Phone Taps Sparked New Alert

NY Post ^ | October 31, 2001 | NILES LATHEM and BRIAN BLOMQUIST

[concerned about politics]

October 31, 2001 -- The latest nationwide terror alert was prompted by phone calls intercepted in Afghanistan in which suspected al Qaeda members conversed in code about a "big event," sources told The Post. The U.S. military intercepted a "handful" of satellite calls as late as last weekend, and the callers all used the same coded phrases, according to sources in the Bush administration.

[Triple]

Agreed on tonnage of bomb. Wouldn't it be nice to call an all hands meeting at ground zero to coincide with the impact?

Hmmm

I wonder if "Abdul Mohammed Raghead Atta" is now wondering whether the next rendevouz is a set-up.

[Hugh Akston]

Intercepted in Afghanistan means no wiretap approval was needed.

[Triple]

Abdullah:"Hey Mohmar, I wonder why achmed has been acting so strange lately."

Mohmar:"I don't know, can we still trust him. Did 'they' get to him?"

Oh, this is fun.

[Blood of Tyrants]

If we had rounded up all of them and sent them home WEEKS AGO, this would never be even thinkable. Touchy-feely bullsh*t political correctness will be the death of us all.

[PeterBarringer]

why not? It's not like the terrorists cells would have any other way to communicate w/people in Afghanistan.

[Hildy]

Which is why the next attack will be on the West Coast

[Jack Barbara]

al Qaeda members conversed in code about a "big event," sources told The Post

Hmmm... Maybe they got the code wrong... They were talking about a "Big Gulp"?

[pollwatcher]

Maybe, just maybe, we DIDN'T intercept their phone conversations. Maybe we cracked their internet communications, which we want them to use more of (and stay off the phone)! Let's make it so they hafta revert to using messenger pigeons!

[Random Access]

"...to preserve presidential succession."

These are the most frightening words I have heard in a long time. Time to pray, America!

No they are not. Try this... Vice President Lieberman has been moved to saftey to preserve presidential succession.

[Falcon4.0]

This could be a terrorist cell testing to see if they are being tapped. You state over the system that something is going to happen and sit back and wait for any echo from the press. No response, no wire tap.

[michaelje]

"Any association with the new unconstitutional secret "snooping" is purely propoganda"

I think your on to something.

[Arthur Wildfire! March]

I agree. But regardless, these new powers will be ineffective against terrorists in a couple years. They will learn to work around them. And then the power will only be good for abuse. We need a Sunset Clock to keep a sharp eye on the sunset of these supposedly temporary powers.

[HardStarboard]

>>>904285904590184 tons of explosives <<<

Would that be "long" tons - or "short" tons. We want to get this right. (;>)

[doug from upland]

Why are they telling us this information? We don't need to let the terrorists know anything about our intelligence activities.

[Scully]

Vice President Lieberman has been moved to saftey to preserve presidential succession

Thankfully this did not happen...and thus, my original statement stands. But you are quite right that "President Gore and Vice-President Lieberman" would have been the scariest words - had they been elected.

[lavaroise]

Man! Our intelligence is so backward, primitive and ineffective. We are like the British when the Radar had not been invented yet. Hearing rumors of German bombers flying overhead, huddling in caves not knowing whether nor when the bombs would actualy fall.

WAR IS HELL! TELL THE GOVERNMENT TO DEPORT NOW!

[Rowdee]

We weren't precluded from using military garnered info or foreign government garnered info PRIOR to this latest fedgov terrorist act!