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John Brecher / msnbc.com
Jamal Tarhuni hugs his wife Nariman Samed as his son Rasheed walks past at the Portland International Airport after returning from Libya.
PORTLAND, Ore. — Family, friends and supporters celebrated the homecoming Tuesday of Jamal Tarhuni, a Libyan-American businessman whose return to the U.S. from North Africa was delayed by a month after he was detained for questioning by the FBI.
A burst of applause and cheering went up as Tarhuni emerged into the waiting area at Portland International Airport after clearing the last bureaucratic hurdle of his trip – a two-hour wait to clear customs. His youngest son, 10-year-old Rasheed, armed with helium balloons, stood at the front of a welcome line of men.
The tone of the homecoming quickly became serious again, as Tarhuni reassured others about the status of another member of the Libyan-American community – Mustafa Elogbi, 60, who remains in Tunisia after being barred at the last minute from joining Tarhuni and their attorney, Tom Nelson, on the flight home.
Tarhuni, 55, left for Libya in October to deliver medical supplies to hospitals and refugee camps, but he said that when he tried to return on Jan. 17, he was denied boarding and directed to the U.S. Embassy in Tunis, where he was questioned extensively by FBI agents.
At the Portland airport, he addressed the gathered press with a message to the FBI:
"We value your work when you stop criminals," Tarhuni said. "We do not value your work when you do not do your homework and stop innocent people."
He called his ordeal a shock and said he was particularly disappointed in the U.S. Embassy.
"I was not able to get straight answers or help you would expect from your embassy abroad," he said. "I was not even able to get basic information on who made the decision to stop me from coming home."
Tuesday’s reunion with his wife, Nariman Samed, and four children ended a month of uncertainty for Tarhuni, a naturalized American citizen, but it did nothing to clarify why he was held or whether he faces further questioning. He does not know whether he is on the government’s secret no-fly list, which would prevent him from flying back to his native Libya or in U.S. airspace.
The uncertainty around Elogbi remains, although he has booked a flight home from Tunis on Sunday.
American aid worker: U.S. bars my return
What gives? Another American caught in no-fly limbo
No-fly Americans split up to fly home
"I’m really happy that Jamal Tarhuni is coming home, but I’m really ready for my dad to come home," said Elogbi’s daughter, Allaa, 20, fighting back tears. "(This return) does give me hope that within a week my dad will be here. … But so far you don’t know if you can trust them or not, you know? There is no reason my dad should not be home today. There is no reason he shouldn’t have been home last month."
The crowd of about 40 people on hand to greet Tarhuni was a mixture of family and friends from Muslim and interfaith communities.
John Brecher / msnbc.com
Karen Redington, of Beaverton, Oregon and Paul Maresh of Portland hold signs to greet Jamal Tarhuni before his arrival at the Portland International Airport. Maresh explained his motivation for coming to the airport: "I don't know this gentleman. I'm not a Muslim. I'm deeply offended by the way this man has been treated."
"What brings me out is injustice, not allowing someone to come home because they are Muslim or have an Arabic name, or a foreign-sounding name – the nemesis du jour," said Pam Allee, a Portland resident who came to show support but does not know the families.
Karen Redington, a Christian who said she has worked with Tarhuni on interfaith events, carried an American flag and a sign that read: "I’m sorry."
"I am so sorry that this would happen to anyone, let alone somebody who is one of the most gentle, humble, caring men, who has taken the time to go back to his country of origin to bring millions and millions of dollars of humanitarian aid through Medical Teams International," she said. "I am so sorry. This does not represent this community; this does not represent this country."
No one was more relieved at Tarhuni’s return than Rasheed, who was looking forward to spending some quality time with his dad after an absence of four months.
"He missed my birthday, so he said we’re going to have a cake and we’re going to go out and we’re going to invite my friends, maybe go to Evergreen waterpark. Or we’re going to take trip to Disneyland," he said.
Going forward, he said, he’s going to keep his eye on his dad:
"I’m going to hug him so much and never let him go back anywhere else, and tell him, ‘If you’re going somewhere, the whole family comes with you.’"
