Thanks for the comic relief! Another guy calls it the "Boston Marathon." LOL! Got to laugh to keep from crying!
Posted on 05/25/2004 4:52:15 PM PDT by Wolfstar
17 minutes ago (at time of posting) The intelligence does not include a time, place or method of attack but is among the most disturbing received by the government since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, according to a senior federal counterterrorism official who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity Tuesday.
Of most concern, the official said, is that terrorists may possess and use a chemical, biological or radiological weapon that could cause much more damage and casualties than a conventional bomb.
"There is clearly a steady drumbeat of information that they are going to attack and hit us hard," said the official, who described the intelligence as highly credible.
The official declined to provide any specifics about the sources of the information but said there was an unusually high level of corroboration.
Despite that, the official said there was no immediate plan to raise the nation's terrorism threat level from yellow, or elevated, to orange, or high. The threat level has been at yellow — midpoint on the five-color scale — since January.
Attorney General John Ashcroft and FBI Director Robert Mueller plan a news conference Wednesday to outline an intensive effort by law enforcement, intelligence and homeland security officials to detect and disrupt any potential plots. And the FBI plans to dispatch a bulletin to some 18,000 state and local law enforcement agencies warning of the threat.
Beginning with Saturday's dedication of the new World War II Memorial in Washington, the summer presents a number of high-profile targets in the United States. They include the G-8 summit in Georgia next month that will attract top officials from some of America's closest allies, the Democratic National Convention in Boston in July and the Republican National Convention in August in New York.
The FBI and Homeland Security Department also are concerned about so-called soft targets such as shopping malls anywhere in the United States that offer a far less protected environment than a political convention hall.
U.S. authorities repeatedly have said al-Qaida is determined to mount an attack on U.S. soil, in part to announce to the world that it remains capable of doing so despite the money and effort that has gone into homeland security in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks.
There also is concern terrorists might try to mount an attack to coincide with the November election. The political fallout from the March 11 train bombings in Spain taught al-Qaida that an attack timed to an election can have a major impact. Spain's former ruling party was ousted in the voting that followed the bombing, which killed 191 and injured more than 2,000.
The official did not say how many suspected al-Qaida or other terrorist operatives are believed in the country, whether they made their way into the United States recently or have been here for some time. The FBI has warned in the past that Islamic extremist groups may attempt to recruit non-Middle Easterners or women for attacks because they would be less likely to arouse suspicion.
Special security attention already is being focused to the nation's rail, subway and bus lines. The FBI last week sent out an intelligence bulletin to law enforcement agencies urging vigilance against suicide bombers, who have been used by terror groups worldwide to devastating effect but not so far in the United States.
Separately, Immigration and Customs Enforcement chief Michael Garcia told reporters Tuesday that some 2,300 of its agents are being deployed to assist in security for the high-profile events scheduled this summer in the United States. These include as many as 20 agents each day working with the Secret Service to protect the campaigns of President Bush (news - web sites) and Sen. John Kerry (news - web sites), the Democratic presidential candidate.
Garcia said his agency also is working to "tighten the investigative system" to ensure that terrorists do not enter the United States by way of human smuggling operations or through the vast, largely unprotected border with Canada.
LOL! How in hell do you know that? A hundred could converge on one small town of 10,000 and kill everyone in the town or hold them hostage.
Hello?? Anything is possible with these fanatics. They could bring in 200 teams of 5 each, and literally cripple this country. Remember the havoc wrecked by the two idiots in the DC area sniper case? Multiple that 200 freaking times!
Guess you got it then. ;-)
The attackers could look like the Norwegian ski team or a group of Japanese business men...and be radical Muslim.
they would have to communicate and equip with those 1000 people to pull it off - the larger the circle, the harder it is to avoid detection and intercepts.
Round up all male Muslim aliens, detain them, screen them, and intern immediately any who are not unquestionably loyal.
That this was not done in 2001 is mind-boggling.
That it is not done now, on this intelligence, is inexcusable.
I worry about this every year. Security for the event is very intense, but I also know how many vendors and volunteers are on the field, not to mention campers, people with lunches, etc. They search all packages but it seems to me that there is a large opportunity for mayhem there.
No, I don't think so. If we resort to those measures, we'll have definitely fingered the enemy, or at least their profile.
Oh that's just great or family reunion is forth of July weekend up in North Carolina. Family members coing from all over the contry.
I will blame the Administration for allowing an alien army to exsist within our borders.
that is likely true - the talk on these threads of "american citizens going after the muslims", our system would use the police and national guard to protect the Muslims from these attacks.
Doc
Well I don't like Bush's policies on abortion and immigration and spending, so I'm going to vote for a REAL conservative! [/sarcasm]
Thanks for the comic relief! Another guy calls it the "Boston Marathon." LOL! Got to laugh to keep from crying!
No.
Your right, lets just ignore our open bleeding borders like all the politicos have done for the past 25 years. Lets just ignore the endless lines of trucks with unknown loads entering from the corrupt country to our south, lets just ignore the millions pouring here from Lord knows where.
Al Qaida 'Has 18,000 Terrorists Waiting to Attack'
By Helen William, PA News
Al Qaida has more than 18,000 terrorists waiting for the order to attack targets in Europe and the US, preferably with weapons of mass destruction, a leading think-tank said today.
The war in Iraq has “focused the energies and resources of al Qaida and its followers while diluting those of the global counter-terrorism coalition”, the International Institute for Strategic Studies argued.
Despite the killing or capture of around 2,000 al Qaida fighters, including some key figures, the group remains a powerhouse for Islamic terrorists operating in more than 60 countries, the IISS annual Strategic Survey warned.
And western targets are firmly in the firing line.
The IISS’s 18,000 figure is based on intelligence estimates that al Qaida trained at least 20,000 fighters in its camps in Afghanistan before the United States and its allies ousted the Taliban regime.
http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=2974796
Detroit and the shores of Lake Erie are what, three - four hour drive away?
Windsor, Ontario (right across a small river from Detroit) and N. Vancouver, British Columbia host the two largest FUNDELMENTALISTS Muslim communities outside of the Arab world.
The only thing separating Windsor from the U.S.? Lake St. Marys, the Detroit River and Lake Erie...and miles of open shoreline.
What I do see, and it would be quite effective, is a series of suicide bombs in random, populated areas. Their best shot at a real, high-value, relatively unprotected target was 11 September 2001, and it hasn't gotten better since. Random time bombs isn't going to cut it (heck, we used a few of those on ourselves in the 60's and 70's.)
Whoever posted "a cellphone, a digital camera, and a concealed weapon" got it. That's the way to cut the odds that all they have to do is get lucky once and we have to be lucky all the time. If we're ready all the time, the luck will take care of itself.
The sad thing is that such a statement is could even be made without being considered ludicrous. The idea that our form of government (as founded) relied so much on the active involvement, investment of time and energy, of each of its citizens in order that they not become subjects, has largely been lost.
(s) American Subject
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