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.

[WackyKat]

The U.S. revokes visas of 17 pilots who fly the Caracas-Miami route for Venezuelan airline

That's the first thing I thought of, too. It has to be related.

[luvbach1]

...until something like this DOES happen, we will continue patting down old ladies and hotties...

You are only too right. We will not take the next uptick in the War on Terror until another big hit. It's not so much the Bush Adminstration's unwillingness to take the next step; rather,it's concern about the outcry at home and abroad that would ensue if it were to be taken before another davastating attack. And what should the next step be after another 9/11-magnitude (or worse)attack? How about ultimatums to all terrorist-harboring nations as confirmed by "reliable" intelligence"? The non-negotiable demands being to immediately give up their known terrorists and/or actively aid in their arrest. After a very short period to confirm their cooperation, major bombing of their capital cities would ensue, followed by attacks on secondary targets if they don't get the message that this is WWIII. the alternative is towait for yeat another attack. On the domestic front what more can we do? Even our courts are hampering the Bush Administration's efforts.

[ConservativeMan55]

THIS IS THE ARTICLE!

[thoughtomator]

A dirty bomb would have to be very well put together to be effective. Some radiological material simply isn't radioactive enough to be a threat - and for ones that are, they still need a good deal of it, which makes creating, moving, and setting it off a complex operation.

Hiroshima didn't depopulate even after we gave it a lot bigger dose of radiation than a dirty bomb can produce.

[luvbach1]

Correction: After a very short period to confirm their non-cooperatio...

[ridesthemiles]

Other than a college football stadium (seasons now over), where do you find large crowds in rural areas in the east in the middle of winter?

Season IS NOT OVER. Bowl games are almost always complete sellouts and in large stadiums.

[Metternich]

Yes.

Disagree. Within 48 hours you'd have Bush in a press conference with his pals from CAIR reciting his "Islam is peace" mantra to every reporter within earshot.

[P.O.E.]

I've also heard some news talk that it might be a cargo plane, not passenger.

[FairOpinion]

"My theory is that the aircraft was taken down to send a signal to the Egpytian government."

===

Could be -- the jihadists seem to hate Arab governments who cooperate with the US almost as much as the US.

[sc2_ct]

One other main concern is that pilots tend to have some discression when it comes to requesting clearance for flight-path changes in response to weather conditions, meaning that they can get official confirmation of flight-plan changes and not alert the military to scramble the F-16s, meaning that the first indicator would be when their altitude changed, at which point it would be too late to do anything about it.

[AmericanVictory]

Will we be permitted to investigate Muslim pilots, or only Swedish ones?

[knak]

This is not good. In another indication that the administration was taking the alert seriously, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld returned Monday to the Pentagon from his ranch in New Mexico, where he had begun his Christmas vacation over the weekend.

[ridesthemiles]

all foreign flights into the US from middle eastern airlines (and some others) should be halted, period. let them fly into canada and let the passengers connect there to come to the US.
You know that is something El Al would do....in a heartbeat.

That is an excellent idea.

[Libertarianize the GOP]

The U.S. revokes visas of 17 pilots who fly the Caracas-Miami route for Venezuelan airline
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1043695/posts

[ConservativeMan55]

Here is another good article.

[FairOpinion]

"The U.S. revokes visas of 17 pilots who fly the Caracas-Miami route for Venezuelan airline "
AP ^ | Dec 19, 2003


===

Very interesting -- adding 2+2.... it's quite likely there is a connection.

[thoughtomator]

He'd have to intern them for their own protection. This is an extremely well-armed country, and there just aren't enough police to protect the Muslims here from what will happen if we do get hit again.

[Destro]

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

[Shermy]

Ping.

[luvbach1]

...let them fly into canada...

Wouldn't they then choose to fly into a major Canadian edifice? Or is that the idea?