Al Qaeda Threatens To Nuke New York By February 2nd (jihadi site, via Milan paper, via Debka)

Debka.com ^ | 01-01-04

[PaulaB]

The banner headline spread across the front page of Il Giornale, the respected Milan daily reads:

“Al Qaeda: We will destroy New York within 35 days. Threat on the Internet. Countdown begins.”

The threat was contained in a video clip featured on a web site associated with the fundamentalist terror group. It announced al Qaeda plans to destroy New York in a nuclear blast on February 2. Il Giornale claims the FBI blocked and removed the web site.

The video clip showed three possible scenarios: 1. A bomb or giant fireball from the skies that will cover the metropolis with a radioactive cloud. 2. A storm of radioactive clouds that will topple skyscrapers one by one, along with the Statue of Liberty and Brooklyn Bridge. 3. An explosion on board a charter aircraft that will cause a radioactive cloud to spread over the city.

The video clip was accompanied by large, red-lettered Arabic captions saying: “If God wills it, the end of America is near.”

DEBKAfile’s counter-terrorism sources say they cannot verify the authorship or gauge the seriousness of the threat because the Internet site is no longer accessible. But the report appeared in a newspaper widely viewed as the flagship of Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi. Such reports - even if not authenticated - tend to contribute to the mounting sense of alarm generated by “Orange Alert” in America and other Western countries.

It comes against the backdrop of appeals to New Year revelers to stay away from the traditional New Year’s Eve celebrations in Times Square, Rome’s St. Peter’s Square, Moscow’s Red Square and London’s Trafalgar Square – or even Disney World and the Las Vegas Strip. All these sites are surrounded by heavy security.

[Alouette]

Somewhere in Damascus Dearborn, two teenagers are giggling and high-fiving.

[PaulaB]

The source was Debka....Bushcountry.org ran the story...check it if you like..

http://bushcountry.org/

[aristeides]

Your link is to Il Giorno ("The Day"), not to Il Giornale ("The (Daily) Newspaper"). To tell the truth, I've never heard of Il Giornale of Milan. Has anybody ever heard of it, or does anybody know anything about it?

[Dallas59]

?

http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=it&u=http://www.ilgiornaledivicenza.it/&prev=/search%3Fq%3DIl%2BGiornale%2B%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26ie%3DUTF-8%26oe%3DUTF-8%26newwindow%3D1%26safe%3Doff%26sa%3DG

[Robe]

Consider this ......
Two flights using the same flt number have been canceled in the past few days.... is the intel focusing on a flight number instead if a date??
The flight numbers were 223...Feb 2 at 3pm?

[aristeides]

Your link appears to be to Il Giornale di Vicenza. That would not be a Milan paper. Vicenza is near Venice, and a considerable distance from Milan.

[aristeides]

is the intel focusing on a flight number instead if a date??

Looks like it, doesn't it?

Of course, if they're only able to decypher bits and pieces of messages, there may be a lot of guesswork involved.

[riri]

Interesting. Perhaps. Maybe, they are covering any angle they can think of regarding the numbers.

[Taffini]

Tell me about Debka. What is it and why does it spread such strange stories?

[Larry Lucido]

"We will destroy New York within 35 days"

"Oh, Please. What a ridiculous statement.!"

Exactly. Even Michael Bloomberg can't destroy NY that quickly, try though he might.

[DeepDish]

223? February 23rd? Maybe we can get Farrakhan's help with this, he is scheduled to return from his sabbatical on the mother ship tomorrow.

[John Beresford Tipton]

"Farrakhan's...is scheduled to return from...the mother ship tomorrow."

Just we honkies here on the mothership.

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL

[cyncooper]

Please do not post anything from Debka.

I disagree. I am not a fan, per se, of Debka, but on Christmas Eve they reported that it was six flights, not just three, that had been cancelled from France, well before it was known that was in fact the case.

I would not dismiss them out of hand, nor rely on them. I would not put them on the list of "do not post" sources.

[cyncooper]

These boys better be able to produce on threats like this, or people are going to start losing faith in them...

As long as our security takes extreme and extraordinary measures as they have been, people will not think they haven't been trying. Just not able to succeed. So I doubt at this time their followers will be losing any faith.

[cyncooper]

Does it have to be either/or? Do you really think they would focus solely on one angle? They have reason to suspect flight numbers, and they have also said the orange alert will extend until the end of January *at least*. Obviously they are considering their intelligence from several angles and on many levels.

[FairOpinion]

Debka also broke the news about current threat against NY, LA on Nov. 3, 2003. Eventually a month and a half later it was confirmed by the orange alerts and other info.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1013726/posts

Al Qaeda again threatens New York, Washington and Los Angeles
Debka ^ | 11-3-2003 | Staff

[FairOpinion]

Also, for those interested, here is some additional info from the Northeastern Intel Network. (NOT associated with the US gov. homeland security dept, note their website is homelandsecurityus. com, NOT .gov -- just to clarify for people who aren't familiar with them).

===

http://www.homelandsecurityus.com/

GENERAL: As recently published in the London-based Arabic daily Al-Quds Al-Arabi, a videotape montage in production by high level al Qaeda operatives is in its final editing stage. The release of this videotape is expected to be broadcast after a "deathblow" is delivered within the United States, allegedly scheduled to take place by 2 February 2004. This videotape should not be confused with the last montage created and distributed in mid-December. Additionally, intelligence obtained and analyzed found credible evidence that the "deathblow" will involve a much larger number of terrorist operatives, most if not all who are already living in the US, and consist of a series of concurrent attacks at strategic and symbolic targets in the US. These strikes are expected to be focused on the US infrastructure as well as targets of high symbolism. Reoccurring targets include New York, Washington DC. Los Angeles CA and Las Vegas. Other major metropolitan areas have been routinely mentioned. "Demands" have already been made to a number of news agencies such as Al Jazeera to air the videotape when instructed. Below is an Arabic reference to the "deathblow," citing Osama bin Laden's will to fight the US until it is destroyed. The image below, widely circulated without the scrolling text, is reported to be included in the new videotape.

[FairOpinion]

Notice the divers.

[RightWhale]

A storm of radioactive clouds that will topple skyscrapers one by one

These people live in dreamworlds and are out of touch with reality.