Posted on 01/30/2002 3:41:41 PM PST by anniegetyourgun
SEATTLE - NBC News is reporting that the Space Needle in Seattle - a high-profile landmark in America's Pacific Northwest - was apparently a target for al-Qaida terrorists.
U.S. officials tell NBC News evidence found in Afghanistan uncovered plans to attack the high-profile Space Needle along with other monuments in Washington State, including massive hydroelectric dams, like the Grand Coulee.
According to the NBC News report, plans were also found that targeted the Los Angeles International Airport for a second time. An earlier plot to bomb the airport was foiled two years ago when convicted terrorist Ahmed Ressam was arrested crossing the border into the U.S. at Port Angeles, Washington.
NBC News added U.S. officials report American troops in Afghanistan have recovered designs and diagrams that target U.S. nuclear power plants and water facilities and surveillance photos of U.S. monuments and landmarks.
One plot apparently included an attack on the U.S. mint in Philadelphia.
President Bush revealed the deadly terrorist plots during his State of the Union speech Tuesday night.
The Grand Coulee Dam holds back 421 billion cubic feet of water "We have seen the depth of our enemies' hatred in video where they laugh about the loss of innocent life. And the depth of their hatred is equaled by the madness of the destruction they design,” said Bush.
Algerian Ahmed Ressam, 34, was arrested in December of 1999 when he tried to cross the U.S-Canadian border at Port Angeles, Washington, with explosives in the trunk of his car. An investigation into his arrest uncovered a terrorist plot that targeted Los Angeles International Airport and implicated that the Space Needle as a potential target.
The incident incited a terrorism scare that prompted then Seattle Mayor Paul Schell to cancel the Space Needle New Years millennium celebrations at the Seattle Center, which drew as many as 40,000 people to its New Year's Eve party - one of the best turnouts ever.
After Ressam’s arrest, many questioned whether the Space Needle was a bonafide terrorist target. The evidence uncovered in Afghanistan now lends to some credence that the Space Needle was indeed a target.
Ressam was brought to trial and convicted in April of 2001. In an effort to reduce his 130-year prison term for his part in the terrorist plot, Ressam cooperated with authorities by providing crucial information about Zacarias Massaoui, the only person indicted in the September 11th attacks.
Ressam has told the FBI that he saw Moussaoui at a training camp they both attended a few years ago, the law enforcement official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Moussaoui, a French citizen of Moroccan descent, is charged with conspiracy to murder thousands in connection with the Sept. 11 attacks.
I am reminded of the British dam-busting operation along the Rhur in WWII.
the 'nited states has jus' entered a period of permanent war.
praise the ford.
Well, it looks like they got off a second attack on LAX, Sort of... via the LAX shooter.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.