U.S. Airline Threat Level At Highest After Plot Foiled (Red)

ClickonDetroit ^ | August 10, 2006 | AP

[ShadowDancer]

U.S. Airline Threat Level At Highest After Plot Foiled

POSTED: 1:42 am EDT August 10, 2006
UPDATED: 7:18 am EDT August 10, 2006

LONDON -- The U.S. government raised its threat warning to the highest level for commercial flights from Britain to the United States early Thursday in response to a terror plot disrupted in London. Terrorists had targeted United, American and Continental airlines, two U.S. counterterrorism officials said.

In addition to the highest alert for flights from Britain, the alert for all flights coming or going from the United States was also raised slightly. The government banned beverages, hair gels and lotions from flights, explaining only that liquids emerged as a risk from the investigation in Britain.

Multiple flights to multiple American cities were put on alert. Specifically, these airlines included United Airlines, American Airlines and Continental Airlines Inc., the two counterterrorism officials said. American and United flights were turned into terrorist weapons on Sept. 11, 2001, when they were hijacked and crashed.

It is the first time the red alert level in the Homeland Security warning system has been invoked, although there have been brief periods in the past when the orange level was applied. Homeland Security defines the red alert as designating a "severe risk of terrorist attacks."

"We believe that these arrests (in London) have significantly disrupted the threat, but we cannot be sure that the threat has been entirely eliminated or the plot completely thwarted," said Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff in announcing that the threat level for flights from Britain to the United States has been raised to the highest "severe or red" level.

"To defend further against any remaining threat from this plot, we will also raise the threat level to high, or orange, for all commercial aviation operating in or destined for the United States," Chertoff said.

A statement issued by Chertoff said "currently, there is no indication ... of plotting within the United States."

AP Image Passengers at check-in area of Terminal 1 at Heathrow airport during terror alert on Thursday morning.

A U.S. law enforcement official said there have been no arrests in the United States connected to the plot.

A senior U.S. counterterrorism official said authorities believe dozens of people and as many as 50 were involved or connected to the overseas plot that was unraveled Wednesday evening. The plan "had a footprint to al-Qaida back to it," said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation.

It was not believed to be connected to the Egyptian students who disappeared in the United States more than a week ago before reaching a college they were supposed to attend in Montana. Three of the 11 have since been found and the FBI has said neither they nor the still-missing eight are believed to be a threat.

The plan involved airline passengers hiding masked explosives in carryon luggage, the official said. "They were not yet sitting on an airplane," but were very close to traveling, the official said, calling the plot "the real deal."

U.S. intelligence has been working closely with the British on the investigation, which has been ongoing for months, the second official said.

Authorities have not yet arrested or detained all suspects who are believed to be involved in the plot, the official said, prompting Chertoff's alarm.

"Consistent with these higher threat levels, the Transportation Security Administration is coordinating with federal partners, airport authorities and commercial airlines on expanding the intensity of existing security requirements," Chertoff said.

"Due to the nature of the threat revealed by this investigation, we are prohibiting any liquids, including beverages, hair gels, and lotions from being carried on the airplane."

He said the changes take effect at 4 a.m. local time across the United States and will be undated as warranted.

The metal detector and X-ray machines at airport security checkpoints cannot detect explosives. At many, but not all airport checkpoints, the TSA has deployed walkthrough "sniffer" or "puffer" machines that can detect explosives residue.

As part of the foiled Bojinka Plot to blow up 12 Western airliners simultaneously over the Pacific Ocean in the mid-1990s, terrorist mastermind Ramzi Youssef planned to put together an improvised bomb using liquid in a contact lens solution container.

Chertoff said travelers in the United States "should also anticipate additional security measures within the airport and at screening checkpoints."

Multiple airlines with flights to multiple U.S. airports were at risk, according to a western counterterrorism official. Another official refused to identify the airlines because they were still being notified of the threat but referred to them as the "usual suspects." In the past, U.S. cities with terrorism threats or plots have included Washington, New York, Boston and Los Angeles. Airlines whose planes were hijacked on Sept. 11, 2001, were United Airlines and American Airlines. British Airways has also dealt with numerous threats in recent years.

"These measures will continue to assure that our aviation system remains safe and secure," Chertoff added. "Travelers should go about their plans confidently, while maintaining vigilance in their surroundings and exercising patience with screening and security officials."

At U.S. Northern Command, the military headquarters established in response to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks to improve coordination of the defense of U.S. territory, spokesman Sean Kelly declined to comment on any precautionary steps taken in response to the heightened threat levels.

"It is inappropriate to speculate or comment on any current operational activities or discuss future force protection measures," he said.