More content from msnbc.com and NBC News
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The FBI should be ashamed if their ignorant incompetent selves!
George Orwell was an optimist.
*of
There should be an entire investigation of the FBI.
This was completely shameful what they did to these two American citizens.
.
The U.S. government owes this man an apology and substantial civil damages!
ELISABETH_Are you INSANE?
Angelica: A lawsuit??? the liberal answer to everything free handouts and lawsuits
Its called the US PATRIOT ACT people , read it, how it applies to you and when and how ! Do I agree with it, no, not entirely, but some parts are reasonable. With all these lunitic terroists with their morbid ideas running around and their sick religion of death and car bombs and stupid explosives devices , you just never know till you investigate throughly. Shame he was held for so long, but then theres that what if,,, lets back up to August 2001, if they would of done their jobs properly, everybody, those 2 towers would be standing still and 3600 people would still be alive, actaully more than that.... overly cautious, maybe, but we'd all be bitchin and moaning if there was a terroist who got thru,,, its a damned if you do - damned if you don't scenerio .
@jet7 - Yep, these very same people would be screaming their heads off if this guy turned out to be a terrorist, got back into the country and one of their loved ones died in the attack..
They would be screaming... "Why didn't our government do more to stop this guy?"...
This is what happens when you give rednecks authority. Thanks for protecting us from the humanitarian, Homeland "Security".
What's the matter, liberals? Isn't big government your solution to everything? Well then, better get used to being treated like cattle.
@pishaw The TSA has only gotten more draconian under the Obama admistration. Why don't you place the blame where it belongs, hypocrite.
*TSA and Dept. of Homeland Security.
If this man is a humanitarian, then why doesn't he start his work right here in the U.S.A. helping Libyan-Americans or Americans in general ? I am so tired of people going to other countries to adopt children or sending aide, when there are so many people right here that could truly use the help.
And if your country was so bad that you left it to become a citizen in another country, why would you want to ever go back ? Lets help our own people first and get our country back on it's feet, then and only then should we start helping others ... imho.
No, we wouldn't. True Americans would value freedom over the unreasonable and unconstitutional powers granted by the Patriot Act and the more recent add-on made by Congress to an otherwise necessary bill. There's not much point in being safe if you're not free.
Live free or die.
Good that he's back. It shouldn't be a crime to give medical attention to people who suffered in the midst of a civil war against that brute Ghadaffi.
Ternan
Oh please, try the AMERICAN answer to everything. People these days are willing to sue McDonalds for getting them fat. And that's just the tip of the iceberg...
Oh, Jet7, enough with the terrorist phobia. There is not a terrorist hiding behind every corner.
Let me help those who have no clue. First, the TSA doesn't provide airport security in Libya. Second, the FBI is not part of the TSA. Third, we only have this guys side of the story. Generally before one leaps to judgement it helps to have both sides of the story. Fourth, in any invesitigation a lot of clues are followed. Quite often innocent people get quizzed multiple times even if they aren't actually suspects. They just have evidence needed to convict someone else or they may have even been labelled by someone with a grudge against them. Either way they are interrogated. Funny, if this guy did turn out to be a terrorist and he later committed an act of terror the same sheople on here bashing the FBI will be bashing them for being incompetent and letting a terrorist go. It is real easy to be a critic, but actually doing something is a lot harder. I am guessing most on here have never done anything but criticise other's efforts. Whatever....
justsaying, there is not a terrorist behind every corner, BUT there sure are a heck of a lot of them.
This guy went to a war zone. Sorry as heck that he had to put up with a month of questioning. I wonder what would have happened to him if Kadaffy would have gotten hold of him?
I think that if you go to an active war zone, you can expect to have some troubles. Stop your whining, it is part of the game YOU play.
kinda sad in bush started the patriot act and strengthened it. the rights bohners prevent any action to get rid of it. blame goes to both parties not one. 9-11 eroded many of our freedoms and rights and with that the loss of those means we lost the war on terror
It is hard to gauge the ordeal unless someone personally goes through the uncertainty, the fear and all. My sympathies. However, the statement "we are happy when you stop bad people....." is at best misguided, as if bad people come out with label on them. There is no clear binary test available yet.
