Threat Matrix- Daily Terror Thread (4):

New York Post ^ | February 24, 2004 | By NILES LATHEM

[Revel]

February 24, 2004 -- WASHINGTON - The Pentagon has dispatched the elite commando force that hunted down Saddam Hussein to Afghanistan for a new operation aimed at getting Osama bin Laden, officials said yesterday. Military sources confirmed that members of the shadowy Task Force 121, the unit that conducted the high-tech search for Saddam and his henchmen, have recently begun operating in the remote mountainous region along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border where bin Laden and key al Qaeda and Taliban fugitives are believed to be hiding. The Task Force is made up of highly trained Delta and SEAL commandos, as well as CIA paramilitary operators. It operates outside normal military channels.

[eyespysomething]

ping

[texasbluebell]

Oh my gosh. I didn't realize it till just now, Cavuto remarking that it's 2-1/2 years today since our 9-11. Significance to the Spanish bombings? Did AQ go for the anniversary? Perhaps.

[Mossad1967]

I have been working for the US Customs Service for over eight years now.

I love my job.

I do the best that I can to make sure nothing slips by me.

I will say this.

Certain upper level and mid management personnel are highly aloof and inept.

I would not be surprised if Sean was correct about his Nuke calculations.

The American public must know the truth.

DHS is a positive step towards protecting our homeland.

It is however, in many instances a smoke and mirrors organization.

The color coded alert system is not that good.

Develop a plan to keep in contact with your loved ones.

Keep essential items in storage.

By all means,live your lives.

Accept that this threat is a REAL part of our every day lives!!!

Prepare and be ready to deal with its aftermath.

[Revel]

This is not so good:

---

CBS MarketWatch U.S. stocks close at 3-month lows Thursday March 11, 4:23 pm ET By Susan Lerner

NEW YORK (CBS.MW) - Wall Street's losing streak stretched to five days Thursday with stocks plunging to three-month lows as renewed terror fears sparked yet another late-day selling spree.

The sell-off came after reports in an Arabic newspaper tied an earlier series of bombings in Madrid to al-Qaida.
More

[freeperfromnj]

Here's another weird story - happened early this morning:

Runaway Locomotive in Queens Injures Five; Travels 1.5 Miles, Smashing Cars, Trucks

(Maspeth-WABC, March 10, 2004) — Investigators are looking into how a runaway freight train broke loose and slammed into several cars in Queens Wednesday afternoon. Five people were hurt, and two of them are in critical condition.

How Did a Locomotive Get Loose in Queens

Witnesses say it rolled down the tracks, unmanned and crushing cars and trucks in its way. The train stopped about 200 feet from the last crash and caught fire.
The damage started late this afternoon in the Maspeth section of Queens. Pictures from News Copter 7 show some of the destruction.

http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/news/WABC_031004_traincar.html

[eyespysomething]

I love reading these threads, but I rarely comment.

Your post reminds me of the Boy Scout motto:

Be Prepared.

[Cindy]

Yes, it is a tad bit busy....(gross understatement....)

[TexKat]

I know velveeta is definitely spinning.

I have been switching from one news station to the other.

Ollie North on Fox News and Steve Emerson on MSNBC discredits the claims and/or letter of Al Queda. Mansoor Ijaz's opinion on CNN was that he thought it was or they (al queda) had something to do with the Madrid bombing even before they took credit for it.

[freeperfromnj]

Heading out for the evening commute. Safe travels to all.

[Barnacle]

On the other thread, AQ says attack on the US is 90% ready to go

This may mean that we're getting close to Osama bin Laden.

You know what burns my behind is that the Moslem's here in the US are not cooperating with terror investigators. You'd think they would bend over back wards to demonstrate their patriotism. That's just not happening. Why?

[Revel]

Someone claims that 2 and half years just happens to equal exactly 911 days.

[tmp02]

What happened in Spain was horrible, but if AQ did perform the act, there were no nukes or bio that was involved. Why?...It doesn't seem that they have enough money if they have to use small weapons. If they had money, I would think that they would want to at least test some of their bigger weapons...I'm just thinking out loud...

[Velveeta]

That is an unusual occurance. Hope we don't see any more of those.

[LayoutGuru2]

Daleel posted the following at the Yahoo! groups this morning. Sorry Daleel, the pic was posted 3/11/2004, but with TZ diffs, maybe it was posted before the Madrid bombings today. SP2BF, can you translate the Arabic for us?

42	From: caveofdarkness <caveofdarkness@y...> Date: Thu Mar 11, 2004 0:46pm Subject: you didnt understand what the picture posted yesterday meant!!
	transalate and you will know!! more attacks are on the way. number 1 has succeded. alaah akbaar Daleel_almojahid

[Cindy]

http://www.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30000-1126951,00.html

"QAEDA CLAIMS BOMBINGS"

ARTICLE SNIPPET: "It also warned that a "big attack" on the US was "90% ready".

"The death squad (of the Abu Hafs Al-Masri Brigades) succeeded in penetrating the crusader European depths and striking one of the pillars of the crusader alliance - Spain - with a painful blow," the email said.

"We bring the good news to Muslims of the world that the expected 'Winds of Black Death' strike against America is now in its final stage...90 percent (ready) and God willing near," the letter said.

Bari Atwan, the newspaper's editor, told Sky News he was certain the claim was authentic."

[Velveeta]

Thursday, March 11, 2004

CAIRO, Egypt — The Arabic newspaper Al-Quds al-Arabi (search) said Thursday it had received a claim of responsibility for the Madrid train bombings issued in the name of Al Qaeda (search).

The five-page e-mail claim, signed by the shadowy Brigade of Abu Hafs al-Masri (search), was received at the paper's London offices. It said the brigade's "death squad" had penetrated "one of the pillars of the crusade alliance, Spain," and carried out what it called Operation Death Trains.

"This is part of settling old accounts with Spain, the crusader, and America's ally in its war against Islam," the claim said.

Referring to Spain's Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar (search), the statement asked: "Aznar, where is America? Who will protect you, Britain, Japan, Italy and others from us?"

The newspaper faxed the claim to The Associated Press office in Cairo.

The statement warned the United States that a major strike is approaching.

"We announce the good news for the Muslims in the world that the strike of the black wind of death, the expected strike against America, is now at its final stage — 90 percent ready — and it is coming soon, by God's will," the claim said.

Asked about the claim of responsibility, White House spokesman Sean McCormack said "we've seen the news reports and we're going to determine what the facts are."

The message also referred to last year's attack on Italian paramilitary police serving in the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq.

"When we attacked the Italian troops in Nasiriyah and sent you and America's agents an ultimatum to withdraw from the anti-Islam alliance, you did not understand the the message. Now we have made it clear and hope that this time you will understand," the statement said.

"We, at the Abu Hafs brigades, have not felt sad for the so-called civilians," the statement in an apparent reference to the hundreds of casualties in Thursday's attacks in Madrid.

"Is it OK for you to kill our children, women, old people and youth in Afghanistan, Iraq, Palestine and Kashmir? And is it forbidden to us to kill yours?" the claim asked.

The statement said another Al Qaeda squad, Jund al-Quds (search) or Soldiers of Jerusalem, had carried out Tuesday night's attack on a Masonic lodge in Istanbul, Turkey.

"All the Masons would have been killed but there was a technical fault. So because God wished it, only three were killed," the statement said.

In the attack, two suicide bombers opened fire in the lodge's dining hall, killing a waiter and wounding five other people. The attackers then detonated rudimentary explosives. One assailant died in the blast while the other was severely wounded

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,113972,00.html

[texasbluebell]

The American public must know the truth.

I can't even express how aggravated I am that we are kept in the dark so much of the time. Thank heavens those of us here can at least get some clues.

[LayoutGuru2]

Daleel hasn't posted over at ItsHappening.com since 3/3/2004. What's up with that?

[Revel]

I am eager to know what it says.

[Cindy]

breaking.TCM.IE: "YOUNG MUSLIMS RECRUITED FOR TERROR, SAYS DUTCH 'MI5'" (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "Young Muslims in the Netherlands are being recruited for armed terrorism missions against Western targets, the Dutch secret service warned today.") (March 10, 2004) (Read More...)