Al-Qaeda turns to targeting luxury cruise liners in its jihad against the West.

New.Com.AU ^ | December 29, 2003 | staff writers

[yankeedame]

Al-qaeda blueprint exposed

By Ben English, Ian Gallagher and Jef Sommerfield
December 29, 2003

AL-QAEDA has turned its terror sights to the sea, targeting luxury cruise liners in an expansion of its "jihad" against the West.

Liners like the Queen Mary 2 are under threat

Owners of the recently launched $1.3 billion Queen Mary 2 yesterday confirmed threats of terror hang over its maiden voyage early next year.

The Osama bin-Laden terrorist group is also adopting new tactics to destroy commercial aircraft.

British MP Patrick Mercer has revealed Saudi authorities arrested two Islamic suicide pilots. He said the pilots were preparing to crash two light aircraft into a packed British Airways passenger jet while it was still on the tarmac at the airport in the Saudi capital of Riyadh.

Both light planes had been crammed with explosives. And Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said he had received reliable intelligence of a Christmas Day plan to assassinate the Pope and destroy the Vatican by flying a hijacked plane into it.

News of the terror plots emerged after US authorities upgraded their national terror alert status before Christmas.

US intelligence officials also found evidence Al-Qaeda was planning to attack the British aircraft carrier Ark Royal as it passed through the Gibraltar Straits en route to the Gulf War earlier this year.

Plans for the attack emerged after a US spy plane discovered scores of acoustic sea-mines had disappeared from a naval base in North Korea.

US intelligence services believe the mines could be aboard 28 "terror ships" Osama bin Laden has assembled in the past year. The capture of Al-Qaeda's chief of naval operations, Ahmad Belai al-Neshari, has helped to reveal the extent of the organisation's maritime ambitions.

Al-Neshari was found carrying a 180-page dossier that listed "targets of opportunity". These included large cruise liners sailing from Western ports.

Anti-terrorism expert and former Sydney Olympics security chief Neil Fergus said yesterday that he was not convinced Al-Qaeda could launch sea attacks.

"I don't know where Al-Qaeda would have got the armada. The Tamil Tigers (separatist fighters in Sri Lanka) have a fleet of about a dozen ships but they are in an island enclave and that was a difficult exercise," Mr Fergus said.

"I also don't think anyone would have a clue about sea mines from North Korea regardless of U2 flights or satellites."

An Australian aviation industry official said stealing a light aircraft was "as easy as stealing a car if you know what you are doing".

In Australia there have been two recent examples of light planes being stolen – one at Parafield in Adelaide and one in Alice Springs. A light plane was also hijacked in central Queensland.

However the official said it would be "extra-ordinarily difficult" for a light plane to crash into a large passenger plane due to collision avoidance systems in larger airliners.

A P&O spokesman last night said exactly the same standard of security for the airline industry was applied for cruise ships.

The Courier-Mail

[LadyDoc]

They tend to repeat previous acts of terrorism.

They already did this with the Achille laura.

I suspect the difference is that if they tried hijacking a cruise ship again, the passengers might rise up in a mutiny.

Or they could attack a ship with a small ship full of explosives like the USS Cole.

But the Cole was a smaller ship than these passenger liners. Does anyone know the logistics of making a huge hole in a liner, if it would sink?

[hershey]

Fox terrorism expert Mansoor Jibaaz sp.? mentioned Al Quaeda's interest in maritime targets several days ago. Said it was series. Must have had this in mind.

[TBall]

"Does anyone know the logistics of making a huge hole in a liner, if it would sink?" Yeah, those cruise lines are made a lot tougher than military ships. Also, I don't think a terrorist could sink one because there so big.

[ChefKeith]

I would hope that much was learned from the "unsinkable" Titanic when it comes to ship building and watertite compartments, but if enough compartments are breached and fill then any ship will go down.

I am sure that We will have a Knowledgeable Freeper come by here and give details.

So BTTT for info better than mine.

[Aquinasfan]

I suspect the difference is that if they tried hijacking a cruise ship again, the passengers might rise up in a mutiny.

Against a bunch of terrorists with machine guns?

[Anticommie]

Also, I don't think a terrorist could sink one because there so big.

Terrorists don't have to sink cruising ship to achieve their goal, there is 3000 or more people crammed on those ships. If the small plane hits cafeteria or patio deck hundreds will be killed and thousands of future potential passangers will be scared to take a cruise.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

I think you're on to something.

[mewzilla]

Does anyone know the logistics of making a huge hole in a liner, if it would sink?

It's been used in a book before, not Tom Clancy this time, Clive Cussler.

