Men filming ferry ride raise suspicion [Tacoma, WA]

tribnet.com ^ | July 7, 2002

[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)

[per loin]

OK. It appears that you are familiar with neither, so I'll fill in a couple of the details. The Tacoma class ferries, which carry 2500 passengers, cruise at about 18 knots. That's about 9.25 meters/sec. The closest slips at the shipyards are within about 450 meters of the ferry dock, though the carriers normally dock farther up. The farthest slips are a bit over 2000 meters up Sinclair inlet.

As for ferry mishaps, they are not uncommon. Docks have been rammed; drunken captains have gone off course to impress lady passengers with side trips past their homes, etc. And because of the tiny distances, time for defensive reaction would be very short.

[elfman2]

"Seems to me that, a year ago, some might have said that taking out the World Trade Center would be way too difficult."

Too bad you stopped reading at the end of my sentence that you quoted and missed the point of #5. It was that there are better uses of their now limited recourses, not that they couldn't pool them and do it.

And perhaps being seen photographing landmarks is about the extent of their commitment. Before Democrat attacks forced the administration to disclose every stupid threat, Rumsfeld stated something to the effect at we were being jerked around by these kind of things.

[piasa]

click on the key words "camera incidents"

[Don Myers]

That is interesting. Do you have a source for further reading?

[GretchenEE]

Thanks for mentioning the SF deal. I knew this MO had been observed somewhere else but couldn't remember where, so I omitted it, being unwilling to spend the time doing a google search rigth now. Or enter into a sword fight with people who don't understand that to look at one ferry here, an airport ticket counter there, a small plane into a Florida office building, etc., are exactly what we experienced under x42 before 9/11. We can't ignore or avoid these things because we think that only a few people died (egads). The terrorists are happy with even the small amounts of deaths here, just as they are happy with killing only 20 Israelis at a time. It's not just the deaths they are after, but the crippling of a country and its lifestyle, its economy, etc.

[elfman2]

"The Tacoma class ferries, which carry 2500 passengers, cruise at about 18 knots. That's about 9.25 meters/sec. The closest slips at the shipyards are within about 450 meters of the ferry dock, though the carriers normally dock farther up. The farthest slips are a bit over 2000 meters up Sinclair inlet. "

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. And people who know as little about that, as I know about ferry landing proximity, are free to speculate into a virtual state of terror if they wish.

This reminds me of a common tactic used on local talk radio, where the host presents a controversial story without any research into the details, and then people call in and argue one side or the other with holes filled in from their imagination. The military made changes after the Cole bombing and again after 911. Just because they don't talk about them, doesn't mean that they were foolish enough to not account for possibilities like this. It looks like you're expecting us to become concerned with attacks on carriers out of a worst case scenario created from our imagination, just like the talk radio methodology.

[small voice in the wilderness]

a different group of men appearing to be of Middle Eastern descent took extensive videotapes on the ferry

"hello, Moehammed?..CurlyJoesama here. The evil American Infidels seem on for us. We need new strategery and help. HAH! Good plan and praise be to allah for our great brains. Send new group to fool the american infidel fools?!?!HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!o.k.and goodbye. Don't forget to send the ACME jet powered sneakers with non detectable sole imprints. HAHAHAHAHA o.k.goodbye..."

[jiggyboy]

Another reason to film the interior would be to work out where good hiding places are. Smuggling comes to mind.

[Dave S]

I have a hard time imagining America "terrorized" by hijacked tugboats.

But you got to understand some FReepers get their meaning out of life from being "under attack."

[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.

[GretchenEE]

Re smuggling - these are ferries that leave Washington docks and travel across Washington waters to other Washington docks. No need to smuggle across the water when most of the destinations can be reached by driving (islands excepted). Of course, if terrorists' main goal is to get near our numerous military installations at water's edge, that creates a different concern, since entrance to military stations is so restricted.

[sheik yerbouty]

Good advice for every American!

[hoosiermama]

Thought you might be interested?

[sheik yerbouty]

Jihadists won't care. Grab their relatives and the equation changes.

[Dave S]

The LAX murderer's family returned to Egypt about a week before he "went crazy" and "acted alone."

So the one specific of the LAX Killer whose family returned to Egypt to visit family several weeks ago becomes the generalized the Muslims are sending their familes home to the ME, presumably to get them out of harms way. So much for logic.

[mikegi]

What about having a Cole-style attack on a cruise ship? The terrorists could count on 2,500 passengers. I imagine a cruise ship isn't as armored as the USS Cole so it might sink from such a blast. Just ram one in Miami with a loaded rubber raft.

I'm not particularly imaginative yet I can think of a dozen high-casualty attacks like this. I wonder why they haven't happened. Plus, I wonder why we haven't had terrorists sitting off the ends of runways shooting down passenger jets with BlowPipes or SA-7's. These attacks would be far simpler than a multiple homicide hijacking attack like that on 9-11.

Why haven't these simple attacks been done? Was our round-up post-9/11 successful at preventing them? Or is the threat from Al Qaeda overblown? I really thought that AQ had a series of attacks planned. It would have been devastating.

[Squantos]

I have had one of those in my Landcruiser & Pickup since they started selling em. Great little counter surveillance tool for the citizen on the street........

Stay Safe !

[Dave S]

Bingo bingo bingo and I wish all of America would wake up to this scenario because it is obviously what terrorists do and if we don't plug the little holes, they succeed. They succeed in creatig chaos, fear, stalling our economy or worse, and taking over our lives and country the way an interior parasite does, until the host is so vitiated it cannot fight back

Well Gretchen they seem to have succeeded in creating fear in you.

[GretchenEE]

Another replied to you, "It looks like you're expecting us to become concerned with attacks on carriers out of a worst case scenario created from our imagination, just like the talk radio methodology."

I don't see imaginations being overworked here. I see analysis of actual events taking place. Not by talk show hosts and their over-excited listeners, but by the feds, the local law enforcement, and other appropriate authorities. Why? Because we have learned something since x42 took office and looked the other way for eight long and deadly years. Because we have learned that 9/11 succeeded because our leaders looked the other way for eight long years and al Qaeda came to believe that all American leaders were a bunch of Nancies who would not rouse themselves to kill those who kill us.

Rip van America woke up. I don't understand why anyone would wish to fall asleep again when doing so will continue to cost lives, and the vigilance pays off. Vigilance, not talk-show hysteria. Vigilance, intelligence-gathering, investigations, analysis, prosecution when possible.

The price of freedom (and staying alive) is eternal vigilance. Vigilance.

[Dave S]

Prophets have long been saying that an Arab coalition (with Russia and China) will attack America. Jews in Israel have been told for several years by the Lord to "prepare for refugees from America."

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