Ternan
Lawsuits are the only protection citizens have against their own government. Your position is this guy should just take it? Would you?
The fact of the matter is, this guy did not turn out to be a terrorist. We pay the FBI to actually catch terrorists, we don't pay them to persecute random people. Unlike this guy, the FBI aren't volunteers or humanitarians. They get paid to do a job. That is why they are being criticized: for doing a poor job.
Would you be this considerate and understanding if the FBI had held you for a month? I don't think so. It's easy to wave away other people's problems.
just sayin, have you forgotten how many people in different countries including USA have been attacked by terrorist ? do you people really think that they will change ? i'd like to see you go into pakistan, afganistan, somalia and all those other countries that hate Americans and see how you will be treated and then tell us if you still feel the same way ! that goes for the rest of you sympathizers of people from the middle east.
one's liberty depends on whose holding the gun, and where end is pointed.
The US Patriot Act is an abomination. It should be rescended immediately. If the FISA Act needs updating, fix it. If the federal agencies need to coordinate better make it so. That only requires an Executive Order from the President. No legialation needed. More harm has been perpetrated against law-abiding Americans through the Patriot Act than to the terrorists it is supposed to hit. Kill the bad law. NOW!
This guy may be a naturalized American citizen but anyone who expects American embassy officials to help them overseas is living in a fairy tale. It starts out "Once upon a time I went to the American Embassy for help" and ends up "and got water boarded." The last thing Americans do who travel overseas is go to our embassies for help.
Hey, Chris. Why don't you take a short jaunt over to the Middle East and take a hiking trip in the mountains near the Iranian border for the view and some regional enlightenment. Then you can tell everyone just how wonderfully happy YOU were to be detained, suspected, grilled and accused of being an American spy because you speak English and your name might be Riley, McCarthy, Smith or Jones. Mr. Tarhun is an AMERICAN CITIZEN and he was detained, suspected, grilled and accused by OUR OWN people after being on a humanitarian mission just because his family name is Middle Eastern and he has dark hair and olive skin.
Thank God he is home and safe, right were he belongs with his beautiful family.
Once again the CRAP started by Bush and his FEAR MONGERING policies. It is smarter to track the suspects than it is to deny them to fly just because they might be terrorist.....That is guilty before being proven inosent THAT IS UNAMERICAN and UNLAWFUL. He is a USA citizen and should not be treated like a criminal. PERIOD! GET RID OF HOME LAND SECURITY IT IS A WASTE OF OUR TAX DOLLARS. The FBI should feel a black eye for their actions as well. This is total crap. Glad to see he is back here in Oregon.
Really? Still Bush bashing? I'm not even a Bush sympathizer and I'm tired of it. He has been out of office for four years. President Obama is in charge now, not former President Bush. If President Obama wanted them home, they would have been home.
This appears to be a travesty of justice. But come on, time to move on from an old rant.
Enough with blaming Bush already!!! After three years the "Change Master" should have everything fixed! Or is he irresponsible?
If you didn't start your sentence off by blaming Bush, maybe more people would actually read your post.
Bob Bobbie: Insanity run in your family or are you simply a very very stupid person? Bush yea right try Obama he has been office for over three years now
3 years??!?!?!?! he should have fixed everything in 3 years?!?!?! you sir are a moron. Yes we still live in the dark shadow of the Bush Administration. Obama tries to change things but the same damn republicans kept successfully stopping him. Now you want to vote in the same damn people who blocked change for the last 4 years. America open your eyes. This election year is going to be the most pointless in American history. We've already lost.
What!!!!: You obviously know nothing about how the United States GVT works - Bush held office as president for 8 years - 4 of those years it was contending with a Democratic controlled Senate and Congress and 4 years with a split house. No President makes a law and no President passes a budget. Congress has the authority to make laws and determines the budget of the United States. Blaming Bush for the mistakes, corruption and incompetence of Democratic controlled House and Senate is akin to blaming the victim in a rape. Bottom line What!!! you truly have no clue, your simply one more left wing radical liberal that still holds faith in the failed policies and failed philosophies of the radical lunatic fringe of the left.
