LOS ANGELES (YBH) - ABC News has reported that two former Gitmo detainees, released in November 2007 , may have coordinated the Christmas Day bombing attempt on the Amsterdam-Detroit Northwest Airlines Flight. Said Ali al Shihri, reportedly number two with Al Qaeda of the Arab Peninsula (AQAP) and Muhamad Attik al Harbi, both products of a Saudi prisoner rehabilitation program and now of Yemen, are said to be involved.
Full Body Scan Reveals Contraband
Others dispute the possibility, noting that al Shihri may well have been killed in a recent bombing of AQAP in Yemen, and Harbi had returned to Saudi Arabia after his Yemen stint. Still, the AQAP website has published photos of the would-be bomber, and stated the following:
He managed to penetrate all devices and modern advanced technology and security checkpoints in international airports bravely without fear of death,” the group said in the statement, “relying on God and defying the large myth of American and international intelligence, and exposing how fragile they are, bringing their nose to the ground, and making them regret all what they spent on security technology.
Abdulmutallab is currently in Federal custody in Detroit.
The TSA has experimented with the use of whole body optical image scanners, which can detect hidden contraband like the smuggled explosives Abdulmutallab used. The Electronic Privacy Information Center, a non profit legal action organization based in Washington D.C., has filed successful suits against Homeland Security blocking their wide use, based on privacy issues. Freshman Utah Republican Congressman Jason Chaffetz has proposed leglisation banning the scans as a first line of screening, though advocates their use with pre-flagged passengers such as the bomber.
The debate continues among lawmakers. “I think we have to face up to a reality that we live in a dangerous world where Islamic terrorists want to kill us. Yes, there is some brief violation of privacy with the full body scan but on the other hand, we can save thousands of lives,” Congressman Pete King, R- New York stated on CBS’ “Face The Nation”.
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Laura spent years as a Hollywood story analyst, did a big 180, and is now an entrepreneur focused on web marketing and analytics. She's also a mom of one.Laura Glendinning article archive.
