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Men filming ferry ride raise suspicion [Tacoma, WA]
tribnet.com ^ | July 7, 2002

Posted on 07/07/2002 4:10:56 AM PDT by TomGuy

Men filming ferry ride raise suspicion

The Associated Press

State ferry officials have told the U.S. Coast Guard and the Washington State Patrol about two groups of men taking extensive videotapes on state ferries in the past 10 days.

Four men who appeared to be of Middle Eastern descent were videotaping, taking notes and talking on cellphones during two round trips June 24 on the ferry Spokane between Edmonds and Kingston, said Susan Harris of the Washington State Ferries.

"They seemed to be filming more of the interior of the cabin rather than the normal tourist filming, which is always the exterior," she said.

They became agitated when told to leave the vessel at each terminal as required, she said. The captain went home and decided to report the incident the next day.

On July 3, a different group of men appearing to be of Middle Eastern descent took extensive videotapes on the ferry Tacoma between Bainbridge and Seattle, she said.

"They were filming all over the place" even before boarding the ferry, and some observers said they were just tourists, she said.

She said no terrorist incidents have occurred on the ferries.

"There's no proof that there's anything to be concerned about; it's just that we're on heightened alert," she said.

Chief Warrant Officer Ray Cain with the Coast Guard said the incidents have been reported to the State Patrol, which handles law enforcement on the ferries, because they are considered part of the highway system.

"They were notified and they would investigate, trying to identify any such individuals," Cain said.

State Patrol officials were not available for comment late Friday.

(Published 12:30AM, July 6th, 2002)


TOPICS: Breaking News; Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Foreign Affairs; Front Page News; Government; News/Current Events; US: Washington
KEYWORDS: cameraincidents; ferry; memenfilming; videotaping
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To: elfman2
>>> The force required for that could better be used on a public event to kill or on a multitude of power lines to disrupt<<<

Either you have a dimished appreciation of what a fine target a ferry boat is, or you have never ridden a Washington State ferry. Or, perhaps both!

The ferry boats on Puget Sound regularly carry upwards of 2500 passangers and 330 cars, each! Pretty rich target I'd say! You could get almost as many folks as the WTC if all drowned. While all drowning is unlikely, it is still a tempting target!

Eagles UP!

121 posted on 07/07/2002 11:15:37 AM PDT by HardStarboard
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To: exodus
"The real target of this "war" is our freedom, and the enemy doesn't have a towel on his head."

Tell that to the victims of 9-11.

I agree we need to be careful to safe guard our liberties, but ignoring people who want us dead, is stupid.

122 posted on 07/07/2002 11:16:42 AM PDT by monday
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To: TomGuy
bump
123 posted on 07/07/2002 11:18:08 AM PDT by foreverfree
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To: Don Myers
For those who wonder what this scenario is....it kinda goes like this. Muhammid and his five buddies take over a ferry in Seattle, while his buddy Ramid takes over a ferry in San Fransico, and another team takes over a ferry in New York...all at the same time. The objective is terror. Lets face, you cannot destroy an awful lot. But this is how it plays out. They take over and decide to ram over major craft. In the San Fransico effort, they try to ram the Golden Gate bridge. Within three hours, their effort is complete and their ferry is sinking with 100-200 dead on each ferry, and massive damage done to infrasture of each major city hurt. Our trust in ferry service will go down to zero, and they will have to put 10 national guard troops on each boat in the future. This is the easiest method of major damage since we took out the lax security at airports.
124 posted on 07/07/2002 11:18:15 AM PDT by pepsionice
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To: exodus
>>>The real target of this "war" is our freedom, and the enemy doesn't have a towel on his head. <<<

Sounds to me like you may have a towel on your head - Maybe you should just "Exodus" Out Of Here!!

125 posted on 07/07/2002 11:23:46 AM PDT by HardStarboard
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Comment #126 Removed by Moderator

To: 2sheep
Couldn't agree more. Can anyone answer this, as most all gas stations in our area appear to be owned by ME men, does anyone check papers on people buying gas staions?
127 posted on 07/07/2002 11:28:03 AM PDT by 2rightsleftcoast
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To: per loin
Dittos to your comments. We at SSAF (www.ssafprotection.com) are getting these kinds of reports from across the country. Individually, they may not mean a great deal. Collectively, they may mean a great deal.

Remember, if we can think it, they can do it. They do not have to hit a trophy property for their campaign of terror to be successful. They can hit small events, a mall, a sports venue, a bridge, or a ferry. They want to show us that they can do what they want where they want. The intent is to destroy our economy and the economy of the world, while killing many people along the way.

