Posted on 09/11/2001 2:33:12 PM PDT by One_who_hopes_to_know
Saudi terrorist Osama bin Laden is responsible for today's terrorist attacks in the United States, according to a senior US official and former prime minister Ehud Barak.
The ruling Taliban regime in Afghanistan, where Bin Laden is believed to be based, condemned the attacks.
It said Bin Laden could not be responsible for the attacks, saying they were beyond his capabilities.
Early today in the US, four hijacked commercial airliners crashed into both towers of the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and near Pittsburgh. Estimates of casualties range as high as more than 10,000.
Hamas denied any connection to the attacks.
Islamic Jihad said the United States was responsible for the attacks because of its support for Israel.
Earlier in the day, the BBC and Abu Dhabi television reported that the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine had claimed responsibility for the attacks on the World Trade Center. DFLP sources denied any involvement.
Meanwhile, an expert on international terrorism said it is unlikely that Palestinian groups were involved in the attacks.
"They have a lot to lose because America would react very harshly against the Palestinians, however it is not impossible that a radical group was involved," said Eli Carmon, of the Herzliya Interdisciplinary Center's counter-terrorism department.
Two jets, one of them apparently an American Airlines 767 hijacked from Boston, crashed into the Twin Towers shortly before 9 am. EST.
Carmon noted that the World Trade Center has been targeted once before in 1993, when a bombing killed six people and injured more than 1,000. Carmon said that there have been threats by unidentified Islamic groups to target the World Trade Center again if Sheikh Omar Abdul Rahman, the militant Egyptian cleric, who is serving a life sentence in the US after his conviction in a plot to bomb the United Nations and New York landmarks, was not released.
He added that it is possible that terrorist mastermind Osama Bin-Laden is also involved.
Carmon said that the alleged terrorist attack amounts to a "declaration of war" on the US, and that the US will have to "react in an extremely harsh manner."
Israel, he noted, had already envisioned the possibility of an air attack, and shot down a small plane that took off from Lebanon in May after it flew menacingly into Israeli airspace.
That's why no one is going to claim this one. It's too over the top -- totally counter-productive. It was both a major success and a major failure. It succeeded in all its elements, but failed in succeeding too well.
1) migrate to 'fly by wire' passenger aircraft where all control of the plane can be assumed by ground control, if necessary.
2) For larger jets, perhaps an armed security person might be required on longer flights to stop those aimed with knives, if needed.
S T R A T F O R
THE GLOBAL INTELLIGENCE COMPANY
http://www.stratfor.com
11 September 2001
Who is the DFLP?
1515 GMT, 010911
The Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) has reportedly claimed responsibility for the attacks on the World Trade Center. This report, fromm a television station in Abu Dhabi, in unconfirmed.
The DFLP was formed in 1969 with an estimated membership of 500. It was originally based in Syria, but the location of its current headquarters are unknown. The DFLP receives financial and military aid from Syria and Libya. It operates in Syria, Lebanon, Israel and the occupied territories. Its leader is Naif Hawatmeh, according to Israeli-based Interdisciplinary Center.
The group was largely dormant from 1988 until this summer, when it claimed responsibility for an Aug. 25 attack against an Israeli military post in the Gaza Strip that left three Israeli soldiers dead. This attack was the first instance of Palestinians successfully using conventional military-style tactics.
Before this year, DFLP operations have always taken place either inside Israel or the West Bank and Gaza. Typical acts include minor bombings and grenade attacks, as well as operations to seize hostages and attempts to negotiate the return of Israeli- held Palestinian prisoners.
The group split from the Palestinian Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) years ago, but reconciled with the PFLP - and with Palestinian Authority leader Yasser Arafat - in August 1999.
The attacks differ significantly from the DFLP's previous methods of operation. Likewise, the resources and infrastructure necessary for such attacks are far beyond the group's traditional means. Either the DFLP's claims are spurious, or it has joined forces with other groups.
So...another interesting piece of the puzzle?
Not from a nuclear tipped TLAM.
Of course they do. Our enemies are rejoicing and celebrating in the streets and they believe that whatever price they need to pay is worth their cost. We not only need to retaliate, but also do everything that we can as a nation and as individuals in order to make sure that this cannot ever happen again. It's time to wake up and face the reality of our enemies---they are an evil deadly force without Godly conscious or morality.
Arm the pilots.
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