Officials say al-Qaida operatives may be fully trained airline pilots

MSNBC.com ^ | 12/22/03 | NBC

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

Authorities raised the terrorist threat assessment over the weekend after new intelligence indicated that operatives of Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaida terror network, possibly trained and licensed to fly passenger jets, may now be pilots for some foreign airlines, ideally positioning them to carry out suicide attacks, U.S. officials told NBC News on Monday.

Reinforced cockpit doors intended to thwart hijackers after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks would now protect any terrorist pilot at the controls, the officials said on condition of anonymity.

Authorities would not describe the terror threats in detail publicly, but the U.S. officials told NBC’s Jim Miklaszewski that the threat alert would remain at “orange,” or high, through the end of January, which they said was an indication of its seriousness.

[sarasota]

That's the response I can agree with.

[bk1000]

"If something like this happens we will drop our no-bias-against-Muslims stance so fast, they'll be wearing garters in Mecca." Nah, we'll just have to take more sensitivity classes in an effort to discover why we so offend these peaceful people.

[sarasota]

Always a good reminder. Thanks for the poignant post.

[bk1000]

"The shame is that until something like this DOES happen,
we will continue patting down old ladies and hotties while
the sheiks sashay right on board."

It's all Minetta's fault.

[thinking]

Pakistan airlines flys into Toronto, Toronto is 15 minutes from major targets, 30 minutes to NYC....Regular flights from Asia, now fly direct over the Arctic regions.....

[sarasota]

Or remote controlled planes being used as diversion from the "real thing".

[petercooper]

now now Hank. We don't want to insult out Islamic "friends"

[Fishrrman]

NewLand writes:
Don't get me wrong...on Sept 12 2001, I wanted to see every illegal alien expelled and/or jailed. Every Arab non-US citizen expelled. Etc.
Do we have the courage as a nation to take these measures?

No, we don't. Not yet.

Unfortunately, it will take an attack upon the U.S. of massive proportions before that "courage" is mustered. Probably a nuclear weapon detonation.

I believe there is a high probability of this happening one day. It could be in a short time, but the _longer_ the struggle with Islam lasts, the _closer_ they will be towards achieving this "goal".

Terrorism is a game of "one-upsmanship". Do something big, and, next time, you've got to upstage it.

Do something as spectacular as the World Trade Center attack, and how does one upstage _that_? What can they do for an encore?

So you want "every Arab non-US citizen" expelled. Are you prepared to embrace the concept of "ethnic cleansing"? After all, if expelling Islamics is _not_ "cleansing", then what IS it?

99% of the posters in this forum -- for all their bravado against "Islam" - are NOT prepared for such actions.

For the record, I _am_ fully prepared to do this if need be. I understood Serbian ethnic cleansing of Muslims in Bosnia -- for the [Christian] Serbs knew that _they_, too, were engaged in a struggle with Islam. They knew that what they had to do to win wasn't pretty. But they did it anyway, because, again, they were involved in a battle with _Islam_. (As are the Russians in Chechnia [sp?])

So what do you think of the Serbs? Would you be willing that Islamics here be cleansed and expelled in the same manner?

Cheers!
- John

[thinking]

<! body ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------->

	Defending Gotham Nike Missile Defenses of the New York Metro Area, 1954-1974 Donald E. Bender Learn more ...

[petercooper]

where the hell has norm 'the minnow' mineta been anyway?

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

Maybe more MANPADS as well?

Is that an accessory to the manssiere?

[Aquinasfan]

That's why skyscrapers need anti-aircraft capability. Man them with National Guardsmen if necessary. It's a small price to pay. Maybe the insurance companies will spring for it.

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

It would tank the economy worse than we've ever seen.

Which is exactly what the bad guys are planning on and hoping for.

IMO, the biggest benefit they saw from their actions on 9/11 was the resulting economic slide. Now that a recovery is in swing, it would make a temptimng target indeed.

[Aquinasfan]

Bet you a buck right now that if we get hit again and lose 5000 innocent Americans, Bush will increase his Islam-is-a-peaceful-religion rhetoric, not decrease it.

I agree.

[Metternich]

In 1957, President Eisenhower deployed the 101st Airborne to Little Rock to enforce a federal desgregation order at Little Rock Central High School.

The 101st Airborne followed orders, even though they were deployed against US citizens. I think we can expect the same pattern in the future.

[Rev DMV]

I get a document does not exist error. My Dad worked on that system.

[Aquinasfan]

They kill a only a few hundred people but bring retail commerce to a halt.

Fortunately, they seem to be too stupid to figure this out. The plus side is that thereafter everyone will be carrying, legally or not.

[MississippiMan]

So, God willing that neither of us ever have to pay, I will accept your one-dollar wager.

Amen to that, and you're on.

I think anything short of a truly cataclysmic attack, something like a dirty bomb, will result in the same old PC ways.

Indie, I hear ya. ;-)

MM

[riri]

Bet you a buck right now that if we get hit again and lose 5000 innocent Americans, Bush will increase his Islam-is-a-peaceful-religion rhetoric, not decrease it

Full agreement here.

[Aquinasfan]

I've got you beat. I'm a lifelong disgruntled Lions fan.

You win, hands down.