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

[O]fficial said it would be "extra-ordinarily difficult" for a light plane to crash into a large passenger plane due to collision avoidance systems in larger airliners.

Not if the small aircraft turns off his transponder, which is the only way automated collision avoidance system can sense another aircraft. At many airports (e.g., Heathrow) ground controllers turn off the "primary" radar display and depend entirely on "secondary" or tranponder echoes. The 9-11 hijackers turned off the transponders.

Steering a collision course isn't that hard, all you do is "null the line of sight rate", which is easier than it sounds.

If you miss you can always try again on the next arrival.

[TBall]

"Also, I don't think a terrorist could sink one because there so big." I was being extremely sarcastic in that sentence.

[LadyDoc]

Against a bunch of terrorists with machine guns?

You have to round up passengers one at a time...and in the achille laura they put all the passengers in the lounge. except for Klinghoffer, everyone obeyed the shitheads...but nowadays, people might not "obey" because unlike back then, where you had a chance, they might figure they didn't have a chance...and rebel. Yes, if you line up in front of machine guns, you don't have a chance...but there are a limited number of clips in the guns carried by terrorists--they wouldn't have machine guns but automatic rifles, and so they couldn't kill everyone...

And like the Pennsylvania flight, even if a lot of passengers got killed, the story of a bunch of US or UK civilians fighting back would be a propaganda disaster for terrorists, who rely on the passivity of the west for their success...

[ALOHA RONNIE]

NEVER FORGET

FoX News Channel Terrorism Expert MONSOOR IJAZ (Pronounced EEE-JAZ) has also stated that OSAMA bin LADEN was stirring things up between INDIA and PAKISTAN over Kashmir in order to divert us from his own attempts to take control of Pakistan's 100 stored Nuclear Weapons =

100 Nuclear Weapons get loaded into Sea Containers for shipment onto Container Steamships bound for many U.S. Ports =

100 Nuclear Weapons get off loaded into U.S. Posts to be trucked or railed into America's interior
...just for the "Fun" of it.


For more on Steamship Sea Container Shipping see:


http://www.Matson.com


By the Way ..it is none other than BILL CLINTON himself who is now brokering a Peace "Agreement" between the President of India and Pakistan over Kashmire ...just as the President of Pakistan suffers 2 near-miss asassination attempts on his life in the last 2 weeks..!!

The President of Pakistan is the only thing standing in the way of OSAMA bin LADEN's gaining control of those 100 Nuclear Weapons stored in Pakistan ...to use against US..!!!

While still President of the United States BILL CLINTON stated that all the nations of the world should be playing on the same LEVEL playing field, including America's Enemies, and that there shouldn't be one most powerful Nation over all the others ..like America is now..!!!

After his leaving office BILL CLINTON told the world that there might not even be an America around in 300 years.

Apparently BILL CLINTON is doing all that he can to...

...MAKE IT SO..???


NEVER FORGET

[SauronOfMordor]

Terrorists don't have to sink cruising ship to achieve their goal, there is 3000 or more people crammed on those ships. If the small plane hits cafeteria or patio deck hundreds will be killed and thousands of future potential passangers will be scared to take a cruise.

If a small plane can carry a pilot plus 3 passengers, then it can also carry a pilot plus 700 pounds or so of C-4. That's a pretty big bang by anybody's standards. If they can rig up a way to carry it under the plane and drop it like a torpedo just under the waterline, they might make an impressive hole

[hershey]

thanks for the correction and info about maritime containers. No wonder I'm not sleeping at night. As for Clinton, he's the same sociopath he's always been, but just when you think he can't possibly sink any lower, he does. Hmmm, Mona Charen on Fox just said Dean's only chance at beating Bush would be if he energizes the black vote and puts Harold Ford on the ticket. Not familiar with Ford, maybe they said Errol Ford. Anyway, that he was articulate and had ideas. Mona said this scenario wasn't likely as Dean is an angry white male without a clue.

[csvset]

H. Ford (D-TN)

[MoralSense]

[O]fficial said it would be "extra-ordinarily difficult" for a light plane to crash into a large passenger plane due to collision avoidance systems in larger airliners.

Not if the small aircraft turns off his transponder, which is the only way automated collision avoidance system can sense another aircraft.

Also not if the airliner is on the ground, standing in line with a bunch of other loaded airliners on a taxiway.

[MoralSense]

Ford is only 35, too young (legally) for the VP office.

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

Excellent point.

[Ditter]

Whether they kill 3000 people or 3 at a time think about the terrorists. All they can do is run up & punch us in the nose & then run & hide. They are pathetic, small time morons.