REUTERS: Air France's groundings were a mistake

[arcos]

Air France's groundings were a mistake

Report: Passenger matching suspected terrorist name was a child

Air France's grounding of three transatlantic flights over Christmas was a mistake, based on FBI information that in one case confused a child's name with a suspected terrorist, the Wall Street Journal Europe said.

Citing French officials, the newspaper said on Friday the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation gave French police on December 22 a list of six suspects' names and information indicating militants linked to al-Qaida were planning to hijack an Air France jet.

French officials said that when French agents detained the passengers on the Paris-Los Angeles flights with names matching those on the list, Air France (AIRF.PA) found the name matching that of the head of a Tunisian-based terror group was a child.

Another "terrorist" was a Welsh insurance agent while a third was an elderly Chinese woman who once ran a restaurant in Paris, the newspaper said. The other three on the list were French citizens, it said.

<snip>

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3858080/

[nadinbrzezinski]

1. Call me surprised

and we should be surprsied because...

These people made a mistake, MY ASS, this is about punishing France and Mexico, and why BAC? When did the UK join the Coalition of the Weasel, or did Blair get truly off message?

Edited to remove the article, darn what happens when one sends them over email to friends...

[R Hickey]

3. Punishing Brazil too, fingerprinting everyone from that country.

Pretty soon we'll be hearing that the Congressional Cafeteria has changed the name of Brazil Nuts to 'Liberty Acorns.'

[Hieronymus]

5. Brazil retaliated

by requiring all Americans entering Brazil to be photograghed and fingerprinted. Good for Brazil.:bounce:

[Mika]

22. We should all celebrate more countries retaliating & fingerprinting?

Should we cheer when every country fingerprinting & digital biometric scanning everyone just to 'retaliate' against America? How is it retaliation if they join in with Big Brother by doing the same thing?

[izzie]

12. Your a real nut and that is funny.

:hi:

[Isere]

23. Liberty Acorns!

Excellent!

[radfringe]

2. "......the least that we can hope for are reasons...."

British Airways Flight to U.S. Canceled
http://aolsvc.news.aol.com/news/article.adp?id=20031231224909990001

--snip--

Previous reports said the plane turned around in midair, but Roehrkasse and Mexican officials said it never took off. Roehrkasse denied that the U.S. government told Mexico it would refuse the plane landing rights.

However Agustin Gutierrez, Mexico's presidential spokesman, said the flight was canceled after United States authorities said they would refuse to allow it to land.

He also said Mexico did not receive convincing information for the cancellation.

''The question is what threat?'' Gutierrez said. ''This question must be answered by Homeland Security. If we are going to have a good climate of cooperation, the least that we can hope for are reasons.''

[IndianaGreen]

4. Orange Alert! Orange Alert!

Tom Ridge and his Homeland Department are a joke!

They are more of a danger than the real terrorists.

[Fitzovich]

6. Well Put

[Cooley Hurd]

15. If this was the "credible" evidence that sparked the orange alert...

...then yes, the Pennsylvania Potato Face is sporting egg.

Seriously, why the hell are they shutting down flights on the basis of "name matches" only? Kinda reminds one of the FL voter purge in which your right to vote was denied solely because you shared a name with a convicted felon in TX...

[Dimsdale]

18. A match of 80% or better...

might get you on the Terralist. i.e., your name need only be similar to that of a suspected bad guy who would be traveling under assumed ID anyway.

[KeepItReal]

28. And that Florida Voter Purge list was a sham

They could have based it on Social Security Numbers...but didn't

They could have used people's Middle Names...but didn't

They could have used people's Suffix (Jr, Sr, III)... but didn't.

And they didn't use ALL THE DIGITS in a person's name instead of just the first four or so, I believe

Florida wanted to cast as wide a net as possible in looking for felons to keep from voting, and didn't give a damn about "false positives" (people who should not have been on the purge list).

Sounds like "Homeland Security" is takin a page from the state of Florida's playbook and maufacturing an event to make their "Orange Alert" look credible.

http://www.unprecedented.org/

[ClintonTyree]

7. The government that cried "wolf"..............

as in the child's story, there will come a time when no one believes us anymore, and that will be the precise time that something terrible will happen. "United States Intelligence Agencies"........now there's an oxymoron if I've ever heard one.

[izzie]

13. We are living in the real rabbit hole.

Off with their heads.

[coda]

8. But there's still a chance to blame France.

C'mon, we can do it. :eyes:


The official said "a chorus of groans" from the US Department of Homeland Security to the White House went out when the French disclosed the reason for the flight cancellations.

LOL, like the only "chorus of groans", was in the US.


=====

ABC News Online Australia
Last Update: Saturday, December 27, 2003. 11:20am (AEDT)

US officials fault French on terror alert


One or more terror suspects may have escaped due to a premature disclosure in France of the security concerns behind the cancellation of Christmas flights to Los Angeles, US officials said.

