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."
Bump for later read; this looks fascinating.
Wonder what those other "strategic locations" would have been??????
Are they going to make this a cover story on the actual magazine, like they did with their Global Warming scaremongering?
It looks fascinating, all right, but a couple of things bother me.
First, It's written by one of the left wingers from Time, Incorporated. So, who knows what axes he has to grind?
Second, I don't want to spend any money on a book that would support the liars at Time and put money into the pockets of their left-wing, treasonous owners.
Third, did the administration approve of these leaks, or is this yet another example of traitors at the CIA leaking sensitive stuff to their left-wing contacts in the media?
Perhaps these suspicions are unjustified, but after the way Time has behaved over the past fifty years and more, I think there are good grounds to be suspicious.
Thanks Time for alerting the terrorist to a cia operative within Al Qaeda....
Please FReepmail me if you want on or off my ‘miscellaneous’ ping list.
Rove set em up to make them look bad, it's not their fault. /s
2003 Flashback:
Preparations for possible attacks gear up
Saturday, February 8, 2003 Posted: 10:37 PM EST (0337 GMT)
http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/02/08/threat.level/
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Transportation security was increased nationwide on Saturday and health care officials were urged to be vigilant for symptoms of bio-chemical contamination, a day after the nation raised its terrorism threat level a notch to "high."
New York City; eastern Virginia; Portland, Oregon; and Atlanta, Georgia -- host of this year's National Basketball Association All-Star Game -- were beefing up security under the alert warning issued Friday. New flight restrictions are planned for airspace around Washington, D.C., starting Monday.
-snip-
Of possible concern could be attacks involving chemicals, such as ricin, cyanide, or organophosphates and/or radiological dispersal devices (RDD), and dirty bombs," a letter from Virginia officials said.
Vote for the Democrat Party (Ha-Ha). They will protect us just as Bill and Hillary Clinton did on 911 (Ha-Ha)!!! Can you imagine any American dumb enough or insane enough to cast a vote for the Democrat "Traitor/Treason" Party? The filth, vermin and scum of humanity that makes up the current Democrat Party would have had massive rejoicing if thousands of New Yorkers were poisened to death in the NYC sybway system. America, you better wake up, and rip the beating heart out the treasonous low life called Democrat by voting them all out of office and into the black hole of evil from whence they all came!!!
How can this be .. I thought there were no WMD .. or so says the liberals
Exactly. The enemy gets much of its intelligence from open sources.
Exactly. Current Democratic leadership and those seeking it are ALL anti-homeland security and blind as a bat concerning the danger Al Qaeda poses. Now about liberal blather about Zarqawi not being such a bad guy (you know, the typical what are we doing in Iraq and when are we getting out rhetoric. As our President said, better to fight it there than here.
If this information is true, it purports Al Qaeda membership is here on our shores, ready to do the will of their leadership (albeit thousands of potential "leaders"). Just because Zarqawi is dead, doesn't mean leadership is no longer functional!
Zawahiri didn't call it off because of something Kerry or Murtha said....that's for sure.
Sounds less than impressive to me. Sodium cyanide plus hydrochloric acid is just the old reliable San Quentin recipe. Drop the cyanide pellets into the acid, plop plop, fizz fizz, smell the apricots, and choke and croak! A subway car could make a serviceable green room, with seating for a few dozen instead of just two, but it escapes me how the "invention" solves the gas distribution problem to enable a larger attack.
These terrorists are really stupid. They should dump nitric acid in a toilet followed by ammonium hydroxide. The result will be a white cloud of N2H2- hydrazine. The first bum that lights a ciggie in this cloud won't be found. Hydrazine is a cheap rocket fuel. Boom!
To me cynaide smelled more like almonds.
Good find jimbo...
Snip: July 22, 2005 - Searching Bags in Subways The New York City police will begin randomly searching people's bags on subways, buses, commuter trains, and ferries.
"The police can and should be aggressively investigating anyone they suspect is trying to bring explosives into the subway," said Christopher Dunn, associate legal director at the New York Civil Liberties Union. "However, random police searches of people without any suspicion of wrongdoing are contrary to our most basic constitutional values. This is a very troubling announcement."
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