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More Maritime Terror Warnings
World Net Daily ^ | 11/03/03 | Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin

Posted on 11/03/2003 8:35:09 AM PST by m1-lightning

Ex-CIA director weighs in, suspect ship docks in Korea

Warnings about the grave potential of maritime terror have increased since Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin first broke the story of the al-Qaida's 15-ship mystery armada. The latest caution comes from former CIA Director James Woolsey, who addressed a maritime security conference last week. He said the U.S. faces decades of war against terrorism and needs a "more resilient" transportation network to keep future attacks from having catastrophic impact on the order of Sept. 11.

A system that moves goods and people is "very vulnerable to ... malevolent interference," terrorist acts against a port or other facility, said Woolsey, who headed the spy agency for three years during the Clinton administration.

As examples, he noted that only 3 percent of the 6 million shipping containers that enter the 321 U.S. seaports annually are physically inspected and railroads openly ship toxic chemicals that could create havoc if spilled. Having a railroad tank car labeled "chlorine" is helpful in cleaning up an accident, "but from the point of view of terrorists, that is a 'kick me' sign," Woolsey said.

"We have to think through what the circumstances are that can lead to exploitable weaknesses in this intermodal transportation system and begin to take layered steps to deal with it," he said. "We need to pull together in public and private partnerships to figure out what incentives we need to ... get the system to operate in such a way that it is resilient against malevolent interference."

Earlier, Asa Hutchinson, undersecretary for border and transportation security in the Department of Homeland Security, said that rather than trying to inspect greater numbers of cargo containers, which he said could seriously impede the movement of goods, the agency is "targeting" so-called "at-risk" cargoes – those suspected of containing contraband and dangerous items or of being of questionable origin.

That seems to be just what happened in South Korea Friday when port officials inspected a Greek-owned ship suspected of carrying members of Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida group. Port officials said they found nothing unusual on the ship. The vessel, called the Athena and flying the Bahamas flag, arrived in the west coast port of Kunsan with its cargo of timber Thursday and was scheduled to stay for up to 10 days.

Witnesses said the crew was staying on board while the cargo waited to be unloaded. On Wednesday, the Munhwa Ilbo newspaper quoted unidentified military sources as saying the U.S. military had tipped-off South Korean officials about the ship.

About 37,000 U.S. troops are stationed in the South, including at a base near Kunsan, to help deter North Korea.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is expected to visit South Korea this month. South Korea is deciding whether to send combat troops to help U.S.-led forces in Iraq.

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf is due to visit Seoul later this week.

Worldwide there is heightened awareness of the potential for a major maritime terrorist attack. A spokesman for the Kuala Lumpur-based International Maritime Bureau said there is no evidence of an imminent sea attack, but he could not discount the possibility that militants could be planning to hijack ships and use them for some criminal activity.

An intelligence source said simultaneous strikes could affect the trade route in the Pacific and cause a massive disruption of the delivery of critical oil to the Asian economies and that of goods from Asia to the Middle East and Europe. It could even lead to a reassessment of China as the secure manufacturing capital of the world.

As G2 Bulletin reported last week, a once-secret, 181-page al-Qaida training manual obtained by G2 Bulletin shows Osama bin Laden's terrorist network has been focused on seaports as top-level targets for more than two years.

Al-Qaida encourages the recruitment of agents who work as "employees at borders, airports and seaports."

Targets listed for "blasting and destroying" include:

Terror experts are beginning to examine worst-case scenarios should al-Qaida use its 15-ship armada to conduct terror attacks on western targets.

G2 Bulletin sources say there are reports al-Qaida and other terrorist organizations have been practicing high-seas terror attacks by hijacking ships, kidnapping crews and studying diving – much as the Sept. 11 skyjackers learned to fly airliners.

Al-Qaida's freighters are believed to be somewhere in the Indian or Pacific oceans. When the ships left their home ports in the Horn of Africa weeks ago, some were destined for ports in Asia.

G2 Bulletin sources say other potential targets of the al-Qaida armada, besides civilian ports, include oil rigs. Another threat is the ramming of a cruise liner.

A Rand Corp. study released last month in London warns terrorists might use container ships in terror attacks meant to cause massive casualties.

The report warns cargo ships or shipping containers could be used to deliver weapons of mass destruction for terror groups such as al-Qaida.

The report, produced in cooperation with the European Commission, said: "The potential threat of terrorists using containers poses a large risk to our economies and to our societies. Ultimately, this means that the marine sector – and specifically the container transport sector – remains wide open to the terrorist threat."

