Turkey warned of al-Qaida attack at NATO Summit (glider w explosives, NEW INFO)

Seattle P I ^ | July 3, 2004 | ESRA AYGIN

[FairOpinion]

ISTANBUL, Turkey -- Turkish authorities received a warning that al-Qaida was planning to use a bomb-laden glider in a suicide attack targeting world leaders at the NATO summit in Istanbul, the city's police chief was quoted as saying.

The aircraft was supposed to take off from a neighboring country and approach the city by flying over the Black Sea, Cerrah said. "They had chosen a glider because radar would not spot it," Cerrah told the newspaper. "And since it flies without an engine, it would approach the target in silence."

Police spokesman Ramazan Er revealed Friday that authorities found and defused explosives in a garage at Istanbul's airport only hours before the arrival of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

[FairOpinion]

The Al Qaeda are evil, but ingenous. They do, what is not expected.

We have to learn to figure out what that would be for the next time.

Prior to 9-11, nobody would believe that 4 US passenger planes could be hijacked simulatenously and 3 of them actually succeed in being flown into their targets.

[Brad’s Gramma]

Pray for our troops.
Pray for our country.
Pray for President Bush, his administration and their families.
Pray for our allies.
Pray for YOUR family!!!!


Without ceasing.

[oceanview]

how far was this glider supposed to have flown before hitting the target?

[Swordmaker]

Problem One: Gliders are not radar negative. They can be swept and pinged just as easily as any other aircraft.

I would expect them not to carry a transponder though.

[FairOpinion]

I don't know the range, but looking at a map of Turkey, it could have taken off from Bulgaria?

I remember reading about active Al qaeda there.

[dc-zoo]

They probably found that out when they got blown out of the sky.

[FairOpinion]

But couldn't gliders fly under the radar, at low altitudes?

And if they aren't expecting gliders, they could think it's a large bird?

[FairOpinion]

Or maybe the glider could have been released from a ship in the Black Sea? Al Qaeda has a number of ships.

[Will_Zurmacht]

it was going to be towed 300 miles across the Black Sea by the 35hp Ultralight "Putt-Putt Wing of Allah"....
bad math skills led to Plan B..."Life Raft of Holy Jihad"

[Will_Zurmacht]

ships...that's something that has always bothered me...I remember their ramblings...they are wanting to do something at sea, block a canal, crash into a terminal, a seaborne attack at a resort...cruise ships..

I still think the sea has been overlooked as a threat, but walking across the border with Mexico is still probably easiest...

[oceanview]

no, without an engine, they need altitude to be able to catch wind currents and soar. they would have to be towed to altitude by another powered aircraft, released far from the target, and then glide in.

[Dark Glasses and Corncob Pipe]

"But couldn't gliders fly under the radar, at low altitudes?"

Gliders flying low? You might as well try starting out in the suburbs one morning--then get your car up to 60 mph and then turn off the engine and coast the rest of the way into town.

[Elsie]

"They had chosen a glider because radar would not spot it....

What bonehead actually believes THIS????

[JSteff]

"But couldn't gliders fly under the radar, at low altitudes? "

Uhmm gliders glide. Low altitude is what they do not want. Gliders try to stay high... that is the whole point of gliding, not running out of air. Then you are a brick.

[RightWhale]

Alqaida has no fresh ideas. They read Clancy novels and watch James Bond movies.

[RightWhale]

how far

Not far, and--without power it would be a miracle if it landed within a mile of the intended target.

[GSlob]

Well, the possible countermeasure is to keep a small group of [creative engineering types] to play the enemy part and come up with crazy- and not-so-crazy ideas. For example, there are only so many means of aerial delivery (rocket, plane, helicopter, glider, parachute, free falling object, air balloon/dirigible, kite, bird/bat, ballistic projectile)... It's probably already done, although there may be bureaucratic hiccups.

[blam]

"Not far, and--without power it would be a miracle if it landed within a mile of the intended target."

Yup. I wonder how many of them have already died trying this stunt?

[reformedliberal]

I think RightWhale is correct: thrillers and spy flics and video games are the inspiration. We don't need engineers.

We need to distribute some video games that are based on absolutely insane assumptions, but make sure that in the game, the terrorists always win. Then the idiots will spend years trying to duplicate the game's parameters.

[RightWhale]

My first thought after hearing that the airliner had hit the Pentagon was of Clancy's novel where an airliner hit another Gov't building under the worst circumstances. Since the news was still referencing Palentinian terrorists at the time, my second thought was that the Palestinian cause was just about to end in failure.