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Arab flight students streaming into U.S.
Group of Algerians follows on heels of 14 Syrians training to fly in Texas --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By Paul Sperry
WASHINGTON - Fourteen Algerian nationals entered the U.S. over the weekend to train at a Texas flight school, immigration inspectors told WorldNetDaily. They followed on the heels of 14 Syrian nationals who arrived for flight school less than two weeks earlier. Like the wave of Syrian men before them, the Algerian men, also in their
20s, flew into Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport where they were processed
by the Immigration and Naturalization Service. They carried M-1 visas allowing
them to stay in the U.S. on a temporary basis to attend vocational schools.
Texas INS agents, alarmed at the surge in Middle Eastern flight students
after the Sept. 11 hijackings by Islamic terrorists, documented the Algerian
group for the FBI, which chose not to detain the men for additional questioning.
Unlike Syria, Algeria is not on the State Department's list of
terrorist-sponsoring countries.
But the North African nation, home to the Armed Islamic Group and al-Qaida
cells, has been identified by State as a growing hub of terrorist activity.
Algeria borders Libya, which is an officially designated terrorist state.
After the Sept. 11 hijackings, the FBI questioned an Algerian man attending
the American Flyers flight school in Fort Worth.
The FBI's Dallas division has received thousands of leads pertaining to
Middle Eastern men entering at DFW airport to attend area flight schools.
The Algerians are enrolled at Tyler International School of Aviation in
Tyler, Texas, sources say. It's the only school at Tyler airport.
A school spokesman declined comment.
As WorldNetDaily first reported Oct. 16, the Syrians are attending Delta
Qualiflight Aeronautics at Meacham airfield in Fort Worth. The school is owned
and operated by Khaled Miloud.
Many of the Sept. 11 hijackers attended similar flight schools in Florida.
One of Osama bin Laden's lieutenants recently promised to hit America with
another "storm of planes."
Crawford ranch security
Fort Worth is roughly 80 miles north of Crawford, Texas – where President
Bush owns a ranch. He and his family frequently visit there. Tyler is roughly
120 miles northeast of Crawford.
Crawford Mayor Robert Campbell says he's received no specific terrorist
warnings.
He says Secret Service agents are stationed there around the clock, making
it "quite difficult" for terrorists to strike.
"The Secret Service, sheriff's department and military have the situation
under control," Campbell told WorldNetDaily. "We're pretty confident that if we
get any information [about an attack], we can respond quickly."
He adds that U.S. Air Force bases near Dallas and Austin can quickly put up
fighter jets to intercept any suspicious aircraft. Crawford is located between
Dallas and Austin near Waco.
Iranian martial artists
In another development, INS sources told WorldNetDaily that six Iranian
nationals entered at DFW airport last week. They told inspectors they were
visiting the U.S. to attend a martial arts tournament.
Another group of eight Iranians arrived to go to what they claimed to be a
building-materials competition.
Iran is one of the seven countries on State's terrorist watch list.
Federal authorities do not plan to check up on the high-risk foreign
visitors to see if they actually report to their destinations. And no
computerized tracking system exists to alert authorities to foreigners who
overstay their visas.
Bush, who just months before the attacks considered giving blanket amnesty
to millions of Mexican aliens, earlier this week proposed tightening visa
enforcement.
But his plan stops short of suspending visas for students and visitors from
Arab terrorist states. They are still welcome in the U.S. – as long as their
visa applications are OK'd by embassy workers in their home countries, and as
long as they don't show up on federal "lookout" lists of suspected terrorists.
er.htm While we were sleeping, the enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat.
Matthew 13:25 Archibald Bard
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