Poll: Is Emirates Air Lying about How They Tried to Fly Terrorist Out of NYC?

It sure looks like there's real possibility that Emirates Air is lying about why they almost flew a terrorist on a high priority alert and no-fly list out of the country.

[link to www.washingtonpost.com]

"...It was not until the day after the car bomb was found that federal officials discovered a foreign connection, linking a telephone number used by the purchaser of the vehicle to Pakistan and, by early Monday morning, to Shahzad. They gleaned details about him from an unrelated airport screening conducted when he returned from Pakistan in February, a requirement for all passengers from certain countries instituted after the Christmas Day attempt. The requirement was eliminated this spring after the targeted countries, including Pakistan, complained.

At 12:30 p.m. Monday, Shahzad's name was added to the terrorism suspect database at the National Counterterrorism Center and airlines were alerted through a "Web board" -- a secure government site with an updated list of passengers who should be blocked from flying.

By 4:45 p.m., Shahzad's passport number was added to the Web site, officials said. The government and Emirates airline pointed fingers at each other over what happened next. The company said that when the list was updated, Shahzad, who booked the flight at 6:30 while traveling to the airport, was not yet on the manifest. Emirates officials said they informed the government that a last-minute, one-way ticket had been reserved and paid for in cash, but got no response. Officials said they had no record of that message.

"If he was put on the no-fly list before he arrived at the airport, then he never should have been allowed to board the plane in the first place," said Sen. Susan Collins (Maine), the ranking Republican on the Homeland Security Committee. She added, however, "It's evident to me, in contrast to the Abdulmutallab case, there was much better coordination this time at the federal level between our intelligence agencies and our law enforcement agencies."

It was unclear exactly when Shahzad was first physically located. "The situation was extremely fast-moving," an official said. "Within a few hours," he said, the FBI had "begun surveillance. At some point, he was able to slip surveillance."

Another official said it was possible that the FBI was tracking more than one person in similar vehicles, without knowing for sure which person was Shahzad or where he was going.

At 10:40 p.m., 20 minutes before takeoff, the airline sent a "last look" passenger manifest to Customs and Border Protection, and the suspect hit "as a possible match," an official said. Agents reached the plane just after the door had been closed."

Now, as you may know already, there's some conspiracy theory circulating that the target of the manhunt was actually not caught by a "last look" report, and that he was caught by other methods.

NYC Terrorism - Perp caught by Army Plane tracking Cell Phone Calls
Thread: NYC Terrorism - Perp caught by Army Plane tracking Cell Phone Calls

But whether or not Emirates Air actually sent his name on a "last look" manifest, they almost flew a wanted terrorist on no-fly lists and high priority alerts out of the country, and their story has holes in it.

Shouldn't their charter be suspended until we get to the bottom of their actions? Every person working that day @ Emirates Air should be completely CSI'd, no?

What do you think? Crack down on airlines who board people on terrorist alerts?