@Bobbie FEAR MONGERING?
Ask the Muslims that are being blown each week in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Pakistan, etc. if they are afraid. I bet the answer is YES.
Yeah, we have nothing to fear from these peace-loving, non-violent people.
If you don't mind, I will leave the safety of my family and friends to my government instead of brilliant know-it-all's like yourself.
what!!!! Maybe you missed it, but the Patriot Act was renewed under Obama at his request. He signed it just last year as a matter of fact. It must be hard ignoring the obvious but you seem to be a success at it. Glad you can succeeed at something at least. You need to really be careful who you call a moron while you post blatant idiocy that calls your own intelligence into question...
bush is to blame for all the problems we face, he dug the hole we are in and thanks to obama we are coming out of it, no thanks to idiots, preventives like bohner
I hate Bush with a passion. I think he's a traitor and a war criminal and should be arrested, tried, and when found guilty, as he would by any reasonable jury, put to death.
But he's no longer the president. Obama has had a full term to do the right thing by reinstating our Constitutional rights, and he has failed to do so. Quite the opposite.
The buck stops with Obama.
bobbie bee, then who do you think that's going to protect this country, you ha ha ha ha !
It is difficult to say with 100% certainty what the correct response to this situation should be. I suppose if it is up to opinion you can think it is right or wrong and either way, you are entitled to your opinion. The problem with forming an opinion about it at all, first and foremost, is we do not have all the necessary information to make an informed, intelligent decision about our opinion. If we were offered a detail that this man was once affiliated with a known terrorist organization and had since withdrawn from that group, you might understand why there would be hesitation to allow him to continue before he could be cleared. Now, I am not saying that was the case, but I bet it made you stop and think for a minute. The fact is, we don't know why he was detained. Of course, we hope if there was nothing concerning, there would never be an instance where a mistake was made, but again, we just don't know. The thing is, the process NEVER, EVER needs to be this overdone and complicated. First of all, if there is strictly concern about this man boarding an aircraft, there are Air Marshalls. Air Marshalls are super-capable security or law enforcement personnell specifically trained for just this sort of situation. They don't have to identify themselves to passengers as such, unless there is an incident they are involved in, and they randomly board planes without anyone ever knowing there is an Air Marshall on the flight. For this situation, it would have been a simple, affordable fix to delay this man air travel for only enough time to acquire an Air Marshall to travel on the flight, perhaps even seated next to the gentleman, thus ensuring the safety of the flight to an acceptable degree. Some situations just can never be avoided, and I think we all agree that many issues surrounding homeland security measures have been taken entirely too far and well past what we consider reasonable security or quite simply, "the chances we take in life". It is not necessarily that we don't need any of the safety measures that have been put in place under homeland security protocols, we just need balance, as with anything. The fact is, there have been numerous situations that have been discovered and stopped that we should be very thankful about, and there have been plots abandoned because security measures have been enough to make a plan too difficult to attempt. We don't hear about the things that don't happen and we don't complain or get hyped up over the success stories. For some things, it is good to get fired up so change will occur, but don't forget, that is how homeland security came about in the first place. Opinions are never right or wrong, just different according to the individual and always subject to change according to perspective and/or known information. Balance is the key to a workable system no matter what you are trying to achieve. For the person who said the FBI agents are paid to do a job, I agree. They should be able to do a check on someone, depending on the degree of concern, with relatively little fanfare or delay these days. We have substantial information technology and it is available or can be transmitted to most anywhere in the world in a matter of seconds. There are agents in almost every location to handle local issues upon request. Also, I would add that there should be at least a general statement for any individual involved in a security investigation as to why there is concern. Telling a person why they are being investigated won't change the facts about them. If they are a person with links to terrorists the chances are they are already aware of that, so telling them we are aware of it too isn't going to change the facts. At least, for the people who might be red flagged and require an investigation, they will know what they are being detained for. We should request and require a more balanced method in all systems we have in place. It is because people get so worked up over a particular situation that the pendulum gets too far to the extreme one way or the other. Problems occur on both ends. We should certainly request and require matters be handled effectively, efficiently, and affordably when we ask for oversight and/or changes to be made. Most things require simple adjustments to allow them to function effectively, not complete removal. Often it is the agencies overseeing the agencies reporting to yet another oversight agency that causes the delay we find in government practices. It is also a main reason for much of the extra expense. Tolerance is additionally something to factor in. If this situation still gets you excited enough to pressure for change, don't whine or complain about it, take action and request modification until you are satisfied with the result. That is one benefit about being citizens of American and even this man who suffered a substantial inconvenience to get back home would probably go through all of it again rather than give that up. If all you want to do is state your opinion, that is fine, and allow others to state theirs. It's pretty simple.
