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

[darrels joy]

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


Qatari Diplomat In Custody After Attempting to 'Light Up' His Shoes



By RHONDA SCHWARTZ, RICHARD ESPOSITO, and BRIAN ROSS



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.

United Airlines aircraft are lined up at their gates at Denver International Airport, December 9, 2002.
(Gary C. Caskey/Reuters)
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Authorities say an explosive team is on the way to the airport, and that while the presence of explosives has not yet been confirmed, they believe it was an attempted "shoe bomb."

The suspect was identified by authorities as a diplomat in the Qatar embassy in Washington, Mohammed al Modadi. The FBI said the man had full diplomat immunity as the 3rd secretary and vice-consul.

http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/air-ma...ry?id=10315314

[82Rigger]

Very interesting.

Terrorist groups usually recruit from the angry, poor, oppressed lower classes of war-stricken Muslim countries or from alienated Arab students in unfriendly parts of Europe.

A Qatar diplomat? Not likely.

[revwardoc]

He may have been an actual dip-lomat on a scouting mission to see if the shoe-bomb plot was still viable. But how the hell did he get matches on the plane? So much for "empty your pockets" and screening.

[darrels joy]

Yep, just had to have a cigarette 1/2 hour before landing,

1998: No-smoking on all U.S. domestic flights.

[darrels joy]

No Charges for Qatar Diplomat After Mid-Air Bomb Scare

Authorities Say Mohammed al Modadi Told Air Marshals, 'I'm Lighting My Shoes on Fire'

By LISA STARK and SARAH NETTER

April 8, 2010 —

The Qatari diplomat who caused a midair security scare won't face charges after claiming he was trying to light his shoes on fire when it appears he was simply smoking in the bathroom.

Federal officials said Mohammed al Modadi was on official business when he boarded United Airlines Flight 663 from Washington to Denver, giving him diplomatic immunity. A law firm spokesman told The Associated Press that al Modadi has been released and was headed back to Washington.

More than 160 passengers and crew were onboard when flight attendants noticed smoke coming from the bathroom and notified federal air marshals on the plane, government sources said.

When the marshals demanded to know what he was doing, the man identified himself as a diplomat from Qatar and responded, perhaps sarcastically, "I'm trying to light my shoes on fire."

It was a comment reminiscent of shoe bomber Richard Reid and also the so-called underwear bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who successfully smuggled explosives onto a Christmas Day flight, but failed to detonate them.

"None of this is going to be taken as anything less than dead seriousness," ABC News aviation analyst John Nance told "Good Morning America" today.

"If you make the wrong comment at the wrong time and you're going to come off the airplane in chains."

Al Modadi's comments Wednesday set off a chain reaction of security and terrorism responses, including F-16 fighter jets that scrambled from Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado to accompany the flight during its descent into Denver. The plane was met by the FBI and local law enforcement.

"If this was an overreaction, it was not only an understandable one, it was a good one," Nance said.

Al Modadi's shoes were examined once the flight landed, government officials said, but no traces of explosives were found.

Qatari Ambassador Calls Bomb Scare a 'Mistake'

A statement was posted on the Qatar Embassy's Web site in response to the incident, defending al Modadi and calling it a mistake.

"We respect the necessity of special security precautions involving air travel, but this diplomat was traveling to Denver on official embassy business on my instructions," Ambassador Ali Bin Fahad Al-Hajri wrote in the statement, "and he was certainly not engaged in any threatening activity."

"The facts will reveal that this was a mistake," the statement continued, "and we urge all concerned parties to avoid reckless judgments or speculation."




Copyright © 2010 ABC News Internet Ventures

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/qatar-dipl...ry?id=10317771

[82Rigger]

If he tried to sneak a cigarette, and then said sarcastically, "I'm trying to set my shoe on fire", then he's too stupid to be a diplomat.


Send him back to Qatar. And STAY there!

[darrels joy]

WASHINGTON (AP) - A Qatari diplomat who caused a bomb scare after sneaking a smoke in an airplane bathroom was traveling for a consular visit to see an imprisoned al-Qaida agent.

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


The two sources spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter.

