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.
Maybe we should all be doing more racial profiling.
I don't think the White House was ever high on the list.
an strong and repeated impression in my mind and spirit that Hoover Dam will fail from a quake or a bomb. I suppose prayer might prevent it or moderate it but I've mostly accepted it as a given regardless. . . . the impression has been that strong and over several years.
In addition to the destruction, I'd hate to see it--in that it's a beautiful dam. I realize some characters couldn't conceive of a beautiful dam but I think Hoover qualifies.
Stay well - Stay safe - Stay armed - Yorktown
yay - I am not the only one who feels that way!
Bullsh*t - I have no problem with reserving Constitutional rights for American citizens. Non-citizens who come here are subject to whatever level of civil liberties we deem appropriate.
If you come from a muslim hotbed of terrorism, then you damned well ought to be profiled and watched closely.
Guess what - If you, as an American, went to Saudi Arabia, or Iran, etc you would be profiled. Depending on the counry, you'd probably be subject to some level of surveillance. They might search your hotel room, follow you, etc - All because you are an American.
Well, their citizens ought to accept the same treatment here. If they don't like it, they can damned well stay home.
Our Constitutional rights ought to be reserved for U.S. citizens only. Period.
Stop being a total knot-head and realize that detaining people
for as much as an instant, simply because "they look like"
_________ [fill in your own blank], will only end up biting
you on your fat butt eventually. And realize that all "profiling"
does, is open doors to an abuse of police power.
If there's a solid reason for detaining someone, fine. But to
use your fear as an instrument to destroy the Constitutional
protections we afford to all on our soil, is to cave to the
enemy's demands.
We didn't fight long battles for freedom, to have wimps
toss it away for the sake of a perception of safety.
UGH.
I don't care how many innocent Italians get stopped and questioned. I've seen too many 85-year old Iowa grandmas and 14-year old girls stopped, patted down and questioned to make me feel any more secure. When I go to an airport and I see someone who looks / sounds Middle Eastern, I want them questioned, I want their passports checked, etc. I want all non-citizens from suspect countries found, questioned and deported if there is the slightest doubt about their motives for being here.
But, notice that I said the profiling should apply to non-citizens. Were those Italians you mentioned citizens? If not, then why should we not pay extra close attention to them.
As we quant jocks say: </>The r-squared of the model is high
Translation: A certain profile fits every single terrorist we've identified in this current war. That means the predictive utility of the model is high. Therefore, Use the damned model
I spent ten years of my life under an oath to defend the Constitution. I did not do so to preserve the rights of terrorists, or the rights of innocent tourists from Yemen, for that matter. Screw this relativist crap. I am an American, and while I care about non-Americans, they are several notches below the concern I have for the safety and security of my fellow Americans.
Everything is a dangerous tool in the hands of unchecked police power!
Let us therefore end unchecked police power, not throw away our tool box.
Because Allah is not a creator, he is the original destroyer, the inventor of the lie, his real name is Lucifer.
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