Rand says the international community has not become sufficiently aware of al-Qaida's threat at sea, with most counter-insurgency efforts being focused on stopping an attack from the air.


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; Front Page News; News/Current Events; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: alqaeda; alqaedaships; alqueda; jameswoolsey; josephfarah; maritime; threat
Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin
1 posted on 11/03/2003 8:35:09 AM PST by m1-lightning
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Comment #2 Removed by Moderator

To: m1-lightning
I just got an email from a friend about a call for Muslims to flee New York, Washington, and Los Angeles? I think it is up on Debka.
3 posted on 11/03/2003 8:42:05 AM PST by TBall
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To: TBall
I read that article. Interesting. I've never read Debka before. Is it usually just conspiracy theory or is this something that that should be posted on FR?
4 posted on 11/03/2003 8:57:32 AM PST by m1-lightning (Lick your fingers and touch two pinball machines at the same time.)
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To: m1-lightning
I don't know, I'm sure it will be posted here soon enough. I did notice earlier today there was FR post with a title warning US muslims about the last chance to get out. When I clicked on the post it had been removed.
5 posted on 11/03/2003 9:17:52 AM PST by TBall
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To: TBall
I just got an email from a friend about a call for Muslims to flee New York, Washington, and Los Angeles?

Ramadan road-trip?

6 posted on 11/03/2003 9:26:19 AM PST by PBRSTREETGANG
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To: TBall
Here it is...remember this is Debka folks, so treat accordingly.

Al Qaeda again threatens New York, Washington and Los Angeles

Monday, November 3, 2003

A new message was posted in the last few hours by the Jeddah-based al-Qaeda-linked Al-Islah (Reform) society calling on Muslims to flee New York, Washington and Los Angeles in advance of major al Qaeda attacks in those cities. This is revealed by DEBKAfile.

The message accuses the United States of predetermining its end (doom) by its policies. “The Jews rule the Pentagon by remote control and (are the cause) of Muslims being killed in every corner of the world. The United States should therefore expect more blows.”

The message is signed on behalf of the al Bayan (The Threat) movement by “your warrior brother, Abul Hassan al Khadrami”.

Our Muslim expert identifies the name of the signatory as belonging to a Yemeni from Hadhrameuth, the Bin Ladens’ place of origin where Osama enjoys substantial tribal support.

DEBKAfile’s counter-terror sources stress that warnings appearing on these forums are taken both very seriously and with caution by the intelligence services keeping track of the terrorist network’s electronic traffic.

Last November, Jeddah-based fundamentalist forums addressed a message to an Al Qaeda member, saying whoever understands – understands; whoever knows, knows, but we are marching towards an operation that will take us to Paradise. Three days later, the Mombasa Paradise hotel was blown up killing 12 Kenyans and 3 Israelis and a failed shoulder-launched Strela anti-air missile missed an Israeli airliner at Mombasa airport.

7 posted on 11/03/2003 9:29:46 AM PST by mitchbert (Facts are Stubborn Things)
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To: m1-lightning; FairOpinion; Pro-Bush; BagCamAddict; ganeshpuri89; pokerbuddy0; cgk; ...
Bump M1!!! Ping! If you would like on/or off this ping list please email me!
8 posted on 11/03/2003 5:03:15 PM PST by JustPiper (18 out of 19 HiJacker's had State issued Driver's License's !!!)
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To: m1-lightning
"A Rand Corp. study released last month in London warns terrorists might use container ships in terror attacks meant to cause massive casualties.

The report warns cargo ships or shipping containers could be used to deliver weapons of mass destruction for terror groups such as al-Qaida. "

===

Interesting. Rand is a reputable think tank.

9 posted on 11/03/2003 5:05:51 PM PST by FairOpinion
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To: JustPiper
Here is the link to the Rand study mentioned in the article about shipping containers and terrorism:

http://www.rand.org/publications/MR/MR1695/MR1695.pdf

10 posted on 11/03/2003 5:08:23 PM PST by FairOpinion
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To: JustPiper
Just getting off work. Bump for reading tonight.
11 posted on 11/03/2003 5:21:39 PM PST by Pro-Bush (Homeland Security + Tom Ridge = Open Borders --> Demand Change!)
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To: mitchbert
Last November, Jeddah-based fundamentalist forums addressed a message to an Al Qaeda member, saying whoever understands – understands; whoever knows, knows, but we are marching towards an operation that will take us to Paradise. Three days later, the Mombasa Paradise hotel was blown up killing 12 Kenyans and 3 Israelis and a failed shoulder-launched Strela anti-air missile missed an Israeli airliner at Mombasa airport.

