Posted on 06/17/2006 2:35:12 PM PDT by MamaDearest
Exclusive Book Excerpt: How an Al-Qaeda Cell Planned a Poison-gas Attack on the N.Y. Subway The plot was called off by Bin Laden's No. 2 only 45 days from zero hour, according to a new book by Ron Suskind SUBSCRIBE TO TIMEPRINTE-MAILMORE BY AUTHORRelated Blogs: Click here for blog postings from around the web that are related to the topic of this article.
Posted Saturday, Jun. 17, 2006 Al-Qaeda terrorists came within 45 days of attacking the New York subway system with a lethal gas similar to that used in Nazi death camps. They were stopped not by any intelligence breakthrough, but by an order from Osama bin Laden's deputy, Ayman Zawahiri. And the U.S. learned of the plot from a CIA mole inside al-Qaeda. These are some of the more startling revelations by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Ron Suskind, whose new book The One Percent Doctrine is excerpted in the forthcoming issue of TIME. It will appear on Time.com early Sunday morning.
U Al-Qaeda terrorists came within 45 days of attacking the New York subway system with a lethal gas similar to that used in Nazi death camps. They were stopped not by any intelligence breakthrough, but by an order from Osama bin Laden's deputy, Ayman Zawahiri. And the U.S. learned of the plot from a CIA mole inside al-Qaeda. These are some of the more startling revelations by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Ron Suskind, whose new book The One Percent Doctrine is excerpted in the forthcoming issue of TIME. It will appear on Time.com early Sunday morning.
U.S. intelligence got its first inkling of the plot from the contents of a laptop computer belonging to a Bahraini jihadist captured in Saudi Arabia early in 2003. It contained plans for a gas-dispersal system dubbed "the mubtakkar" (Arabic for inventive). Fearing that al-Qaeda's engineers had achieved the holy grail of terror R&D — a device to effectively distribute hydrogen-cyanide gas, which is deadly when inhaled — the CIA immediately set about building a prototype based on the captured design, which comprised two separate chambers for sodium cyanide and a stable source of hydrogen, such as hydrochloric acid. A seal between the two could be broken by a remote trigger, producing the gas for dispersal. The prototype confirmed their worst fears: "In the world of terrorist weaponry," writes Suskind, "this was the equivalent of splitting the atom. Obtain a few widely available chemicals, and you could construct it with a trip to Home Depot – and then kill everyone in the store."
The device was shown to President Bush and Vice President Cheney the following morning, prompting the President to order that alerts be sent through all levels of the U.S. government. Easily constructed and concealed, mass casualties were inevitable if it could be triggered in any enclosed public space.
Having discovered the device, exposing the plot in which it might be used became a matter of extreme urgency. Although the Saudis were cooperating more than ever before in efforts to track down al-Qaeda operatives in the kingdom, the interrogations of suspects connected with the Bahraini on whose computer the Mubtakkar was discovered were going nowhere. The U.S. would have to look elsewhere.
Conventional wisdom has long held that the U.S. has no human intelligence assets inside al Qaeda. "That is not true," writes Suskind. Over the previous six months, U.S. agents had been receiving accurate tips from a man the writer identifies simply as "Ali," a management-level al-Qaeda operative who believed his leaders had erred in attacking the U.S. directly. "The group was now dispersed," writes Suskind. "A few of its leaders and many foot soldiers were captured or dead. As with any organization, time passed and second-guessing began."
And when asked about the Mubtakkar and the names of the men arrested in Saudi Arabia, Ali was aware of the plot. He identified the key man as Bin Laden's top operative on the Arabian Peninsula, Yusuf al Ayeri, a.k.a. "Swift Sword," who had been released days earlier by Saudi authorities, unaware that al-Ayeri was bin Laden's point man in the kingdom.
Ali revealed that Ayeri had visited Ayman Zawahiri in January 2003, to inform him of a plot to attack the New York City subway system using cyanide gas. Several mubtakkars were to be placed in subway cars and other strategic locations. This was not simply a proposal; the plot was well under way. In fact, zero-hour was only 45 days away. But then, for reasons still debated by U.S. intelligence officials, Zawahiri called off the attack. "Ali did not know the precise explanation why. He just knew that Zawahiri had called them off."
