Boston terror threat probed

Federal and state authorities are investigating a nuclear terrorist threat against Boston after a man calling from Mexico told California police that he smuggled two Iraqis and four Chinese over the border, the Boston Herald has learned.

``They got a call from across the border in Mexico to the California Highway Patrol and he said he brought two Iraqis and four Chineses (individuals)across the border and according to him, they stated soon to follow behind them would be some sort of material,'' said a law enforcement source familiar with the investigation.

``He refers to some sort of nuclear material that will follow them through New York up into Boston.''

According to the source, the caller has not identified himself and did not show up for a meeting with federal investigators in California but he did leave pictures of four Chinese men and some names at a ``drop'' site at the Mexico-California border.

``They were dropped by the source at a location. He literally threw them over a fence from Mexico to the U.S. side,'' said the source. ``There are pictures of the four Chinese and some names but just how accurate they are remains a question''

Massachusetts law enforcement officials were notified of the threat at 5:30 a.m. today through the FBI and Boston Police Joint Terrorist Task Force.

The threat was serious enough that Mayor Menino ordered the Fire Commissioner and the state's Homeland Security Chief into his office at City Hall, where they met with officials from the CIA, FBI, and Homeland Security Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, a high-ranking city official told the Herald.

``They are desperately trying to piece it together,'' said the offial, who added that if the threat is real it is ``very scary.''

A company that trains explosive-sniffing dogs said it was alerted that the canines would be searching for a ``dirty bomb,'' a New York City law enforcement official said yesterday.

The Massachusetts investigator said much of the man's information sounds far-fetched and investigators have some doubts about the caller's validity because he has not identified himself.

``A lot of it doesn't make sense and some of it does,'' said the source. ``It's totally uncorroborated. This all began several days ago as a series of phone calls and they don't know who the caller is. There are some parts of it that just don't make sense and other little pieces of it that fall into place. The information is these people that came into the country are going to New eYork into Boston and the (nuclear) material will follow them.''

The source said there is speculation the caller may have been ripped off by illegal immigrants he helped over the border and is now trying to exact revenge.

``It's very weird. Even if (the Iraqis and Chinese) were going to do something why would they be blabbing to the yahoo smuggling them across the border? You have to wonder if they screwd him on a deal but you have to treat it seriously and the issue is how do you put it out to the public and not get everybody (in a panic)?''

The source said the information will soon ``come out over police channels and BOLOs (be on the lookout).''

The source added the FBI office in San Diego is leading the investigation. ``The FBI in San Diego is the originating office so they are driving the investigation. The FBI in Boston is in a tough position because they are waiting for information''

Well, fisrt since you have to keep weapons grade plutonium it in small pieces or ELSE IT BLOWS UP ON YOU, you could encase it in lead shaped as air conditioning compresssors and smuggle them in among other compressors in a tractor trailer compartment.

But then you are coming through security checkpoint. So this again has Zero to do with border security. At that point, why have the container ship that was bringing the goods to Mexico add an extra step to the journey and the risks it entails. We don't check containers here. Ship the airconditioners right to Newport. BTW the more "air conditioners" you use, the more trucks you are going to need. To the point where multiple trucks are a necessity. Lead and plutonium are both HEAVY. This is why our enemies abandoned the dirty bomb concept 60 years ago when it was first conceived (and when our enemies were more technologically advanced than the Islamicists are now).

And why have the bigwigs walk in when they could just as easily fly to Canada and drive in. The reason Mexicans walk in is because they are destitute and have no choice. Terrorists don't have that problem. But this appears to be a VERY difficult problem for you to grasp, because we keep coming back to it.

We have threats at our southern border. Chavez is one.

Chaves represents zero threats to us. I would not be suprised if he is voted out in his countries next election, if we can get it monitored. Chávez's oil-fueled ego trip may be his own undoing

and keep in mind that potential Venezualen terrorists would need to travel through 7 countries to reach the United States. I have never been saying that terrorism was IMPOSSIBLE (although dirty bombs DEFITELY are) from the Mexican border. My point has always been that there is no current credible threat, and that the alarmists are doing the work of protectionists for them. This issue is like global warming and "back-ally" abortions. It is a leftist scare tatic to protect American worker's unions. Mexicans may take American jobs, but they are not a military threat.

RE: Part of the reason we defeated the Eastern Block was because the people discovered capitalism.

Read "The Perestroika Deception" and "New Lies For Old" by Anatoliy Golitsyn, then get back to me.

RE: The same thing will happen in China. Communism does not work as a long-term economic policy.

Communism in the PRC seems to be well entrenched. They have seemingly discovered a way to use a "mega-NEP" to keep the money flowing in without collapsing the Communist state. Plus, the people of the PRC (which, yes, I have spent time in) are not of the post Enlightenment, freedom loving, Western mindset; they are hierachically oriented and love to be told what to do, in general.

RE: Meanwhile my raw nerve is people who see a terrorist threat at the Mexican border because idiots like Michael Savage tell them to.

There is a possibility of terrorists entering by various means, including over land. How can you even debate this? It is the sort of logic anyone with a double digit IQ can understand.

RE: Those who worry about China militarily are too dumb to realize that they'd have to swim here to attack us.

And ICBMs, SLBMs, or even, shorter range devices snuck into Cuba could not be used? What century are you living in? Plus, on 7/16/2001, the PRC concluded a grand agreement with Russia which mentions mutual assistance. Further agreements since, (including the most recent ones, leading the join military exercises) make it clear that Russian strategic weapons may be brought to bear. This makes it a whole new game.

RE: And, I hate to break it to you, but the Russians have always hated them more than we do.

Nonesense. The only time of serious *apparent* conflict was during the period from the mid 1960s thought to the mid 80s. Even this must be questioned. Totalitarians consider *ANYTHING* to be possible, including staging fake wars, killing thousands or even millions of their own people. Have you read "Origins of Totalitarianism" by Arendt? One of the things she highlights, is that we non totalitarian countries have a very difficult time accepting this darkest of dark realities about totalitarians. Time and time again, we naively trust them, and underestimate how evil and destructive they can be.

RE: If they were going to attack anybody, it'd be Russia.

Why attack when you are being given complete access, with none of the responsibilities of ownership and jurisdiction, for fractions of a RMBY / Ruble?

RE: China has next to no natural resources.

Totally false. Granted, the PRC's petroleum resources do not meet current needs, however, in the areas of rare earth minerals and certain ores, the PRC are actually in an extremely advantageous position versus the rest of the world. Oh, and that other resource, people.

RE: Russia has more than we do and is weaker.

Weaker by what measure? Certainly not by the measures of Civil Defense preparations, oil supply, or number of strategic warheads. Etc.

RE: Money is the only reason any other country besides the USA would ever be willing to go to war.

That is a false assumption, based on projection of post 1700 Western European values. Certainly, that is how most Westerners think. But totalitarians, particularly non Western ones, do not think that way.

Just a final comment. Your "view" here is such an exagerated characature of wishful, utopian, anti Clausewitzian, liberal, "modern" Western thinking, that I must admit that I suspect you to be anything but a Westerner. This almost seems like agitational propaganda to me.

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