I've seen reports of internet chatroom stuff ever since 9/11. The question is not whether it happens but how often. If it ONLY happens before an attack then it is significant. I suspect, however, that it goes on all the time and the association is invalid. Debka and NIN are, most likely, associating AQ actions with the ranting/boasting/hoping of a random raghead sitting behind a computer.

12 posted on 11/03/2003 5:26:45 PM PST by mikegi
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To: mikegi
Debka and NIN are, most likely, associating AQ actions with the ranting/boasting/hoping of a random raghead sitting behind a computer.

I hope you are right.
13 posted on 11/03/2003 10:22:16 PM PST by Pro-Bush (Homeland Security + Tom Ridge = Open Borders --> Demand Change!)
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To: m1-lightning
Bump for later.
14 posted on 11/03/2003 10:40:35 PM PST by jamaly
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To: Pro-Bush
Bump...it's all interconnected
15 posted on 11/04/2003 12:29:34 AM PST by JustPiper (18 out of 19 HiJacker's had State issued Driver's License's !!!)
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To: JustPiper
Is this a terror threat ping list?
16 posted on 11/04/2003 5:50:53 AM PST by m1-lightning (Lick your fingers and touch two pinball machines at the same time.)
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To: m1-lightning
Surely, but not Chicago ;)
17 posted on 11/04/2003 10:10:33 PM PST by JustPiper (18 out of 19 HiJacker's had State issued Driver's License's !!!)
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To: mitchbert
Special Alert - No. 12
November 4, 2003 No.12
Al-Qa'ida Website Issues Ramadan Warning of Imminent Attacks: Calls on Muslims in DC, NY, and LA to Leave Those Cities


A communiqué issued by the previously unknown "Islamic Bayan Movement" warns Muslims that they should leave Washington DC, New York, and Los Angeles.

The warning initially appeared on the website of Global Islamic Media, at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/globalislamicmedia/message/173. The same website has, in recent months, published many communiqués by Jihad groups around the world, as well as Islamic ideological material. The communiqué has since appeared on the Al-Qa'ida affiliated website Al-Faroq. [1]

The communiqué was signed on the fifth of Ramadan, but was published on November 3, 2003, under the title "A Warning to the Muslims in America."

It opened with a Koranic verse: "All that is in the heavens and all that is in the earth glorifies Allah. He is the Mighty, the Wise. It is He who turned out the disbelievers from among the People of the Book from their homes at the time of the first banishment. You did not think that they would go forth and they thought that their fortresses would protect them against Allah. But Allah came upon them whence they did not expect and cast terror into their hearts, so that they destroyed their homes with their own hands and the hands of the believers. So take warning, O ye who posses understanding."

The following are excerpts from the communiqué: "The sufferings of your Muslim brothers and of the Mujahideen around the world is no secret to you, our brothers. [They suffer] oppression, tyranny, imprisonment, murder, and banishment by the masters of oppressions and lies in the world, the American rulers, who think [of] themselves as good-doers. Allah is the witness that they write the end of America by their own hands…

"Afghanistan and Iraq are not far away. Their sons there [i.e. U.S. soldiers] are frustrated and defeated and they ask 'why are we here?' Yes, they are the only ones who know the bitter truth. How would they not when they see every day dozens of casualties from among their friends, the soldiers who die and nobody, even not their stupid rulers, is sorry for them. Then they hear the lies and distortion their rulers [tell] their people and the peoples of the world regarding the number of their dead and heavy losses…

"Our Muslim brothers in America, we ask you to immediately leave the following cities: Washington, DC, New York, and Los Angeles. We are serious in our warning. The next few days will prove to you the truth of this warning. To the oppressive rulers of America we say: expect our terms following the first strike of Allah's believing soldiers"

The communiqué ends with another Koranic verse: "Fight them: Allah will punish them at your hands, and will humiliate them, and will help you to overcome them, and will relieve the minds of the believers."[Koran, Chapter 9, Verse 14]

[Signed]
The Islamic Bayan Movement
5th of Ramadan, 1424

The Al-Qa'ida affiliated website also posted a photograph of a Chinook helicopter along with the following caption: "We shall bring down and destroy the values of the Hubal [2] of this generation"




http://www.memri.org/bin/latestnews.cgi?ID=SA1203#_edn1
18 posted on 11/06/2003 4:02:30 PM PST by MistyVioletMoon
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