The news left administration officials gathered in the White House with more questions than answers. Why was Ali cooperating? Why had Zawahiri called off the strike? Were the operatives planning to carry out the attack still in New York? "The CIA analysts attempted answers. Many of the questions were simply unanswerable."
One man who could answer them was al-Ayeri — but he was killed in a gun battle between Saudi security forces and al Qaeda militants, who had launched a mini insurrection to coincide with the U.S. invasion of Iraq. Suskind quotes a CIA operative as questioning whether it was an accident that the Saudis had killed the kingpin who could expose a cell planning a chemical weapons attack inside the U.S. "The Saudis just shrugged," the source tells Suskind. "They said their people got a little overzealous." .S. intelligence got its first inkling of the plot from the contents of a laptop computer belonging to a Bahraini jihadist captured in Saudi Arabia early in 2003. It contained plans for a gas-dispersal system dubbed "the mubtakkar" (Arabic for inventive). Fearing that al-Qaeda's engineers had achieved the holy grail of terror R&D — a device to effectively distribute hydrogen-cyanide gas, which is deadly when inhaled — the CIA immediately set about building a prototype based on the captured design, which comprised two separate chambers for sodium cyanide and a stable source of hydrogen, such as hydrochloric acid. A seal between the two could be broken by a remote trigger, producing the gas for dispersal. The prototype confirmed their worst fears: "In the world of terrorist weaponry," writes Suskind, "this was the equivalent of splitting the atom. Obtain a few widely available chemicals, and you could construct it with a trip to Home Depot – and then kill everyone in the store."
The device was shown to President Bush and Vice President Cheney the following morning, prompting the President to order that alerts be sent through all levels of the U.S. government. Easily constructed and concealed, mass casualties were inevitable if it could be triggered in any enclosed public space.
Having discovered the device, exposing the plot in which it might be used became a matter of extreme urgency. Although the Saudis were cooperating more than ever before in efforts to track down al-Qaeda operatives in the kingdom, the interrogations of suspects connected with the Bahraini on whose computer the Mubtakkar was discovered were going nowhere. The U.S. would have to look elsewhere.
Conventional wisdom has long held that the U.S. has no human intelligence assets inside al Qaeda. "That is not true," writes Suskind. Over the previous six months, U.S. agents had been receiving accurate tips from a man the writer identifies simply as "Ali," a management-level al-Qaeda operative who believed his leaders had erred in attacking the U.S. directly. "The group was now dispersed," writes Suskind. "A few of its leaders and many foot soldiers were captured or dead. As with any organization, time passed and second-guessing began."
And when asked about the Mubtakkar and the names of the men arrested in Saudi Arabia, Ali was aware of the plot. He identified the key man as Bin Laden's top operative on the Arabian Peninsula, Yusuf al Ayeri, a.k.a. "Swift Sword," who had been released days earlier by Saudi authorities, unaware that al-Ayeri was bin Laden's point man in the kingdom.
Ali revealed that Ayeri had visited Ayman Zawahiri in January 2003, to inform him of a plot to attack the New York City subway system using cyanide gas. Several mubtakkars were to be placed in subway cars and other strategic locations. This was not simply a proposal; the plot was well under way. In fact, zero-hour was only 45 days away. But then, for reasons still debated by U.S. intelligence officials, Zawahiri called off the attack. "Ali did not know the precise explanation why. He just knew that Zawahiri had called them off."
The news left administration officials gathered in the White House with more questions than answers. Why was Ali cooperating? Why had Zawahiri called off the strike? Were the operatives planning to carry out the attack still in New York? "The CIA analysts attempted answers. Many of the questions were simply unanswerable."
One man who could answer them was al-Ayeri — but he was killed in a gun battle between Saudi security forces and al Qaeda militants, who had launched a mini insurrection to coincide with the U.S. invasion of Iraq. Suskind quotes a CIA operative as questioning whether it was an accident that the Saudis had killed the kingpin who could expose a cell planning a chemical weapons attack inside the U.S. "The Saudis just shrugged," the source tells Suskind. "They said their people got a little overzealous."
