An Omani co-pilot stabbed his captain and tried to crash a FlyDubai flight into the ground with 174 people aboard — and before the blood was dry, the usual suspects were lining up to make it your problem.
The facts of the incident are harrowing and clear. The co-pilot of Flight FZ1073, an Omani national, allegedly attacked Captain Smit Machchhar with what passengers described as near-lethal force — his head and hands "practically sliced open, almost severed in two," according to dentist Musaev Shota, who treated him midair, as reported by Breitbart. Machchhar, still conscious, fought back long enough to unlock the cockpit door. Israeli passenger Yaniv Hayoun rushed in, put the attacker in a chokehold, and pulled him off the pilot. Two off-duty pilots among the passengers landed the plane in Saudi Arabia. The co-pilot, once subdued, shouted "Kill me. Kill me," according to Netanyahu's account to Fox News.
Here is what is not yet clear: the motive. CBS News reported plainly that "the co-pilot's motive in the alleged attack remains unknown." No terrorist organization has claimed the incident, Breitbart noted. The co-pilot has not been publicly identified.
That hasn't stopped the machinery. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz immediately labeled it "an attempted jihadist terror attack" and called the co-pilot a "terrorist." Netanyahu told Fox that "personal information" led Israel to conclude the co-pilot "underwent Islamist radical indoctrination" — but did not specify who conducted that questioning or what the evidence was. He conceded to CBS on Wednesday that it looked "like a suicide attempt." Netanyahu also said it was "too early to say" whether Iran was involved.
President Trump went further. "I would say the answer, based on what I'm hearing, is yes," he said Thursday when asked about an Iran link. CBS noted his comments "went further than Netanyahu's." That's the president of the United States, on the record, implying Iranian involvement in an incident where no such link has been established — and where even the Israeli prime minister is urging caution.
Netanyahu has warned in recent days of "escalating security threats" to Israel amid its operations against Hamas and Hezbollah, CBS reported. The incident fits neatly into that narrative. The interventionist class will use it to demand more American intelligence-sharing, more security commitments, more military posture in the region — all on the American dime.
None of this is to dismiss what happened. A pilot nearly murdered at the controls of a civilian aircraft is a serious event. Islamist radicalization is a real phenomenon. But a factual investigation and a political sales job are two different things, and the distance between them is where the American taxpayer gets squeezed. Three nations — the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Israel — are conducting the investigation. Let them finish before Washington signs the check.
The question isn't whether this was terror. The question is how fast the usual voices will use it to reach into your wallet.
