The American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee plans to issue a statement condemning the gross negligence by security officials over the weekend, which put in danger America’s largest Arab community, when a passenger tried to blow up an airplane over Detroit by igniting a plastic explosive he carried on his person past airport security.
A pre-publication draft of the statement was leaked yesterday to KABOBfest’s special assignment correspondent, Chaim Sugarman. The leaked document showed a strongly worded statement from the ADC, taking to task the Department of Homeland security, Delta Airlines, and TSA for negligence and taking lightly the safety of Arab Americans and allowing a security breach into a flight destined to the largest Arab American population center.
“It is obvious that this flight was not subjected to same security standards as flights destined to say, St. Louis or Dallas.” The statement read. “We are demanding that Homeland Security secretary Janet Napolitano lead an investigation into whether security measures for Flight 253 from Amsterdam to Detroit were taken lightly due to the fact that Detroit area is home to nearly half a million Arab Americans.”
Although the statement refrains from direct accusations, it strongly implies that security officials with the government and the airlines deliberately relaxed security standards specifically because the flight was Detroit-bound. “Look, they either think Arab-Americans are not worthy of protection measures afforded to other Americans, or they think all Arabs are in cahoots with terrorists so Al-Qaeda won’t target Detroit. Either way you look as it it’s sick and bigoted,” an ADC official told KABOBfest on condition of anonymity.
Concerns about security measures rose in the aftermath of the Christmas day incident after it became known that the suspect had been on several Homeland Security and airline watch lists, and that his father had approached FBI officials with concern that his son is about to carry out such an attack.
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Yeah, that is the kind of thing ADC could work up some outrage over.
You sure as hell would never see them demand a resolution to boycott Israel, or any resolution against Israel, by any body of any government.
Posted by Lick Your Wounds | December 28, 2009, 1:00 pmIs this a joke post? Is the ADC serious? Really? Conspiracy theories have made it into our biggest lobby group.
How many Arabs were on board this flight? Was it a majority? Was it even more than a handful.
Lax security measures on a flight to Detroit because a lot of Arabs live there. Oh my god. I am lost for words.
Bloody ADC should direct their energies to the real problems for America's Arabs, instead of engaging in mad-cap arguments like this.
Posted by Sasa | December 28, 2009, 4:34 pmIt's sarcasm. Yikes. (Great post Fayyad!)
Posted by Lick My Buydatt | December 28, 2009, 5:04 pmThanks D…:)
Posted by Fayyad | December 28, 2009, 9:11 pmHaha! Phew!
Posted by Sasa | December 28, 2009, 8:33 pm