Posted on 07/03/2006 11:27:03 PM PDT by FairOpinion
LONDON (Reuters) - The threat of an al Qaeda attack from the sea remains an "absolute concern" and could intensify as operations on land are countered, the U.S. Navy's top commander in the Gulf told Reuters on Monday.
Since the September 11 attacks on the United States, governments and security experts have repeatedly voiced fears about the vulnerability of the maritime industry, which carries more than 90 percent of the world's traded goods.
"I don't think there is any question that as we thwart their attacks and disrupt their operations on land, that we should expect them to turn to the sea," Vice Admiral Patrick M. Walsh, who is in charge of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, said in an interview.
"It is something that is an absolute concern and focus for us, and I will not rest easy in this job (until it is checked)," he said, speaking by telephone from Manama in Bahrain.
Walsh said al Qaeda, which is well known to have a maritime arm, was very adept at blending into the maritime environment.
"I don't take the threat for granted at all, we have had attacks thwarted in Saudi Arabia on land, and to take any other approach to our operations would be irresponsible," said Walsh, who is also head of the Fifth Fleet.
He said al Qaeda had shown its capability a number of times in the past, with a series of high profile marine attacks, while many others had been foiled.
Walsh cited the attack on the war ship the USS Cole off Yemen in 2000 in which 17 U.S. sailors died, the attack on the oil tanker Limburg in 2002, again off Yemen, and a foiled attack on Iraq's Basra oil terminal in 2004.
ENERGY SUPPLIES
He said the unsuccessful attack on Saudi Arabia's huge Abqaiq oil facility, the world's biggest oil processing plant, in February made him especially wary.
"When I look at that, my first reaction is that they (al Qaeda) are going to turn to the sea. I recognize that when they are thwarted in one direction they turn to another."
Walsh said he was "very concerned" about the role al Qaeda had played in the energy sphere and its intention to disrupt global energy markets.
"It continues to be significant, and so I don't think that we can ever sit back on this mission," he said.
He said al Qaeda's stated intention to disrupt energy supplies was all the more worrying when one considered how finely balanced, in terms of supply-demand, energy markets were.
"There is absolutely no surplus in this industry at all, whether it's in drilling, distribution or transportation and so any disruption of world energy reserves would have wide implications regardless of where it had taken place."
We are at war, the threat is still out there and is very serious.
Note this information comes from high level Navy Admiral ( he is providing legitimate info, but is not disclosing operational details):
"I don't think there is any question that as we thwart their attacks and disrupt their operations on land, that we should expect them to turn to the sea," Vice Admiral Patrick M. Walsh, who is in charge of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, said in an interview. "
PING
Remember those earlier reports of a few years ago about Al Qaeda's Navy ( some 12-14 ships?)
bttt
Our Navy can make minced meat out of those twerps.
Yes, but the liberal media is going to have hysterics of how the US sank "civilian ships" and "murdered civilians" -- after all the terrorists are "civilians".
Remember the USS Cole.
Pirates Attack U.N. Ships Near Indonesia
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Pirates attacked two U.N.-chartered ships carrying construction materials off the Indonesian coast in the Strait of Malacca, a maritime watchdog said Tuesday, raising fears about a resurgence of piracy in one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world.
At the moment we don't know if these are isolated cases or the start of attacks again in the Malacca straits," Choong said. "We are still monitoring. But we urge ships to keep a strict piracy watch."
According to the IMB, there were no pirate attacks in the strait in the first three months of 2006, but Sunday's attack raised to five the number of incidents reported since April.
Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia officially began coordinated patrols in the 550-mile strait in July 2004 after prodding from Washington, which said terrorists could link up with pirates already established in the narrow waterway to blow up an oil tanker or use it as a floating bomb.
Each year, more than 50,000 ships carrying half the world's oil and a third of its commerce use the route bordered by Malaysia and Singapore on one side and Indonesia's Sumatra on the other.
I think your scenario is a real possibility -- and it could even be worse -- imagine if they get a nuke on the ship.
USS Cole and others, including the attacks that have been foiled, that we will never hear about.
"He said al Qaeda had shown its capability a number of times in the past, with a series of high profile marine attacks, while many others had been foiled.
Walsh cited the attack on the war ship the USS Cole off Yemen in 2000 in which 17 U.S. sailors died, the attack on the oil tanker Limburg in 2002, again off Yemen, and a foiled attack on Iraq's Basra oil terminal in 2004."
I have to get some sleep.
I hope you have a happy and safe Independence Day.
Thank you.
