149 lines
6.9 KiB
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149 lines
6.9 KiB
Plaintext
From fork-admin@xent.com Mon Sep 23 18:32:18 2002
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From: "R. A. Hettinga" <rah@shipwright.com>
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Subject: High-Altitude Rambos
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http://www.nytimes.com/2002/09/23/opinion/23HERB.html?todaysheadlines=&pagewanted=print&position=top
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The New York Times
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September 23, 2002
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High-Altitude Rambos
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By BOB HERBERT
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Dr. Bob Rajcoomar, a U.S. citizen and former military physician from Lake
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Worth, Fla., found himself handcuffed and taken into custody last month in
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one of the many episodes of hysteria to erupt on board airliners in the
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U.S. since the Sept. 11 attacks.
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Dr. Rajcoomar was seated in first class on a Delta Airlines flight from
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Atlanta to Philadelphia on Aug. 31 when a passenger in the coach section
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began behaving erratically. The passenger, Steven Feuer, had nothing to do
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with Dr. Rajcoomar.
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Two U.S. air marshals got up from their seats in first class and moved back
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to coach to confront Mr. Feuer, who was described by witnesses as a slight
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man who seemed disoriented. What ensued was terrifying. When Mr. Feuer
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refused to remain in his seat, the marshals reacted as if they were trying
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out for the lead roles in Hollywood's latest action extravaganza.
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They handcuffed Mr. Feuer, hustled him into first class and restrained him
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in a seat next to Dr. Rajcoomar. The 180 or so passengers were now quite
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jittery. Dr. Rajcoomar asked to have his seat changed and a flight
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attendant obliged, finding him another seat in first class. The incident,
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already scary, could - and should - have ended there. But the marshals were
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not ready to let things quiet down.
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One of the marshals pulled a gun and brandished it at the passengers. The
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marshals loudly demanded that all passengers remain in their seats, and
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remain still. They barked a series of orders. No one should stand for any
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reason. Arms and legs should not extend into the aisles. No one should try
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to visit the restroom. The message could not have been clearer: anyone who
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disobeyed the marshals was in danger of being shot.
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The passengers were petrified, with most believing that there were
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terrorists on the plane.
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"I was afraid there was going to be a gun battle in that pressurized
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cabin," said Senior Judge James A. Lineberger of the Philadelphia Court of
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Common Pleas, a veteran of 20 years in the military, who was sitting in an
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aisle seat in coach. "I was afraid that I was going to die from the gunfire
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in a shootout."
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Dr. Rajcoomar's wife, Dorothy, who was seated quite a distance from her
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husband, said, "It was really like Rambo in the air." She worried that
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there might be people on the plane who did not speak English, and therefore
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did not understand the marshals' orders. If someone got up to go to the
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bathroom, he or she might be shot.
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There were no terrorists on board. There was no threat of any kind. When
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the plane landed about half an hour later, Mr. Feuer was taken into
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custody. And then, shockingly, so was Dr. Rajcoomar. The air marshals
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grabbed the doctor from behind, handcuffed him and, for no good reason that
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anyone has been able to give, hauled him to an airport police station where
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he was thrown into a filthy cell.
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This was airline security gone berserk. No one ever suggested that Dr.
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Rajcoomar, a straight-arrow retired Army major, had done anything wrong.
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Dr. Rajcoomar, who is of Indian descent, said he believes he was taken into
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custody solely because of his brown skin. He was held for three frightening
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hours and then released without being charged. Mr. Feuer was also released.
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Officials tried to conceal the names of the marshals, but they were
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eventually identified by a Philadelphia Inquirer reporter as Shawn B.
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McCullers and Samuel Mumma of the Transportation Security Administration,
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which is part of the U.S. Transportation Department.
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The Transportation Security Administration has declined to discuss the
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incident in detail. A spokesman offered the absurd explanation that Dr.
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Rajcoomar was detained because he had watched the unfolding incident "too
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closely."
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If that becomes a criterion for arrest in the U.S., a lot of us reporters
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are headed for jail.
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Dr. Rajcoomar told me yesterday that he remains shaken by the episode. "I
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had never been treated like that in my life," he said. "I was afraid that I
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was about to be beaten up or killed."
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Lawyers for the American Civil Liberties Union have taken up his case and
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he has filed notice that he may sue the federal government for unlawful
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detention.
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"We have to take a look at what we're doing in the name of security," said
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Dr. Rajcoomar. "So many men and women have fought and died for freedom in
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this great country, and now we are in danger of ruining that in the name of
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security."
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--
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-----------------
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R. A. Hettinga <mailto: rah@ibuc.com>
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The Internet Bearer Underwriting Corporation <http://www.ibuc.com/>
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44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA
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"... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity,
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[predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to
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experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'
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