No Charges In Diplomat Plane Scare: Costs Taxpayers Thousands
April 9th, 2010 - 7:56 pm ICT by Angela Kaye MasonApr 09 (THAINDIAN NEWS) A serious bomb scare was created by a Qatari diplomat midair, when he went to the restroom of an airplane carrying 180 passengers, and smoked a cigarette. Flight attendants noticed smoke coming from the bathroom, and went to check out the source. When they demanded to know what he was doing, the diplomat flippantly made a joke “I am trying to light my shoe on fire.” This joke caused panic because of the cases of Richard Reid, the shoe bomber, and the recent underwear bomber, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab.
This statement caused the need for extreme security measures to be taken. Two F-16s were dispatched to escort the jet to safety, FBI investigators had to rush to the scene to interview passengers, and the pilot and crew has to spend an extra hour on the tarmac, all of which combined to cost America a good deal of time and money, all for a cigarette and a joke. The phone lines have been very busy ever since, with phone calls for the Qatari government to reimburse America for the cost. “A lot of people kicked into action last night based on a perceived threat,” said Rep. Pete Hoekstra, R-Mich., ranking Republican on the House intelligence committee. “I don’t think it’s unreasonable” to ask Qatar for the money. Just the cost of the two jets alone comes to over 15,000 dollars.
On his way to visit with an al Qaida sleeper agent who is currently in prison, the diplomat himself will not be charged, but his actions are said to have cost American taxpayers thousands of dollars. The diplomat, Mohammed Al-Madadi was going to visit Ali Al-Marri who is a citizen of Qatar. He pled guilty last year to conspiracy and supporting terrorism. He was arrested after the September 11, 2001 attacks on charges of being a sleeper agent who was researching poisonous gases and plotting cyber attacks. He is serving an eight year sentence. Since the visit was considered official business, and had been previously approved by the U.S. Bureau of Prisons, then Al-Madadi has diplomatic immunity and will not be charged. He is expected to be sent back to Qatar.
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Tags: al marri, american taxpayers, bomb scare, cyber attacks, diplomat, extra hour, extreme security, farouk, flight attendants, house intelligence committee, madadi, midair, poisonous gases, rep pete hoekstra, restroom, richard reid, security measures, september 11 2001, shoe bomber, sleeper agent