Have a nice night and a wonderful 4th of July. :0
I just found another interesting related article -- you can maybe return to this thread and read them later. Now that I started to search, it seems a lot is going on on the seas.
Philippine Navy launches counter-terrorist exercises
http://www.pia.gov.ph/news.asp?fi=p060704.htm&no=45
General Santos City (4 July) -- The Philippine Navy launches today “Exercise Pagsisikap 2006,” an amphibious assault drill to strengthen its strategic counter-terrorist measure.
The exercise is undertaken jointly by the Naval Force Eastern Mindanao of the Philippine Navy and its Fleet-Marine Team at barangay Lago, Glan, Sarangani.
Major Jerry Lim, PA, Commander of the 51st Civil Relations Unit, 5th Civil Relations Group based in Buayan, this city said the “Exercise Pagsisikap 06” is part of the contingency operations designed to test the efficiency and readiness particularly of the Fleet Marine Team, as sea warfighting organization of the Navy.
He said Fleet Marine Team’s primary mission is “to provide a self-sustaining, multi-capable combined arms team with air, land, and sea components as rapid maneuver forces to the Naval Forces Command.”
As the Navy’s frontline against terrorist attacks, Lim explained the fleet team will focus its prowess on fighting terrorist leadership/command and weakening its power control. “It will be an intelligence-driven and special operations-intensive,” said Lim.
Yep.
Particularly scary is that the explosive used in my scenario is an ANFO (ammonium nitrate/fuel oil) slurry sealed in a watertight compartment. Even 400 pounds of ANFO could severely damage very large cruise ship and could even sink a smaller cruise ship.
And the terrorists are very meticulous planners.
I just read that they found documents -- I didn't catch whether related to the London or Madrid bombings -- but the terrorists had literally minute by minute planning and instructions for the day leading up to the attacks.
I also remember Bin Laden mentioning in a long ago tape, not meant for public consumption, when he was talking to his inner circle, about the calculations they made about what it will take to topple the WTC.
Some AQ are just "muscle", but they also have a lot of educated people.
all of which makes them that much more dangerous -- they are a real threat, it's terrible that the MSM and Dems can't understand this.
Don't you mean those 'yo-ho-ho bottle of rum" ***Pirates***, like in those swashbuckling movies of yesteryear, like that handsome Errol Flynn pirate? Why do they call TERRORISTS, Pirates? Just kills me.
OSINT.INTERNET-HAGANAH.com (Arieh O'Sullivan -JERUSALEM POST): "EGYPT FEARS AL-QAEDA ATTACK ON SUEZ CANAL [Warning Originated in Denmark] (December 12, 2005) (Read More...)
UPI.com - Security & Terrorism - UPI TERRORISM WATCH - Washington (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "The Panama Canal Authority, concerned about the accuracy of shipping information and possible terrorist infiltration, has issued a note to transient shipping stressing the need for accurate information from vessels' Automatic Identification Systems. The Panama Canal Authority issued its shipping advisory No.A-37-2005 on October 20, 2005 dealing with Automatic Identification Systems issues."The Panama Canal Authority, concerned about the accuracy of shipping information and possible terrorist infiltration, has issued a note to transient shipping stressing the need for accurate information from vessels' Automatic Identification Systems.The Panama Canal Authority issued its shipping advisory No.A-37-2005 on October 20, 2005 dealing with Automatic Identification Systems issues.") (October 28, 2005) (Read More...) (Note: This url may expire)
ON THREAT MATRIX:
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ON THE NET...
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July 03, 2006
Panama: Two Iranian Journalists with Canal Photos Arrested, Released
Article by Elio Nunez: "They Arrest Iranians With Photos of the Canal" El Panama America Sunday, June 25, 2006 [FBIS]:
The two Iranian reporters arrested in Tocumen International Airport by police units had videos and photographs of areas near the Panama Canal, a state security source said yesterday.
The visit of the media communicators who work for a state broadcaster in Iran coincided with that of the president of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez.
These Iranians told the police units that they were doing a report on the arrival in this country of the Shah of Iran, which occurred on 15 December 1979.
The reporters, who were traveling from Panama with a stop in Mexico, Amsterdam, and then Iran, were investigated by security and then released.
(Description of Source: Panama City El Panama America (Internet Version-WWW) in Spanish -- Right-of-center, business-oriented daily owned by the El Panama America Publishing House. URL: http://www.elpanamaamerica.com.pa/diarios/default.html )
Posted on 03 July 2006 @ 12:43 GMT
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