Posted on 03/30/2011 6:22:44 AM PDT by library user
CHICAGO (CBS 2) The threats came in the mail and to date, there have been 25 letters that warn of nuclear bombs destroying America.
People who got them called the FBI and CBS 2′s Kristyn Hartman learned, the Bureaus Chicago office is leading the investigation.
FBI Special Agent Andre Zavala said, Yes, they alarmed a lot of people.
Attorney Tracy Rizzo was alarmed. A number of days ago, an envelope, with a Chicago postmark and a hand-written address to her private investigations firm, came in the mail.
The letter inside said, The Al-Qaeda organization has planted 160 nuclear bombs throughout the U.S. in schools, stadiums, churches, stores, financial institutions and government buildings. It also said, This is a suicide mission for us.
The writer, who claims to be Osama Bin Laden, tells the reader the nukes are remotely controlled. It was clear the writer wanted to scare me, said Rizzo, Yes, it frightened me. Rizzo was one of eight people in the Chicago area to contact the FBI.
Agencies in Oregon, California, Texas and Florida also got the letter with the Chicago postmark.
There are items in the letter that lead us to believe it is a hoax, said Zavala. There are several demands documented that arent fully coherent.
He said much of whats in the message doesnt add up, but in a post 9-11 world, the FBI cant let it go even if it does appear to be a hoax.
The FBI investigates every element. We cant take that chance, said Zavala.
So, why the threats?
The writer alluded to how families in Afghanistan have to live. The FBI said it will find that writer, and when it does, he could face 5 to 10 years in prison for each letter mailed. Anyone whos received a similar letter should call the FBI.
I’m still trying to figure out 160 cities....ok 50 state capitols, DC...major citites outside of capitols LA, NY, Chicago,SF, Houston, Dallas, Miami, Tampa, San Diego Jacksonville....Cleveland, Detroit?, Toledo?, Louisville?
I suppose I could come up with 100 - but I’m thinking they must be looking at redundancy within the major ones...
FWIW.....?
Jericho.
The definition of terrorism, create fear.
On the other hand, they planted a Zero in the WH. Somebody phone *that* in.
I agree, and low-grade radioactive material isn’t really that hard to come by. If I were the FBI, I would start by investigating any companies that deal with the repair or disposal of medical equipment. Some of those scanners can contain quite a lot.
I think that Chicago is just more rampant with terrorism going unchecked right under our noses.
There is an Arab commentator on TV who resembles this dummy.
Somebody got a picture?
I doubt they would attack Israel with such weapons, for the simple fact that Jerusalem is the third holiest site in Islam after Mecca and Medina. Furthermore, there is a nation called the 'Great Satan' that is a bigger issue for most jihadis.
As for this threat, it is most probably not real. However, assume they are in possession of one device (most probably radiological) that is in place. It detonates. That just made the remaining 159 (even if they do not exist) very credible, and that would tie up a lot of resources as well as spread a lot of fear. I remember being in Oklahoma during the DC sniper days, and seeing people gassing their cars while bobbing and weaving ....all the way in Oklahoma. I believe one radiological device going off, even a weak one that is basically some mid-to-high power explosive core with some weak-radiological material that doesn't even kill one person, would make the threat of more attacks rise significantly.
Talkers don’t kill and killer don’t talk.
Besides, how could they get more than a nation state like Iran and North Korea can put their hands on combined?
160 makes it unbelievable, had they said 1 then I would take it more seriously.
How big you think a nuclear bomb is? Even the "suitcase"-sized ones would be hard to miss in the church basement.
“fully coherent”
Says it all.
Dont think they have the resources/abilities to pull something like this off.
We disagree right there. No one knows where Saddam's stuff went. Suspect countries are now under revolution. Wasn't it just a month ago some port authority couldn't vouch for nukes not getting through in cargo containers or some such drivel? Holes, massive holes, on the Mexican border with al-queda known to be operating south of the border?
Yeah...we just disagree on feasibility at the moment.
It is crazy I agree but so were the news reports that Obama/US gave Hamas millions and that when we just kineticked Libya missles were stolen? With Obama giving them miranda rights and many were released from Gitmo who knows what they have cooked up...
OK, but let's clarify. The U-235 and P-239 cores won't deteriorate significantly in 25 years. But the tritium in the initiatior (i.e. the neutron source) and/or booster system must be serviced often to keep the weapon viable (I have no idea exactly how often, but certainly at least once every 12.32 years-the half-life of tritium). Also, someone collecting enough tritium to service 160 bombs would be noticed, since total world commercial demand for tritium in any given year is only around $30,000. A huge spike would be sure to raise red flags. It goes without saying that military tritium stocks are closely monitored and even governments that are unfriendly to us might not want to relinquish that much tritium to a terrorist group..
Another consideration is that nuclear weapons require a power source. They have large batteries that must be kept charged in order for the bomb to remain viable. You can't just bury one in a flower bed and forget about it. It would need a dedicated power line hooked into it.
What if they were Russian nukes that have been maintained properly?
During the Cold War the Russkies cached nukes in a number of Western countries for use by Spetznaz. They even smuggled nukes into CONUS.
What if the Russkies used Al Quaeda as a front in order to regain their superpower status? Nuke the USA and let the muslims take the blame. If the USA was nuked, the Russkies could use their arsenal to dominate Europe, Central Asia, and even China.
I was peripherally involved in the program to de-commission Russian nukes in the 1990s. There were so many holes in the process that it would have been easy for them to cheat and keep a large number of weapons.
Regarding the letter, maybe some Al Quaeda bit player wanted to get his 15 minutes of fame and spread a little terror. Maybe he was not authorized to threaten us; they have a problem with discipline among the crazies.
With Obama in office, the Russkies or Al Quaeda will not get a better shot at us.
That's what I was thinking. Great book by the way.
Somewhat of a coincidence that this announcement by the usual pack of muzzie liars comes at the same time that all of the liberals on the left coast are worried about Japanese radiation.
It’s pure bluff and scare tactics.
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