Did canceled flights avert terror attack?

WorldNetDaily.com ^ | Friday, December 26, 2003

[JohnHuang2]

HOMELAND INSECURITY
Did canceled flights
avert terror attack?
U.S. thinks L.A.-bound Air France jet was set for crash-landing in Las Vegas

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Posted: December 25, 2003
11:58 p.m. Eastern

© 2003 WorldNetDaily.com

New details are emerging about three canceled Air France flights to Los Angeles on Christmas Eve.

U.S. government officials say they believe some of the passengers scheduled to board one of the flights from Paris canceled because of security concerns might have intended to hijack it and crash-land in Las Vegas, according to the Washington Post.

Police in Paris reportedly questioned 13 people who had checked in for two Air France flights that were canceled because of a terrorism warning from U.S. authorities. Though all 13 were eventually released, U.S. officials said they are suspicious about some of the passengers who did not show up at the airport to claim their seats on Flight 68. One of those who did not appear for the Christmas Eve flight apparently is a trained pilot, according to the report.

While U.S. officials believe one al-Qaida operation may have been averted with the flight cancellations, they believe others, not involving aviation, have already been set in motion. U.S. officials said their main concern is that al-Qaida might use a chemical or biological weapon, or a radiological "dirty" bomb.

"Our fear is that other things are going on" that have nothing to do with jetliner flights in or out of U.S. airports, one U.S. official briefed on high-level intelligence told the Washington Post. "The concern is that there still could be a lot of activity that was underway."

Another government official with access to the classified reports said U.S. security officials "are really concerned something major will happen."

U.S. officials believe it is unlikely that terrorists would try to divert an Air France Paris-to-Los Angeles flight to a city far from its flight path, such as New York. The Air France flights in question cross the Hudson Bay and eastern Canada before dipping down to airspace over Minnesota, and then taking a sharp southwestern swing toward Southern California.

"The only big city near this route is Las Vegas, which they would consider a nice, attractive target," one informed government official told the Washington Post.

The al-Qaida network has long considered Las Vegas to be one of its top targets for a strike because it sees the city as a citadel of Western licentiousness, U.S. officials said.

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[JohnHuang2]

Friday, December 26, 2003

Quote of the Day by NutCrackerBoy

[martin_fierro]

The al-Qaida network has long considered Las Vegas to be one of its top targets for a strike because it sees the city as a citadel of Western licentiousness, U.S. officials said.

How noble of them.

Meanwhile, how many of the 9/11 terrorists spent some of their final days drinking and gambling there?

[hotpotato]

Meanwhile, how many of the 9/11 terrorists spent some of their final days drinking and gambling there?

I personally believe the purpose in that was to further convince and encourage themselves they were doing Alah's bidding by destroying the "wicked infidels."

[Young Rhino]

To counter Las Vegas' bad image among the terrorists, I suggest that Sigfried and Roy hold a complimentary performance for al-Qaida members complete with a special "pet the tiger" event.

[Grut]

Things we need to know: a) how many people routinely don't show up for a flight like this; b) what are the odds of one of them being a pilot. Without these, we can't tell if there's a story here or not.

[Hannity4prez]

The answer to the headline teaser is an irrevocable YES. Chalk up a huge victory for the DHS. There likely will be other strikes, as unfortunate as that may sound, but that doesn't take anything away from the great job Gov. Ridge and his team did in adverting THIS operation. Kudos to our administration, God bless them all.
As for the French letting these mad men go? In a word? Disgusting. I obviously do not know the details. I just don't see the U.S. taking these steps if they didn't know something. Just my gut feeling. But I can't help but feel that the french were more than happy to let these guys go. Its only a matter of time that Dubya gets soo fed up with these surrender monkey's that he cuts them off ad nauseam. And no, unfortunately he hasn't yet. When he does, they will notice a lot more then just tourism dropping. :) IMO

[frei_staat]

Hoover Dam is near by. I think that is the bigger target.

[Mike Darancette]

If people are going to whine that we overreacted in canceling 6 flights from Paris can you imagine the reaction there would have been if all possible flights that could have been responsible for 9/11 had been canceled?

I imagine that we would not have been able to hold the 19 hijackers except on immigration status violations.

People are supposed to "connect the dots", but if they do something to prevent an action they are open to criticism.

We may never know if canceling those 6 flights saved lives.

[inquest]

U.S. government officials say they believe some of the passengers scheduled to board one of the flights from Paris canceled because of security concerns might have intended to hijack it and crash-land in Las Vegas

And just how exactly were they planning on doing that? People on a plane aren't about to just sit around and wait to be killed like they were the last time. There'd be guys tackling them, little girls scratching their eyes out, old ladies beating on them with their canes, etc., etc.

[Quilla]

Just a thought: Pilots from the same or competing airlines are often given courtesies not available to others. If they ever con themselves into the cockpit (one passenger-to-be was a pilot), the reinforced doors will assist in their protection from passenger advances.

[Gorzaloon]

And just how exactly were they planning on doing that? People on a plane aren't about to just sit around and wait to be killed like they were the last time. There'd be guys tackling them, little girls scratching their eyes out, old ladies beating on them with their canes, etc., etc.

Well, it DID originate in France, so all bets are off. Maybe if they hid all the white handkerchiefs in the dinner cart....

[Aquinasfan]

Hoover Dam is near by. I think that is the bigger target.

Nuclear plant containment buildings are built to survive jet impact. So I suspect the dam would survive as well.

[bert]

.....Hoover Dam is near by....

Best thought on the thread.

[Rome2000]

Hoover Dam is near by. I think that is the bigger target

It would take more than a jetliner to take down Hoover dam.

Concrete doesn't burn

[ElkGroveDan]

This is a great time to remind everyone that this has certainly already happened more times than anyone will ever know.

Since 9/11 all the arrests and deportations and crackdowns on unsavory Middle-Easterners have surely stopped God-knows what.

That's the thing about vigilance and deterrence, you never do know exactly what you have prevented. It's like locking your doors at home. No one knows how many times a potential burglar has tried the knob when no one was home, and moved on, but you know it has probably happened. Since 9-11 and President Bush's decisive actions there is no doubt that unknown horrors HAVE been stopped in their tracks on our soil.

You'll never hear that from the popular media or the Seven Dwarfs. Thank God for President Bush and Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld and the entire administration. One can only shudder to imagine how many strikes would have been leveled upon us by now had Al Gore been President.

[frei_staat]

I dunno...force of the impact against all of the pressure behind the dam.

I'm not well versed in that area but it seems to me that sort of target would be more in line than a casino in downtown vegas.

Why am I not surprised that these flights are originating out of france?

[okie01]

"I dunno...force of the impact against all of the pressure behind the dam."

The only way you get all that water pressure working to help breach the dam is by attacking it from the lake side.

And a 747 makes a damn poor torpedo...

[foreverfree]

I dunno...force of the impact against all of the pressure behind the dam.

Plus, Hoover Dam is close to 70 years old.

foreverfree

[Inyokern]

Don't worry. Las Vegas is prepared.

[MediaMole]

IIRC, the Las Vegas Bowl was being played at the time at least one of these flights was scheduled to be overhead. There were only 18,000 people on hand, but they wouldn't have had much fun if an airbus came down on their heads.