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)
That is like jumping out of the frying pan into the fire.
Agreed. I don't care if taking their pictures of them taking pictures/filming hurts their feeeeeeelings.
What do you think's meant by public events and power lines? The "in the box thinking" involves dropping bridges and sinking ferries. Very WWII'ish. Too much effort required for too little return. It would take 100 of them to compare to 911.
These guys are toast, and people just don't recognize it yet, perhaps not even them. As long as we keep reasonably alert and keep the pressure up on their funding and eliminate their shelters, they're the walking dead. People are looking backwards. I've seen it before.
Sounds to me like a waste of a good bomb, but I guess it's possible.
Perhaps, It depends on a lot of things.
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Note, that by "taking out", I am NOT implying that the ferry be sunk. Even a small explosion on the car deck of a ferry will cause severe damage, kill a significant number of people, and generate a lot of "terror" footage (news coverage). Of course, a bigger explosion will do more of the above.
Do you know what kind of explosive was used on the Cole and how close it got? I hope if they're able to reproduce it here, they'll spend it on an attempt to get that semi that close to a docked carrier.
The article fails to mention some of the most key points I saw on the news, such as one of the men drove away in a car that had NO license plates.
I must say I sense a need for our local authorities to get themselves folded into some heavy-duty info exchanges, investigations, and action plans with the feds on this.
Yep. Even filming a ferry generates a lot of terror if you let it.
Why did the captain wait? He should have notified the Coast Guard and State Patrol of the incident as it was occurring and intercepted these guys when they docked. This is another example of the PC anasthesia that's gripping this country.
There's no proof that there's anything to be concerned about; it's just that we're on heightened alert,"
Repeat after me...9-11, 9-11, 9-11
As for getting close to an aircraft carrier, are you familiar with how close the ferry dock is to the shipyards, or how often the Washington State Ferries have mechanical or personel problems that put the ferries where thay ought not be? I'd expect any terrorist worth his salt would have the sense to fake steering problems, and possibly generate some onboard fire or smoke. How quickly do you figure a carrier, or its protectors would fire on a disabled ferry, loaded with passengers, coming up the inlet?
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