, please. If your heart really bleeds so much for the safety of the American people, you could start by making sure they have homes and some damn food. But ludicrous, vague “Terror Alerts” are what cause damage to the economy, not terrorism. Failure to keep terrorism in perspective is what loses consumer confidence, not Osama Bin Laden.
Well, only abour 500,000 Americans have died of AIDS, so let’s get some f-cking perspective here! Many more die from car crashes *every year*, so we need to take all the money that’s "wasted" on AIDS research and put it into car safety!
Sound ridiculous? It is.
Of course a nuke going off in New York could easily kill 2 million plus and destroy the US economy, but hey, it’s not like Osama bin Laden ever said it was his holy obligation to get nuclear weapons or anything.
It’s not as though fighting terrorism is a zero-sum game that means we can’t fight car crashes, homelessness, or lightning strikes. To suggest concentrating more on homelessness (something that we’ve devoted trillions of dollars to fighting since Johnson’s ill-fated War on Poverty) and forgetting about the fact that we’re at war with a group of fanatics who want us wiped off the face of the Earth is an idea that is devoid of logic or common sense.