Officials say the diplomat will be sent home or transferred to another country for touching off the bomb scare.
___
Associated Press writer Matt Apuzzo contributed to this report. Banda contributed from Denver.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

WASHINGTON (AP)—A Qatari diplomat who sparked a bomb scare after sneaking a smoke in an airplane's bathroom will be sent home or transferred to another country, U.S. officials said Thursday.

The officials said that as a result of his recall, the U.S. government would not take any formal action against the diplomat.

Speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the case, the officials said they expected Mohammed Al-Madadi to leave the United States later Thursday or Friday in accordance with assurances given to them by the Qatari embassy in Washington and authorities in the Qatari capital of Doha.

"We fully expect this will be resolved very quickly," State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley told reporters. Crowley declined to comment on the specifics. But other officials with knowledge of the discussions between U.S. and Qatari authorities said Al-Madidi would be leaving the country and his departure would mark the closure of the case.

Crowley said the U.S. government is satisfied that the Qatari government is taking the matter seriously.

Wednesday's scare came three months after the attempted terror attack on Christmas Day when a Nigerian man allegedly tried to blow up a Detroit-bound airliner. The alleged bomber, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, went to the bathroom just before he tried to ignite his bomb in his seat.

Since then, law enforcement, flight crews and passengers have been on high alert for suspicious activity on airplanes. That scare exposed major holes in the country's national security and prompted immediate changes in terror-screening policies.

Authorities say Al-Madadi grabbed a surreptitious smoke in a jetliner's bathroom during a Wednesday flight from Washington to Denver and then joked about lighting his shoe on fire. He was released from custody on Thursday and headed back to Washington.

No explosives were found on the plane and authorities said they don't think Al-Madidi was trying to hurt anyone during Wednesday's scare. He enjoys diplomatic immunity from U.S. prosecution and will not be criminally charged, authorities said. The State Department official said Qatar had not yet informed the administration how they will handle the case.

Some air travelers at Denver International Airport Thursday were amazed that Al-Madidi would not be charged with anything.

"I think it's wrong. I'd get busted. I don't think that (immunity) should be a factor," said one of them, Hank DePetro, a retired psychologist from Greeley, Colo.

Under international protocol—the 1961 Vienna Conventions on Diplomatic Relations—diplomats in foreign countries enjoy broad immunity from prosecution. That immunity can only be waived by a diplomat's home government, something that is rarely requested and even more rarely granted.

But even without charges being pressed against him and without such a waiver, the U.S. could have moved to declare Al-Madidi "persona non grata" and expel him from the country. However, officials said they would not pursue this, given the close nature of U.S.-Qatari ties and the importance the country plays in the Middle East.

Qatar, about the size of Connecticut and Rhode Island combined and with a population of about 1.4 million people, is an oil-rich Middle East nation and key U.S. ally. It is situated on the Arabian peninsula and surrounded by three sides by the Persian Gulf and to the south by Saudi Arabia. The country hosts the forward headquarters of the U.S. Central Command, which runs the wars in both Afghanistan and Iraq, and is a major supporter of operations deemed critical to both campaigns.

Qatar's ambassador to the United States, Ali Bin Fahad Al-Hajri, cautioned against a rush to judgment.

"This diplomat was traveling to Denver on official embassy business on my instructions, and he was certainly not engaged in any threatening activity," he said in a statement. "The facts will reveal that this was a mistake."

Al-Madadi is the embassy's third secretary, a relatively junior position, although diplomatic assignments in Washington are considered plum posts in most countries' diplomatic corps.

In the most recent occurrence, two law enforcement officials said investigators were told the man was asked about the smell of smoke in the bathroom and he made a joke that he had been trying to light his shoe—an apparent reference to the 2001 so-called "shoe bomber" Richard Reid.

Officials said air marshals aboard the flight restrained the man and he was questioned. The plane landed safely as military jets were scrambled.

An online biography on the business networking site LinkedIn shows that a Mohammed Al-Madadi has been in Washington since at least 2007, when he began studying at George Washington University's business school. The job title listed on the site is database administrator at Qatar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Boeing 757 was carrying 157 passengers and six crew members, United Airlines spokesman Michael Trevino said. It left Reagan National Airport at 5:19 p.m. EDT and landed at Denver International Airport at 7 p.m. MDT.

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php...show_article=1