Posted on 06/05/2006 4:14:43 PM PDT by West Coast Conservative
U.S. officials believe Canadian arrests over the weekend and three recent domestic incidents in the United States are evidence the U.S. will soon be hit again by a terrorist attack. Privately, they say, they'd be surprised if it didn't come by the end of the year, reports CBS News correspondent Jim Stewart.
The first of the domestic incidents, all of which drew little attention at the time, began with the holdup of a string of Torrance, Calif. gas stations last summer. Muslim converts who bonded together in prison planned to use the robberies to finance attacks on 20 Army recruiting stations.
Los Angeles Police Chief William Bratton admits they stumbled on the plot during a search.
"Make no mistake about it," Bratton said. "We dodged a bullet here perhaps many bullets."
Police in Toledo, Ohio, busted another cell in February. This one consisted of three men training to attack U.S. forces overseas. Once again, luck played a role. When they tried to enlist someone in their mosque to help, he turned them in.
"These individuals are often hiding in plain sight in cities like Torrance and now Toledo," says John Pistole, a FBI deputy director.
Two months ago, a pair of Atlanta men, one a Georgia Tech engineering student, were arrested not long after communicating by e-mail with two of the suspects arrested in Canada over the weekend. The Atlanta men are charged with videotaping domestic targets, including the U.S. Capitol and the World Bank.
Analysts now conclude similarities between all the cases were dramatic: All were self-financed, self-motivated, and in each case the men were seeking out others to join their cell.
In short, Osama bin Laden didn't pay for these plots, recruit for them or even know of them. They were all totally homegrown even amateurish. But if four, including the one in Canada, have been uncovered in just 11 months, officials fear there are inevitably other plots that have not been and are maturing even now.
The next attack here, officials predict, will bear no resemblance to Sept. 11. The casualty toll will not be that high, the target probably not that big. We may not even recognize it for what it is at first, they say. But it's coming of that they seem certain.
Well, it was all the rage in Israel for awhile.. But I cant answer your question. Places like Hamtrack (sp?)MI, Plainfield, NJ and NYC are crawling with the followers of allah. So, its probably just a matter of time. The problem with the suicide bomber in the mall scenario, is that Kerry will call it a lone nuisance attack because the NSA was tapping his cell phone..
Hmmm, I live in a midsized Midwest city..
That incident was a test run, my friend.
That will happn again sometime in the future but the ending won't be the same.
So do I...
I think the merry bus riders are still in jail..
Actually, I'm surprised we haven't been hit again multiple times. I'm really surprised we haven't seen suicide bombers here, since they seem to be so prevalent in the Mooslimb world.....
The Dems just cant help themselves. This haditha thing is boomeranging already
with your assessment of the situation.
And then they can bounce around yelling that we should have listened to them.
The problem is that they aren't saying anything.
Based on the historical fact that we have been hit with major terror attacks three times on the US mainland in the past 15 years they have the weight of probability on their side.
But saying that is as worthless as my saying that at some point some dumb idiot is going to climb in to a lion's pen and get bit.
Based on past occurrences I have a high probability of being right. But is it actually useful? Do I have some inside knowledge? Would listening to me prevent it?
No.
Same here. They are just playing the statistical odds for a credibility boost.
How is it "demagoguery"? I've heard countless politicians on both sides say its not if, but when.
(When they tried to enlist someone in their mosque to help, he turned them in.)
This is the most hopeful thing I heard in a while. The person who turned these terrorists in did more for tolerence of Muslims than CAIR ever could
It's kind of interesting how this exact scenario -- which is quite simple for anyone to carry out as long as they have the will to do it -- has never unfolded here in the U.S.
don't count me in that statement...
No, the Judge RORed them.
They still have to face tresspass charges but you can make book that the State Attorney will drop the charges before the trial date.
Canada ping!
Please FReepmail me to get on or off this ping list.
Except for scanning for "hot words" or phrases, nobody is listening in on your phone calls or reading your emails.
...Another Terrorist Attack Coming Soon?
CBS News ^ | June 5, 2006...
Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt. I have no time for CBS because the non-stop coverage of the Hurricane Season on The Weather Channel has kept me awake since last Monday.
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