128 posted on 07/07/2002 12:06:12 PM PDT by doug from upland
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To: TomGuy
One million CCW's have been issued in Washington State.......a state of 5million people.

They better bring a lunch.

129 posted on 07/07/2002 12:18:20 PM PDT by Mariner
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To: Psycho_Bunny
This was on KIRO TV news last night -- I put a post up on it earlier in the thread, saying the television report went into a lot more detail. The online news story is lame, lacking details while full of pre-9/11 reassurances.
130 posted on 07/07/2002 12:35:59 PM PDT by GretchenEE
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To: monday
This is an excellent post and I think gives a very real scenario for a ferry hijacking. Load a truck bomb on the ferry and steer it at full speed toward a carrier or perhaps a cruise ship. The carrier commander then has the Hobson's choice of firing on the ferry full of civilians, or sustaining damage to his ship.

I remember during the military base closing arguments a while ago that many naval officers thought it was a big mistake to close Alameda Naval Air Station (San Francisco Bay) and relocate carriers to Bremerton, Washington. Naval ships on Puget Sound have to navigate over a hundred miles of inland waterways before they hit blue water ocean. At Alameda it less than 10 miles. They are much more vulnerable to attack in Puget Sound.

An Islamic attack resulting in several thousand deaths and severe damage to a naval ship would be a huge coup for their cause. It would likely result in in Bush being boted out next election.
131 posted on 07/07/2002 1:13:47 PM PDT by BigBobber
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To: GretchenEE
Ah...that makes more sense.
132 posted on 07/07/2002 1:18:01 PM PDT by Psycho_Bunny
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To: elfman2
Yes, Rumsfeld is absolutely correct about being jerked around. Thank goodness we have someone in the Cabinet who will call a spade a spade. A no-nonsense, plain speaker. Wish they were all like that.
133 posted on 07/07/2002 1:39:19 PM PDT by Inkie
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To: elfman2
I'm sure that's very interesting to the people who are responsible for countering such a threat. I have do doubt that they've considered it for months.

Considering a threat and coming up with effective ways of countering it are not identical. That the ferry system was unprepared to arrange the immediate identification, apprehension, and questioning of these men, rather than allowing them to escape in their licenseless vehicle speaks to how ineffective preparations are.

Remember, we had years of warning that the Arabs were plotting to hijack airplanes and fly them into the WTC and Pentagon. Yet, the only one of the four planes that was prevented from hitting its target was the one stopped by unarmed civilians. The people who were " responsible for countering such a threat" failed completely. If a ferry is hijacked and used as bomb delivery system, I've no doubt that those people will then consider it for months.

134 posted on 07/07/2002 1:50:48 PM PDT by per loin
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To: Polybius
My daughter lives on Orcas Island, so we're pretty familiar with the WSF, and have marvelled at the efficiency and absolutely beautiful way to travel back and forth between the mainland and the islands.

We visited her in April and took the Yakima from Anacortes, and I remarked then to my hubby the frightening possiblity that the WSF could be a potential target for terrorists.

135 posted on 07/07/2002 1:57:00 PM PDT by Inspectorette
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To: Movemout
I think that's Brazilian butterflies that can cause hurricanes ;).

Tidbit from:


136 posted on 07/07/2002 2:18:56 PM PDT by ThePythonicCow
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Comment #137 Removed by Moderator

To: exodus
An armed population creates a nation where every man has the power and duty to enforce the law. And that's as it should be.

that is as it was "meant" to be!

138 posted on 07/07/2002 2:31:09 PM PDT by christine
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To: TomGuy
That looks like a nifty little camera. I found some discussion about it here:

Binocular and Digital Camera Bird Chat

One poster says it doesn't work well in woods, only in direct sunlight.

Resolution on Meade is 640X480.

"A similar pair is due out from Pentax soon. The specs are much better than the Meade; 7x37, 1024 x 768 resolution. I haven't heard a price yet."

139 posted on 07/07/2002 2:35:11 PM PDT by Aliska
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To: Dave S
>>STD reported on another thread tonight that the Muslims are sending their families home to the M.E., presumably to get  them out of harm's way. Now THAT should be a concern

>You dont think that could have anything to do with the hostility they meet or concerns over their families safety? Nah, it must be because they mean us harm.

The Muslims in their various forms, OBL, Al Quaeda, etc. have sworn to destroy America just as they have sworn to destroy Israel.  You have either been asleep or you are using a propaganda technique.  See post #25 here.

>What a crock! Are you going to list chapter and verse about some seven headed serpent, blah, blah.

No.  Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling....or not.  It's your choice. 

140 posted on 07/07/2002 3:49:34 PM PDT by 2sheep
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