Should we connect these dots?

[reality_hammer]

An Arab national in the country illegally.

In possession of a pilot's uniform and fake US identification and a DVD titled "How an Airline Captain Should Look and Act".

Plans for the Memphis, Tennessee airport.

Gee, ya think he might be a terrorist?

Okay, Mahmoud Maawad is 29. Let's not refer to him as a "university student", okay? He's a

Comments

[izuko]

Okay, Mahmoud Maawad is 29. Let's not refer to him as a "university student", okay?

Hey, now... I'm a 30 year-old university student.

I was in school until I was 26 :)

[reality_hammer]

I'm a firm believer in education at all ages. However, leading with "university student" leads one to think about 18-22 year olds, not someone years older, and not someone in the country illegally!

[agtiger]

Add in the The Flight 17 Incident, Topic 2 story from Little Green Footballs, and you may have another piece of a puzzle that's starting to look disturbingly like some terrorist cells have decided that the airline industry in North America needs to be damaged, again. (More correctly, that everyone's confidence in same needs to be damaged, which will hamper our infrastructure.)

Yes, it's just a theory, but it's worth at least looking at this as a potential piece that fits.

[reality_hammer]

I saw that, but a SAM would have exploded at some point. That doesn't rule out an RPG type weapon, though. It also could have been something innocent such as a meteor or even fireworks.

I agree, though, the terrorists are out there, just waiting for us to let our guard down.

[agtiger]

Michelle Malkin has an update showing this to be a false alarm: WHAT HAPPENED ON FLIGHT 17? (UPDATED: NO MISSILE, JUST BIRDS)

Update: A government aviation official who asked me not to reveal her name says the "missile siting (sic) was [a] false alarm:"

The sighting was reported near Colt's Neck, NJ, which is a major route south out of NY. FAA set up a small temporary flight restriction around the area while checking radar files. Turned out to be nothing more than birds, and [a] big game of "telephone."

[soapbox__derby]

I fly in and out of NY all the time. You can't get a kite into the air without someone seeing it.

[sisiphus]

We can clean up the student visa mess very quickly by making the universities directly responsible for students (allegedly) attending on student visas. You want those foreign tuition dollars? Great, you keep track of them, then!

That sounds like an excellent idea. They have no problem throwing students out of classes if something goes screwy with their financial aid. You'd think they be more on top of things when it comes to foreign students and national security.

[reality_hammer]

Tell me about it! I had my classes canceled twice because one part of the University was slow talking to the other part.

I'd like to see that kind of vigilance evident in visa expirations!

[nyguen9]

Somehow I don't think this would help either. link

[reality_hammer]

Hopefully that nomination will be withdrawn.

[thecornerstone]

I agree..this is rediculous. Terrorists not only get in that way, but also through the U.S./Mexico border. Does the government WANT terrorists in this country??

[reality_hammer]

For some reason they think Hispanics want "open" borders.

Terrorists by marriage

[thecornerstone]

It gets worse than anyone even knows yet.

Mahmoud Maawad (REAL NAME SPELT Mawwad).

His brother in Egypt (Mohammed Mawwad) has married a woman in Canada, to get Citizenship into that country.

This is real trouble brewing.