Obama adopted almost all of Bush's policies ... I'm sure he had a good reason since he was a big time Bush basher himself. @!$%#-happens when you hang out in countries who harbor terrorists.
It certainly doesn't upset me if the FBI is over-cautious!!!
Bush started by saying we were attacked because "they" were jealous of our rights and freedoms as Americans. It that were true, we would have no further worries, because we now live in a police state with few rivals. It won't be long before the FBI is shooting people in the street for speaking out.
Hey Richard its a..............CONSPIRACY !!
Because you're a coward, heaveto?
This is not "over cautious".
This is someone who was given an opportunity to cause harm to someone else, and took it.
Why else do you think no one will tell us who it was that made the decision to cause harm to this man and his family?
Because the FBI knows full well what was done to this man was wrong, and that it was done for pernicious and foul reasons of bigotry and downright hatred.
I hope that this man contacts his congressman, or woman, and starts the process of demanding answers, because this kind of evil sure needs to be stopped.
I doubt bigotry factored in one iota. My take is that it is a classic example of any goverment agency dragging its feet and throwing up walls after it screws up.
As long as you are not the one who is detained huh? People like you are the same people who allowed Hitler to rise to power. As long as they leave me alone or it does not effect me so what. What a poor American you are.
Heaveto; how about if it was YOU who faced the injustice this innocent person faced and YOUR FAMILY had to go through the same agony until they saw you again? Then also, do you"approve" the over-cautiousness of the FBI?
Didn't think so. And may be you don't HAVE a family's love to understand another human being's unjustifiable suffering.
heaveto, regarding your comment you made after previously, you are such a butt - hole, obviously you like talking out your ass, whether you like it or not there is only one God, he gave us free will and on judgement day we , including you will have to answer to him
End dual citizenship.
end dual nationality and justify treating the rest of the world (Non-Americans) like @!$%#?
YES!!!! End dual citizenship. 100% agree. Treat the rest of the world like @!$%#? Really? Seems to me that we are being very nice. We provide food, medicine and education to billions of people.
If we were bad guys, we could depopulate the entire world save for those in the West we liked. Think about it.
UDunnoBro, the United States does not recognized dual citizenship, other countries may but the U.S. does not. As far as the U.S. is concerned he is an American, only, of Liyan descent. Now Libya may consider him Libyan even though he had to renounce his citizenship and allegiance to Libya when he took the oath of U.S. citizenship.
You mean like we did settling the US?
Think about it.
Yup, just like that.
Those of us still dealing with the whole"my body is who I am" thing don't care much for your crap.Especially since you are advocating for a ftards religion.At least Jesus wasn't banging underage girls.The point for me was we should've stopped manufacturing new americans like you and the guy in the story a long time ago
How do you know he wasn't ya Tea-tard?
you mean the same jesus who cursed at a fig tree for not being in season...someone stable like that?
pained1, don't troll other religions, please.
You are suspended for a day for violating rule # 5 of the Code of Honor.
Islamaphobic bastards.
Brave people spoke against Senator McCarthy and ended that era. Support those who speak against the illegal acts of the TSA and the FBI and Homeland Security, who will hide behind badges and titles until they are shamed out of power.
