Officials say al-Qaida operatives may be fully trained airline pilots

MSNBC.com ^ | 12/22/03 | NBC

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

Authorities raised the terrorist threat assessment over the weekend after new intelligence indicated that operatives of Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaida terror network, possibly trained and licensed to fly passenger jets, may now be pilots for some foreign airlines, ideally positioning them to carry out suicide attacks, U.S. officials told NBC News on Monday.

Reinforced cockpit doors intended to thwart hijackers after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks would now protect any terrorist pilot at the controls, the officials said on condition of anonymity.

Authorities would not describe the terror threats in detail publicly, but the U.S. officials told NBC’s Jim Miklaszewski that the threat alert would remain at “orange,” or high, through the end of January, which they said was an indication of its seriousness.

[Shermy]

Well, if that did happen, it happened at the same time the passengers were charging the cockpit...

[Diddle E. Squat]

The rural target in the Southwest could be:

Independence Bowl - Shreveport, LA

[FairOpinion]

"Who do we nuke if it happens?"

===
http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2002/3/10/111302.shtml

Lunev Advised Bush on Drawing Up Nuclear Plans
Christopher Ruddy
Monday, March 11, 2002
The recent "leak" of a classified Pentagon report that the U.S. military recently has drawn up plans to use nuclear weapons against seven nations was no accident.

The Pentagon report identifies China, Russia, Iraq, North Korea, Iran, Libya and Syria as nuclear targets, and directs military planners to begin preparing nuclear strike plans in case of a nuclear, biological or chemical weapons attack on the U.S. or "in the event of surprising military developments."

Lunev then gave advice that has now been heeded by the Bush administration: "My suggestion is that the U.S. must warn rogue states, i.e., Iraq, Iran, Syria and Libya, that if these groups use a weapon of mass destruction on an American city, the U.S. military will not do any investigations, there will be no delay – the U.S. will use similar weapons on their population centers and military targets."



U.S. officials were quick to confirm the report, which no doubt sent a serious signal to rogue states about what will happen if the U.S.

[Miss Marple]

The article is dated 2002. I remembered the remote-controlled plane threat, but that was AFTER 9/11/2001.

[Indie]

This is not good. ATC would not even have time to react. "Off course" would last about 10 seconds as the airliner was on a valid approach vector to DCA and just casually dropped it straight on in on the White House. Same goes for an approach to LGA down the river...a fast turn and drop straight on down into Manhatten. ATC wouldn't know what happened until it was over.
There would be no long drawn out drama like we saw before and absolutely NO way to shoot anything down. The fighters would be too little too late, just like last time.

[babygene]

Ho about not letting ANY Muslims (stay) in the US.

[ConservativeMan55]

I'm searching still. I read the article in June. Before the G-8 Summit. I'll find it.

[Happy2BMe]

"We interned the Japanese in WWII. I have no doubt that should we get hit hard, we will do the same to the Muslims."

And what, pray tell, would you call this. .

[azcap]

But, they could use stuff that is so hot that the area would have to be abandoned for DECADES.

 

That is the real threat of a dirty bomb. Not to minimize human loss but can you imagine the economic, cultural and psychological impact of having someplace like Lower Manhattan, The Chicago River, or the Capitol quarantined for a decade? 

[luvbach1]

Am I the only one who thinks we shot down the hijacked plane over Penn?

I heard that theory and it may well have happened. Sad to contemplate that it may have happened just as the counter terrorists were about to gain control of the airplane.

[rs79bm]

Simple , ban those airlines from this country until they can be thoroughly checked for terrorists.

[Metternich]

I agree about people potentially taking the law into their own hands. That's why Bush would have the press conference - to discourage vigilantism.

I wonder if he'd end the press conference by planting a big kiss on each of his buddies from CAIR, to show how much he loves them?

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

Am I the only one who thinks we shot down the hijacked plane over Penn?

No..."Len S" seems to think so as he stated in his reply # 61...but he hasn't answered my query yet.

[FairOpinion]

"Tin foil alert: are they trying to prepare us not to panic for what they are pretty sure is going to happen? Why else would the government source make a dirty bomb attack sound so trivial?"

===

BINGO!

You are not supposed to be so smart and figure it out. ;)

[LikeLight]

I realize we have the Bowl games left, but how many are played in the rural East? Pretty much a southern, southwestern and western gig. No one wants to come to the Blizzard Bowl!

[thoughtomator]

That, right now, is obstensibly a terrorist fluke and not representative of Islam. You and I know better, but the majority of this country is refusing to admit it.

But it's barely repressed, and it's only repressed because it was a one-shot deal. If they demonstrate their attacks are repeatable, the game will change so fast you wouldn't believe it.

[swheats]

Sobering post. Just when I thought I could possibly fly again.

[FairOpinion]

Note how the TV carefully avoids showing these images so as "not to offend" us.

They think we should just forget it ever happened.

[Diddle E. Squat]

Ya know, the way Rush was talking the other day about how if it happens again we would be amazed at the projection of American power, I immediately thought of immediate response attacks on N. Korea, Iran, Syria, etc. Maybe Rush was just blustering in hyperbole, maybe he is too out of the loop. But OTOH, it is quite possible that he has enough connections high enough up to have been given an inkling of what some of our response strategies might be if a WMD terrorist attack did take place.

Rush never went into details, but what he was hinting at was clearly massive.

[HamiltonJay]

Shoots a hole in the "gun in the cockpit" nonsense......