Posted on 07/15/2004 10:28:27 PM PDT by churchillbuff
Washington - Warnings that terrorists are plotting "something big" against the United States are based on "very, very solid" information, the CIA's acting director said on Wednesday, likening the threat reports to those that preceded the September 11, 2001 attacks.
John McLaughlin, the acting CIA director, noted in an interview with National Public Radio that the US had ample warning of an attack before the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington but no specifics on the timing and targets.
"But we did have conviction that something big was coming at us. We have that same conviction now," he said.
"And the reason I say that it is serious is that I think the information I've seen is very, very solid. We have very little doubt about the information we have in terms of its sourcing and its authenticity," he said.
McLaughlin would not comment on the specificity of the intelligence this time, but said the agency has developed much more intelligence on al-Qaeda and its intentions since September 11.
Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge warned last week that "credible reports" indicate al-Qaeda plans to carry out a large scale attack in the US to disrupt the elections.
Ridge said precise knowledge of the time, place and method of attack was lacking, but security is being stepped up at the sites of the Democratic and Republican nominating conventions this summer.
The Democratic Party's national convention is to be held in Boston July 26-29, while President George Bush's Republican Party is to hold its convention in New York August 30-September 2, ahead of the November 2 US presidential election.
Asked whether Americans should cancel vacation plans or stay away from Boston and New York during the conventions, McLaughlin said people should go about their business.
"But citizens themselves need to keep their eyes open and be alert," he said
If Russia does this it would be the expected. America would have to go lie down in a darkened room for a few hours.
You Outta see the Security for the GOV Conference is Seattle, I will put it this way, I doubt anybody will receive a speeding ticket today...... :*)
241 - "I work very close to the Port of Seattle, in a very tall building, surrounded by very tall buildings"
Some Years ago I learned the danger of that, from fires. And ever since have refused to work higher than the local ladder trucks can reach (generally 4-6 floors), and I always learn to 'feel' my way out, crawling along the floor and counting doorways (just like I check in an airliner).
2 of my friends, in 2 separate incidents learned those lessons the hard way. One made it, one didn't.
Time to go. When you get there, a month's worth of water, dogfood and canned stuff. A generator might be helpful for heat.
Is that today? I worked this morning in Lynnwood and drove south at about 2pm. I-5 was a parking lot. We were going to go to the Bite but decided to hit it tomorrow after church instead.
15 - "I DO wish the author would use the proper "Democrat "
I prefer the new, improved version - demonRAT.
"While I don't share your belief in the forgone conclusion, there's no doubt that these Islamic subcultures are for the most part hostile to their host countries. People are waking up to that, though, so I'm not so pessimistic."
I'm even more pessimistic than I appear.
We are waging a very successful war against our enemies. We have a robust and steadily improving economy. Our president is a man of wisdom and integrity who, contrary to all logic, might be defeated for re-election by a worthless piece of waste matter like Kerry.
The liberals in the country are more leftwing and numerous than ever. Much of the fire of the conservative revolution has gone out. The RNC is more focused on raising money than advancing a conservative ideology The mainstream media is increasingly biased against truth.
Where is the silver lining?
Bush should be clobbering Kerry in the polls. The successes in Iraq should be celebrated widely. Extrapolate the trends that are actually occuring in the drift of public opinion and you will fear for the survival of the republic. What we have is fragile. It is only as strong as the shared convictions of those who vote. Clinton won twice!!! If could have run again do you doubt that he would have won?
Clinton as president would not have been possible 30 years ago. Great thinkers like Micheal Moore would have been handing out Communist tracts in Greenich Village instead of raking in megabucks for his tripe.
What signs do you see that the slide towards evil is reversing"
you said:
"Expose those in the Muslim communities who tacitly or overtly support the Islamofascists. 2) Keep them on the news. Hammer them with klieglights and hard questions."
Sure, that would work but who is going to do this?
We know from recent events that the TV networks won't do it. The entertainment media won't either. The media and the government schools will do whatever they can to pave the way for whatever evil the forces of darkness want. I'm tired of people being optimistic as evil takes one beach head after another. I'd me more optimistic if there were more people alarmed by what's going on.
The United States of America and it's constitution are the best thing that mankind has ever created, but I'm afraid that there are too few who understand and cherish America to insure it's survival.
Did I attack you personally?
I didn't think so. Thanks for the personal attack on me. It is appreciated. Is that how you handle everyone who disagrees with you?
"I can't think of any nation besides Isreal that has successfully resisted Islam.
