Its beyond me how she could let him stand there and degrade, threaten, and make fun of her. I mean... If I tried that being a white male... she probably would have had security on me... but Atta comes in and threatens and she doesnt even tell anyone... how rich.

This story doesn't sound right to me. At the least, she's embellishing.

"Should I have picked up the telephone and called someone?" she said. "You can't ask me that more often than I have asked myself that. I don't know how I could possibly expect myself to have recognized what that man was. And yet sometimes I haven't forgiven myself."

What else could the guy possibly have done besides saying "I'm a terrorist here to kill Americans"?

Sounds like she would have even brushed that off.

This woman is criminally, and unforgivably, dumb. I hope she is prosecuted.

I don't know if I'm buying this story, but I do not that it *could* be true and that's equally disturbing. I think Atta ran a toll bridge a few days before the attacks, or at least they were reporting that shortly after 9/11. I'm not saying "not paying toll = suspicion of terrorism" but it does indicate that these guys knew that short of flying a plane into the Twin Towers they could do pretty much anything in America and not raise a red flag or draw attention to themselves. That has got to change.

Sounds like tall tale to me. Did she have any paper work with his application? Any contemperaneous notes? No someone wants attention.

Why would Atta, and educated man with the financial backing of bin-Laden have to ask some dopey low level functionary about places in the U.S. and then threaten her.

Threatening her would have called attention to him, which is exactly the opposite of how he operated.

"Should I have picked up the telephone and called someone?" she said. "You can't ask me that more often than I have asked myself that. I don't know how I could possibly expect myself to have recognized what that man was. And yet sometimes I haven't forgiven myself."

It's all about her. "I don't know how I could possibly expect myself to have recognized what that man was." Instant, self-granted absolution. She raises the straw man of her own guilt (in being a moron) and knocks it down immediately.

There are many, many more of her out there handling this country, regardless of the truth of her story.

I think this story is nonsense. Granted, terrorists are frequently very dumb (didn't on of the original WTC bombers hire out the bomb truck in his own name?), but I think she's just angling to sell her story to some news show or tabloid. Bidding starts at $50,000 guys!

She may have met atta, but she's talking bull about all these fanciful statements he's supposed to have made.

didn't on of the original WTC bombers hire out the bomb truck in his own name?

Worse: one tried to get his deposit back.

That led to the inclusion of Terrorist Rule #435 in the al'Qaeda handbook: "Do not attempt to collect deposits on rented vehicles used in car bombs. Instead, file a reimbursement request, attaching the receipt."

Assuming this story is true, and given all the other drivel coming out of Mary Robinson and the ACLU these days, am I the only one who thinks the whole situation is beginning to look like the plot of Mars Attacks?

Thank God this woman was NOT on Flight 93, or else we would be looking at a big hole at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, too.

Prosecution is way too good for this woman.

May I suggest persecution?

Neither prosection nor persecution, but execution. No enlightened society should allow someone this dangerously stupid to exist among us.

Oh sure, just tell the guy who openly talks of Al Quaeda, and OBL where the Capitol and WH is on the map, and where he can learn unarmed combat skills, and so forth.

She should have immediately reported him.

Hmm, criminal negligence anyone?

Cal

What a dumb broad.. any other intelligent peson would have him arrested and deported ASAP for his threats of murder.

I would love to find out his ladies family background and how she was raised to be such a silly little push-over with no self-respect or dignity for herself.

- Calixto -

Not only criminal negligence also criminal complictness.

Remember she is a federal employee hanging out with illegal immigrants making death threats in a federal building.

If she isn't arab she is a retard.

