(AL QAEDA) Terrorist planned nuclear base raid

The Daily Telegraph ^ | November 16, 2002 | Philip Delves Broughton

[MadIvan]

An al-Qa'eda terrorist has confessed that he planned to drive a giant explosive device into a United States air force bunker in Belgium believed to contain nuclear warheads.

News of the plot came as America gave warning that a broadcast thought to contain the words of Osama bin Laden foreshadowed a likely attack. The FBI said national landmarks, the aviation, oil and nuclear industries were possible targets.

In an interview with a Belgian radio station, Nizar Trabelsi, 31, a Tunisian former professional footballer, said he had hoped to attack the Kleine Brogel base in eastern Belgium with a bomb similar to those used to blow up the American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998.

The base includes a munitions store and is said by anti-nuclear groups to contain 20 free-fall nuclear bombs.

"I am guilty, I will have to pay for it. What I did is not good, but I had no choice," he said in the radio interview from his cell.

When asked by RTBF, the Belgian public radio station, if Kleine Brogel was his target he replied: "Yes, exactly."

His confession marked the first known al-Qa'eda plot to attack a nuclear target in Europe. Since September 11 last year security at nuclear installations has been strengthened across the continent, with some civil sites guarded by missile systems.

The former German league player lived in London in the late 1990s and listened to sermons from the Islamic cleric Abu Qatada, who has been linked to al-Qa'eda.

When arrested last year he was suspected of involvement in an al-Qa'eda plot to attack the American embassy in Paris.

Trabelsi said he had met bin Laden during a visit to Afghanistan.

[MadIvan]

This is the first I've heard of this.

Regards, Ivan

[MadIvan]

Bump!

[Kerberos]

"What I did is not good, but I had no choice," he said in the radio interview from his cell."

He had no choice?

[anniegetyourgun]

Hunt 'em down....catch 'em....bring 'em to justice...even if it is one at a time....

[Excuse_My_Bellicosity]

The FBI said national landmarks, the aviation, oil and nuclear industries were possible targets.

Since al-Qaeda has such a fetish for American landmarks, we should return the favor and nuke Mecca.

[Poohbah]

A nuclear storage bunker is an extremely hard target, and the guards have authority to use deadly force under any and all circumstances.

[jimtorr]

Fortunately, a nuclear weapons bunker is built a little bit stronger than an embassy. .

[concerned about politics]

He had no choice?

That's what I caught. Maybe these attacks aren't "volentary" like the Muslims claim.

[Bogey780]

They don't have the guts to attack a soldier directly. It's always civvies or sniper attacks.

[Dog Gone]

No kidding. These guys must have thought they were kept in portable sheds, just inside the chain link fence.

[Republic]

Imagine the glass.

[Grampa Dave]

It sounds like this potential Islamokazi, Nizar Trabelsi, blocked too many kicked soccer balls with his head.

Seems to be a whole lot of the shallow end of the al Qaeda Gene Pool being arrested and admitting some really dumb schemes.

[Prodigal Son]

Guy played in the Bundesliga? For which team- do you know?

[MadIvan]

Zero idea - I don't follow German footie.

Regards, Ivan

[Poohbah]

No kidding. These guys must have thought they were kept in portable sheds, just inside the chain link fence.

They are...in Russia.

You want to scare the s**t out of yourself? Read One Point Safe by Andrew and Leslie Cockburn.

[MHGinTN]

How was the data on this freak generated?... If the U.S. had a hand in it, then Li'l Tommy Daschle needs a towel for the egg on his sour puss.

[Ciexyz]

Wakeup call to our European "allies".

[Dog Gone]

Hmmm, it's out of stock at Amazon.com.

[StormEye]

"(AL QAEDA) Terrorist planned nuclear base raid "

Having served in the Air Force for four years and having seen some of the security around USAF nuke storage bunkers and uploaded nukes on alert aircraft, al Queda would never succede in this plan. Way too much security. Even Air Force personnel aren't allowed to be alone around nukes. NO ONE is trusted around nukes. As for crashing into a supposed nuke bunker --- well, these are hardened to withstand quite a bit of force. This is assuming one can find a bunker with nukes in the first place.

[Grampa Dave]

Before we off Saddam or one of his people do it for us, there will be more egg on Da$$hole's face than an omelet with a million eggs. As more of these idiots get arrested and exposed as the mentally ill wretches they are.

Some of shallow end of the current al Queada goat humping gene pool make Richard Reid the hapless shoe bomber look like a Mensa Islamakazi!

Wait until our Predators start to really thin out the goat humping herd of al Qaeda on a regular basis, this guy and Reid will look like Islamic Gods.