Posted on 07/18/2005 3:17:01 PM PDT by CHARLITE
"So maybe it wasn't a suicide attack after all?"
I had finally gotten a decent connection through the ouija board with the late James Jesus Angleton, once our leading counterspy, and I didn't want to waste time with the usual chitchat about fly fishing-whose fascination, frankly, I have never understood — and Renaissance furniture.
JJA: "Why would anybody think it was a suicide operation?"
ML: "Well, officially they seemed pretty confident. I think the main thing was that the three bombs in the subways went off more or less at the same instant, and that suggested there were timers. And then I think they actually found physical evidence of timers."
JJA: "Really. How brilliant. And since when do suicide terrorists need timers? Isn't part of the cult that you get to push your own button and blast off?"
ML: "Well, I think the simultaneity of the three explosions suggested technological coordination, if you see what I mean..."
JJA: "Couldn't they just coordinate their watches? They all met before they set off to kill, didn't they? And they were all well educated, I don't think any of them had a problem telling time."
ML: "Yes, some of the British papers, and a very smart Italian journalist named Guido Olimpio, have suggested that the terrorists were duped, that they didn't expect to be blown up..."
JJA: "Yes, notice that the London police chief was 'puzzled' to discover that the bombers were carrying around their personal identity documents. That's pretty lousy tradecraft, isn't it? It's what led the police to Leeds, where they found explosives and all kinds of leads."
ML: "And there's the odd story about the pay-and-display ticket for their rental car. If they expected to die, why bother to pay the parking fee?"
JJA: "Well, that one actually supports the suicide theory, because Muslim martyrs are supposed to settle all their earthly affairs before the event, including all legitimate debts. If they cheated on their parking fee, it might count against their immediate entry to Paradise...Although, to tell you the truth, after many years in this place..."
There was a sudden squawk of static before his voice came back, kind of gravelly.
JJA: "Sorry, I'm not supposed to talk about how things are here."
ML: "So you don't think they knew they were going to be martyred?"
JJA: "No I don't. There's an elaborate ritual that surrounds acts of Islamic suicide terrorism, and none of the ritual is present in this case. There's almost always a letter to the family, explaining what an honor it is for them to have an heroic martyr. There's almost always a video that shows them praying, preparing for sacrifice. If not, there's invariably an audio."
ML: "Yes, you're right. These acts are always used for 'propaganda' purposes, aren't they?"
JJA: "Never mind propaganda, they're recruitment devices, just like the films of the ritual beheadings."
ML: "Right. And there aren't any in the London case."
JJA: "There are not. And that, my friend, is a great example of the dog that did not bark. Can you imagine the shock value of a cassette of these proper Brits explaining the righteousness of their case, as they blow up scores of their fellow countrymen?"
ML: "Well, then, what happened?"
JJA: "What happened? What happened was what happens every day in Iraq. You recruit young men and tell them you want them to carry out a terrorist op. Not a suicide mission, but a strike on behalf of jihad. You tell them you want them to carry some bombs into the underground and leave them on the subway train. You tell them not to worry, everything is controlled by a timer, and the timer is set, say, half an hour after they are out of the Tube. So they go. Except then you set the thing off remotely. By cell phone, say."
ML: "But I thought cell phones don't work in the underground."
JJA: "I think you will find that some do. Or maybe there was a different kind of radio signal. But the technology certainly exists, and isn't very expensive. It might be something very simple, like putting a phony clock face on the timer, showing the explosion set for half an hour after the real time."
ML: "Actually, that might help explain the guy on the bus."
JJA: "Good for you, you noticed that?"
ML: "Well, now that you've got me thinking along those lines, it suddenly makes sense."
JJA: "You bet. You remember those passengers who said he was rummaging around, very nervously, in his backpack?"
ML: "Yes. And all the papers said he was probably checking to make sure it would work."
JJA: "Except that we're talking an hour and a half after the bombs went off in the underground, and maybe that surprised him. Maybe theirs wasn't supposed to go off until his did, too. Maybe he suspected what had happened. And maybe he was trying to find a way to shut it off, to get out of what had become a nightmare."
ML: "Why didn't he just run?"
JJA: "Don't ask rational questions about a person seized by panic."
ML: "Fair enough. Anyway, there are plenty of precedents for this theory."
JJA: "Yup. Lots and lots of them. Like that poor bastard in Baghdad, the Saudi kid who was trained in Syria and then smuggled into Iraq. They told him that he was just a courier. All he had to do was drive a truck in front of the Jordanian embassy, park it, and walk away. They would do the rest. So he starts driving across town, when BOOM."
ML: "Yes, I remember, and he was blown through the windshield, and miraculously survived, and ended up on Iraqi TV warning the world not to trust the guys who recruited him."
JJA: "And then there are the cases of terrorists who were chained to the steering wheel."
ML: "Right. And of course the suicide terrorists in Israel are accompanied by a handler almost until the moment of truth."
JJA: "Yes. There's not a very high level of trust. Lots of the kids turn themselves in when they get close, even the ones who are drugged..."
ML: "Hey, don't go now! Drugs?"
But it was over.
Michael Ledeen, an NRO contributing editor, is most recently the author of The War Against the Terror Masters. He is resident scholar in the Freedom Chair at the American Enterprise Institute.