LOL...fiction...great...hoping they believe it then. ;o)
I can't seem to open the blog about the connection between Saddam and AQ.
http://markeichenlaub.blogspot.com/2006/06/abu-abdullah-rashid-al-baghdadi-former.html
I agree to a point. I doubt they could manufacture a strong enough toxin and method of dispersion to cause huge numbers of casualties. It would probably be more like the Aum attack in Japan where many got sick, but the actual deaths were low, due to poor quality homemade nerve toxin and crude dispersal methods.
This, on the other hand, would be a different story. I know the chemical shells found in Iraq are after the planned attack, but that really isn't my point. People like to say there were no WMDs, but there were. After that, they say there were no stockpiles to justify the invasion. Well....a single drop of this type nerve toxin can kill. There are a lot of drops in 17 shells. People would rethink 'stockpile' if something like this were ever realeased in a NYC metro station.
I shudder to think what would have happened if the Dems were in control of the White House conducting policy in their typical "head in the sand" mode.
It worked for me; I just tried it.
http://markeichenlaub.blogspot.com/2006/06/abu-abdullah-rashid-al-baghdadi-former.html
Maybe they didn't want Bush to be re-elected. They were hoping for a Dem, and then they would carry out their attack.
I'm guessing that the CIA didn't gather this info...it came from a outside agency (like Germany's BND or the French secret service). This story left numerous holes and unexplained items.
As for the attack being called off...there is an odd circle around Al Qaeda consisting of Iran, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan...with various political and religious leaders exerting a bit of influence over Ossama and his boys. An attack like this would have left the US no choice about invading Pakistan...which second level leadership in Pakistan which is heavily in support of Ossama...may have come up to realize the implications and simply hinted to Ossama that they didn't want their gravey train in Pakistan to come to an end. Afghanistan was a relative cake-walk for the American military...Pakistan would have been a summer picnic in comparison...with almost no military willing to stand up against the US Army or a bombing campaign. I suspect this stern talk with Ossama probably took the operation down...but they still have the weapons and the technology...nothing has changed.
Our borders are completely open and the threat is just as bad today as it was on 9-11. Nothing has changed.
Pakistan is a nuclear power, however wimpy it's conventional forces may be.
If memory serves, this would be the same incident that became the butt of so many jokes in this country. Everyone from Jay Leno to Letterman to 'Rat talking heads had a field day with the security precautions--and didn't the NY ACLU actually advise people on how to stymie the security personnel and police?
I've heard over and over again on Fox News this morning that Zwahiri, Al Queda's second in command ordered that the attack be called off "for unknown reasons."
It's pretty simple, really... These people aren't stupid. They know the history of the leftists in this country during wartime. They know how they won the war for the communists in Viet Nam. If there were to be a huge Al Queda attack in the US, especially now that Al Queda is well known to be in Iraq, that would spell the end of the left's chances of losing the war for us. There's no way they would take a chance of uniting much of the country, and forcing the left out of power at this point in time.
They're perfectly aware of the fact that if they bide their time, the left will continue to try to force America to lose the war in Iraq, and even the WOT.
Mark
Unfortunately that's true. I remember how they freaked over the anthrax powder when it showed up at a couple MSM outlets. It would probably take an event like that with a nerve agent to wake them up. It would be a hard lesson I hope they never need to learn.
the subways pull the gunk through the tunnels in their wake
bump for publicity
This quote from Clarke during his 9/11 Commission testimony sickened me for two reasons. First, it was such a blatant, pandering statement to the MSM. Secondly, he forgot to say "repeatedly" after he said, "I failed you."
Between Khobar Towers, the American embassy bombings in Africa, and the U.S.S. Cole, he should have been fired long before 9/11 occurred. If some legitimate action had been taken, instead of dismissing it during the '90s, it may not have ever happened. That's the Dem way of doing things, however. They expect us to forget that and put them in charge of the WOT in '06 and '08. Keep dreaming, Dean, Pelosi, Reed, et al....
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