By Debbie Schlussel

• Yemeni Muslim who was hired as baggage screener in U.S. airport despite his vocal anti-Americanism and support for Osama bin Laden

Sadeq Naji Ahmed is living proof that American airline passengers are no safer than they were before the Homeland Security Department's Transportation Security Administration (TSA) was put in charge of overseeing airport baggage screeners. He is also proof positive that radical Muslims in the military can get away with saying anything, while other soldiers cannot.

For almost two years, Ahmed was a baggage screener at Detroit's Metro Airport, despite his frightening background.

A Yemeni Muslim since indicted in federal court in Detroit, Ahmed was honorably discharged from the U.S. Air Force. That might seem well and good, but the circumstances behind the discharge were not at all honorable.

Between 1999 and the 9/11 attacks, Ahmed—then an airman stationed at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida—made statements in support of Osama bin Laden, said he was not opposed to the 9/11 attacks, that the U.S. deserved to be attacked, that he would not fight if the U.S. took military action in Iraq, and that U.S. aircraft over Iraq should crash.

Ahmed was an information systems analyst with security clearances—not a position optimally occupied by an America-hating, bin Laden booster.

Because of Ahmed's statements, his security clearance to classified information and restricted areas of the base was suspended on September 17, 2001, and he was assigned administrative duty. On September 28, 2001—even though he had two months to go on his tour of duty—Ahmed was given an expedited honorable discharge, in order to effect Ahmed's "removal from the U.S. military as quickly as possible," according to his indictment. Rather than do the right thing and court-martial him, the Air Force made his life easier.

In December 2001, Ahmed became a baggage screener at Metro Airport, when security was handled by a private contractor. In October 2002 the TSA -- which was supposed to improve screening security and background checks for screeners -- hired Ahmed before doing a background check on him. He lied on his application regarding the circumstances of his discharge and security clearance loss.

But the lies—for which Ahmed is now being tried by a member of the U.S. Attorney's Terrorism Task Force—were not discovered until August 2003, when he was terminated. 

In the year before he was terminated, the disloyal Ahmed could have easily endangered American travelers' lives—something to be expected given his pro-Bin Laden, anti-American statements. He could have easily allowed baggage containing explosives to pass undetected onto aircraft.

But the TSA is not the only government agency to blame for Ahmed's almost two-year reign of possible danger to Americans.  The Air Force deserves its fair share of blame.

Rather than court-martial and dishonorably discharge Ahmed, the Air Force took the meek course and set the stage for possible danger against civilian American airline passengers. 

Had Ahmed been a non-Muslim, the government would have gotten tough. 

Soldiers do not have unfettered free speech rights. The "Disloyal Statements" provision of Article 134 of the Uniformed Code of Military Justice provides for penalties by court-martial for "disloyal statements" made "with the intent to promote disloyalty or disaffection toward the United States by any member of the armed forces or to interfere with or impair the loyalty to the United States."

Ahmed's treasonous statements fit the U.S. government's Manual for Courts Martial's definition of punishable disloyal statements, like a glove: 

"Examples include praising the enemy, attacking the war aims of the United States...A declaration of personal belief can amount to a disloyal statement if it disavows allegiance owed to the United States by the declarant."

Unlike Ahmed, soldiers have been court-martialed and brought up on Article 134 "disloyal statement" charges for:

• A letter to the editor questioning the war in Iraq;
• Comments to a reporter questioning the war in Iraq, but saying he'd do his part and fight; and
• Telling other soldiers he would not fight in Vietnam if ordered to.

But those soldiers had one thing in common: Unlike Ahmed, the were not Muslims. And unlike Ahmed, not one of them praised the enemy and wished for America's failure.

Yet, Ahmed was rewarded with an honorable discharge and evading his required duty, allowing him to get screening jobs at airports.

This profile was written by Debbie Schlussel. It originally appeared as a longer article by Ms. Schlussel  titled "Feel Unsafe, Feel Very Unsafe: TSA's Islamic, America-Hating Screener," published by DebbieSchlussel.com on April 1, 2005.