Neither being "Iraqi" nor "Muslim" qualifies for 'racial' discrimination. Stupid people. B http://washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071108/NATION/111080 058/1002 Article published Nov 8, 2007 Iraqi passengers sue airline, claim discrimination
November 8, 2007 By Audrey Hudson and Sara A. Carter - A group of Iraqi Pentagon contractors is suing American Airlines claiming racial discrimination for delaying its flight, but a police report shows that some of the men might have been intoxicated, behaved in a frightening and belligerent manner and scared one family off the plane. The captain of American Airlines Flight 590 from San Diego to Chicago delayed the late-night Aug. 28 takeoff after crew members reported that they "did not feel safe," according to the report obtained by The Washington Times. The Iraqi men filed the lawsuit last week in the U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of Michigan, where they live, saying they were falsely identified as "posing a risk to security by reliance on racial profiling and through discrimination based on race and national origin." The captain did not alert the passengers to any danger and instead said the plane had to return to the gate because of an 11:30 p.m. airport curfew. The men left the plane with the other passengers, but the lawsuit says they were singled out and removed from the flight because they spoke to one another in Arabic. Once inside the gate area, the lawsuit states, the men "were pulled aside from a crowd of roughly 120 passengers as 'persons of suspicion" inappropriately thought to pose a threat to security." However, a Port of San Diego police officer reported that he was first approached by one of the men, Dave Al-Watan, "who asked me what the problem was." The officer said in his report that Mr. Al-Watan had "red, watery eyes and had the odor of an alcoholic beverage on his breath." Another officer who approached the group said he smelled alcohol but could not pinpoint who might have been drinking. Mr. Al-Watan raised his voice to the officers and asked whether the flight had been delayed "because we are from Iraq? Is that why we were removed from the plane?" Turning to the passengers, Mr. Al-Watan continued in a loud voice: "I am an American citizen, and I work for the Marines. Just leave us off the plane, tell the other people they can fly without us if that's what they want." "I want a report. This is America. You can't treat people like this. I am going to sue the airlines," Mr. Al-Watan said. Tim Smith, a spokesman for American Airlines, said the company stands by the flight crew's actions and that the plane returned to the gate "because of potential security issues." "The crew felt it was better, and safer, for all the passengers to return to the gate to resolve issues occurring onboard, rather than letting any situation potentially escalate in-flight," Mr. Smith said. The men were permitted to fly home on the airline the next day. The lawsuit says the men suffered damages in the form of "embarrassment, humiliation and mortification; fright and shock; mental anguish and emotional distress; denial of social pleasure and enjoyments; actual monetary damages in the form of costs associated with travel delay." The six men work for contractor Defense Training Systems and said they train with the Marines and the Army as "authentic Iraqis for role-playing scenarios" at the Marine Corps' Center for Advanced Operational Culture Learning. Officials at the Pentagon and the Marine Corps center were contacted with questions regarding the men's duties for the U.S. government and whether the situation was being investigated internally, but officials said they could not comment. The lawsuit was filed by Mr. Al-Watan, Talal Cholagh, Ali Alzerej, Hassan Alzerej, Hussein Al-Salih and Mohammad Al-Saedy. The men are asking for a jury trial, financial damages and attorney fees. The men also are suing the flight attendants, who are named in the complaint as "John Doe." [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: [email protected] Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. 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