Air marshal subdues man on DC-Denver flight

[onehandle]

Source: AP

WASHINGTON – The FBI is probing whether a man tried to ignite his shoes on a DC to Denver flight Wednesday, according to law enforcement officials, who say the man is a Qatari diplomat.

An official said an air marshal on the flight apparently restrained them. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the investigation.

The officials said fighter jets were scrambled but proved unnecessary, as the plane landed safely in Denver with no injuries to passengers.

Transportation Security Administration spokeswoman Kristin Lee said the man is being interviewed by law enforcement officials in Denver. Two officials say the man is a Qatari diplomat who has been in the United States for years.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_plane_disturbance

[HipChick]

1. Update..

A passenger attempted to light an explosive device on board an aircraft from Washington to Denver, sources tell NBC News

Update: Air marshals subdued passenger on Denver-bound 757 jet. Plane is parked in remote area of airport - NBC News

[Xenotime]

36. I'm sorry. I don't see shit in this photo

[No DUplicitous DUpe]

46. Update via Fox news Denver..The guy was just sneaking a smoke in the bathroom..

FALSE ALARM
http://www.kdvr.com/news/kdvr-shoe-bomb-denver-040710,0,4051584.story

[happygoluckytoyou]

81. IN A RELATED STORY shoe bomber in sperm bank caught, the eggs were scrambled but unnecessary

[No Elephants]

85. How on earth does sneaking a smoke in the john get mis-reported as a terrorist attack?

[Mz Pip]

88. His name maybe?

Where he's from? That's aboaut all it takes to make that leap.

He's a diplomat and will probably claim diplomatic immunity so nothing will happen to him. The guy certainly was an idiot to think he could sneak a smoke on an airline and not get caught.

[No Elephants]

94. Thanks. Actually, as I kept reading the thread, it appears he made a bad

joke about lighting his shoes on fire when he got caught.

[deminks]

2. Link

http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/air-marshals-stop-shoe-bomb-attempt-united-jet/story?id=10315314

Air Marshals Stop 'Shoe Bomb' Attempt On United Jet to Denver

Federal air marshals subdued a man who authorities say attempted to "light his shoes on fire" on a United flight from Washington Reagan to Denver Wednesday night, federal law enforcement officials told ABC News.

[Hissyspit]

3. Breaking: Qatari Citizen Allegedly Attempts to Ignite Explosive Device on Denver Flight

Source: MSNBC

NBC News: Airline bombing attempt foiled

updated 3 minutes ago
A passenger attempted to light an explosive device aboard an airliner flying from Washington to Denver but was subdued by a federal air marshal, sources close to the House Homeland Security Committee told NBC News.

A government source told NBC the aircraft was a Boeing 757.

Read more: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36243847/ns/us_news-airliner_security

---

Qatari Citizen Allegedly Attempts to Ignite Explosive Device on D.C. to Denver Flight; Air Marshal Involved

Update: Air marshals subdued passenger on Denver-bound 757 jet. Plane is parked in remote area of airport - NBC News

[hlthe2b]

4. Damn.... I guess I better check local news!

[itsrobert]

5. How many ways will this story be spun?

waiting for the usual suspects.

[dixiegrrrrl]

7. Well, we gotta shoot that American terrorist

so this could be another person to link him to????

[ecstatic]

14. spin #1

:eyes:

I wonder if you'd be so glib about it if you or your family were on that plane.

[Lost4words]

75. I am stilled pissed at what they have done to air travel in this country.

no I do not live my life in constant fear. And If a terrorist ever kills me, I will know it is due to the crimes of our military and govt that caused it.

gotta go, need to look for work so I can eat next week.

:banghead: Got Fear

[jefferson_dem]

17. No need for spin.

Thank goodness the air marshal did his job and smacked down this POS.

[Lost4words]

63. all for a cigarette, glad he didnt have a cigar or pipe. nt

[jefferson_dem]

72. It's neat that you can be so flippantly snarky sitting all comfy behind your keyboard.

While folks like this marshal and other security personel are doing their jobs just in case your ass needs covering.

[Lost4words]

73. you are right I would have been one pissed off MF had I been on that Denver flight!

[Lost4words]

74. Yea and no charges, know why?

cause Qatar is our only alli in the ME.