This is without a doubt a huge lie. I am totally willing to accept that Americans are this dumb; dumber in fact. However, this lady's 'experience' reads like a bad sitcom plot: totally contrived and overdone, for maximum emotional effect. Let's consider the facts: despite our security breaches, it isn't easy to get into, and stay in, the US if you aren't a citizen. You gotta have know-how. Furthermore, these men were well trained and -unfortunately- quite successful. Then of course there is the fact that we still have not found any shred of evidence for when, where, or how the attacks would be done. Hindsight allows us to connect arab flight students with some other events, but we have no evidence except for lost lives and rubble. This is no accident; this is because the perps were thorough and careful. It is so unbelievably out of character as to be absurd that such a cautious and ultimately successful terrorist would give himself away with such alacrity. And- Shocker- why did this never occur to said ameri-moron that her experience was foreshadowing until now? I would think she would be on the evening news every night in September. And to think the guy specifically mentioned Al-Qaeda and OBL so flippantly? please. She's a fake, an opportunist, and an embarrasment- in short, she's how the rest of the world sees us.

I don't believe it. It reads like a Saturday Night Live sketch, except shorter.

If her story is true, then she's a freakin' idiot. Some one threatens her life and she does nothing? She's either stupid or gets threatened a lot. If you read the ABC interview and report, you will discover that he and some of the other hijackers came to her office a number of times trying to get loans. Why did she not report these people earlier? What kind of ethics does this woman have?

J. Montgomery:

Getting into this country and staying in it are the easiest things for a foreigner to do. How many millioins of illegal aliens from Mexico do we have in the U.S. today?

- Kevin in Dallas && J. Montgomery -

Over 10 million illegal people in the US right now.

I agree that her story is pretty weird.. Something's fishy, and it not the fact that she's from Homestead, Florida.

On the other hand, I think the city of Irving and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones got a little thrill after seeing a shot of Texas Stadium on ABC News.

Maybe they're in cahoots?

Heck, I used to work in the State gov't bureaucracy, and threats and the like occur from time to time...which is what we have security for.

The fishy thing is that she, or her colleagues did not call security.

Cal

Charles,

You're missing the obvious alternative explanation -- she has conversations like this all the time.

We gummit workers have a name for employees like Ms. Bryant. She's a poopoohead. A big, fat lying smelly poopoohead. Here's her comment from 9/25/01:
[Link: www.recordnet.com...]
She's had 9 months to spice it up. Poopoohead, poopoohead, poopoohead!

kevin in dallas-

It's easy to cheat in america; playing by the rules is much harder. The hijackers played by the rules.

She may well have had minor dealings with Atta, but her story doesn't pass the smell test and her demeanor on TV struck me as more than a little odd---she reminded me of people who claim to have been abducted by UFOs. I'd be willing to bet anything that much of her story (especially the death threats) is pure invention of her part so she can get her 15 minutes of fame---and maybe a check from the National Enquirer for her story.

Regardless of whether she's telling the truth or not, she should still be fired because she's either an idiot or a liar.

--In their conversation, he said that Al Qaeda could use someone with her qualifications, and mentioned Osama bin Laden, Ms. Bryant said.

"He mentioned that this man would someday be known as the world's greatest leader," she said. "I didn't know who he was talking about."--

This is the passage that sounds the least credible. If she didn't recognize the name, how did she recall it? And why would someone who believes in a world order in which Americans are the enemy and women are subserviant even consider trying to recruit an American woman? Least of all one so abysmally stupid.

I imagine he was there and applied for a loan, and possibly even behaved in a hostile manner. But the pointed questions and blatant talk, no.

The 9/25/01 doesn't say whether the woman is lying or not, since it's about two different incidents. The 9/25 story has to do with Atta asking for a loan to buy a crop duster, which the article indicates cost $80,000-$100,000. However, the Times story states that Atta was asking for $650,000 for a "twin-engine, six passenger plane." Sounds like two different occasions to me.

Whatever the case, if anyone told me if they were going to slit my throat, I'd let someone know - and quick.

Is this incredibly moronic asshole still working the same job? Why is she in/on the news with such an obviously exaggerated story; did any journalist check it out first?
poopoohead.