--=Cochise~|||®|||~Guardian=--

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/01/national/01TERR.html

It's only a matter of time before some loony Arab sneaks into the U.S. from Mexico and does harm to Americans.
This will of course be the fault of George W. Bush, our first Mexican president, for leaving the border wide
open, kissing spic ass constantly, and blatant failure to enforce the laws of this country. The SOB is by far
the worst president in American history....... even worse than Bubba. He and his entire administration should
be impeached.
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January 1, 2004

Flight Sent Back on Terror Fear, U.S. Officials Say

By ERIC LICHTBLAU

WASHINGTON, Dec. 31 - The American authorities in the last week directed a
United States-bound flight from Mexico to turn around in midair and imposed
extraordinary security measures on at least six other incoming flights
because of terrorist concerns, federal officials said Wednesday.

Officials were so concerned about possible attacks on at least five foreign
flights that landed in the United States, including one on Wednesday night
at Dulles International Airport outside Washington, that they moved the
planes away from the main terminals and rescreened the passengers.

The security moves, along with the cancellation of several flights on Dec.
24 by Air France to Los Angeles, reflect an aggressive new approach toward
guarding United States airspace because of concerns that terrorists may seek
to hijack an international flight. The strategy is an outgrowth of the "high
risk" alert status initiated 11 days ago.

While officials said they wanted to cooperate with other nations to
strengthen security, they also said they were unwilling to let foreign
flights into United States airspace without rigorous security checks.

This week, Tom Ridge, secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, put
foreign airlines on notice that they would be denied entry to American
airspace if they refused to put armed air marshals on any incoming flights
of concern. The move, which met resistance from some countries, came less
than a week after Air France canceled six flights because of American
worries that terrorists might be aboard. The federal officials said that
putting pressure on foreign carriers to use marshals was just one of several
steps they were taking behind the scenes to meet rising concern about
international flights.

The officials said that in the last week they also had "significantly
increased" inspection of air cargo on foreign flights, a source of
widespread concern as a potential mode of attack for terrorists.

Military F-16 fighter jets have also shadowed some foreign flights from Air
France and other airlines arriving at major American cities, including Los
Angeles, an administration official said.

And the federal officials disclosed Wednesday that after the Air France
cancellations, they reached an agreement this week with a French delegation
to impose tougher security on flights that American officials suspect may be
at risk.

A key provision, the officials said, was that the French agreed to give to
United States officials passenger lists for any flights thought to be
suspicious at least one hour before take-off, rather than waiting until the
flight is in the air as is now normally done. American officials said they
wanted to use that agreement as a model for ensuring tighter aviation
security in other nations as well.

"What we're trying to do is establish protocols to be able to vet these
passenger lists before the flight takes off, and that's in the interests of
both parties," said an American official involved in the agreement. "No one
wants to be told when a flight is halfway across the Atlantic that it has to
turn around."

But American officials have shown a willingness to do just that in recent
days if questions arise about a flight's security.

In the case of a foreign carrier's flight this week from Mexico, a
Transportation Security Administration inspector based there told officials
in the United States that passengers boarding a flight for the United States
had not been properly screened, government officials said.

As one official related the exchanged that followed, American transportation
officials told the airline, "You said there were procedures in place for
that flight that weren't there. Turn it around."

The airline agreed to return the plane to Mexico and rescreen the
passengers, and the American authorities allowed the flight to complete its
scheduled route, the official said. Officials refused to disclose the city
of origin or the itinerary for the flight, citing both diplomatic and
national security concerns.

Since the Bush administration put the United States on high terrorist alert
on Dec. 21, some flights have made it to the United States even amid
concerns about their security, officials said.

At Dulles airport, the police surrounded a British Airways flight from
London that landed at 7:05 p.m. Wednesday and directed it to a remote site,
a security official involved in the operation said.

Intelligence developed by American officials indicated that the route of the
flight might be a target of terrorists, and at least one name on the
passenger list appeared to match a name on a terror watch list, the security
official said.

Nothing suspicious turned up in a screening of luggage on the plane, but
some passengers were searched and interviewed late Wednesday night, and
officials said it was unclear whether the flight represented a threat.

"We're out here trying to deter and disrupt attacks," the official said,
"and that's not always immediately going to produce a guy in handcuffs."

In five or six flights coming to the United States from England, Mexico and
elsewhere, officials said, there were concerns about lapses in security in
the city of origin, intelligence about possible terrorist activity, and
sometimes both. Officials said several suspect flights landed at the Los
Angeles International Airport and another at Dulles, but they declined to
provide details on the routes.

In each case, officials said, security officials met the planes and did
"reverse screenings" like the one in Dulles, interviewing passengers and
searching them for explosives, weapons and other contraband.

Before the alert level was raised to orange, or high, such screenings for
flights that had already landed were rare, a security official said.

"Clearly we're in a situation where this is happening much more frequently
than in earlier periods," the official said.

In another instance several days ago, a flight headed for the United States
from Latin America was grounded on the runway for several hours after United
States officials told the air carrier they were not satisfied that
passengers had been adequately screened.

David O'Connor, director of the United States operations for the
International Air Transport Association, a trade group that represents most
international carriers, said one critical challenge facing the United States
in seeking to strengthen air security was that safety standards vary so
widely around the world.

"Some airports and airlines are very secure," he said. "The British, for
example, have been concerned about terrorist attacks long before 9/11, and
they screen passengers and baggage extensively. And in Germany, the same."

But he added, "when you're talking about developing nations in Latin America
and elsewhere, many haven't until recently initiated any real screening
procedures, and that's where you have problems."

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