Magazine says Qaeda vows "back-breaking" strike

Reuters ^ | 12/26/03

[kattracks]

DUBAI (Reuters) - A London-based Arab magazine said on Friday that al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden has vowed to launch a "back-breaking attack" on the United States by February, confirming an earlier message by the militant network. The weekly al-Majalla said it received an e-mail from Abu Mohammed al-Ablaj, a little known al Qaeda member, saying bin Laden would release a video tape in which he affirms his group's determination to fight the United States.

"A messenger of bin Laden informed him (Ablaj) that the al Qaeda leader will appear on a televised tape after the execution of an operation which bin Laden described as back-breaking and which would change the order of things," al-Majalla said in a report in its latest edition, a copy of which was sent to Reuters.

"They (Americans) should prepare...their coffins, hospitals and graves. The coming days will be full of surprises and great events which will make them a historic example," the magazine quoted Ablaj as saying.

The report came after U.S. officials ordered their color-coded alert system raised to orange, the second highest level, citing possible year-end attacks.

Air France canceled Christmas flights to Los Angeles on Wednesday after U.S. officials relayed information that extremist groups were planning "near-term simultaneous attacks that would rival September 11."

Al Qaeda is believed responsible for the September 11, 2001 attacks on U.S. cities.

In the e-mail, which could not be immediately authenticated, Ablaj echoed his previous statement carried by al-Majalla in November saying the attack would take place before a Muslim feast which is celebrated on the last days of January or the first days of February.

The e-mail did not say what type of weapons would be used in the attack which Ablaj hinted would involve a series of strikes on the United States and other countries, the magazine reported.

[Dems_R_Losers]

I think these guys really have no comprehension of just how big a country the United States of America is, how mant people live here, and how large our economy is. They thought they were going to kill 100,000 on 9/11/01 and shut down the U.S. economy. They did neither. It must mystify them that we do not wake up every day crying over the lost WTC towers - they think we are godless people who worship money and commerce.

And even a "suitcase nuke" would not do as much damage to a U.S. city as the earthquake just did in Iran. Even if it were set off on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol in midday it would not kill that many people or destroy that many buildings. The U.S. government has massive plans for continuity and reconstitution in case of major attack on Washington. And, should such a thing actually be pulled off, even the Axis of Weasels in Europe would rush to declare an all-out war on Al Qaeda.

[TexKat]

[Sender]

There have been a lot of knowledgeable posters lately saying that any portable nuke requires maintenance and would not still be operational if it were stolen or bought years ago.

True, but with the vast financial resources available to al Qaeda and the Pakistani and ex-Soviet nuke techs expertise, who's to say they couldn't refurbish and prep one of them?

The need for maintenance may preclude the idea of them having prepositioned devices before 9/11 as some have claimed, as the devices now might have degraded to the point of being little more than a 'dirty bomb'. But maybe, just maybe they have been able to completely refit one such unit and it is fresh out of the lab.

Picture this scenario: Osama deep in the bowels of a rusty container ship, staying out of sight as a legitimate cargo steams into port. The ship and schedule have been established over several months or even years so it may have already been investigated and cleared on previous runs. All of the containers except one contain legitimate loads of consumer goods with legit paperwork, and they would be careful not to visit any ports of concern to raise any red flags on this run.

As the ship steams into port, while still a mile or so out, OBL climbs topside to stand atop the container with the city skyline silhouetted behind him as his cohorts make one last video tape, broadcast live by satellite or other relay link to a remote recorder, maybe even live to al Jazeera. OBL has a Quran in one hand and what looks like a detonator in the other as he exhorts the Muslim world to follow him 'into the belly of the Eagle' for the glory of Allah.

I think you can guess the rest of the tape. Could this be OBL's 'opus'? He did state to his followers that in the year 2003 he wanted to martyr himself here 'hurl myself and my steed into the belly of the eagle'.

[jstolzen]

Where is Mecca? I thought it was Saudia Arabia? We obv. can't nuke SA, can we?

How about Medina?

The truly frightening thing about this is that it's not country v. country. If it was, MAD works.

We keep hearing about the international makeup of the cells. Some Brits. Some Africans. Tunisians. They KNOW we can't nuke our friends.

On the other hand, I think the underestimate our willingness to nuke our enemies in retaliation. And GWB **WOULD** do that, IMHO.

A short time after 9/11 (I think), there was a "nuclear retaliation" edict put in place by the administration that states (basically)..IF the US ever got hit by WMD, it is our stated policy to retaliate with nuclear weapons.

We should all pray that it is never necessary to invoke this doctrine, but if it was..the terrorists better do a quick count of the # of warheads (6,000+ if memory serves me right) that we have. And these are not the suitcase variety, but CITY KILLERS.

