Threat Matrix- Daily Terror Thread (4):

New York Post ^ | February 24, 2004 | By NILES LATHEM

[Domestic Church]

Sounds like some extraordinary intuition there freeperfromNJ!

[WestCoastGal]

I guess we would know if they publish his name. I'm surprised they didn't give the usual blurb that it's not related to terrorism.

[StillProud2BeFree]

Neither the guy in NY nor the guy in FL sound like jihadis. That might explain why they are dead. They may have been hired or forced to do a job, and then eliminated when they were no longer needed and had become a risk.

That may sound tinfoilish but it is something to consider.

Course both could have reasonable explanations. I'm just saying that the coincidence is rather striking and the matter needs to be investigatd, considering a possible link which may or may not be present.

Hopefully these were just some guys out for a swim.

[oceanview]

they might be able to damage some of the inlet pipes, but they certainly cannot blow up the reactor with explosives planted in the water outside. in any case, they are probably inspecting the plants now because of this incident.

[crabbie]

This may be a paranoiac stretch but if these divers are related as to their mission, wouldn't it be a diversionary tactic to have one diver tattoed and blond with other western/American characteristics? If these guys are part of a plot, what better way to mix up the pot?

[WestCoastGal]

Here it is Ruth, from Benador Assoc. a Mansoor Ijaz article...........

Other dangers to maritime interests are also becoming apparent. In June, for example, an offshore maintenance engineer with deep-sea diving skills, who had been kidnapped in 2000, was released by Abu Sayyaf. He reported that his captors had wanted to learn how to dive, but were not interested in learning how to resurface.

At first sight, one purpose of gaining such one-way expertise might be to set charges for blowing up a supertanker. But supertanker hulls rest no more than 40 feet below sea level, hardly deep-sea diving depths. It is more likely that al-Qaeda is training for attacks against deep water rigs and platforms. Where? One target could be the offshore oil and gas drilling rigs in the Gulf of Mexico, near New Orleans at the mouth of the Mississippi. Attacks on the pipes that link drilling platforms to the ocean floor at depths of more than 500 feet, where large clusters of machinery are set up to pump natural gas and oil to the surface, could cause serious disruption to domestic US energy supplies as well as grave environmental damage. In an extreme case, such an attack could severely restrict seagoing traffic through the mouth of the Mississippi

[oceanview]

wasn't there a ship that capsized while at the dock at that plant a couple of months ago, killing a couple of crewmen?

[Labyrinthos]

I wouldn't know. I was just thinking out loud based upon the description and the tatoo of the angel.

[Velveeta]

Doesn't look like your typical Jihadist. Hell's Angel, maybe; Jihadist, no way.

Remember the reports of conversions to Islam among U.S. prison population? Jose Padilla (dirty bomb suspect) is a prime example.

[StillProud2BeFree]

The name wouldn't really solve it. Al Qaeda has been actively recruiting individuals who do not meet their standard demographic profile. They are looking for light skinned, blondes and red heads, with blue or green eyes. They are less likely to arouse suspicion.

Another possible explanation for tattoos that don't fit is the permanency of tattoos. A convert, either from the prison system or elsewhere, may have a tattoo from a previous lifestyle that does not mesh with the jihadi image. It may be left intact even if they have the ability to alter or remove it so as to stay under the radar so to speak.

I'm not saying that's the case - but it's wise to consider all possible explanations until they have been ruled out.

[crabbie]

For that matter, how many other tanker/ship accidents have there been in recent months? Wasn't there one around Staetn island before Christmas...an oil spill or something? Were divers involved at those times, divers who would have had the opportunities to scope out the areas?

[Labyrinthos]

The ship capsized in the Port of Albany about 80 miles due north.

[freeperfromnj]

In an extreme case, such an attack could severely restrict seagoing traffic through the mouth of the Mississippi

The more I read analysis of this type, only to see that exact incident played out shortly after, the more I realize that we (and the press) don't fully know the real deal. Either we have been completely averting incidents/attacks or we have responding rapidly and efficiently before the get out of control.

[WestCoastGal]

"You've got a scuba diver in the Honolulu harbor that they can't find."

I know we've talked about that "island" thing from one of the jihad posters on thread 2, I think. We decided the island meant the Saudi Arabian Peninsula. At first glance I had thought Hawaii since we have associated the WTC as another Pearl Harbor. These nutcases would love to do another one of those perhaps!! (symbolic things they love so much) I wonder how many ships we have there at any one time?

[Labyrinthos]

Does seem too weird for me. People just don't go scuba diving in the Hudson River in the middle of February unless they are doing underwater work, and if that were the case, then he would have been reported missing, and police wouldn't be looking for information.

[all4one]

The following are four recent Grenade incidents in addition to the story from today along Delaware coast.

#1 North Carolina

Grenades Found, Disarmed In Belmont
POSTED: 11:00 p.m. EST February 23, 2004

http://www.wsoctv.com/news/2868938/detail.html

BELMONT, NC --- -- Workers got a big shock Monday night when they discovered what looked like an explosive in the brush they were clearing.
They found a container that looked like an old piece of ammunition in Belmont.

The bomb unit discovered two hand grenades inside the container.
The Gaston County bomb unit examined the grenades and then destroyed them. They're not sure how they got in the bushes.

