Posted on 05/18/2004 10:51:38 PM PDT by Nitro
ATLANTA - A military rocket launcher was found Tuesday near a rail-transit station, but the FBI said it looks to be a less-powerful model commonly used to train soldiers and would be unable to bring down an aircraft or destroy a train.
The M136 AT4 launcher is used by the Army to destroy light tanks. It will be examined further to be sure it is only a training model, said FBI spokesman Steve Lazarus.
"If it is indeed a training device, it's something you can buy at any gun store," he said.
Lazarus said there was no cause for public alarm and the city's rail-transit system was not interrupted by the discovery.
The shoulder-held launcher was found around 2 p.m. by transit employees who were making a routine inspection of tracks near the Hamilton E. Holmes MARTA station just west of Atlanta, said Gene Wilson, MARTA police chief.
The empty launcher had been fired at one time, but investigators had not determined when or how it was used, he said.
"It kind of looks like mini bazooka," he said.
Wilson said the launcher was Army green and had military markings on it. He said he could not elaborate.
The launcher, which was about three feet tall and six inches wide, was found on an embankment next to a railroad track parallel to the city's east-west rail-transit line.
There was no immediate indication of how it got there. The FBI and police were searching the area to make sure there were no similar devices.
The site where the launcher was found is about eight miles northwest of the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
| MARTA workers discover rocket launcher (H.E.Holmes station on west side) |
||||||
| Posted by mhking On News/Activism 05/18/2004 10:32:27 PM EDT with 11 comments Atlanta Journal-Constitution ^ | 5.18.04 | TASGOLA KARLA BRUNER |
||||||
| Rocket Launcher Found Near Atlanta Commuter Train Station |
||||||
| Posted by swilhelm73 On News/Activism 05/18/2004 7:47:01 PM EDT with 17 comments Local 6 ^ | May 18, 2004 | N/A |
||||||
| FoxNews: Expended rocket launcher found in Atlanta |
||||||
| Posted by mikegi On News/Activism 05/18/2004 4:28:32 PM EDT with 135 comments FoxNews ^ | May 18, 2004 | FNC |
||||||
MAYBE I SHOULD NOT HAVE USED CAPS?
I'm sure that it was mentioned on FR at the time, though I can't remember right at this moment.
I can't tell you that I'm reassured by the suggestion that this rocket launcher couldn't have possibly destroyed a commercial aircraft or train, had it actually been used.
As for this article, I would like to have someone explain to me how a weapon that can 'kill' a light tank cannot 'kill' a commuter train car?
I don't recall the F train being reinforced with any grenade-deflecting steel alloy in the past few years, and I doubt that any other commtuter trains have been designed to resist anti-tank mines or improvised explosives, let alone an RPG or surface-to-air missile.
If it had already been fired, as reported, it is about as dangerous as a piece of pipe. Just looks cooler ;)
I work security at Shea Stadium and Madison Square Garden.
Shea might; and I said might, get a pass, what with the Republican National Convention coming to the Garden. That is the target.
But if we listen to the attack in Spain, they will wait until closer to the election.
On a lighter note, the last episode of "The Sopranos" sucked out loud!
Have you never heard of dry runs?
Have you ever heard of hysteria??
Do I sound hysterical?
I remember the bombing plot foiled-at the last possible minute-by the NYPD, which would have destroyed the Union St. station.
I can't believe they haven't cemented over or dynamited the Al-Farooq Mosque! That bitch is still living, breathing its malignant air, and waiting for the right moment to unleash its evil.
P.S. I wish I had cable! Though I've seen seasons 1 and 3, which are by far the best in Gandolfini's oeuvre.
This is the big apple and while I am ex of the Military, I can almost guarantee that someone is watching them.
Relax, watch and report, but be careful... hate is still bad.
I mean I hate the enemy, but be careful who you target.
P.S. Are you aware of the meeting taking place tommorrow night in Mid-town? I might have sent you a message earlier about it. I don't know how your schedule works out, but if you get the chance to come tommorrow, we'd love to have you.
I can't afford to be compromised.
I'm not aware of any MANPADS type system that would a)guide on a train, or b)come under command control in the limited distance between the embankment and the train itself.
Actually, mines/IEDs would be much more damaging- standard US AT mine (M15) carries 20+ lbs of HE, while the AT4's warhead is ~5 pounds HE, and the stinger about the same.
I'd be more worried if we saw evidence that someone had been digging around the roadbed, or stashing a coule of shoe boxes on bridge supports.
My biggest fear involves the MTA subway system, since that has been the target of numerous al Qaeda/al-Gama'at al-Islamiyya bombing plots
We know that in the past year they had been working on the destruction of the Brooklyn Bridge by using gas cutters-however, that plan had already been scrapped by the time of that al Qaeda agent's arrest in Ohio.
I don't see how the NYPD (despite their best efforts) can prevent every single Islamic lunatic; and there are many of them, just stroll by Atlantic Avenue or Sunset Park some day, from detonating a bomb on a crowded subway platform.
yup. and I think it's more likely, and would do much more damage, than a rocket attack. I suspect the rocket tube has nothing to do with terrorists.
Now if it had been found near a large electrical switching/transformer station....
These Islamic terrorists-despite the impression you might get from the numbing repetition of this inane mantra from the mass media-are not creative geniuses.
They are not out there to impress you with the aesthetically pleasing manner in which they can dismember you-though that is also a factor that goes into their decision-making process.
Their primary objectives, in this order, are:
1. To kill, maim and paralyze.
2. To sow fear among the general populace.
3. To destroy the intended target's economic system.
4. To sow division and weakness among their intended targets.
So far, they've been extremely successful in reaching almost all of the aforementioned goals.
no...but I suspect they are interested in getting the biggest bang for their buck, and I suspect that while demented, they are not stupid- anybody who's had any training whatsoever would find the idea of tagging a commuter train with a rocket a waste- they're specialized tools, with particular attributes, which lend themselves to particular types of attacks.
I wouldn't use a Barrett in a drive by, or in an attaack on christmas shoppers in a mall- I'd use a shotgun.
I wouldn't use a rocket on a train...I'd use an IED or a couple stolen mines.
noww against a long string of LPG cars, on the other hand...
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.