Fears al-Qaeda plotting new attack in US

Sydney Morning Herald ^ | May 21 2003 | Peter Finn in Riyadh

[dead]

An al-Qaeda cell believed to have fled Saudi Arabia for the United States or Europe shortly before the recent Riyadh bombings has sparked fears of an imminent attack on American soil.

A high volume of "chatter" - intelligence intercepts - has intensified fears of new attacks and is close to the level of communications intercepted before the strikes against the Riyadh compounds, a high-ranking Saudi official said.

The unnamed official said there had been at least three al-Qaeda cells with about 50 hard-core operatives in the kingdom before the bombings. He acknowledged that there was a much wider circle of sympathisers and US officials broadly agreed with his analysis.

"We don't believe there are tens of thousands of active al-Qaeda members here, but we believe the al-Qaeda presence is more than a single cell or two cells," a senior US official said yesterday.

Saudi sources described the threat of further attacks in the US or Saudi Arabia as "very serious".

"I think they were looking to do something more major than [the Riyadh bombings]," Prince Bandar bin Sultan, Saudi Arabia's ambassador to Washington, said on Monday.

About 377 kilograms of explosives was discovered at a safe house raided near one of the compounds a week before the attacks. The Interior Ministry said at the time it was hunting 19 men in connection with the weapons cache.

"That would have taken out two blocks in the city if it had gone off accidentally. We're all wondering if it's the last [of the explosives] or is it the tip of the iceberg," Prince bin Sultan said.

The warning came as a large explosion rocked a cafe in the centre of Turkey's capital, Ankara, early yesterday, killing one person. The cause of the blast was not immediately clear. Charred metal and glass were strewn across the road outside the three-storey cafe, located in the city's main commercial district of Kizilay.

Several guerilla groups, including leftist militants and Kurdish rebels, have carried out attacks on civilian targets in Turkey during recent years.

But explosions also frequently occur due to faulty gas and electricity systems.

In Morocco, the Justice Minister, Mohamed Bouzoubaa, said on Monday that no link had been established between al-Qaeda and last week's suicide bombings in Casablanca that killed 41 people. In the United States, the last of the "Lackawanna Six" alleged terrorist cell pleaded guilty on Monday to providing "material support" to al-Qaeda, closing the case against the six US citizens - without any defendant standing trial or the Government having to prove that the men were part of a sleeper cell.

Instead, Mukhtar al-Bakri, 23, merely acknowledged in court that al-Qaeda instructors in Afghanistan had trained him to wage war against America and Israel, the Los Angeles Times said.

Facing a lengthy prison sentence if convicted at trial, al-Bakri, like his five comrades, chose to plead guilty to a single offence in the hope of serving less than 10 years. In return, he will co-operate in identifying al-Qaeda recruiters and other terrorist operatives.

[theDentist]

"An al-Qaeda cell believed to have fled Saudi Arabia for the United States..."

What's this word doing here? I doubt they "fled". "Fled" suggests escaping a threat (from legal authorities or otherwise) to someplace less dangerous. You don't flee a homestead where you can easily purchase munitions, plan terrorism, and get protection from the local government/soldiers/authorities to go to a land where you're going to commit an act of unspeakable horror at the cost of imprisonment, or your own life.

Fled? Please. They were probably given a party before leaving.

[Dirk McQuickly]

I have a rather distrubing tale to relay. Yesterday I returned from L.A. to Chicago on ATA, and during the flight, my wife became agitated and elbowed me. I watched as no less than four people got up from their seats and headed for the bathroom, which is located right next to the cockpit door. I mean, RIGHT NEXT to it. Fine. Whatever. People need to go to the bathroom when they're on the plane. Problem is, the flight attendants did nothing about the four or five people now loitering in front of the cockpit door. And we're talking two or three rather athletic men and a couple of ladies.

I called the stewardess over and we asked her what the deal was -- that FAA regulations prohibit loitering by the cockpit door -- that these people needed to go the heck back to their seats and wait for the lavatory to become available.

Her response? "Oh we tell them that, but they never listen."

She walked away. Probably to get someone a pillow or escort some terrorist for a cockpit tour. We sat there with our mouths open -- "we tell them that but they never listen"???

You mean to tell me we have to get to the airport two hours early, practically get cavity-searched getting to the gate, and then this dimwit flight crew doesn't even enforce safety precautions because "they never listen"??

People, what's truly frightening is not the fact that our flight crew could have been incapacitated within seconds -- it's the fact they didn't care enough to assert themselves where a potential security threat existed.

