The Next Attack on the US

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.

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.

And a main point of their mission will be to unseat Bush, by blaming their terrorism on his unsecured borders.

Unfortunately, that would be one of the easiest ways to bring down this country and destroy America --- if an attack happens this summer with the borders still very open, it would be hard for anyone to support Bush's reelection. I think the FBI has probably gotten tabs on all terrorists who were in this country before a few years ago, likely any terrorism would come from people who recently arrived.

You are correct in that I put down the wrong post. It was not post 60 as I put down. It was this one.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1144246/posts?page=186#186

I also noticed that the person whose comments started this exchange has had all of his posts removed.

You missed most of the exchange. So you can't really understand what was going on that started this.

I don't think that the muslims understood how effective their strike against the WTC would be, but they have now set a benchmark which they must surpass. Either that or they must strike the seat of government.

Osama had a degree in civil engineering. I think he was counting on a collapse of the WTC, but I think he was disappointed that it collapsed straight down.

The first bombers a few years earlier were trying to shear the foundation of the WTC and send it toppling over. Visualize the devastation of an occupied WTC toppling over and crashing into lower manhatten

I'm thinking the most likely targets would be malls and major rail and air terminals -- while walking along with a crowd of people, let a backpack full of nastyness drop to the floor with a 30 second timer

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.

This is a lie, intended to cause panic and allow the overthrow of our Constitution.

The governors of all fifty states can appoint senators, to serve until the next election. This would not take 24 hours. The essential functions of the Senate could continue without interruption.

Every House district could hold a special election within thirty days. No legislation is required to allow for such elections, in any event, they are not a Federal matter.

Of course, the special interests that now dominate such elections would not have time to pervert the process with bribes and media buys, but that is not the same thing as Congress not being able to function.

The Empire of Japan did us a favor by sinking all those obsolete battleships, allowing Naval Air and submarines to come to the fore in warfighting.

God protect and save our Congress, but if the worst should happen the People will easily replace them.

- what does this illegal 'immigrant terrorist' do for money - beg on street corners - work with other Mescans (slang) roofing houses (THEY won't survive long doing this) ...

We have lots of Muslim communities spread all through the US. We have lots of people in the US caught sending money off to terrorist causes. It's even easier to contribute to terrorists when the money doesn't even cross borders.

All the terrs need is a network of sympathisers in the US willing to take in anybody who shows up at the door who says the pass-phrase they were told by their imam, give them food and shelter for a night, and pass them on their way with no questions

It becomes even easier when you take into account the number of motels that seem to be owned or run by middle-eastern-types

The LAST thing terrorist would want is to cross the Mexican border illegally and have no documentation or record showing they were here legally and risk being sent back. That would be stupid. Terrorists are far more sophisticated than that

Who says they won't have documentation? There are lots of middle-easterners in the US. Identity-theft is common. Just give the terrorist the same identity as a guy who looks a lot like him, and is legally here with a clean record.

If a high-school kid or illegal immigrant can score a convincing-looking fake ID, somebody with the resources of multiple nation-states backing him can acquire good forged ID as well

I wouldn't put it past the liberal scum in this country to work with these killers to implement such a scenario

Kerry's statement yesterday that he would, if elected, bring the troops home from Iraq quickly makes this very point IMHO.

Sounded just like the Spanish socialists and I honestly believe, that in the current climate and circumstances that he could not have missed or underestimated the meaning that statement would be given by al Qaeda.

As far as I am concerned with a wink and a nod he as much as issued an open invitation for al Qaeda to hit us before the election to help ensure that their mutual goals were achieved.

I am absolutely and royally PO'ed about this treacherous sapper within our own perimeter. I hope other people can see what he is doing, in general, and specifically with that comment.

Jeff

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!

WHen I go to the bank to deposit a check, I generally take out a few hundred-dollar bills so I don't have to go looking for ATMs that often. A pocket full of hundreds will last for living expenses and supplies for a long time, and paying for groceries at the supermarket with a hundred does not cause comment

Predictions of the death of PC and the leftst mindset that drives it are premature.

I suspect that roughly 25-33% of the population is 'hopeless' - that is, no event will change their opinons and world view. Sorry, this porton of the electorate will not die away and will remain vitrolic and as shrill as ever.

I suspect that the balance will be fairly unifed though and largely ignore the extreme (though large) fringe. But the media

I am back in nyc for a funeral and its worse than ever. Numerous anti-bush buttons and signs a major Air America ad campaign in the times sq . The arrogance that orginally alienated me from nyc is more prominent than it was 2 1/2 years ago, not less so.

It's remarkable, then, that they were the largest victm of the 9-11-01 attacks and likely the largest victm of a future even more dramatic attack.

3,000 dead NYers didn't do it for manhattantown, and for almost 1/2 the national population. How will 30,000 dead and 30,000 sick be handled? Anyone thinking this will somehow toughen up NYers and change the worldview of Fed-Ex Guy banging soccer mom's on Long Island, the intellectual elite who trot around in $300 suits, and the hopeless legion of college aged young adults, is mistaken.

So be prepared that nationally a solid 25-33% will likely never be convnced that we are at war and maybe the gravest time in the history of the Union.

Regarding the topic Dr. Eckleburg has raised, although I disagree strongly with quite a few Bush policies (CFR, AWB statements, immigration, China Trade, the latest medical initiatives for prescription drugs, social spending, etc.), I believe that the following presentation gives one hope as regards the sincerity of his Christian beliefs.

The Jesus Factor

and is one reason why the left hates him so much.

If you haven't seen this presentation, I would recommend that you get it. It can give one some hope about his ability to be influenced by Providance, despite the other issues.

It is not something I could say for Clinton and certainly not Kerry either.

This does not mean we do not raise our voices about those other issues. he needs to understand the strength of our opposition on those issues.

Having said all of this, Bush's actions in the War on Terror (outside of letting foggy bottom type diplomats get involved with negotiations regarding Fallujah and Sadir), his general stance on abortion, his genheral inclinations on gun rights (outside of the AWB statements) and his desire to bring faith back into the dialog are things I do support.

I have a general agreement with you Jeff, the left have no use for God in any form .

But to be honest , I no longer know if Bushe's faith is smoke and mirrors too ...we are a gullible people ..throw out a few correct scriptures and we embrace them.
In general we would agree on the same issues and one more I would guess , Guns, abortion and gays . The question is will he remain faithful to those positions if re elected? I have seen him dodge and weave a bit.

Right now I am sitting out the election , I am sick of being used by Politicians for their case. Move to the right and when they are firm move back to Center left..

I too wondered about the reality and sincerity of his faith...but that presentation and the feelings of the Spirit that I felt in conjunction with it have given me an assurance regarding that sincerity.

That doesn't mean he is without fault, or should not be called to task for these other issues...and Lord knows I have been involved in my share of task calling...but it does give me hope regarding his ability to be led by Providance.

...and you are right, we definitely agree on those three issues.

Best regards...and God's speed and His Peace to you and yours on this Memorial Day weekend.

My Memorial Day will be filled with memories of my now deceased, wonderful, patriotic father who was a combat vet of the PTO in World War II, and my deceased uncle...my mother's only brother...who was lost over Germany in that same war.

God bless all who serve or have served...God bless all who truly, through their sincere and heart-felt actions make that service possible...God rest the souls of all of the fallen, who fought and died in service of this great Republic and the foundational moral principles upon which it and its constitution rests...and God comfort the grieving loved ones. May He also continue to bless our perhaps sometimes wandering, but not lost, nation.

Jeff

You are spot on regarding who is soveriegn in this land...and as I said to RnMomof7:

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