Answers need to be given as to the reason this American citizen was denied boarding access and an uneventful return to the U.S. There may be some reasonable explanation but America needs to hear it.
Welcome to 1984!!! Now...YOUR PAPERS,PLEASE!!! Don't you know we are at war with Oceania???
Why not help your fellow Americans in need, in the United States?
Freedom is quickly becoming a thing of the past in America. Too many americans are more worried about where they're going to get their next BigMac then they are about what has happened to their freedoms.
America... you have died as an inspiration to the rest of the world. You are now a joke, and it pains my heart that so many have given their lives for what has now been so easily given away by the ignorant masses.
I hope you have enjoyed the ride, Americans, because your freedom train has left the station.
The FBI needs to apologize and then they need to move on...
Why apologize? The FBI was doing its job. Investigate what this guy was doing, where he was going and who he was dealing with. What is so wrong with that?
Because the guy is a naturalized US citizen? They do owe this man and many others an apology.
Welcome to the 21st Century, where everyone is scrutinized by their name or whatever. Those in the FBI need to do some deep soul searching in order to NEVER let this travesty happen ever again, and as far as I am concerned, the no-fly list is a good thing, after the person has been investigated and some REAL proof that he/she is connected to terrorism, not this electronic trash that anyone can put on the record.
We have some real geniuses running our top security agencies! Amazing
jaybo, and you could do a better job ? you and other people that think like you would probably let every terrorist come into this country, scary thought, just stick to what you are doing now !
Sandra,
You are operating under a hysterical form of paranoia that is more dangerous to everyone in the end.
My question is why would it take a MONTH to check the man out? Are the FBI's computers on dial-up or something?
it's a shame that this man and his friend are being questioned, but i also have faith that there were good reasons for the questioning. no one really knows what this man's ties are, they just assume he's an innocent cuz he's crying to the media. let the questioning continue as long as need be to assure the safety of all americans.
The idiot knew where he was going and what problems he might have when trying to come back to the good old USA. Next the moron will probably want to go to Iran. He should ask the hikers how was their stay in Iran.
If he wanted to help mankind there are numerous people in the US who could use the supplies he brought to Libya. If he wanted to make contact with the people of Libya he should have made it through proper channels. How do we know what he really brought to Libya, for all we know it could have been used against our soldiers.
Be careful who you call a moron you could be looking in a mirror. Geez
Does "innocent until proven guilty in a court of law" mean anything to you?
Ron-Eewww,look at that large Crock! Climbing out of YOUR tea cup! Boy, hurry up, it'll bite your little chinny chin!
Ron - "Proper channels"? What are you talking about? He DID go through proper channels. And, he went not to only to help "the old sod" but to advance AMERICAN goals. And, he risked his life AS AN AMERICAN in Libya to do it. How many Christian Americans of European descent do you think have been detained abroad without due process for a month and not allowed to come home?
Our country is falling apart. We are becoming exactly what the American Revolution sought to oppose.
Happens all the time. The Canadians questoned me in 1996 because I was bringing work documentation into their great country. I was detained for several hours. No big deal. Goes to show how things can get out of control.
oh no you were stuck in canada for a few hours! douchebag
hahaha, that's a good one... but, I know, Dudley Do-Right is really intimidating, ayuh? Bet you were really worried.
How about a month? Would you consider that a big deal?
what!!!!!!!!!, you are suspended for a day for violating rule # 1 of the Code of Honor.
Remember in the movie Animal House, Dean Wormser put the the fraternity on "double secret probation" and we all had a good laugh at Faber College. Well it ain't so funny now that it's real and Americans are put on the double secret no fly list and can't find out why or who did it or how to change it. Welcome Franz Kafka. All they know is that someone out there don't like them. Who? Who the hell knows. You're guilty until proven innocent and that can take a long, long time. Badges, Badges? We don't need no stinkin' badges! Say hello to Joe McCarthy. 1984 has finally arrived.
Walking while brown is what my friend calls it. He gets harassed every single time he flies.
Wow, what do they do at immigration? Ask him for some documentation? Such harassment! What a bunch of BS.