We have enough firepower to wipe out all life on earth something like 2,917 times over. The terrorists had BETTER think this through.

[boycott]

IT's amazing that we've put men on the moon and have already walked across their god. We should give them a few of those moon rocks so they can start another Mecca. Truly a joke of a religion.

[jstolzen]

The other thing to consider is something bigger than a suitcase nuke, which we've heard doesn't require the same level of maintenance (due to the higher grade plutonium, etc used).

Could they possibly have bigger warheads - smuggled in somehow? Possibly, given the fall of the USSR and other relatively weak "controls" & corruption in the international community.

Something about this sure doesn't feel right. This time "feels" different.

[boycott]

Another attack and we should run all Muslims out of the USA. They would no longer be allowed to recruit in our prisons (I guess they know there has to be at least a little evil to recruit them to that cult.)

We then make the middle east a big sand pit.

[JayNorth]

if they wait until they're over their supposed target (Las Vegas), then there won't be enough fuel to do much damage

I don't think you would need any fuel to make a big mess in Vegas. If you flew in over the strip and wiped out the front of one major casino it would have a big psychological impact, and considerable loss of life. My concerns are of New Year's Eve, particularly at Times Square.

[moodyskeptic]

"They (Americans) should prepare...their coffins, hospitals and graves".

Really, now? Do Islamists suppose we don't intend to make them pay for any coming atrocity? Hello! You been paying attention? Listen up Mohammed:

The USA has been bitch-slapping you sand termites at our leisure, on our timetable and with self-imposed restraint. Your very life depends on our patience and professionalism.

But you pull something outrageous, as you promise, and we'll have the green light to flatten Mecca, Medina, Damascus and any village we deem to be dangerous, in ten minutes time. Any islamist uprisings could be smashed by our sheer power.

You got that? Don't you dare threaten your betters. You should spend energy on reforming your dark faith away from suicide, and stop teaching hate to your children.

Our patience wears thin. Do not be so stupid as to test it with another terrorist atrocity.

[Zack Nguyen]

I guess in February there will be another announcement of an all out "back-and-all-bone-breaking attack" in April...

LOL. And then by summer it will be a "pelvis-fracturing-and-cartilage-straining-attack."

[Zack Nguyen]

But we still have to take them seriously. And I think our intelligence services deserve a round of applause, if this latest Air France job was for real.

[Sender]

Yes they could possibly have bigger warheads or entirely homemade warheads, produced from plutonium out of scavenged Soviet devices. They could have anything at all. They have the cash and drugs to buy whatever they want.

One thing I have learned from all the knowledgeable sources out there is that the difficulty of making a nuclear device 'work' is related to the amount of fissionable material you have. If you only have a minimal amount of the precious 'stuff', you must have everything perfect to achieve detonation. If you have a lot of 'stuff', it gets much easier to assure detonation even if parts of the device are degraded or not exactly engineered properly.

[Yaelle]

Anyone else been hearing Ridge's radio commercials exhorting everyone in the country to prepare for "the unlikely but possible" event of a terrorist attack? It tries to be cheerful and asks you to go to their website and make the necessary preparations, just as "California needs to prepare for earthquakes and [others] prepare for tornadoes"?

Obviously our government does not take this chatter and bravado lightly.

[mtbopfuyn]

"They (Americans) should prepare...their coffins, hospitals and graves. The coming days will be full of surprises and great events which will make them a historic example," the magazine quoted Ablaj as saying.

Must of been a typo as it should read "They (terrorists) should prepare..." We've already kicked OBL and Saddam outta their countries yet AQ can't seem to learn the lesson.

[ASA Vet]

forsee a big hole in the ground stretching from Pakistan's nucleur
sites to the mountainous Afghan/Paki border where OBL's grave is,

Think bigger!

[petercooper]

F off! you dirty muslim bastards

[dighton]

"They (Americans) should prepare...their coffins, hospitals and graves."

Tough work when your back is broken.

[Ichneumon]

"Come get some..."

[sweetliberty]

"God will destroy these evil creeps just as He has destroyed their countless loathsome predecessors throughout history and pre-history."

Thanks for that reminder, as evil rises all around us, not only from terrorism, but from our own courtrooms and schoolhouses and representation in government. We must be ever mindful that we fight a spiritual battle and we already know who wins won.

[Toskrin]

What's the consensus? Do you guys think we're just hearing chest thumping, or is something "big" really in the works? I fear it is the latter.

Definite chest thumping. If they had something planned, why in the world would reveal their "secret plan" beforehand? Much more effective to just do it and claim responsiblity after.