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Yesterday's incident, which shut down the cargo area of the Port of Miami, is now being called a false alarm. Apologies will probably be issued. Various special interests will claim "profiling."
But the fact remains that the driver raised several red flags: He had two other men hiding in the cab, who were not in plain view upon entering the port. He could not produce the proper paperwork in a routine inspection. One of those extra passengers had no identification. If "communication" was as much of a problem as authorities now say, that raises obvious questions concerning the driver's ability to function in a setting with such sensitive security issues as a major US port.
If it was all a misunderstanding, the one facet of the story that is encouraging is that "the system" apparently did work.
"Miscommunication cited in port alert," by Kelli Kennedy for AP:
MIAMI - Three Middle Eastern men in a cargo truck sparked a brief terrorism scare at the Port of Miami until officials determined their freight was harmless and the incident had stemmed from a simple misunderstanding.
The port's cargo area was shut down Sunday and a bomb squad moved the truck away from public areas to scan it for radioactive materials. Nothing unusual was found, officials said.
The men in the truck — two Iraqis and one Lebanese national — were in local police custody, but authorities said no federal charges were expected. Officials initially said the men, all permanent U.S. residents, had been caught trying to slip past a checkpoint at the port's entrance.
The truck's contents — electrical automotive parts in a 40-foot container — matched the driver's cargo manifest, said Miami-Dade police spokeswoman Nancy Goldberg.
A port security officer became suspicious when the truck driver could not produce proper paperwork in a routine inspection to enter the port about 8 a.m., Goldberg said.
The driver also indicated he was alone in the truck, though security officers found two other men in the cab, she said. The two passengers, ages 28 and 29, were a friend and a relative of the 20-year-old Iraqi driver, she said.
"Due to a miscommunication between the gate security personnel and the truck driver, we believe there was a discrepancy in the number of people in the vehicle," Goldberg said. "This, and the fact that one of the individuals did not have any form of ID, raised our level of concern."
The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security were called to the scene, along with federal and local law enforcers, "in an abundance of caution," Goldberg said.
Posted by Marisol at January 8, 2007 7:16 AM
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According to the news conference shown on FoxNews yesterday, the "gentlemen" worked for a company in Dearborn(istan), Michigan. HMMMMM - three "middle eastern" males, aged 20-28 driving a truck into the Port of Miami, Florida from Dearborn(istan), Michigan, without the proper paperwork??? And they say it was a mis-communication. Yeah right.
When is this country going to wake up???
CelticCoyote
Posted by: CelticCoyote![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.jihadwatch.org/nav-commenters.gif)
at January 8, 2007 9:28 AM
This absurd explanation by the FBI is raising the warning flag that the FBI is severely infiltrated by radical/activist/passive moderate Muslims.
Posted by: paulc37 at January 8, 2007 9:47 AM
I heard on the news that the Iraqi driver could not speak english well and the security guard could not speak arabic. So what the F___? is this guy driving a truck with two hidden riders doing on the road in the first place? Are we as stupid as we appear?
Posted by: TheOmegaMan at January 8, 2007 10:22 AM
Better safe than sorry.
Posted by: ISLAMSFORLOSERS at January 8, 2007 10:30 AM
I still think it is a test run of sorts . . .
Posted by: JSobieski at January 8, 2007 10:36 AM
I agree with JSobieski. It sounds like a probe, similar to the "flying imams" incident.
Posted by: tvdog at January 8, 2007 11:07 AM
Move along folks....nothing to be seen here.....
Anyone else think THIS article might be 'a load'?
Yesterday, the contents of the truck were reported to NOT match the driver's cargo manifest. So the story is suddenly changing.
Also, if the port was completely closed down, there must have been concern with the actual contents of the truck - I don't buy that it's now supposedly 'auto parts'. That would not be enough to shut down business at the port.
Lastly, it needs to be made clear PUBLICALLY than any more shinagins like this OR the flying Imams will be met with severe penalty. That would slow down their attempts to manipulate our legal system.
I smell a coverup. Let's not disrupt business at the ports. Let's not alert the public to the potential danger, because too much money may be lost in the process. Sort of like, let's not focus on the lack of proper package inspection in the belly of passenger planes. Don't want to cost the airlines or the government money to fix the risk. Cheaper to put the passengers at risk.
Posted by: The Goobs at January 8, 2007 11:35 AM
The Driver is 20 years old?!!!!!
