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.
Remember, they have been preparing for this attack for a long time, Al Qaeda tends to do that.
I just went over to Debka -- they seem to think it's about a "dirty bomb" or chem/bio attack.
Here is the particular excerpt from Debka:
"DEBKAfile’s counter-terror sources reveal that US counter-terrorist authorities are focusing on tracking down two key suspects: a 32-year old Pakistani woman called Aafaya Siddiqui, doctor of neurology who attended a university in the Boston area, and Adnan G. Al Shukrijmah, an al Qaeda activist known to have spent time in Florida.
Our sources add that American and foreign counter-terror and intelligence agencies are also hunting for Midaat Mursi, known as Abu Khabab, prominent member of al Qaeda’s operational partner, the Egyptian Jihad Islami, who is considered the organization’s top expert on radiological bombs. Mursi heads a number of terrorist rings who have been instructed to infiltrate the United States through Canada for a dirty bomb attack. They may have made the crossing already.
The price on the head of Musab Zarqawi, Osama bin Laden’s top operative in Iraq, may be raised from $10m to $25m after he was identified as the terrorist who beheaded Nicholas Berg. All his nets are the subject of intensive search, some composed of Saudis and Chechens trained for chemical or biological attacks and buried somewhere in Europe for some time. Efforts are also underway to locate underground terrorist cells of al Qaeda’s Far Eastern ally, Jemaa al Islamiyah, which are thought to be on their way to seize a merchant freighter or supertanker for use as a massive seaborne bomb vessel.
Several sleeper cells are also known to have infiltrated the United States in ship’s containers in 2003 and early this year. Some of these containers were spotted at important US ports with signs of occupation by men with weapons and explosives who were never caught. They may have been decoys to distract attention from landings of large parties of armed terrorists on American shores, whom intelligence sources believe headed undetected for safe houses inland to await orders to strike.
These are others are some of the unidentified enemies that Ashcroft and Mueller will ask Americans to watch out for this summer. "
http://www.debka.com/article.php?aid=854
Huh? Illegal immigration is up 30% since Bush brought up amnesty-lite.
There is no way to make the borders airtight.
BS. All it would take is a presidential decision directive changing the BP's ground rules to wartime rules of engagement. He could have done this without a murmur after 9-11. The problem is the present meant-to-fail "Keystone Kops" rules of engagement. This is entirely up to the President, defending our borders is an executive function.
I think it is more a question of re-defining the enemy first. We are not at war with a person or just a small group of terrorists. We are at war with what its adherents are having increasing difficulty passing off as a religion. Once we understand that the enemy of civilization has an identifiable face, the rest will be academic.
No, there will be no withdrawal. The battle is already joined and there is no turning back. Withdrawing will signal our defeat, and this is one battle where losing is not an option. For if America, the only nation left that can cage this animal, does not finish the task and succumbs, the rest of the world will follow suit -- and civilization will be set back thousands of years if not totally destroyed.
That was my thought, immediately upon posting, "Of course, they didn't have to contend with the EPA..."
There is another Utility that is a target as well but it's being kept under wraps for the most part, one that EVERYBODY uses EVERYDAY and takes for granted.
BINGO!
No it does not make sense. It never did and never will.
Yet the borders are open. Why?
The fed.gov is openly encouraging the illegals to cross. By the millions. Why?
The borders being practly non-existant except for a token show that everyone knows is not making a bit of difference. This policy is being maintained right to the top of fed.gov. Why?
A VAST majority of Americans DO NOT WANT THE ILLEGALS HERE. There is no way this in not known by the current administration. The current administration does nothing to appease a HUGE majority of potential 1 - 2 issue voters. Why?
We are led to believe that this is a minor "oversight" on the part of the current administration. Why?
NONE OF THIS MAKES ANY SENSE.
THINK THINK THINK PEOPLE.
The fed.gov could shut down the border tomorrow. Tomorrow MORNING. Not being done.
Why?
The answers are pretty rough to think about.
How about this . . they are the only answers that make any sense.
Keep your stock rotated.
Stay Safe LC !
But most of the talking heads are telling us that this new warning is just a new political ploy on the part of the administration.
The terrorists are for Kerry. Enough said.
It could be that the borders were not closed because there were reportedly 18,000 'terrorists' already in the U.S. before 9/1l.
Maybe the gummint is leaving the borders open to leave the swinging doors intact, allowing the 'terrorists' an exit once we begin the full-court press. If so, maybe they'll leave sooner rather than later.
I've been wondering about various possibilities along those lines myself, particularly after the relative success of the Moscow theater attack.
If the Chechens had been going for a body-count instead of blackmail it the attack would have been a spectacular success.
Just one mall targeted for a total massacre would have economic repercussions all the way to Wall Street due to a spooked shopping public.
My loadout is also under review : l
You can choose something tactically spectacular or strategically devastating. Smallpox is better saved for Labor Day so the kids can take it to school in the Fall.
Oh good grief. Another one with nothing on his mind except the borders.
I see you are new here. I hope you have more to say than to add your concerns about the borders to EVERY SINGLE THREAD like the others do.
The border controls are not good enough, but do we really have to hear about them on every thread?
They want to build a great big fence around the nation.
I think they would also like to have armed guards that shoot people on sight that attempt to enter the country.
We know that wg anthrax has been used, we don't know if terrorists have gotten access to smallpox. There is much to support the idea that Atta went to Prague to pick up his sample amount of wg anthrax from Iraq's European intelligence boss. Saddam had a huge anthrax stockpile, at one time. I see anthrax in our future.
You sure are a hateful racist.
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