[Lost4words]

76. How about, The guy is a diplomat from a country we really need to be nice to!

read and you will learn, fear and you will remain afraid.

[Ozymanithrax]

6. That Air Marshal did his job... n/t

[Richard D]

9. But the airport security didn't. N/T

[Robb]

15. As a diplomat, he may have skirted some of that.

Time will tell.

[No Elephants]

86. Because they let him keep his smokes???

[wtmusic]

10. Yep, bravo.

There will be a lot of grateful people coming off that plane.

[Lost4words]

77. Well if his job was to evaluate the overall risk, he failed miserably!

all that effort for a non risk, what were the F16 supposed to do? Shoot up Denver airport if the smoker ran inside?

[Solly Mack]

8. k/r

[Robb]

11. Local news is reporting he was trying to light his shoes.

Oy.

[Xenotime]

12. So will they try to frame another person of Muslim origin?

[Robb]

13. ABC is IDing him as Mohammed al Modadi

Diplomat in the Qatar embassy in Washington, 3rd secretary and vice-consul. Diplomatic immunity.

[sledgehammer]

20. Diplomatic Immunity doesn't apply to airport security

All diplomats are screened like everyone else. There's no difference.

Now, the problem comes in prosecution - can the US jail/try this guy?

[MidwestTransplant]

45. The Qatari govt't can waive his immunity. It doesn't belong to him individually.

[sledgehammer]

49. Yes. That is how it works.

But usually what happens is that the diplomat is expelled.

If the crime is serious e.g. murder, then usually the govt of the diplomat will promise the other govt that the diplomat will be punished accordingly in his/her home country.

[14thColony]

59. I've experienced very different screening in the same circumstances

A 'diplomatic bag' (aka diplomatic pouch) is immune to any form of search so long as it's properly marked as such and sealed. They can't even be x-rayed. I've traveled with a diplomatic bag through US and European airports; as soon as I produced my paper of exemption and my identification, that was the end of the discussion, even in the US and it was US gov property I was carrying. I did let a security person open the briefcase once and look at (but not touch) the sealed inner package, but I didn't even have to do that. And in those cases I didn't even have a diplomatic passport - the bag carries its own diplomatic immunity separate from the courier.

Even when it comes to the luggage of diplomats it's thin ice. The Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations (1961) says "the personal baggage of a diplomatic agent shall be exempt from inspection, unless there are serious grounds for presuming that it contains articles (that are considered contraband or are illegal in the host country - summary mine)". The US Dept of State asserts that luggage can be x-rayed and dog or machine-sniffed for bomb residue, but if something's suspicious it can only be opened and searched in the presence of the diplomat or an official national representative. I'd presume that if the diplomat refuses the inspection he'd be allowed to retrieve his luggage and depart the airport, but I'm not sure on that.

[Mari333]

16. hey, I wonder why they hate us so much

maybe it is because we are occupying 2 countries to gain profits for multinational corporations, killed millions of their citizens,and put US puppets in as the head of their govts?

[Xenotime]

19. Yup. I agree.

[Lasher]

21. Right, he was just trying to see that justice was done.

Murder all those people on the plane, that'll set things right.

[MellowDem]

22. So let's kill a bunch of innocent Americans?

No, they hate the US government but also think it's ok to murder civilians in cold blood. As for why they think that, there are a lot of reasons.

[Lost4words]

79. Its the human nature to return the favor

be it good be it bad.

[TZ]

38. Umm we were targets in the Middle East long before the Iraq/Afghanistan War

Many of them hate us cause we aren't Muslim.....Or do you not understand what the Taliban is about?

[No Elephants]

87. We did a lot wrong in the Middle East long before Iraq and Afghanistan.

We're not the only ones in the world who are not {predominantly} Muslims, yet they attack us and anyone who helps us.

btw, the Taliban never attacked U.S. soil.

[Lost4words]

78. you mean the way we regard most human life as garbage?

naw thats not it :sarcasm:

[The abyss]

18. US Security – the only way to fly!

We fly more trial balloons than any other nation! :sarcasm:

[tomm2thumbs]

23. anyone with diplomatic immunity needs a 100% side-by-side escort

If anyone saw Nurse Jackie do her 'ear flush' last season, you'll know the utter frustrations that diplomatic immunity can lead to - folks that do whatever they like with no fear of legal consequence.