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration regulations, rule 391.11, state the following:
§391.11 General qualifications of drivers.
(a) A person shall not drive a commercial motor vehicle unless he/she is qualified to drive a commercial motor vehicle. Except as provided in §391.63, a motor carrier shall not require or permit a person to drive a commercial motor vehicle unless that person is qualified to drive a commercial motor vehicle.
(B) Except as provided in Subpart G of this part, a person is qualified to drive a motor vehicle if he/she —
(B)(1) Is at least 21 years old;
(B)(2) Can read and speak the English language sufficiently to converse with the general public, to understand highway traffic signs and signals in the English language, to respond to official inquiries, and to make entries on reports and records;
Can't he speak English? Dearborn, Michigan? Miscommunication? 2 passengers had no id?
Posted by: jawa at January 8, 2007 11:43 AM
I told someone I was watching this with yesterday that we would not be told the truth.
Why were the FBI and Homeland Security called?
Why did it take all day to decide there was no problem?
Would we be told if a nuke were found in a shipping crate? (wouldn't want to panic the proletariat)
I don't buy what they are selling.
at January 8, 2007 11:54 AM
About Miami Port yesterday...
I heard on FNC that 6 big cruise ships were docking and loading thousands of passengers yesterday...what a target...
at January 8, 2007 11:56 AM
I don't either Carolyn.
Sunday is the Miami Ports busiest day, due to cruise traffic.
Posted by: jawa at January 8, 2007 12:02 PM
How on earth are these people obtaining green cards? Immigrating to the US from, say, Russia or Romania is MUCH harder than from Somalia or Iraq. Cant have too many White Christian immigrants to this country!
Posted by: george_rem at January 8, 2007 12:04 PM
This was all over the news yesterday and the lame excuse is that it was just a "communication barrier" that caused all this? Reports are also saying there was no crime committed, just some "administrative" violations. There is something not right here and we're not getting the real story, obviously. I agree with JSobieski, like the flying imams incident, this sounds like another PC probe to me. They are doing practice runs to find weak spots. It's also no coincidence the driver was coming from Dearbornistan, our very own jihad-central in the US. Stay tuned for more of this to come. (For the best blog on what the jihadists are up to in Michigan, see debbieschlussel.com Debbie is fearless and relentless in uncovering the truth about the fifth column working right under our noses and has literally risked her life in the process).
Posted by: Saxonman at January 8, 2007 12:06 PM
It seems that whenever there is one incident that is a "false alarm", there's always something else, totally unrelated, the next day (like the mysterious gas smell in NYC.) And how about the birds in Austin? They have no explanations... just assurance that everything is OK.
These kinds of coincidences have happened before.
Posted by: Gotham at January 8, 2007 12:12 PM
These three stooges obviously have no business driving a truck into a secure area. They should be deported right away.
Posted by: MP at January 8, 2007 1:35 PM
This type of incident happens at US Military Facilities EVERY DAY!
The problem is the higher up the food chain in Law enforcement you get ,the less you find capable and informed leaders.
"Oh.......its nothing" or "you are over reacting" or " he just doesnt understand english" just some of the things you will hear when you find something like this.(I know because I have) You may even be making work for someone else, or even worse....show how little someone else is doing!
When the "new guard" 9-11 generation in law enforcement makes it to the top ranks things should be different. We can only pray!
Instead we are stuck with cold war mentality leaders who dont want to kick in doors because it may hurt someones feelings.
This was a probe if there ever was one , period!
Posted by: Overwatch at January 8, 2007 1:52 PM
Maybe not so 'case closed' afterall...
Plastic Explosives Detected at Miami
http://www.breitbart.com/news/2007/01/08/D8MHAKUG0.html
Posted by: GreatShaitan at January 8, 2007 3:44 PM
Can he drive the vehicle backwards?
Posted by: western infidel at January 8, 2007 4:20 PM
"in an abundance of caution,".
so they want us to understand that someone was just a bit over-zealous ?
the security officer could have been like a lot of people who have to work on a Sunday, his mind somewhere else, and wishing his body could be there too. instead, he was Doing His Job.
if his boss doesnt tell him he was doing it well, then i am sure his drinking-buddies will.
as jawa and others have pointed out above, we have a trailerload of unanswered questions on this one.
at January 8, 2007 6:00 PM
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