Arlington, VA—
A town hall-style meeting, meant to open dialogue between al-Qaida operatives and local Washington area leaders turned into a complete disaster Wednesday after several of the radical Muslims, who were flown to the U.S specifically for the debate, began shooting participants and setting off bombs when their poor English skills prevented them from getting their point across.
"It seemed like a great idea at the time," mediator Ted Koppel said afterwards from the Fairfax Medical Center where he was being treated for shrapnel wounds. "We thought, why not see if we could find some common ground with those people who seem to hate us most."
According to witnesses, there didn't seem to be much common ground from the onset, as the confused Arabs --who have spent the last 18 months holed up in a trench outside the Tora Bora mountains on the Pakistani/Afghanistan border --began screaming and waving large rifles and threatening to explode the suicide belts wrapped around their waists.
"I was really really scared," said Arlington resident Pam Sprague who had just asked the the panel if they could each elaborate on steps they were taking to bring about peaceful solution to their longtime hatred towards each other.
"They didn't even answer my question. They shot the guy holding the microphone. Then they started screaming 'Allahu Akbar' over and over and tossing grenades. They were obviously very frightened and angry."
The gunmen finally calmed down during a trust-building exercise when host Ted Koppel instructed Arlington Councilwoman Anne Soffe to let herself fall blindly backwards and into the arms of the al-Qaida panelist, who was sure to catch her. He didn't.
While the town hall meeting was considered to be total disaster by most standards, both sides agreed they would return to the table sometime in the not-too-distant future.
"The channels of communication are now open," Soffe said. "I have every confidence that should I fall blindly backwards again, one of those men will not try to shoot me."
A town hall-style meeting, meant to open dialogue between al-Qaida operatives and local Washington area leaders turned into a complete disaster Wednesday after several of the radical Muslims, who were flown to the U.S specifically for the debate, began shooting participants and setting off bombs when their poor English skills prevented them from getting their point across.
"It seemed like a great idea at the time," mediator Ted Koppel said afterwards from the Fairfax Medical Center where he was being treated for shrapnel wounds. "We thought, why not see if we could find some common ground with those people who seem to hate us most."
According to witnesses, there didn't seem to be much common ground from the onset, as the confused Arabs --who have spent the last 18 months holed up in a trench outside the Tora Bora mountains on the Pakistani/Afghanistan border --began screaming and waving large rifles and threatening to explode the suicide belts wrapped around their waists.
"I was really really scared," said Arlington resident Pam Sprague who had just asked the the panel if they could each elaborate on steps they were taking to bring about peaceful solution to their longtime hatred towards each other.
"They didn't even answer my question. They shot the guy holding the microphone. Then they started screaming 'Allahu Akbar' over and over and tossing grenades. They were obviously very frightened and angry."
The gunmen finally calmed down during a trust-building exercise when host Ted Koppel instructed Arlington Councilwoman Anne Soffe to let herself fall blindly backwards and into the arms of the al-Qaida panelist, who was sure to catch her. He didn't.
While the town hall meeting was considered to be total disaster by most standards, both sides agreed they would return to the table sometime in the not-too-distant future.
"The channels of communication are now open," Soffe said. "I have every confidence that should I fall blindly backwards again, one of those men will not try to shoot me."
