Posted on 12/09/2002 9:32:09 AM PST by Heartlander2
Despite the recent discovery of an internal Houston police memorandum suggesting as many as 25 air to ground missiles could be smuggled into the United States, FBI officials deny there is reason to believe residents are in imminent danger.
FBI officials noted "specific" threat information would have to be received for officials to consider calling it an imminent threat, of which this information is not. "As part of our continual sharing of information we have shared with law enforcement, not because we want them to go out there and find missiles," said FBI spokesman Bob Doguim. "Even to suggest (the Houston Police Department) should be out there looking for things would suggest confirmed information, and that's just not true ... We do not have that information." Doguim said he could not rule out the possibility of someone attempting to smuggle missiles into the United States, but he also said he could not rule out the possibility of anthrax or another weapon or chemical being smuggled in.
"We certainly wouldn't be hiding it from law enforcement and airlines (if it were true)," Doguim said. "It's just not there. What we all have to understand is that we're going to have to take the next step from saying ('It's a changed world') to understanding it and believing it."
Doguim noted that the FBI "took a hell of a beating" shortly after Sept. 11, 2001, when the country questioned the FBI's ability to gather information, disseminate it and work with law enforcement, cities and the government.
"We would not be told about missiles coming to the U.S.," said Ernest DeSoto, spokesman for the Houston Airport System. "We're still at the same level of higher security; we're been on a higher level of security for months."
However, DeSoto added that he could not confirm the Houston Airport System had received intelligence information even if, in fact, they had.
"I couldn't tell you if I did," he said Thursday.
"could be" or "could have been" smuggled?
What scares me (and I'm sure the HPD) is that Damn bridge that goes over the ship channel. Rockets are a MAJOR danger. Everyone that lives down there knows it too.
True, but I fail to see why any terrorist would bother with it.
The great majority of the ship channel's activity (and the Port of Houston) take place in the area of the channel that lies *outside* the bridge. Dropping the bridge would be like putting up a roadblock on the last fifty feet of a dead-end street.
Similarly, that portion of the 610 Loop has less traffic than any other part of the Loop, and there are a number of alternate routes.
Sure, it'd make a hell of a mess, but wouldn't cause much real disruption (except for the poor folks who happened to be crossing it at the time).
Semper Fi
Do they have any clues about the location of the smuggled military jet that is required to fire these babies? It takes alot of avionics and computers to lock these on to target.
Should I chalk this up to cakeboy liberal reporter having absolutely no comprehension of what he/she/it is writing about or are Islamobillies gonna smuggle a ground attack platform into the country as well?
Ugh.
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