[matt819]

47. What are you on about?

Diplomats do not need escorts. You may find this hard to believe, but most diplomats are directed by their ministries to obey the laws of their host nation. Not advised to obey the law. Not recommended. Directed. And, you know what, most do (parking tickets aside, though US diplomats have to pay parking fines overseas).

[14thColony]

61. Well, it would be a great job creation scheme

Because the State Department's Diplomatic Security Service doesn't even have enough people to protect our own senior embassy personnel, even in war zones like Afghanistan, which is why they had to hire Blackwater/Xe to begin with. So I'd guess that would be about 40 to 50,000 new jobs right there, figuring about 50 diplomatic personnel on average per embassy, and about 200 embassies.

Of course based on the principle of diplomatic reciprocity, every other country would then do exactly the same to our diplomats.

Even with an escort there would be no 'fear of legal consequences' - diplomatic immunity still trumps all national laws unless and until the granting nation withdraws it. So all the escort could do is witness something he can't legally do a thing about.

[liberal N proud]

24. How long before they actually blow up a plane?

Airport security is a joke, no consistency from airport to airport and the things they are worried about obviously don't cover the devices that are getting on board.

Now the TSA will just make us all wait longer in line while they make us think they are keeping us safer and more people will be pulled off line for further searches.

Nothing will actually change in how secure we are.

I used to like traveling by plane. I will take the car for domestic travel unless it is for business.

[VanW]

25. MSNBC says he was smoking a cigarette in the bathroom.

When confronted, he joked he was trying to light his shoes on fire.

[Robb]

27. So he might just be an asshole.

:D

[SpartanDem]

29. There is no might about it

he's an asshole

[Robb]

31. LOL you're right of course. nt

[Historic NY]

40. still in trouble implied threat and lighting up on a plane.

[No Elephants]

89. "Implied threat?" No, just bad joke? As far as lighting up in the john, diplomatic immunity may

get him off on that.

[Hawkeye-X]

28. If that's the case, just fine him and deport his ass back to Qatar

and tell the head of the government there that he was illegally smoking a cig in an American plane.

Furthermore, because of the bad joke, revoke his visa and tell the moron not to come back to the US.

Hawkeye-X

[InkAddict]

58. I agree -

Send him back to DC for a little chat at State Dept. then back forever to Quatar

[PfcHammer]

35. Nigerian bomber had a bad stomach wif the runs

:hurts:

[countmyvote4real]

48. Now that makes sense.

As the "story" progressed I was perplexed that the plane was still on the ground. I always thought that the goal of a bomb on a plane was to do it mid air. Spooky, shmooky, it just did not compute until the cigarette.

I know the quality air travel experience of yesteryear is now only a legend. It's bad. It's humiliating. And it is worse for smokers. I am sadly still a smoker.

Once cleared for access to the gate, I will not venture back outside the perimeter to find a curb spot where smoking is permitted. Not if I have to do the Auschwitz shuffle again. (I know that's hyperbolic, but passing through US airport security does have a point on the dehumanization scale.) So, I deal with it as best I can. Any serious traveler does the same.

I prefer the "wake me up when we get there" knock out approach. There are many pharmaceutical options available to shut down the system in order to endure the security screening indignities, the $8 hot dogs that are only available inside the security checkpoint and the gauging for crumbs on what one can carry on the plane. I still prefer the traditional approach of a Bloody Mary.

I have never considered smoking the soles of my shoes, anywhere, anytime. I don't think this guy has either. He's a smart ass idiot. And I get all of that equation. I don't think I need to warrant the smart ass part, but he is clearly an idiot when it comes to the smoking restrictions and everything involved in domestic US air travel. I have to wonder if this was his first domestic air travel. If not, he's an idiot because he should be on the patch if he needs to light one up in the restroom before the plane has left the ground. I have to presume he understands and can read all of the english warnings and pronouncements.

I think he is a smart ass idiot that hasn't encountered our domestic restrictions.

I don't think the first offense deserves any water-boarding.

[KansDem]

99. A comedian?

No, I wasn't smoking a Qatari cigarette. I was trying to light my shoes on fire and they just smelled like a Qatari cigarette!

*rimshot*

[KansDem]

100. Deleted

Posted in wrong place...

[Grassy Knoll]

26. Smokin in the boy's room.....

[Steve20]

30. shoe bomber II

Diplomatic immunity my a**. Now the TSA will make it harder for innocent Americans.

