DRUDGE JUST ANNOUNCED TERROR ATTACKS PLANNED ON PEARL HARBOR; GERTZ TO BE ON AIR SOON

DRUDGE RADIO ^ | 03/01/03 | DRUDGE

[RaceBannon]

DRUDGE JUST ANNOUNCED TERROR ALERT ON PEARL HARBOR; GERTZ TO BE ON AIR SOON

[potlatch]

I've been looking for 'this' ever since I saw Drudge!

[TLBSHOW]

Terrorists aim at Pearl Harbor
By Bill Gertz
THE WASHINGTON TIMES

http://www.washtimes.com/national/20030303-104.htm

[Sandylapper]

Thanks to both of you for responding. Varina, if what you speculate is true (maybe because they caught Mohammed), then Gertz is just sensationalizing? Could be, and to think, I trusted the guy! No need to start scaring all of us if it 'ain't' gonna happen, is there?

[LayoutGuru2]

[Steel Wolf]

GERTZ: Terrorists aim at Pearl Harbor; Plan to hijack airliners, fly them into nuclear subs

Terrorists linked to al Qaeda have targeted U.S. military facilities in Pearl Harbor, including nuclear-powered submarines and ships, The Washington Times has learned.

It wouldn't be very hard to get to Pearl from Honolulu International, you'd be in the air less than a minute. That's not a lot of time to react. Clearly the reason they chose the Pearl / Honolulu angle is because the airport is so close to a large number of symbolic and actual military targets.

They'd need to have a pretty sharp plan to get an aircraft, a cargo jet, perhaps. This is mainly because you wouldn't be able to take over a civilian jet and redirect it in the air without attracting too much attention from the ground, to say nothing of drawing stiff resistance from the passengers.

As far as hitting a submarine, you can easily see the ships parked at Pearl, so any two bit terrorist with piloting skills could pick a nuclear powered target from the ground, and later plow an airplane into it. The ships wouldn't be able to clear the docks within the amount of warning they'd get. The implied threat here is against the nuclear powered vessels, presumably to create an environmental disaster by destroying the reactor.

It does sound a bit far fetched, but it is not implausible. All they'd need is an airplane and some basic flying skills, and they could cause a radioactive mess in downtown Honolulu. (Even if they didn't per se, the perception of it would kill the tourist industry)

[Pan_Yans Wife]

Remember, when the airplanes hit the WTC, in his wildest dreams, Osama never envisioned them collapsing. That wasn't in the plan. He was thrilled, of course, but he didn't PLAN that... it just happened, unfortunately. Al Qaeda isn't as strong as we sometimes think it is. The bombings in Bali were pretty gruesome, of course... but... again, they don't rival the WTC, in psychological impact.
I think talking about striking Pearl Harbor is symbolic, mostly. Sure, they would like too, and maybe they will try. But, I don't envision another atrocity at Pearl Harbor, like what happened in WWII. I think our military would be on FUSCHIA alert, if an attack was truly suspected. And, the military would act. We wouldn't be sitting ducks.

[El Gato]

Terrorists linked to al Qaeda have targeted U.S. military facilities in Pearl Harbor, including nuclear-powered submarines and ships,

Put that way it's a whole lot different than "fly an airliner into a sub". Subs are just one possible target. There are other ships, not mention lots of shore facilities, aircraft, and so forth. If they really wanted to tic us off, and they do, I know what they'd go after, and so do you if you think about it for a few seconds. A symbolic rather than material target. And then they'd end up, as another poster mentioned, getting nuked, just like the last folks who attacked that particular target.

[Pan_Yans Wife]

I thought the last nuclear weapon we used when we attacked Hiroshima and Nagasaki?

[El Gato]

It's okay to give them BAD ideas. Aircraft carriers have Phalanxes, and phalanxes of nearby ships equipped with Phalanxes, and phalanxes of planes equipped with missiles...

It's true they have all that stuff, but generally while in port, the ammo is all secured below decks and guns are not hot, and the airplanes are unarmed, unfueled and may be undergoing maintence. Now that we are warned, the guns may be "maned and ready", even inside the harbor. Remember on 7 Dec. '41, the guns weren't manned, and the ammo was locked up, inspite of various "war warnings" and other scraps of information sent to the fleet and Army in Hawaii. For the most part, the senior military do not trust the enlisted puke or junior officer with live armaments, until they get out away from the population. One accidental discharge could ruin several careers, with the number being correllated witht the size of the discharge. If someone were to accidently shoot down an airliner, well you can imagine the resulting mess. Given enough warning, the safest place for the ships is at sea. Safer for the civilians livning near the harbor too.

[Sandylapper]

I totally agree, Pan Yans Wife. I believe that al Qaeda has been seriously damaged by our aggressiveness and that they're on their "last legs", so to speak. As a result, I think we're almost ready to take on Hamas and Hezbollah, but we're not quite ready to say that al Quaeda is impotent. However, if we do have some Mohammed cornered (as Varina suggests), who would like to dive planes into nuclear subs at Pearl Harbor, why is Bill Gertz sensationalizing this if it's been nipped in the bud?

P.S. I've been lurking since 2000 also.

[Pan_Yans Wife]

He was confirming sources for awhile, and couldn't print what he hadn't confirmed. Why print just pieces of the puzzle, unless you can get a greater impact, with the whole story? We went up to Orange Alert, probably because of this... now we are back to Yellow. I think a BIG hint if our military thought this would happen would be the Navy moving a HUGE portion of it's ships based in Pearl Harbor out to sea, away from civilians, and poised to thwart an attack.

[Pan_Yans Wife]

Watch Rummy's press conference tomorrow. And listen for what he DOESN'T say, as well as what he DOES say.

[Sandylapper]

Thanks, Pan Yans Wife. I will watch Rummy tomorrow. You're quite knowledgeable..you must have a loved one in the military or be in it yourself. Have enjoyed our conversation and hope to talk with you again soon. I have to go for now. Later.

[Pan_Yans Wife]

My husband served onboard the USS Greenville, which is stationed in Pearl Harbor. Thanks for your kind words. Goodnight.

[Dec31,1999]

15. THERE WILL BE A SPACE TRAGEDY AROUND AN AMERICAN SPACE MISSION

From the same page. Hmmm..

[I Am Not A Mod]

Free Republic Highlights 3/03/03 (doesn't that date look cool?)

[my right]

The Japanese eat rice plain. The only thing those guys put on rice is curry

Have you ever heard of yakimishi (sp?)?

[gulfcoast6]

Roger on that!

[Freedom4US]

What is Ron Jeremy doing in Pakistan is what I wanna know.

[BJungNan]

Bill Gertz, writer for the Wshington Times; good source!

He comes up with a lot of stories like this but how often has he been right?
(Asked as a question)