#2 North Carolina

Truck Carrying Goggles, Grenades Overturns

The Associated Press
Wednesday, February 11, 2004 8:40AM EST

http://newsobserver.com/nc24hour/ncnews/story/3322234p-2962163c.html

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - A tractor-trailer carrying night vision goggles and white phosphorus grenades overturned Wednesday near the state National Guard headquarters.
Authorities blocked Reedy Creek Road after the accident while the scene was assessed.
National Guard spokesman Capt. Robert Carver said the truck was supposed to deliver the goggles to the North Carolina National Guard, but he didn't know where the grenades were to be taken.
There were no injuries and no danger to the public, Carver said.

#3 California

Warnings About Unexploded Bombs, Grenades Issued
Sweep Team Works To Clear Former Camp Beale
POSTED: 4:51 pm PST February 13, 2004
UPDATED: 6:05 pm PST February 13, 2004

http://www.thekcrachannel.com/news/2847292/detail.html

BEALE AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Before Beale Air Force Base, there was Camp Beale -- a massive World War II training base and firing range along the Yuba County-Nevada County borders. Long since shut down, the legacy of camp Beale lives on in the form of unexploded grenades, bullets and bombs.

Army Corps of Engineers spokesman A.R. Smith was at Wheatland High School Friday to warn students about the dangers of UXO, or unexploded ordnance.
"Stuff is still buried, but we don't have any idea how much is out there," Smith said.
The former Camp Beale spanned 90,000 acres and shut down in 1948.
"They had some bunkers where they practiced firing. They had firing ranges, tank ranges, bombing targets, a little bit of everything," said Army Corps of Engineers spokeswoman Betty Byrd. "Sometimes, things that were dropped by planes, if there were bombs that were dropped, they could have worked their way onto the ground a little bit."
In past sweeps, Byrd's team has found possible evidence of buried munitions, which is a concern as more and more development moves into the area.
"There are very few signs remaining of the old Camp Beale. But if you look way off in the distance at the Spenceville Wildlife Refuge, you can see the remnants of an old bunker once used for training. This will be an area of interest for the cleanup project," Byrd said.
For students and the homeowners who play and live on the site of Camp Beale, Byrd said there's no need to panic.
"I think the main thing is to be watchful," Byrd said.
A CYA spokeswoman said that if the allegations were ever formally filed, they would be investigated and prosecuted if necessary.

#4 Canada (I clicked on the link, but the story is no longer available)

Grenades Scare at Border
Edmonton Sun, Canada - Jan 26, 2004
... time yesterday after the Peace Bridge at Fort Erie, Ont., was shut down when customs
officers discovered what they believed to be hand grenades inside luggage. ...

[Domestic Church]

" we have been completely averting incidents/attacks or we have responding rapidly and efficiently before the get out of control."

Both with lots of angelic assistance.

[WestCoastGal]

Just wondering if we should be concentrating on the opposite of what he says. North=South or East or West etc. I just think if this guy knows anything, he would try to throw us off. Remember when he said "something very unexpected would happen" or words like that. Or was that EOM, I've lost track, what happened to that idiot?

[milkncookies]

Russia Demands Release of Agents in Qatar

MOSCOW (AP) -- Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said Thursday that three Russian intelligence agents had been arrested in Qatar on suspicion of involvement in the killing of former Chechen President Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev. Ivanov said they were innocent and demanded their release. Three Russians were arrested in Doha, the capital of Qatar, a week ago, Ivanov said. He accused Qatari officials of failing to report the arrest to the Russian Embassy and refusing it the opportunity to meet with those arrested. ``Attempts by the Qatari authorities to hold the arrested Russian citizens responsible for the attempt on Yandarbiyev's life are totally unsubstantiated,'' Ivanov said in a statement released by the Foreign Ministry. ``They have no relation whatsoever to the incident.'' Yandarbiyev, 51, was killed Feb. 13 when a bomb destroyed his car after he left a Doha mosque where he attended Friday Muslim prayers. His teenage son was wounded. The Qatari Interior Ministry said Wednesday that two suspects detained for questioning since Feb. 19 had been charged with murder, but so far it has refused to identify them. Ivanov said that he had sent a special envoy to Qatar, and that the representative had won the release of one of the Russians, who is now staying in the Russian Embassy in Doha. Ivanov demanded that the Qatari authorities ``immediately release the Russian citizens being held unlawfully and allow them to return to Russia unimpeded.'' He said that the three Russian agents, one of whom had a diplomatic passport, were conducting legal ``information and analytical activities to counter international terrorism.'' The Russian Foreign Ministry on Thursday summoned the Qatari ambassador to Moscow for a second time over the past week to make a formal protest. Yandarbiyev, Chechnya's acting president in 1996-1997, had lived in Qatar since 2000 and was wanted by Russian authorities for suspected terrorism and links to al-Qaida. Moscow had been seeking his extradition. His assassination occurred one week after a bombing in the Moscow subway that killed 41 people and wounded more than 100. President Vladimir Putin blamed Chechen rebels for the blast.

[freeperfromnj]

In post #151, he claims the answer is right in front of us in Zawahiri's last message.