[Tx4obama]

32. If people didn't have to 'sneak' cigs then this would never have happened! n/t

[VanW]

34. Are electronic cigs permitted on planes?

I know you were joking, but I was just wondering...

[Tx4obama]

39. I don't know, but...

even if electronic ones were permitted I'm sure someone would still bitch about them.
Some parent would say they shouldn't be used in public because their kids would see people using them.

Easter Sunday we went to brunch and I was standing outside with an UNlit cigarette in my hand and first a woman walked past me and did a fake COUGH COUGH COUGH... then a minute or two later a man walked by and did the same thing. It's really getting ridiculous out here for us smokers!

[Rebubula]

70. LOL...

...so YOU are the victim???

Awesome way to spin your world.

[boppers]

111. The "COUGH COUGH COUGH" folks are victims of ignorance.

Those they persecute are victims as well.

[tularetom]

33. If Obama doesn't hang this guy before sunup tomorrow, he's a big wimp

If cheney was still in charge we would have already pulled his fingernails out.

And dogs would now be chewing on his testicles.

[Xenotime]

37. Is Jack Bower on the scene? Maybe they are filming next week's episode of 24

[defendandprotect]

41. And, we're all safer since they are inspecting shoes . . . how insane are we???

Lighters and matches still permitted?

[Tx4obama]

43. Guess it depends on the airport.

The last time I flew to Italy (a couple of years ago) they were taking everyone's lighters away at the security check point here in Houston, Texas.

[defendandprotect]

102. If they don't permit smoking, why would the guy have had matches?

[Tx4obama]

106. People have a RIGHT after the leave the airport to light their cigarettes with matches ;) n/t

[defendandprotect]

110. Well, they don't have to be on their person . . . collect the matches as they board, return matches

as they leave!

How long before someone gets the idea to set the bathroom afire?

[truthisfreedom]

42. How can they possibly suggest he was lighting a shoe bomb when he was checked for explosives and

Nothing whatsoever was found???

Reporting these days. Sheesh.

[matt819]

44. Awful lot of assumptions here

Maybe the guy is a POS, but right now, without more info, based on what? The fact that he is a diplomat? A Middle Eastern diplomat? A Qatari diplomat? A Muslim? A Muslim-looking person? Is it possible that a mistake was made? So far, this doesn't pass the smell test.

[No DUplicitous DUpe]

50. Diplomat's smoke break sparks bomb scare on Denver-bound flight

Source: Fox 31 news Denver (KDVR)

DENVER - Law enforcement officials say a disturbance aboard a United Airlines flight from Washington, D.C. to Denver Wednesday evening appears to be a big misunderstanding.

A Qatari diplomat, identified as Mohammed al Modadi, was subdued by a federal air marshal aboard United Flight 663 after allegedly telling the marshal "I'm lighting my shoes on fire."

However, U.S. security officials later said that al Modadi was confronted while trying to sneak a smoke illegally in a restroom, and then made a joke about it.


Read more: http://www.kdvr.com/news/kdvr-shoe-bomb-denver-040710,0,4051584.story

[Oregone]

51. At least he didn't tell em the bomb was up his ass

[DJ13]

53. .......

[Lost4words]

64. ROFLMOL!

good one!

[chollybocker]

52. Another terrorist attack that didn't happen under Obama.

The creeptards must be very disappointed tonight. ;)

[Lost4words]

65. if he had not extinguished his smoke properly, I hate th think what might have happened!

got fear America?

[No Elephants]

91. He was a smoker, not a terrorist.

[Quantess]

54. Who still does not know you can't make jokes like that on a plane?

[Tansy_Gold]

55. Apparently

Qatari diplomats, who also don't seem to know it's illegal to smoke in the restrooms.

And even if they know, they're immune from prosecution, so they can smoke and joke all they want.




Tansy Gold

[dixiegrrrrl]

82. Can Muslims smoke?

I know alcohol is forbidden.
Woulda thought tobacco was too.

guess the question should be..is the guy a Muslim.

[No Elephants]

90. People cheat on their religions and some are just not religous. Even Arabs.

Especially (in my observation) upper class Arabs, and especially when they are out of their own countries.