Historically? Spain, Russia, India, China, Bulgaria, Austria, Hungary, Serbia etc. etc. "
All the nations you list have a substantial and growing Islamic presence. Islam suffered some major setbacks in the past but is advancing everywhere in the world right now.
The media and western liberalism are powerful enabling influences for Islam world wide. I hope this situation changes but there is no sign that the current trend won't continue.
"Islam is a religion of peace"
George W. Bush
"One can only wonder what it would take for us to go after our biggest enemy, Saudi Arabia. "
When I think of the US/Saudi relationship I am reminded of this:
"Lenin, who spent most of his life in the West and not in Russia, who knew the West much better than Russia, always wrote and said that the Western capitalists would do anything to strengthen the economy of the USSR. He said: They will bring us everything themselves, without thinking about their future. And, in a difficult moment, at a party meeting in Moscow, he said: 'Comrades, don't panic, when things get very though for us, we will give the bourgeoisie a rope, and the bourgeoisie will hang itself.' Then Karl Radek, who was a very resourceful wit,said: 'Vladimir Ilyich, but where are we going to get enough rope to hang the whole bourgeoisie?' Lenin effortlessly replied, ‘They will sell it to us themselves.'
from a speech by Alexander Solzhenitsyn
They hate us and plot to kill us even as they conduct friendly business with us. Treachery of this sort is Islamic virtue.
Speaking of gas stations, shouldn't there be a way to hook generators up to run the pumps?
"I don't think you know our military very well."
Our military can be changed. Kerry's military would be demoralized by having the treasonous Kerry as CIC. Kerry's hand picked brass could discharge any officer who doesn't grasp the truth of the all the new sensitivity training that would be put in place. Drop the oath to defend the constitution by executive order and exclude anyone who knows anything about the constition from service.
It might take a while but it could be done. You and I could name names of people who might rise to power who would do those sorts of things to the military.
Bottom line:
If we get nuked by terrorists. What we do next is the presidents call. If it's a bunch of dems when it happens, they'll probably blame Bush and all those right wing extremists as the REAL enemy.
The Democrat Party has joined a vast, sinister conspiracy.
Excellent observation. So when the Kedwards Camp talks about "two Americas".. do you think they are describing the "Republican America" and the "Democrat America"? Or metaphorically gassing on about the "evil Republican America" and the "America we keep on dreaming about but can't happen because of those evil Republican Americans"? You've perhaps aptly answered this second question by yours here:
American Commies are not particularly enamoured with China. Why? Because the Chinese Commies have pretty rigid moral standards for their citizens. Hollywood Communists seek a land that is best described by John Lennon's song "Imagine."
Democrats have been in "power" for a long time in this country. So, if they keep their followers "imagining" -- perhaps the followers might not notice how little of the "dream" the Democrats are actually working towards (not to mention accomplishing)? (Enjoyed your website!, BTW).
Not quite the scenario of blowing up polling places around America.. but perhaps on a more cost-effective, time-efficient scale -- having Dems intervening in all kinds of "big leadership" politics, and um, perhaps leaving the terrorists to do actual killing and slayings and intimidatings of the little people who might not make it to the polls?
Yes, you can hook a generator directly into the fuse box and you won't really be able to tell that the power is off. You have to shut off the old inbound feed, so that you don't try to power up the whole neighborhood, and so that you don't fry any line workers.
You also have to know which wires to connect where, and you have to be careful about what breakers you leave on to make sure you have the capacity to run the pumps. Pumps, like all motors take a lot more electricity than appliances like computers and televisions, especially when you first start the motors, so you might want to bring them up one pump at a time after the generator is on and settled. Make sure that the spare gas cans for the generator are the first things you fill up when the power comes on, so you don't find yourself in a catch-22 situation if the generator runs dry.
Very few gas stations already have this set up. The ones that don't will have to find a generator, which are typically in short supply during outages, get it to the station, and get it hooked up, probably needing an electrician.
Unless the station's owner is there, the employees aren't likely to give his gas away for free, but the computerized registers are down, the network they connect to is down, and that part of the system is beyond the reach of the generator.
A lot of things have to come together to get a station up and running, and when it does, you not only have to find the working gas station before you run out of gas, you also have to find it before everyone else finds it and the station itself runs out of gas.
Bottom line, for a good while, the demand is going to exceed the supply by orders of magnitude, and you need to have your tanks full and maybe some in reserve to tide you over. Considering the gouging we saw on 9/11, it might not be a bad idea to have a small stash of hard currency on hand either.
It's not treachery when we know it's happening and continue to treat them as allies. It's criminal.
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