Posted on 05/28/2004 9:03:44 PM PDT by FairOpinion
It is likely that an attack would be intended to kill thousands, though an attack remains conjecture at this point, based on intelligence gathered by our agencies and other nations.
Headlines tell us of government predictions that al Qaeda may intend to mount an attack on the US this summer. Soldiers in Iraq recently found an explosive in Iraq filled with Sarin, a deadly chemical capable of killing many people. The widely expressed doubt that Iraq did not have weapons of mass destruction should end.
In a recent Washington Times column by John McCaslin, he cited a poll by the National Association of Chiefs of Police, “Because of the ‘current political polarization’ in America today, the United States will suffer another ‘large scale’ terrorist attack within the next year."
McCaslin reported the poll revealed, “that 95 percent of the nation's police commanders and security directors expect a ‘catastrophic’ terrorist incident within the continental United States. "If Americans believe we're not being targeted for terror in the near future, they are fooling themselves," says NACP Vice President Jim Kouri, who predicts the killers, among other dastardly missions, will be attempting to influence this November's presidential election. It worked for them in Spain.”
It is the opinion of many counter-terrorism experts that al Qaeda will attack America again and many believe it will come before the elections in November. Their thinking is that the success it had in Spain can be repeated here and their aim is to elect Senator John F. Kerry. The objective will be to demoralize the resolve of Americans to support the occupation of Iraq until it can establish a democratic form of government.
It is likely that an attack would be intended to kill thousands, though an attack remains conjecture at this point, based on intelligence gathered by our agencies and other nations.
Here are some targets al Qaeda might have in mind.
If Al Qaeda wants to kill a lot of people to ratchet up our level of terror, New York remains a prime target and there are recent reports of empty suitcases showing up in its subways and other locations as a possible test run on the delivery of a WMD.
What other city would be a likely target? One answer is Los Angeles and, in particular, Hollywood. Radical Muslims regard the films and television shows coming out of Hollywood as a direct attack on their sense of moral superiority. A dirty bomb or bioterror in Los Angeles would have the desired effect. Remember, too, that a terrorist was caught in the run-up to Y2K when he crossed the border from Canada with a car full of explosives. His target, we were told, was the LA Airport.
Recently, Jordanians thwarted a plot to attack the US embassy and other targets there with poison gas. The estimated casualties are estimated to have been as many as 20,000. A similar target in the US would reap a similar result. Again, the belief that Iraq did not have WMDs should be put to rest. The belief that it was not cooperating with al Qaeda should have been dispelled by now. Supporters of the deposed Saddam Hussein are continuing their insurgency against our troops and would surely want to strike at the American homeland.
If I were Osama bin Laden, a trained engineer, what might be another likely target in America? One answer is oil refineries. There hasn’t been a new refinery built in the US since the 1970s and the ones we have are strained to capacity. When even one is closed down for routine maintenance, the price of gas spikes. Imagine if two, maybe three, were destroyed? The highways would empty out, followed by the office buildings and just about every other enterprise that depends on workers who drive to work. That includes schools, hospitals; just about everything, everywhere. America would have to declare martial law.
Another likely target would be the disruption of the aging electrical grid that distributes this vital source of energy around the nation. Remember when the grid failed a year or so ago? It shut down the entire East Coast from Ohio to New York. Destroy key components of the grid and people will be cooking dinner over an open fire in the backyard.
The plane that crashed in Pennsylvania on 9-11 had a destination about which we can only speculate. But let’s say it was the Capitol Building and a direct hit could take out a major number of Senators and Representatives? Our Constitution does not make provision for the killing of enough members of Congress to render it unable to function. Congress, however, is debating legislation that would allow for emergency elections in the event that should occur.
While America remains a target, so are Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Turkey, England and just about every other nation around the world. We are dealing with people willing to kill anybody for their crazed notion of protecting a failed way of life, a belief that Islam must dominate the world and be practiced in a fashion Osama bin Laden dictates.