[No DUplicitous DUpe]

56. And it is a federal offense to light up in the bathroom...

because in the 1970's a flight had an onboard fire cause by a passenger who threw his lighted butt into the trash can. I believe it brought down the plane. But this was not a terrorist attack.

[Lost4words]

66. Foreigners!

that spelling does not look right to me.

[countmyvote4real]

57. This is no longer news worthy, if it ever was. Comic fodder? Yes.

Anyway, I got these hemp soled shoes...

[skepticscott]

60. Even if this had been a terrorist attack

can someone please explain what the point of scrambling fighter jets was? Other than to make it look like someone was taking bold, decisive action? Under what conceivable scenario would they have been needed? "Hey, you terrorists over there....if you try to blow that plane up, we will shoot you down"?

[Pharlo]

62. "Under what conceivable scenario?"

The point of scrambling the fighter jets was to send the message: "You may be able to blow up that plane and there is nothing we can do about it, but you sure as hell are not going to fly it into a building, because we'll disintegrate the whole damn plane before that happens."

In this instance, the 'conceivable scenario' in "under what conceivable scenario" would be The World Trade Center and The Pentagon.

[Lost4words]

68. Like a BIG photo OP!

[Prometheus Bound]

69. That'll sure scare 'em.

[ManiacJoe]

96. It is not about scaring the terrorists.

It is about being able to choose where the plane hits the ground (high population area vs low population area).

[skepticscott]

71. Try again

In case you missed it, cabin doors are now secured, so no one can just walk in and take over the controls. Even if they could what group of passengers is going to sit idly by while that happens? The 9-11 scenario is no longer remotely viable as a terrorist tactic.

[Pharlo]

104. "The 9-11 scenario is no longer remotely viable as a terrorist tactic."

Reminds me of Condaleeza Rice and her 'there is no way anyone could have foreseen" defense of 9-11.

Perhaps in your estimation, it is no longer a viable tactic. However, you are assuming the passengers are conscious or still physically capable of overpowering the terrorist. And, 'secured doors' are not necessarily impenetrable. Personally, I don't think the 'box-cutter tactic' will work a second time either, but that doesn't mean I would discount a second terrorist effort to use a plane to take out a building, or a bridge, or a nuclear facility...

The fact is, in past actions, terrorists have used planes as bombs to take out buildings - successfully. They may try again.

And, the fighter jets are not there just for show. If necessary, they will down the plane. If they were not deployed and something happened people would be asking "Why weren't fighter jets deployed?"

Better to have them there and not need them than to need them and not have them there.

[skepticscott]

105. So you're saying

that assuming that 200 passengers wouldn't be able to physically overpower one terrorist is silly? Especially when they know that the alternative is being killed anyway in a forced crash? And yes, terrorists have used planes once before, when passengers were of the mindset to sit by passively and cockpit doors were not secured, neither of which are the case any more. So again, give us a realistic scenario under which those jets would have been necessary.

[Pharlo]

107. Personally, if I were seriously plotting

to use a plane as a bomb, the first thing I would do is figure out how to incapacitate the passengers. Dead, unconscious, or seriously ill, I wouldn't care. Next challenge would be the door. As I stated previously, 'secure' is not synonymous with 'impenetrable'.

No, I can't give you an elaborate plot that would give every plausible detail for the simple fact that I don't care. I have not researched it, I have no intention of researching it.

However, based upon your argument that the passengers are sufficient defense, why is the government wasting money on federal air marshalls? I mean, between the passengers and the secure door, we don't need air marshalls either.

While I agree that a lot of airport security has gotten out of hand, scrambling jet fighters when a possible terrorist attack is identified and communicated is not one of the areas they have gone over the top on.

[skepticscott]

108. I could just as easily ask

why, if the government has no confidence in the security of cockpit doors, they haven't done more to remedy any deficiencies they perceive.

As for why the air marshals, the government has no right to EXPECT passengers to act as security on airline flights. But from the point of view of someone planning to take over a plane and crash it, they know that the passengers WILL act as security if necessary, and that waving a sharp object at 200 of them won't get them to sit still while it happens.

[Pharlo]

109. Simply put,

you feel the scrambled fighter jets were an unnecessary security measure during a reported terrorist incident inside a mid flight plane. I disagree. I believe they were one of a series of measures implemented to increase US security by bringing down the plane if necessary.