<snip>


Air France made clear at the time the cancellations had been ordered for security reasons.

US law enforcement and intelligence officials had hoped all the suspects could be detained as they showed up for the flights, a senior US official familiar with the situation said, who did not want to be identified.

The official said "a chorus of groans" from the US Department of Homeland Security to the White House went out when the French disclosed the reason for the flight cancellations.



http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s1016760.htm

=====

Washington Times

France warning tipped off terrorists, say U.S. officials

From combined dispatches


One or more terror suspects may have escaped due to a premature disclosure in France of the security concerns behind the cancellation of Christmas flights to Los Angeles, U.S. officials said yesterday.

One official said "a chorus of groans" from the Department of Homeland Security to the White House went out when the French made clear at the time the cancellations had been ordered for security reasons.

Washington believed that the longer publicity could have been avoided, "the greater the chance to catch anybody else who was suspected of being involved," he said. "The French announcement caught everyone off guard."

U.S. law enforcement and intelligence officials had hoped all the suspects could be detained as they showed up for the flights, said a senior U.S. official familiar with the situation who did not want to be identified.




http://washingtontimes.com/national/20031226-105058-5481r.htm



=======

With Carl Limbacher and NewsMax.com Staff
For the story behind the story...


Sunday, Dec. 28, 2003 9:30 a.m. EST
French Tipped Off Terrorists

The no-shows on a Paris-to-Los Angeles flight who are now being sought by U.S. authorities may have escaped the dragnet due to French authorities quickly announcing that the cancellation of Christmas flights to Los Angeles were ordered for security reasons.

According to a report in the Washington Times, the premature announcement resulted in "a chorus of groans" from the Department of Homeland Security to the White House.

An unnamed U.S. source is cited as saying that Washington believed that the longer publicity could have been avoided, "the greater the chance to catch anybody else who was suspected of being involved. The French announcement caught everyone off guard."

Nine persons on the passenger list for Air France Flight AF068 to Los Angeles on Dec. 24 were questioned and released by French authorities, who concluded that the detained passengers did not meet any suspect profiles.

more.....

http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2003/12/28/100741.shtml

[chenGOD]

20. Here's what I want to know....

When did other countries start complying unequivocably with US requests?

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_world/view/64340/1/.html


and how long will it be until people stop traveling to the US?

[joeunderdog]

29. Anyone know just how much it cost

to keep the country safe from the "credible threats" that led to the orange alert?

Shouldn't there be a number of dollars--how many schools, medical relief, etc--that were sacrificed on the bogus terror threats? Someone should juxtapose the primitive "intelligence" with the resources/cash it cost us>

There's yur taxpayer dollars working hard for you...

[kath]

32. Yeah, if other countries combined a tourism boycott with the beef

boycott, that would really cost the US economy some $$$$$$

[54anickel]

25. That's OK. It was probably 5 to 12 year old with matching names

anyway. :eyes:

[rocktivity]

26. The flights were cancelled because the passengers DIDN'T come prematurely?

If they didn't show up, where was the danger? That's all the MORE reason why they shouldn't have been cancelled!

This is obviously an "attack" on France for not supporting Georgie's war.


rocknation

[DUreader]

9. Sounds Like The FIB is Using Choice-Point Data Felons List

How Many 'Terra-ists' Will Be Stricken From The Voter Rolls This Year?

[izzie]

10. Is every one having fun yet?

Madness and I plan to travel as you see me here.

[OldEurope]

11. What I really wonder about:

How can anybody believe that a real terrorist would travel under his real name. If I were a terrorist, I would use an other name and had falsified passports. And I´d change names faster than any so called intelligence could follow.
:shrug:

[0007]

14. ...and this administration keeps up its vindictiveness and dirty games,

in the name brotherhood and love.

What a joke these people are!

[DoYouEverWonder]

16. So will anyone hold Ridge & Co accountable?

Will Homeland Security reimburse Air France for all their time and trouble? How about the passengers?

Ridge & Co. are certainly doing wonders for the tourism industry and the economy. Pretty soon no one will want to come to the US. Way to go guys.

[Shadder]

27. No...

That would be Clinton's fault... There is no accountability in this administration

[Shadder]

17. Oh really!?

Why, I would have never suspected that of this bunch of idiots.

[Screaming Lord Byron]

19. Remember, a lot of those people missed christmas because of this

what a bunch of (oxy) morons. Intelligence, my arse!

[Gin]

21. we should all change our names to bush....or... cheney....or perle....

we could fly anywhere...until the regime is incarcerated...then...change your name again.

[DS1]

24. and wasn't there something about a WAR?

Maybe a SOTU blooper tape is required.

[KeepItReal]

30. Can I Kick This?

:-)

Orange Alert Event based on crappy info...but will the press give it importance & coverage? That's a rhetorical question.

[webtrainer]

31. And a child shall ground them . . .

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