Remember Those 11 Egyptian Students Who Failed to Report to Their Classes at Montana State University?
Here is the background: 11 Students Have Not Shown up at Their University.  Now it appears that the situation was not just a case of overaction on the part of the bloggers. Suspects, Reportedly Tied to Al Qaeda in Iraq, Sought Student Visas.Â
Sources tell ABC News that the plot may have involved moving between 10 and 20 suspects believed to be affiliated with al Qaeda in Iraq into the United States with student visas ” the same method used by the 19 al Qaeda terrorists who struck American targets on Sept. 11.U.S. officials now require universities to closely track foreign nationals who use student visas to study in the United States. University officials must report international students who fail to arrive on campus or miss class regularly.
In August, the FBI and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement alerted intelligence agencies and state and local law enforcement about 11 Egyptian students who had failed to report to their classes at Montana State University. The students were ultimately apprehended.
Still, despite the heightened precautions, some security analysts fear that skilled terrorists ” handpicked because of their clean records and because they are carefully trained ” could still slip through an academic setting.
The plot was discovered six months ago, roughly the same time that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of al Qaeda in Iraq, was killed by coalition forces. Sources tell ABC News that the suspects involved in the effort to launch the U.S. attack were closely associated with Zarqawi.
From Michelle Malkin:Â
The story underscores the need to remain vigilant on the student visa tracking front. After the 9/11 attacks, Congress took belated steps to shore up the neglected tracking system. Various interest groups whined about the costs and burdens, and have lobbied to repeal the law. With Democrats in charge now, it’s up to the GOP to defend the tracking system from being undermined.
Of course, if our intelligence and homeland security agencies were working more closely to keep terror suspects out of the country in the first place (see how Khalid Mohammed got in), we wouldn’t have to depend on a functional interior tracking system to find them after they slipped through the front door.
January 22, 2007 - 07:19 PM on January 22nd, 2007
Uh-huh. I never believed for a minute that they were totally innocent.
January 22, 2007 - 09:49 PM on January 22nd, 2007
It just sort of faded away didn’t it?
January 22, 2007 - 11:48 PM on January 22nd, 2007
The MSM wouldn’t want to waste any more print space or airtime on this story because it does nothing to make Bush look bad or criticize the situation in Iraq. Therefore, it is not useful to them.