To my limited knowledge, most security measures are multi-faceted approaches - secure door, armed air marshalls, scrambled fighter jets, increased airport 'security'.

If a terrorist group is determined to blow up a plane, the safety of the passengers is negligible. They're not hostages at that point. Whether they are dead before the plane hits the building or after, the terrorist doesn't care. If they're going to get in the way during the execution of the plan, take them out before. You have an enclosed air supply on an airplane. What everyday materials would be required to make a simple, yet effective, gas mask? What kind of gases/mixed chemicals would knock out a couple of hundred people - or, better yet make a lot of people extremely ill in a short time span (this would eliminate the challenge of getting into the cockpit before the pilots became unconscious - it may also eliminate the problem of getting the door open if the pilot opened the door to evaluate the situation)? Exactly what components of that door make it secure? And, how secure is 'secure'?

If someone were to ask me, I think that the cockpit should have a separate air supply from the rest of the plane. Because, if a terrorist can figure out a way to get materials for a gas mask and a chemical weapon on board a plane, and a way through that door (and that includes a way to get someone to voluntarily open that door), they have the plane.

One scenario in which scrambled fighter jets would be a measure of last resort. And, while it's easy enough to snark and say "Just some guy with a cigarette" after the incident is over, when it's occurring, you keep the worst case scenario in mind. And, in the government's (federal employees, not politicians) expert opinion (they have knowledgeable people who do think up 'worst case scenarios' day in and day out - whether the politicians in office pay heed to their work is another matter entirely), the worst case scenario still includes an instance where a terrorist can still take a plane and use it as a bomb.

[Lost4words]

67. I know, its crazy, and the airport disruption.

It shames me that so many are so fearfull.

[No Elephants]

92. Obviously, you don't get it. Second hand smoke is SERIES!!!1111!!!

[Ian David]

80. I wonder if his home country will punish him.

At the very least, I hope he's banned from flying on commercial planes.

[No Elephants]

93. For smoking while Muslim?

Seriously, I feel his pain. I stopped smoking a long time ago, but, before that, tobacco deprivation was pure torture.

[Ian David]

98. What do you think the punishment is in Qatar for smoking in an airplane lavatory? n/t

[snooper2]

83. What is that, about a 4 1/2 hour flight?

I can relate :evilgrin:

[jberryhill]

84. Was He Actually Smoking?

I have a hard time believing he was smoking.

Aircraft lavatories have a smoke detector, and there is no mention in any reportage that the smoke detector went off.

What is reported is that someone "smelled smoke", which someone might have smelled for any number of reasons, and then he made a joke about lighting his shoes.

But, my question is why didn't the smoke alarm go off?

Because if he really was smoking, and the alarm didn't go off, then there seems to be a serious equipment issue, entirely apart from this man's behavior.

[LisaM]

97. Because he might have disabled it.

I was on a plance where a guy went and smoked in the bathroom. Other passengers reported it. He tried to deny it at first, but there was obviously the smell all over him. It caused a huge fuss. They interrogated him right in front of everyone, then when we landed, they had law enforcement waiting for him and escorted him off the plane first (we didn't get fighter jets, though). But it's just an example, they take smoking on the plane seriously no matter who does it. This was a youngish white male.

[LanternWaste]

103. Holding the tip near, and blowing into a vent...

Holding the tip near, and blowing into a vent may have fooled it. :shrug:

[No Elephants]

95. We'll probably get more info on this over the next couple of days and it will all make sense.Or not.

[KansDem]

101. "Qatari envoy in plane scare was going to visit jailed al-Qaeda agent"

AP is reporting that the Qatari diplomat who caused a terrorism scare yesterday by smoking in a Denver-bound airplane's bathroom was headed to a consular visit with a jailed "sleeper cell" al-Qaeda agent.

Mohammed Al-Madadi was going to meet Ali Al-Marri for an official visit, according to a State Department official and another person close to the matter cited by the Associated Press. Consular officials frequently visit foreigners held in the United States to make sure they are being treated well.

Al-Madadi was detained but released and returned to Washington. His government has recalled him, U.S. officials said, and he will leave later today or tomorrow.

--more--
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/ondeadline/post/2010/04/ap-qatari-envoy-in-plane-scare-was-going-to-visit-jailed-al-qaeda-agent/1

You'd think this guy would know better...:eyes: