Flights Cut on Fear of al Qaeda Attacks (NEW info: WMD use on planes planned by AQ)

Washington Post ^ | FEb. 1, 2004 | Sara Kehaulani Goo and Dana Priest

[FairOpinion]

Intelligence indicating that al Qaeda terrorists are seeking to release a chemical or biological agent aboard an airliner, or transport a radiological device in cargo, prompted the cancellation of six international flights scheduled for today and tomorrow, senior administration officials familiar with the reports said yesterday.

The possibilities, as described by three intelligence officials, include releasing an undetectable biological agent such as smallpox or anthrax aboard a plane that passengers would then unknowingly spread; releasing a chemical agent to debilitate the passengers and crew so the plane could be hijacked, and sneaking a radiological device aboard a plane inside a piece of luggage.

Small amounts of chemical, biological or radiological material would be difficult to detect.

[FairOpinion]

One of the things that concerns me, is that the terrorists were watching our reaction to their threat over the holidays and learned from it, and it may be more difficult to foil and prevent the attacks planned for the next few days.

I hope we will be able to prevent them, and have that extra bit of luck, which helps.

[FairOpinion]

You make good points. But I think we are only seeing a tiny part of the picture, that is why we can't really understand what's going on.

I think there is so much more. Maybe they are watching some of the passengers, or flight crew to see what they do. Suppose they hid something on the plane, now they will have to get it off and put it on another plane, and maybe we can catch them doing it. This is just one possibility/theory, I am sure there are many others.

[FairOpinion]

"I think it would be wise to assume ALL OF THE ABOVE."

==

I agree.

[bd476]

"Yes, the all powerful manipulative Bush administration has far reaching powers to stop flights even from other countries."

Don't laugh - I keep hearing callers on talk radio claiming the very same thing. Actually, go ahead and laugh, because I always do. It's the only thing which keeps me sane.

[My Dog Likes Me]

Here's a good one for ya.

Mohammed Atta to dim-witted Dept of Agriculture grants employee when he wanted a loan to purchase a cropduster.

"Dallas Cowboys? They play in the stadium with the hole on top..?"

The discussion took place in Florida, and I have no idea how or why the Cowboys were mentioned. Maybe the government employee had a Cowboys sticker hanging on her wall or something.

Yes, I know the Super Bowl is in Houston. But the above remark speaks volumes about potential researched targets.

[applemac_g4]

"Of course not, Kerry says there is no real terrorist threat to worry about, and we can trust carry to make the right decisions as president."

-----

Indeed. And since Baby Bush has declared Islam a religion of peace, I'm sure that we have nothing to worry about at all.

[applemac_g4]

>Well, we have thousands of thermonuclear warheads left - far
>more enough to turn this planet uninhabitable. We will always
>maintain the power to destroy this planet.

Yes - but we no longer have the willpower to use it. AQ could nuke us and we wouldn't respond in kind, sad to say.

[BurbankKarl]

they are going to plant the bird virus

[Indie]

Yes - but we no longer have the willpower to use it.

I also, sadly, agree.

Intriguing: Countdown clock [end of islamofascist feast of sacrifice] set for 2-3-04, more threats, more threatening posts on muslimoid websites about the US, and also RUSSIA having nuclear "exercises" in mid-Feb [BWA HA HA!] And I ain't laughing because I think they will be funny. I'm laughing because if the US is disabled by EMP, confusion and martial law, what better time to launch or at least threaten nuclear blackmail?

[js1138]

Of course, I am glad you caught that. But you sure can transmit smallpox. Recent research indicates that smallpox vaccinations provide significant immunity for 50 years or more. A smallpox "epidemic" would be a major nuisance, but not and uncontrollable plague.

[Quilla]

One of the things that concerns me, is that the terrorists were watching our reaction to their threat over the holidays and learned from it, and it may be more difficult to foil and prevent the attacks planned for the next few days.

Sadly, these terrorists were warned by French authorities and never showed up at the airport. Still out there and refining their methods of attack, they'll eventually get it right. Scary stuff.

[Kozak]

...was something about increased cardiac events in people who had been vaccinated?...

If I remember correctly the number was around 12 people, some of which had preexisting heart disease, out of hundreds of thousands vaccinated.

[LayoutGuru2]

The countdown script did not specify a time zone. It would have expired (will) at midnight (local time) February 3 for anyone on earth viewing the page at, if it were still up at the Khayma.com site.

[Jim Noble]

The possibilities, as described by three intelligence officials, include releasing an undetectable biological agent such as smallpox or anthrax aboard a plane that passengers would then unknowingly spread

Humans don't spread anthrax.

Smallpox is the only BT agent that could be used in this way, and I would be a little surprised (not a lot) if they had it at this point.

While a smallpox outbreak would not "destroy the United States" as AQ has been bragging, it would be very, very disruptive.

[Jim Noble]

I am trying to figure out why on earth the public has not had access to the smallpox vaccine that few health care providers volunteered for? [Probably threat of legal action for bad reactions concerns the guvmint more than the lives of my family]

The smallpox immunization "program" of 2002-2003 was crippled by fear-fear of lawsuits, certainly #1, fear that the public would blame politicians for adverse reactions #2, fear that the "economy" would be harmed #3, and fear that bringing the war so visibly close to home would induce demands for aggressive action that the government does not want to do #4.

If the politicians had been willing to act vigorously, everyone would be immunized already.

The plan to immunize the whole US population in 10 days after an attack is as good as a central plan can be, which is to say, not very-but it might just be doable.

I agree with those who say a mass casualty BT attack has to be with smallpox-I also agree that we don't know if AQ has it-it seems less likely to me now than it did in 2002.

[Jim Noble]

Can you imagine the lines and fights at every vaccine facility? They'd need martial law friends.

Site security is a big element of the plan.

I agree it's an issue.

[RaceBannon]

this was always a threat, what took them so long since 9/11 to figure it out?

[RaceBannon]

Most Doctors agree, though, that if you are a person with smallpox, and you are contagious, you are also deathly ill at the same time, so, It wont be a human carrying it to spread.

I am more worried of other deliveries of this stuff by other means.

[GAGOPSWEEPTOVICTORY]

Maybe someone can help answer these questions:

1. If they have info someone is going to be on a specific flight, why cancel the flight? Why not wait and find the suspect redhanded?

Conventional wisdom would think you hold the flight to wait to find the suspect. Perhaps they cancel the flight for two reasons: a) to flush out the names on the passenger list to see which one of these suspected terrorists come to the airport to reschedule to another flight. If you have a suspicious name, and they don't reschedule, you may have something on them. If the same four crop up again on another passenger mainfold for another flight, you know something might be up (especially if they don't live in the same area and are not sitting together). Plus, worst case scenario, if you cancel and you have four names on the watchlist that you are looking at, and they show up at the airport, you can segregate the possible jidhadists on different fights to minimize a terror threat; and b) to see what chatter you can pick up as the terrorists have to reschedule their operation because we cancelled their flights.

2. Are the terrorists so stupid that they can't figure out to use another set of flights, different airlines and different ports?

These terrorists are set in their ways in some respects. They go back to the same targets and like symbolism. Of course they can figure out different flights on different airlines, but assuming another multi-plane attack, there are a finite number of international flights that come in around the same time from the same airports they've presumably studied and mastered to maximize your impact. For example, in CDG, you have Air France and a number of American airlines that fly to the US. At LHR, it's Virgin, BA, UA, and AA. In order to switch airports, they would need to test the security procedures and that would take time. Plus, with the American airlines, they end up with a chance of one or more sky marshalls on the plane, theoretically diminshing their chances of success.

3. If in fact the threats are real and we have specific details, we must have some deeply placed infiltrators in the terrorist network, or else they would surprise us with other flights. Correct?

I would hope so. Let's keep our fingers crossed that we continue to hunt down these jihadists scum, dismantle their terror network, and that John "the terrorist threat is overrated" Ketchup-boy Kerry gets his butt handed to him by Bush in the Fall (or Al Sharpton in a primary, we can all dream, right?).

[af_vet_1981]

I think they try to avoid panicking people. I think if we really knew the real nature and potential devastation of the threat, we'd all be leaving the US in droves, which alone would create a disaster.

I see in your eyes the same fear that would take the heart of me. A day may come when the courage of Men fail, when we forsake our friends, and break all bonds of fellowship, but it is not this day.

This day, we fight!