9-11-type al-Qaida plotprompted groundings

http://www.worldnetdaily.com ^ | January 4, 2004 | Joseph Farah

[luv2ndamend]

White House, nuclear power plants topped target list of hijacked planes

WASHINGTON – The discovery of a Sept. 11-style al-Qaida plot to hijack several planes simultaneously and crash them into U.S. targets is behind the recent rash of airline groundings and increased security during the holidays, WorldNetDaily has learned from U.S. intelligence sources.

Other potential targets included the Valdez oil terminal in Alaska, closed last week as a precautionary measure, and New York and Los Angeles tourist sites. British Airways, Air France and Mexico's national carrier, AeroMexico, were the airlines to be used by the terrorists, according to the plan discovered a week before Christmas.

Some of the terrorists were planning to use shoe bombs, according to WND sources. Briton Richard Reid in December 2001 tried to ignite an explosive device hidden in his shoe during a flight from Paris to Miami. He was overpowered and later jailed for life.

The hijackers were planning to use legitimate UK, U.S. or other European passports in an attempt to evade stringent security checks. There was also a sub-plot in which a terrorist infiltrated the ranks of airline pilots.

Nearly a dozen international flights to the U.S. were canceled during the New Year holiday weekend. The Bush administration has ordered sky marshals be placed on all airlines.

The plot involved specifically British Airways Flight 223 from Heathrow to Washington. Several of those flights over a three-day period were grounded or shadowed by U.S. F-16 fighter jets. British Airways also grounded two flights to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, due to fly on New Year's Eve and Saturday afternoon. Yesterday's British Airways Flight 223 to Washington was allowed to leave following a three-hour delay for security checks. It landed without incident at Dulles International Airport near Washington.

British officials today warned that travelers face years of severe security alerts like one that forced several international flights to be grounded last week. Transport Secretary Alistair Darling said exceptional circumstances and specific information about a possible terror threat led British Airways to cancel its flights last week.

"For many years to come, we are going to be living in an age where there is going to be a heightened state of alert," he told the BBC. "Sometimes it will be quite severe."

Britain's Sunday Times newspaper, citing a senior British intelligence source, said security services were looking for two al-Qaida members were at large in Britain who planned to detonate shoe bombs or similar devices in an aircraft lavatory.

[reed_inthe_wind]

Good job - I thank all the men and woman who protect this country - you are great.

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[Triple Word Score]

There was a story this morning about a woman who attempted to detonate explosives she had packed into her private parts in an airplane restroom over D.C., but somehow she was caught and her attempt to do this kind of suicide-bombing was foiled.

(If travelers think they mind getting their SHOES checked...!)

The story completely disappeared immediately after Fox broke it, and it is now nowhere to be found.

Enough imaginary attacks can do as much damage to our air transportation industry as real ones. Did this really happen, and the story was suppressed even after it broke, or is it something that didn't really happen and was pulled because it was bogus?

[hoosiermama]

There were two threads yesterday that mentioned this as a possibility not as an actual attempt.

[Lady In Blue]

I understand that Rivera on Fox News yesterday was complaining about people(including himself?)being put upon by all of the inspections at the airports. I wonder if,after this info has now come out is he still ticked off? I didn't see his show but I read some of his comments and thought they were ridiculous! To go to the lengths that this govenrment has gone to protect us,should have had him praising the government.I think he should apologize. But then again he's just given the old democratic line! IMHO.

[Pro-Bush]

Bump/Ping

[hoosiermama]

I get pulled over almost every time I fly. White hair and all. The under wires set it off, then the attendant must make certain that's what it is.....my embarrassing for her than for me. (Must remember to wear sports bra!)

I'd rather have them be too cautious than lose lives. What's a couple of extra minutes. Got an e-mail address for Rivera? Maybe we should drop him a line to tell him how ridiculous his whining sounds.

[Ethyl]

Enough imaginary attacks can do as much damage to our air transportation industry as real ones. Did this really happen, and the story was suppressed even after it broke, or is it something that didn't really happen and was pulled because it was bogus?

I think that many things like that happened, but we will never know about it. The Homeland Security should tout their foiling numerous attacks, but they won't. Their job is to just keep us safe, which they appear to be doing.

[eddiespaghetti]

There was a story this morning about a woman who attempted to detonate explosives she had packed into her private parts in an airplane restroom over D.C., but somehow she was caught and her attempt to do this kind of suicide-bombing was foiled.


I read of this kind of threat on FR; however, your post was the first time I had heard that a specific woman had been apprehended.

es

[My Dog Likes Me]

Geraldo said they examined his belt, and, if memory serves me right, they fingered around the inside of his pant belt-loop area. If I was a TSA employee, I would just use common sense and let him go (unless they were afraid of Geraldo smuggling box cutters on a flight for a good story on how bad our security is - which is understandable).