Prime Minister Tony Blair's office said in London that the prime minister, vacationing in the Caribbean, had briefed President Bush on the situation overnight.

There was no immediate public reaction from the White House. Bush is spending a few days at his ranch near Crawford, Texas.

The Homeland Security Department devised the alert system after the Sept. 11 attacks. The last time the U.S. government raised the terrorist risk here to orange, or high, was in July 2005 after the subway bombings in London. It was lowered to yellow a month later, the elevated risk status that has been the norm since the system was created.

U.S. authorities, including the Transportation Security Administration, planned a news briefing early Thursday.

In London, Britain's Home Secretary John Reid said the alleged plot was "significant" and that terrorists aimed to "bring down a number of aircraft through mid-flight explosions, causing a considerable loss of life."

Police arrested a number of people overnight in London after a major covert counterterrorism operation that had lasted several months, but did not immediately say how many. Heathrow airport in London was closed for most European flights.

The national threat level in Britain was raised to critical - a warning level that indicates the likelihood of an imminent terrorist attack. The threat rating was posted on the Web site of Britain's MI5 - the British domestic spy agency.

[BILL_C]

"And when the next mass murder takes place, what response can we expect? I'd like to know the "next step(s)" that the US has in mind."

And there's the $million question, at least. I'd answer that by asking what we do to make it SO PAINFUL to the killers that they'd NEVER think of doing it again. Don't answer publicly, but answer that to yourself.

[Rte66]

July 23, 2006, 7:00AM
Experts detonate bomb at complex
Texas City officials look to survivor for clues

By KEVIN MORAN and ERIC HANSON
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle

TEXAS CITY - Bomb experts Thursday used one explosive to destroy another, purposely setting off a blast and a small fire in an apartment unit already damaged after a homemade substance exploded and killed tenant Matthew Robert Rugo, 21.

Just why Rugo and roommate Curtis Jetton, who survived the Wednesday afternoon blast with minor burns, mixed a chemical substance similar to one that FBI experts said has been used by Middle East suicide bombers remained a mystery after the pair's apartment was rendered safe enough to enter, Texas City Police Chief Robert Burby said.

Federal, state and local bomb experts said the mixture Rugo and Jetton created was too dangerous to remove from the pair's Lakeview Apartments unit, so they ordered hundreds of people to evacuate the 304-unit complex and the neighboring 132-unit Oaks apartment complex around 11 a.m. Thursday.

Shortly after 1:30 p.m., with dump trucks parked outside the pair's ground-floor apartment as shields against possible flying debris, bomb squad members used one explosive to destroy the peroxide-based material left over in the unit after Rugo's death.

Burby and other officials declined to say what, if any, explanation Jetton gave them after he was arrested and charged with felony possession of explosive materials and making false statements after he dialed 911 for help.

Asked about a televised report that Rugo and Jetton may have been part of a four-member local anarchist group, Burby said late Thursday: "I have nothing to substantiate that and I don't know where that came from."

FBI spokeswoman Shauna Dunlap said: "We have not confirmed that information at this time."

Texas City Mayor Matt Doyle said there were no hints of terroristic activity.

"If we thought that this was a terrorist act, the action would be a lot different than we've seen today," Doyle said after an afternoon news conference in a city that is home to one of the largest petrochemical complexes in the world. "Certainly, the FBI would have raised the level of security inside the city."
......
Federal and local officials said they believe the substance was peroxide-based and similar to TATP, organic peroxide and a primary high explosive. It takes the form of a white crystalline powder with a distinctive acrid smell and has been described as a weapon of choice for suicide bombers.

TATP can be easily prepared in a basement lab using starting materials obtained from hardware stores, pharmacies and stores selling cosmetics, according to the Global Security Web site.

Although the substance that killed Rugo was described by FBI Special Agent Kasey Salway as "extremely sensitive to heat, shock and friction," and very powerful in relatively small amounts, the two blasts left just one of Lakeview Apartments' 22 separate buildings temporarily uninhabitable Thursday.
.....
[snip]

[nevergore]

Sorry...you're not remotely close to correct or re-stating facts.....

BTW, I'm a pilot....

Homeland Security conducted tests in early 2002 regarding what a small amount (6-8 oz.) of HE would do to a fully pressurized plane at cruising altitude.

The results were devastating, it would result in complete structural failure on the aircraft.

You were correct on your statement regarding bullet holes in the fuselage of an aircraft not being a problem...small holes will not even cause a bump in the flight.....

Check your facts first...LOL

[Leatherneck_MT]

Thanks for the story. I hadn't heard about that one.

