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 hasnt 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 lets 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.
You're not giving MN any credit in this department (FAR more fires are started by lightning than by human -intentional or unintentional- 'action').
BTW, current national fire status:
National Fire News - Wildland Fire Update
Initial attack activity was light nationally with 129 new fires reported.Two new large fires were reported in the Southern Area. Two large fires were contained, one each in the Southern and Southwest Areas.
Very high to extreme fire indices were reported in Arizona, Florida, Georgia, New Mexico, Nevada, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah.
I hope so. But too little too late?
This is getting - SO OLD.
Don't you guys ever freshen up your 'act'?
If al Qaeda hits us here on our own soil (again), it will mean a lenadslide for George W. Bush. This isn't Spain. And the Islamo-fascists will discover that if they hit us again.
The illegal issue has been building and growing worse for many years, including during 8 years of Clinton, yet you are making it sound, as if the borders had been sealed tight, until Bush got elected and he had fired all border agents and opened the borders.
You sound no different than all the liberals with their constang "everything is Bush's fault. I know, and don't bother me with the facts."
Well there's a happy thought. (just kidding..) More likely they will change names one last time and try to pass themselves off as being somehow from South America and speak really bad spanish. And stay right here.
No problem. The border freak tag team is getting on my last nerve!
Overblown ...
High wind, low humidity: 50,000 acres.
Plus evacuation of Los Alamos National Laboratories after which two hard drives with nuke information missing, then found in area previously searched.
Fire is bad, but not the worst thing.
Sure and everybody knows that terrorists couldn't possibly hijack four planes at once and fly them into buildings, killing thousands of people, right?
Good link at 80. Add the "black winds of death" warning to Zarchawi's specific mention of forest fire arson attacks, adn the picture becomes more obvious.
The borders do need work, Travis. I don't deny that.
I am just so tired of having every thread and every topic hijacked into a border issue.
FOR the LAST three years EVERY twitch, gas station fire, 'routine' refinery explosion or Twinkie Truck heist - YOU people have screamed 'TERRORIST ATTACK'.
It's getting old ...
But not more than ten jihadists in ten cars, throwing out road flares all day long.
Or a couple of jihadists in Cessnas, dropping road flares across our forests. These fires would merge into broad super fires hundreds of miles long much faster than we could respond to them in the normal way. Containment would not be possible.
Stay safe !
It's a big damn issue, where I live, 20 miles from the border. Sort of like an elephant in the living room. Hard to ignore.
Heh! We ought to have a sting operation. Have a Welcome Wagon at the border handing out free prayer rugs.
We'll see, won't we?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.