BTW, my wife flew Southwest a month before, and she said they hounded people to stay in their seats if they got up with the lavatory occupied.

Chew on that.

[blam]

"In what context is the word imminent being used? In the next 8-12 hours vs. the next 2 to 3 days, or is no one being that specific?"

Just heard on the ABC News break, in the Rush Limbaugh show, that "imminent" is being defined as "within the next 48 hours."

[Mo1]

It could mean a couple of things or places, whatever or whoever the snake is, would give a better idea of what or where the tail is

[blam]

"You mean to tell me we have to get to the airport two hours early, practically get cavity-searched getting to the gate, and then this dimwit flight crew doesn't even enforce safety precautions because "they never listen"??"

I don't travel much anymore but, I thought the cockpits have new doors and the pilots are armed. Is this all not true?

[Mo1]

This is the Bin tape transcript that started this

Thanks Dog

[jerseygirl]

Hi freeperfromnj! I too feel something's in the works- my guess- dirty bomb. I feel they want to do something that will be even worse than 9-11.

[caa26]

A powerful truck/car bomb into an apartment, office building or hotel would generate maximum terror. But the backlash against Muslim/Arabs would be more than Al Qaeda ever bargained before.

Could be Al Qaeda has nothing in the works for the USA, but is just attempting to rattle nerves & put the government/law enforcement into overdrive.

[Nexus]

"imminent" is being defined as "within the next 48 hours."

Thanks Blam.

Does anyone know if it's possible (I assume it is) to jump straight to red?

[Dirk McQuickly]

First, I don't think all pilots are armed. Second, even if they're not interested in taking the cockpit by force, they can certainly take hostages if the flight crew is incapacitated. Thirdly, who needs a bomb when someone can pick up a bottle of vodka at the duty free and walk onboard with the makings of a Molotov cocktail?

Like I said, it's not so much what happened, it was the incredibly nonchalant attitude we encountered toward security on the plane itself.

[demsux]

I heard the tail of the snake, also.

What has a tail...an AIRPLANE...I'm thinking shoulder fired surface to air missiles

[livius]

Thanks, Dog.

Florida is, of course, full of tourist attractions. Personally, I don't think they'd try Disney, because it's enormously well guarded.

We also have a lot of targets of military importance in Florida, but again, the Islamic nuts have attacked only soft targets recently (and, in fact, all along - the WTC was hardly a military facility).

Still, I think and hope that this is just more crazy Muslim posturing and will amount to nothing.

[X-Servative]

Attack in England???

US is the snake, England is the tail??

[demsux]

Didn't the "tail fall off the plane" in NYC...the one that went down after 911?

[Nexus]

I too feel something's in the works- my guess- dirty bomb

From CNN.com :
"One official called the intelligence 'reasonably spooky stuff'."

daisy from TB2K says:
"Would be nice to know what they mean by that. Bombings are horrible but not necessarily "spooky", makes me think they may be planning some sort of WMD hit."

I agree

[blam]

"What has a tail...an AIRPLANE...I'm thinking shoulder fired surface to air missiles.

I study anthropology as a hobby. Serpents, snakes and dragons were frequently used in ancient cultures to describe comets. I don't see any connection but maybe, this will generate an idea from someone else.

[SCR1]

You have to wonder where Sadaam and his Billion or so dollars are at! That could buy lots of missles and bombs. Not to mention that Terrorists can pick up whatever they like now in IRAQ (Smetex, SA-7) without the worry of getting caught. I'm sure there are literally warehouses of that stuff for the taking.

[CELTICGAEL (Celt)]

This is from the web site below:

Join or Die
Benjamin Franklin is famous for his sense of humor. In 1751, he wrote a satirical commentary in his Pennsylvania Gazette suggesting that as a way to thank the Brits for their policy of sending convicted felons to America, American colonists should send rattlesnakes to England.

Three years later, in 1754, he used a snake to illustrate another point. This time not so humorous.

Franklin sketched, carved, and published the first known political cartoon in an American newspaper. It was the image of a snake cut into eight sections. The sections represented the individual colonies and the curves of the snake suggested the coastline. New England was combined into one section as the head of the snake. South Carolina was at the tail. Beneath the snake were the ominous words "Join, or Die."




http://gadsden.info/snake.html

South Carolina was at the tail.

[SCR1]

AR10 for you too? I really like my AR10A4 carbine. A bit more kick equals twice the fun! I currently have an ATN Ultrasight on it, good for day and night shooting. After shooting the AR10 the AR15 seems like a .22 LR. :)