One way or the other they knew they were committing suicide, if it was not then, it would be later. If they could not see that, tough. The thing about suiciders, they only get to do it once.
Well, that's an interesting idea. I suppose it wouldn't have been too hard to dupe these guys. All you'd have to do is tell them they were doing a 'dry run'. Say the mastermind or their handlers tell them 'we just want to see what problems you would encounter if you moved through the Tube system with rucksacks. Don't worry, there are no actual explosives in the ruck but it is a very good mock up to be as realistic as possible...'
The one on the bus maybe had a different mission and didn't realise until the last minute that there had been bombs in the Tube, realises it must have been his buddies and realised he might be carrying a bomb as well. Starts digging in his ruck while he's on the bus and then kaboom.
It's not really that far-fetched. I don't know how they could go about demonstrating that was the case though other than circumstantial evidence. Not even sure it matters at this point. The masterminds are going to get what they want anyway. They will get a response from the UK. Then they can retaliate for the response and the big circle gets going.
Would also possibly explain all the articles about 'We are shocked to learn that he was involved with something like this...'
Could it be that they had no clue whatever? Probably not. But I guess it is possible.
British Muslim suicide bombers Ashif Muhahmmad Hanif, 22 (R) and Omar Khan Sharif, 27 (L) are seen as they pose with AK 47 rifles in a frame grab taken from a videotape handed out by Hamas March 8, 2004, nearly a year after their deaths. The 22-year-old Briton of Pakistani descent blew himself up at Mike's Place, a jazz club on Tel Aviv's beach promenade, on April 30, 2003, killing three people in an attack claimed by Hamas. Hanif's partner in the attack, 27-year-old Sharif, attempted to detonate his bomb, but failed, then fled the scene. His body later washed ashore on the Tel Aviv beach. al-REUTERS/ HO/ Hamas
http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/islam/worship/prayer_prep.shtml
The BBC has a very nice, warm, 'inclusive' section on Islam,and you can learn ever so much!
'Before Praying Muslims go through a routine washing ritual, cleansing themselves in preparation for prayer. The ritual washing, called Wudu, can be done in any clean place where there is water. There are special rules to allow for situations when water is not available (e.g. in a desert). Before starting Wudu you "make your intention".
RealVideo of prayer preparation (2m 51s)
On entering a mosque Muslims remove their shoes.
Before Wudu you make your intention. Then start with washing the hands as far as the wrists. You perform this 3 times.
Rinse out the mouth with water using the right hand. You perform this 3 times.
Wash the nostrils by sniffing up water and blowing it out. You perform this 3 times.
Wash the face 3 times.
Wash each arm up to the elbow. You perform this 3 times.
Wipe or rub the head with the inside of the fingers. You perform this once.
Clean the inside of the ears with the index fingers and the back of the ears with the thumbs. You perform this once.
Wipe the back of the neck. You perform this once.
Wash the feet up to the ankles. You perform this 3 times.'
That would tend to explain those timers.
In pre-internet days, I recall coming across an English translation of an article on personal hygiene by Ayatollah Khomeini. It addresses such questions as how many times to shake it after taking a leak. I wish I could find a link — it's got to be online somewhere!
There was an article earlier that stated they had gone to one of the Egyptians apartment and performed a purification ritual of shaving all their body hair, in preparation for suicide or martyrdom. I'm getting tired of all these "poor boys, they were duped into killing themselves" stories.
primitive lunatics
bound by psychogenic strictures
spouted by fanatical 'holy men'
ALL inspired by a pervert who enjoyed delusions and debauchery in the desert.
BTW, the NY Times Magazine section this week has a good aricle about Iran ... but in it it talks about the very dominant aspect of RITUAL MARTYRDOM that prevails in Shiite Islam. Says that the blood sacrifice is integral to Islam.
Today, I wrote an article about a woman..who last Friday lost her youngest son to suicide.
It was a tough article.
Tough, because two years ago she lost another son to suicide.
Tougher, because nine years ago she lost another son to a tragic drowning..possible suicide.
A woman who lost three sons to suicide. Who could imagine that? What woman? WHat mother could imagine that grief?
MAY she find solace in the fact that her sons never bore ANY malice to ANY other innocent, honest human being going about their own daily lives.
MAY that dear, loving mother KNOW that her sons were not seeking to hurt another innocent life.
I'm crying just thinking about this poor woman.
May God forgive those who hurt those other than themselves.
This has been picked up by at least one UK paper.
http://tinyurl.com/8evkj
Bump.
I have long been in favour of using what I consider a more accurate phrase, "Homicide bomber".
If the bomber happens to die or not in the concussion/conflagration, it is of small relevance. Their homicidal intent, and cooperation thereto is the issue.
I do grant, however, that knowing one might run the risk of unwittingly becoming so many bits of bloody debris could serve as a substantive recruitment deterrent to those who want to participate in Jihad without necessarily sacrificing their own life or limb to alla-uzza/satan...
In my mother's words, "Drop-kick 'em all, and let G_d sort 'em out on the other side!"
A.A.C.
The coerced would be those chained to the suicide vehicle or told their families would be killed if they didn't co-operate. Those set up without their knowledge would be the ones told to deliver a vehicle to a street and walk away but get detonated enroute. I didn't mean to imply they're one and the same, just variations on a theme.
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