NPR: Terrorism Links Uncertain In Airplane Attack

[grasswire]

Finally we get the source for the linking of the airplane incident to al-Qaida: serial fearmonger Peter King!

"Rep. Peter King of New York, the ranking Republican on the House Homeland Security Committee, said Friday that Abdulmutallab had an al-Qaida connection, but law enforcement officials are not so sure. The investigation of Abdulmutallab’s past travels has turned up what one law enforcement source called "worrisome places," and British police are conducting a search of an address in central London thought to be linked to the suspect.

Nothing uncovered so far indicates Abdulmutallab had any formal terrorist training. Abdulmutallab has allegedly said he picked up the device in Yemen, but officials aren't sure yet whether that is true, either.

Officials are quick to point out that Abdulmutallab's device was incendiary rather than explosive. An incendiary device would set off a fire and cause much less damage than an explosive device."

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=121927036#commentBlock

NEVER BELIEVE UNSOURCED FIRST REPORTS!

[slackmaster]

1. Lone nutbag militant ROPer

:nuke:

[grasswire]

2. yes, Peter King is a nutbag

...and a sadist, perfectly willing to terrorize less discerning Americans on Christmas with his comments.

[chieftain]

3. Speaking of unreliable first reports,

did you ever acknowledge that the "firecrackers" story was inaccurate?

[grasswire]

4. the upshot is that Peter King has set up a total media frenzy

....by first fanning fears and then attacking Obama over it. He generated intense coverage.

This kind of game has been run so many many times on the American people.

Demand sources! Question authority!

[mn9driver]

5. This story was written yesterday.

Already we know that it wasn't intentionally an incendiary device; it used PETN which is considered a fairly easy-to-use high explosive. Exactly why it burned instead of detonating is unclear. There are certainly plenty of terror groups who have successfully gotten this stuff to detonate, so the idea that this guy just didn't know what he was doing and had no actual training is reasonable; at least until we have more information.

[snagglepuss]

6. You're jumping the gun. The reports I've coming out of the US are

either simply wrong or confused. The NPR story you cite as authoritative is a case in point. Frankly I don't understand how reporting can be so contradictory especially days after the event. The device was meant to explode but failed. PETN is a powerful explosive that is highly explosive and in the same chemical family as nitroglycerin.


How can US news sources get this so wrong? The device was meant to explode but failed because it wasn't mixed well enough. Read what the The Independent (UK). BTW The Independent ran this the same day as the NPR report.

snip

The high explosive used was identified by the FBI as Pentaerythritol, better known as PETN – a major component of Semtex. He injected a detonating liquid into the PETN with a syringe, but the bomb failed to explode.


snip

Chaim Koppel, a security consultant, added: "I think the explosive was supposed to go bang rather than just start a fire. The terrorists probably didn't mix it well enough. Maybe they didn't do enough practice runs, but the more the guy is trained, the more exposed he is to MI5, MI6, the FBI and other security agencies, so he probably didn't receive enough training."


snip


The devices may not be competent," Dr Leivesley said. "Scientists will now try to replicate the method in the laboratory and then we'll know. The reason it didn't go off may be a fault with the device, or human error. The reports so far suggest that the bomber sat quietly after the incident, but had suffered third-degree burns on his leg. That suggests to me that he may have been sedated in order not to appear anxious, but that may have impaired his ability."



And NPR states he hasnt been linked to terrorists. Wrong. Even his father linked him to terrorists.


snip

Dr Mutallab said he was planning to meet with police in Nigeria last night after realising his son had joined the notorious roster of al-Qa'ida terrorists, and is said to have warned the US authorities about his son's extreme views six months ago.





http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/wealthy-quiet-unassuming-the-christmas-day-bomb-suspect-1851090.html




Unfortunately by all appearances King wasn't jumping the gun.

[grasswire]

9. the NPR story at least cites the source for the al-Qaida "link"

I agree that there is much more to the story than first reports.

My intention is to urge Americans to question this kind of incident and resulting press mania.

[snagglepuss]

10. But the NPR report you cite which isn't a first report is wrong. If anything

the press wasn't manic enough. It seems too quickly to have come to conclusions without even the basic facts.

[grasswire]

12. that is precisely the problem, and a technique

It's called "framing" and it was perfectly honed by the Bushies.

Something happens. The people who can USE the happening for their own gain immediately frame the story so that a narrative is set in the public mind. Once that narrative is set, it is difficult to amend.

That's how we got "sixteen words" -- as an example. The list of this kind of manipulations is long and sickening.

Only when citizens demand sources and facts do the stories begin to sort out. But by then Joe Q. Citizen has heard people like Peter King and all of CNN push the frame.

That's why skepticism must be encouraged.

[snagglepuss]

13. Why didn't you say this in the first place?

:evilgrin:



And btw good point, as I finally see where you're coming from:thumbsup:

[spiritual_gunfighter]

7. I have noticed how many people were quick to believe

the AQ connection from the get go, and if I am not mistaken you posted something yesterday that got those people all riled up. After 8 years of bullshit from the previous administration in relation to terror alerts and made up info, I reserve judgment until all the facts are known, and I know I wont be fooled by Peter fucking King.

[grasswire]

8. that's precisely the point, thanks

Those who are quick to believe the first reports are usually being tools of some kind of power grab or manipulation, or many kinds of manipulation.

Every time there are first reports that assign blame, we should be suspicious. Every time first reports have no named sources, be suspicious!

Cheney's awfully quiet in all this fuss this weekend. I'm suspicious about that, too.

[Sebastian Doyle]

11. Even if "Al Qaeda" actually existed (which it doesn't)

There's no way in Hell that they would have hired this assclown Richard Reid wannabe from Nigeria.