An Egyptian man who was found "hunkered down near the waterfront" at Port Newark on January 31st may have been plotting a terrorist attack, or just may have really wanted a taste of that sweet, sweet American Dream. The Post reports that Asem Ellbahnsany Haroon, a 26-year-old who is not on any terrorist watch list, "told investigators that he was an Iraqi citizen who had arrived two weeks earlier on an unspecified Italian freighter." Not much is known about Haroon other than he was "once denied a visa" because authorities told a judge that he "had fought as an insurgent against American forces in Fallujah."
Whether or not that is true remains unclear, but naturally authorities aren't taking any chances and are quick to link Haroon to Al Qaeda, telling The Post that "Al Qaeda is trying to use explosive to blow up oil tankers to disrupt the world's economy. What's right next to Port Newark? All of these oil refineries." Given that Haroon wasn't possessing any terrorist-like material at the time of his detention, and that the Port Authority officers found him in bad shape ("he was so weak," one source said) this looks like the work of another amateur "lone wolf," if anything. What else is near Port Newark? A Dominos and a Pizza Hut. Maybe he's never had stuffed-crust before?
