New Al-Qaeda tactics in the US? (Vanity)

Multiple | 04/29/2007 | Philistone

[Philistone]

On Friday, a tanker truck explodes in Houston closing down two interchanges in one of the busiest traffic areas in the country.

Story here.

Map here.

This morning a tanker truck explodes taking out two overpasses in one of the busiest traffic areas in the US.

Story here.

Map here.

Rather than attack innocent civilians have they decided to simply go after soft-target infrastructure?

Or is it just a coincidence?

[milford421]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1825459/posts?page=53#53

See post #8...they’re collapsed.

[Philistone]

It’s either a coincidence, or it’s not. Just speculating and keeping an open mind.

[Sherman Logan]

Are we talking about TX or CA?

[milford421]

The picture posted in CA.

[Philistone]

ON HEELS OF AL QAEDA TRUCK-DRIVER PLOT, SCHUMER TO WARN THAT THE 3.5 MILLION TRUCKS GOING THROUGH CAP REGION POSE MAJOR TERRORIST THREAT

Chemical and fuel laden trucks are weapon of choice for terrorists and have been used in three terrorist attacks this year alone; law enforcement fears they'll be used in US

Schumer unveils new plan to protect Cap Region from potential terrorist attack using a stolen or tampered truck; Plan includes federal background checks for truck drivers, mandated tracking technology in trucks, and HAZMAT tracking

Thursday, an Ohio truck driver admitted to conspiring with terrorists to try to destroy US bridges; Today a truck was stopped in California on suspicion of terrorist intentions.

This from a Chuck Schumer press release from 2003.

[Sherman Logan]

Sorry, just realized we’re talking about both. Does seem an odd coincidence.

[dennisw]

flaming wreckage brought to you by AQ

[colonialhk]

Agreed but there are some great people out there doing just that so we can find humour in our day to day life.

As Tennet said, I paraphrase, its is strange they haven't figured out that they can do a series of little things and shut us down.

[Philistone]

Well if they didn’t know that before, they know now that he’s said it.

[RGSpincich]

With just a moment of thought I conclude that a tanker exploding on the bottom deck of the Bay Bridge would have melted the top deck. Now that would have been devastating. As it stands now there are convenient routes around the melted collapsed freeway and the intact blocked freeway.

A pure boneheaded accident, imo.

[3AngelaD]

There is no way to determine what is going on until we know the identities of the drivers.

[WorkerbeeCitizen]

:)

[colonialhk]

Yes and they continue to buy branded goods at high prices because that is what they do.....

Hard to change a culture and we should thank our lucky Judeo-Christian stars.

[Vision Thing]

From the picture on the main Bay Area thread, it looks like interchanges (or roads leading from one freeway to another freeway) were damaged. However, these interchanges stand between the port of Oakland and the bridge to San Francisco. So, everyone else that receives Truck-shipped cargo from Oakland will be okay. They won’t be affected by this accident.

[Philistone]

Except that tanker trucks are forbidden on the bay bridges.

In fact, this accident has shut down the major route (all the way around the bay) for deliveries of gas from the refineries in the East Bay to the San Francisco area.

[ThePythonicCow]

If I were a terrorist trying to blow up a petro truck to damage Bay Area (San Francisco - Oakland, CA) traffic, I would go after one of the bridges, not after one of the least used overpasses in the maze (the 80-580-880 intersection in Oakland, west of the bridge to San Francisco).

At least I would go after a more critical part of the maze, if that were my target.

As someone else noted, either they are idiots, or this wasn't a terrorist attack.

[Philistone]

It was the southbound and eastbound overpasses (toward Oakland, not away from it).

[ThePythonicCow]

Good point - there would be alot of petro truck traffic going over that section of freeway.

Though they (trucks traveling south on 80 east to 880 south) can go east on 580 and south on 980, for only a few mile detour

[Cvengr]

The Hi 59 interchange was the same location an ammonia tanker truck crashed about 20 years ago killing about 10-20 motorists.