After 30 days of waterboarding and torture, I think he just wants to forget about the ordeal until he needs to fly again.
It would be nice if the journalist who wrote this would have tried to delve into why this happened. Why was he refused boarding? Why was he interrogated by the FBI? Why was he prevented from flying afterwards? The article gives no reason other than he was questioned by the FBI. Those of making comments without the whole story are simply showing your bias - whichever way it goes. Ask for the full story instead of a puff piece designed to incite sympathy.
ZLRider, you must be an old person. ONLY yellow journalism is allowed to be called news. 2 seconds of interest and then on to the next flashing story.
fyi... The journalist is looking into just those things. What this story shows, in part, is just how difficult it is to get answers from the security bureaucracy. The subject of the story is suffering that frustration as much as anything. The journalist continues to beat on that door.
MOSinEUR
I don't know if being an old person has any relevance here, or if ZLRider is "old," but I'm an old person so there's at least one old person here who found the story incomplete because it lacked answers to the questions ZLRider poses.
Kari Huus
Thanks for the clarification. I'm not a journalist, have zero credit hours in journalism, so I have no clue as to what journalistic standards apply in writing this or any story, but had I written it, I would have noted the obvious questions raised by the story, noted that they had been asked of the FBI, and reported that answers had not been provided.
Meanwhile, as ZLRider points out, many posters seem able to draw complete conclusions based on incomplete information. I must confess to lacking that ability.
Perhaps questions posed by one or more members of Congress (I'm unaware of whether or not this has already happened) would elicit the answers that NBC News has been unsuccessful in obtaining.
Interesting how everyone gives the "victim" the benefit of the doubt, despite that this article provides virtually no information as to why he was detained. If I were al Qaida, this is exactly the strategy I'd use: Create an impression that Big Brother is out to get any upright American citizen with a terrorist-sounding name. As an oblivious co-conspirator, MSNBS will dutifully post a touchy-feely screed to criticize the FBI's troglodyte tactics. Consequently, the path will be clear for al Qaida to slip in ringers who will carry out actual terrorist acts.
But what are YOU doing here? You are spinning unproven theories and advocating punishments against a potentially innocent person, who under our law is not just "potentially" innocent but "innocent until proven guilty in a court of law." If your own imaginations are the best that you can come up with in the way of charges, then your allegations have no value outside a totalitarian state.
"Innocent until proven guilty" is typically a euphemism for "guilty," whether or not this is proved in court. When someone is truly innocent, the phrase is simply "innocent."
Whatever Shandril ... to a point I agree with Optimist, I sense MSN has not given us the whole story in this article.
Yeah Shandril that's right, innocent until proven guilty. That really means "under investigation" and, " not yet convicted". Believe it or not all criminals don't simply confess . That doesn't mean suspected criminals get to roam around freely all the time. This guy was questioned and now he's home. So he's "innocent" now or, "not under investigation". I love how people like you think there thousands of federal agents just picking people at random to interrogate. This guy did something to get on the FBI radar weather or not it was with malicious intent is the job of the FBI to determine. Looks like it wasn't since he's back home. I say to him "welcome back to a safe USA, next time you might want to just mail over some band-aids instead".
Yeah, he had a furriners name and probably even worships Allah. Do you seriously think the FBI or other security agencies are free of bigotry anymore than your local police department? Hell, just look at the bigotry and hysteria evidenced in these comments on the Vine daily. A substantial part of the US population is xenophobic has a deep seated fear of anything from outside their own neighborhood.
AMERICANS BETTER WAKEY WAKEY THE HELL UP TO THIS UNBRIDLED STUPIDITY.
Unbridled Stupidty being performed right under their stupid little noses and they just sluff it off as if it were some fly landing on their noses!
I feel so bad for this man for all the unnecessary and asinine hell he was put through!
To the over blown NAZI jackasses and their IGNORANT TYRRANICAL NO FLY LIST,TAKE YOUR NO FLY LIST AND SHOVE IT UP YOUR NO FLY ASSES!
I have a list for you and it's called the SH IT LIST! YA DUMB TYRRANICAL MORONS! JUST STUPID!