[ritewingwarrior]

Once again the scourge of political correctness leads our government to make foolish precautions. The TSA is now demanding that people dispose of any and all liquid-like substance in their bags. Hairgel, makeup, lotion, etc. Until they start physically searching people, it is nothing for these terrorists to carry these chemicals in their pants, in glass or plastic vials.
Stop with the stupidity and start searching all Arabic looking men from head to toe, and leave the rest of the people alone, particulary the elderly.

[George Smiley]

This one, too:

*** A new terrorist explosive, triacetone triperoxide (TATP), has recently appeared as a weapon in the Middle East. TATP has been used by suicide bombers in Israel, and was chosen as a detonator in 2001 by the thwarted "shoe bomber" Richard Reid. It can be as or more powerful than military analogs. TATP is one of the most sensitive explosives known, being extremely sensitive to impact, temperature change and friction. Another peroxide-type explosive is hexamethylene triperoxide diamine (HMTD), which is less sensitive than TATP but still dangerous. HMTD is somewhat more sensitive to impact than TCPT, but both are very sensitive explosives.

*** This morning I thought it was Nitro/Glycerine also.

Your post gave me mental images of everybody doing about 25 jumping jacks as part of the process of going through airline security.

[George Smiley]

Sorry...you're not remotely close to correct or re-stating facts.....

BTW, I'm a pilot....

Homeland Security conducted tests in early 2002 regarding what a small amount (6-8 oz.) of HE would do to a fully pressurized plane at cruising altitude.

The results were devastating, it would result in complete structural failure on the aircraft.

You were correct on your statement regarding bullet holes in the fuselage of an aircraft not being a problem...small holes will not even cause a bump in the flight.....

Check your facts first...LOL

It was your use of the words "a small rupture" that got me started.

Methinks half a pound of HE going off would do a bit more than that.

[tortoise]

TATP - they were just saying the plot was to carry the parts on, put them together and detonate either by friction (throwing a small container against something, for example) or electronic detonation (such as was suspected in the OU bombing suicide, for example, which may have exploded prematurely, before electronics used).

Not quite so easy. Two of the three ingredients have pretty noxious smells that would be noticed. Also, precipitating TATP crystals is a slow process, doubly so in a process with poor temperature control. I doubt you could get enough to do the job in any kind of remotely timely fashion, and certainly not one that would not alert the cabin by the noxious mix of acetone and concentrated sulphuric acid.

However, there are quite a number of liquid and binary liquid detonables, a number of which are very powerful, but they mostly require detonators.

The closest and most innocuous example I can think of that would actually work in your hypothetical case is a powerful and moderately stable primary (also a peroxide explosive like TATP) that uses peroxide and citric acid plus another semi-innocuous white tablet that can be purchased OTC. That on-the-fly synthesis requires nothing nasty and the result is much better than TATP. However, unlike TATP, this should show up on chemical bomb scanners looking for nitrogen signatures and similar.

[Old Professer]

Nitric acid and glycerine come to mind.

[MeneMeneTekelUpharsin]

Care to conjecture on the failure {deporting innocent citizens} rate of your plan?
Furthermore, why do you propose trashing the religious clause in the the Amendment?

Until the imams come out and openly denounce what these muslims are doing (they haven't done so), we are all at risk. It is simple logic that the imams are teaching their followers to do these things. Therefore, the imams AND their followers must leave. No negotiation.

[I'm ALL Right!]

Of course, 19 of them attacked us before we attacked Iraq...but that is "an inconvenient truth" that the democrats like to forget.

[Slip18]

Saw an article on Modern Marvels that you can make an innocuous bomb with Mentos and Coca-Cola in a plastic bottle. Put the Mentos in the Coke, shake a bit, and voila!, you've got a little bomb. I thought it was pretty amazing.

I still like the vinegar and soda volcanoes.

[TeleStraightShooter]

Most imams have openly denounced violent jihad.
I concur that for non citizens who have not, they should be addressed.

[JustPiper]

thanks Sarge!

[Oorang]

Thanks very much for the ping Sarge, I do appreciate it.

[Salem]

---

AMERICA AT WAR
At Salem the Soldier's Homepage ~
Honored member of FReeper Leapfrog's "Enemy of Islam" list.
Islam, a Religion of Peace®? Some links...  by backhoe
Translated Pre-War IRAQ Documents  by jveritas
Mohammed, The Mad Poet Quoted....  by PsyOp
One FReeper On The Line  by SNOWFLAKE
The Clash of Ideologies - A Review

"It's time we recognized the nature of the conflict. It's total war and we are all involved. Nobody on our side is exempted because of age, gender, or handicap. The Islamofacists have stolen childhood from the world." [FReeper Retief]