http://www.roryoconnor.org/blog/2006/05/08/miller-time/ Rory O'Connor's blog Wed, 08 Sep 2010 14:18:45 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.0.5 http://www.roryoconnor.org/blog/2006/05/08/miller-time/#comment-5219 Tue, 23 May 2006 02:54:32 +0000 http://www.roryoconnor.org/blog/2006/05/08/miller-time/#comment-5219 In July 1999 I attended a poetry reading at the Barnes and Noble in the Greenbrier section of Chesapeake, Virginia (suburb near Norfolk, VA)at which there were 3 very Middle Eastern looking men, one who I believe was Marwan Al-Shehhi, the other two looked to be young men who I thought were probably students at Old Dominion University. They did not mingle with the group and their eye contact was nervous and standoffish since I looked at them. One of the younger members read his poem which he read with rage, but was very hard to understand due to his accent, however I DISTINCTLY remember the phrase "kill the Infidel" and I turned to my grandmother and daughter and commented that it sounded creepy. It went right over the head of the rest of the crowd since most people were in the pre 9-11 mode. Actually it surprised me that no one in the crowd reacted particularly. As soon as the gentleman read it, the three left and didn't stay to listen to others reading or to discuss as most people do at the readings. They never even sat down either but stood on the sidelines. I did report this to the FBI phone tip line after 9-11. Right after 9-11 and the viewing of the pictures of those men, the memory of that event came back to me since I think that at least one of those men was the terrorist Marwan Al-Shehhi. If that is the case, was there some significance to the reading of that poem in their demented ideological process---some kind of warning? I wish I had reported it way back then, if they were the terrorists. In July 1999 I attended a poetry reading at the Barnes and Noble in the Greenbrier section of Chesapeake, Virginia (suburb near Norfolk, VA)at which there were 3 very Middle Eastern looking men, one who I believe was Marwan Al-Shehhi, the other two looked to be young men who I thought were probably students at Old Dominion University. They did not mingle with the group and their eye contact was nervous and standoffish since I looked at them. One of the younger members read his poem which he read with rage, but was very hard to understand due to his accent, however I DISTINCTLY remember the phrase “kill the Infidel” and I turned to my grandmother and daughter and commented that it sounded creepy. It went right over the head of the rest of the crowd since most people were in the pre 9-11 mode. Actually it surprised me that no one in the crowd reacted particularly. As soon as the gentleman read it, the three left and didn’t stay to listen to others reading or to discuss as most people do at the readings. They never even sat down either but stood on the sidelines. I did report this to the FBI phone tip line after 9-11. Right after 9-11 and the viewing of the pictures of those men, the memory of that event came back to me since I think that at least one of those men was the terrorist Marwan Al-Shehhi. If that is the case, was there some significance to the reading of that poem in their demented ideological process—some kind of warning? I wish I had reported it way back then, if they were the terrorists.

]]> http://www.roryoconnor.org/blog/2006/05/08/miller-time/#comment-4654 Fri, 19 May 2006 15:02:08 +0000 http://www.roryoconnor.org/blog/2006/05/08/miller-time/#comment-4654 Rory, Two things: First, keep up the good work,and, Secondly, I was wondering if you knew the whole story concerning the USS Liberty. Its crew has just filed a war crimes brief with the D.o.D., which is LEGALLY OBLIGATED to investigate such claims. Thus far, the claim has been ignored, and the crew is contemplating a federal suit to have a FAIR and IMPARTIAL investigation of their claims. If you have any interest in maybe writing a story about these men, check out their website. I think it's a fantastic story of bravery and perserverance. Every American should be aware of it. Thank You. Daniel Egan Rory, Two things: First, keep up the good work,and, Secondly, I was wondering if you knew the whole story concerning the USS Liberty. Its crew has just filed a war crimes brief with the D.o.D., which is LEGALLY OBLIGATED to investigate such claims. Thus far, the claim has been ignored, and the crew is contemplating a federal suit to have a FAIR and IMPARTIAL investigation of their claims. If you have any interest in maybe writing a story about these men, check out their website. I think it’s a fantastic story of bravery and perserverance. Every American should be aware of it. Thank You. Daniel Egan

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