It should never be forgotten that bin Laden has already issued a fatwa, an Islamic edict, calling for the deaths of all Americans.
As our level of anxiety rises, al Qaeda has already achieved one of its objectives. The question, if an attack occurs, is whether Americans will deepen their resolve to destroy its enemies or seek to withdraw from the fight?
Alan Caruba is the author of Warning Signs, published by Merril Press. His weekly commentaries are posted on the Internet site of The National Anxiety Center.
When illegal aliens sneak into the USA in the dark of night, they don't pass under any inspection or muster of any kind. In fact, thousands of "other than Mexicans" including Chinese and middle easterners sneak over every week. So what exactly is the impediment to Spanish speaking Moroccans, for one example?
Are you usually this obtuse or
do you relish being arguementative?
I cannot recall the name of their
"money exchange process" but Arab owned
neighborhood markets routinely serve as
conduits for cash transfers from individual
to individual.
It is common place for an Arab residing in US
to receive cash from sources in the Middle East
using this means of transferring cash.
BTW: YOU have your own (sic)
to have the money WIRED is to leave a trail ... did
you ver think about that aspect?
Thank you, _Jim.
I have responded to your #154.
Good point. And the bigger the fire, the more powerful the updrafts, which as we know from last year can carry burning branches for hundreds of yards, to start new fires across interstate highways and so on.
Trav- check your FReep mail
Embers were starting fires over a mile from the lines in some cases due to the high santa ana winds. Not only that, they have hardly touched the millions of dead trees that were killed by the bark beetles. Add in the continuing drought, and it's a time bomb.
It is called "hawala"
http://www.arabmediawatch.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1317
So yes, for some missions, crossing the border illegally would be perfect. Just one coordinator in the USA to provide a safe house, a briefing, maps, flares and old used cars, and a group of walk-in terrorists could go out on one-way missions such as the burning of our forests, or a one-time suicide "assault rifle" attack on a packed sports arena etc. (The "legal" coordinator could easily buy a number of perfectly legal weapons over a period of years.)
And keep in mind that if AQ is trying to get Bush dumped from the presidency, terrorist tracks leading to the "open Mexican border" would be a big plus toward that end.
This needs repeating!
"Ain't no room for Christians in the New World Order."
I am talking about deliberately set mega fires hundreds of miles long. The large SoCal fires last year leapt across interstate highways, much less logging road firebreaks! And the larger the fires, the more powerful the firestorm winds, and the further large burning branches are thrown ahead of the fire. So once mega firestorms hunfreds of miles long are set, logging road firebreaks will have exactly zero effect.
Pet names so soon?
I didn't know you felt that way. I do like you, -Jim, but you're rushing it. Let's slow down and just be friends.
Okay?
But I think the kind of terrorists who will walk in will be lesser trained persons on short duration suicide missions. Enough money to live in motels for a few days will be plenty. Old cars and weapons will be provided them in Phoenix or Tucson or San Diego, and then they will be off on their short-fuse missions.
And a main point of their mission will be to unseat Bush, by blaming their terrorism on his unsecured borders.
I never really expected all this to be in our lifetime but at the rate of change we may see the whole show.
That is incorrect (besides being goofy).
--Boot Hill
Thanks all for an interesting discussion tonight, but it's also past time for me to hit the rack.
Good point. I forgot about the gold-backed private money exchanges. They operate entirely without oversight or control, on trust and reputation alone.
Yep.
Terrorism funding aside,
they regularly transfer (launder)
money back to their homes and relatives
in the M.E. using the hawala system.
In addition, San Diego County is home
to the largest Arab-Muslim population
in USA outside Detroit and its
surrounding areas.
Yes, that was my POINT..apparently it sailed right over your head. Illegals don't exactly go through checkpoints.
to have the money WIRED is to leave a trail ... did you ver think about that aspect?
Yes, had you read my entire post, you would see that my entire point was that they can come across the border carrying cash...thus eliminating the need for bank records. Good grief!
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